A friend of mine did. I'm strongly considering buying an RX-8 too, but I'm not if I find out that it has a weak transmission like the WRX.

judge ito has been through 2 trannies....but he also pulled off low 14's on the 1/4

My friend blew the tranny trying to do a donut... lol

Originally posted by MaxxTuningUSA
My friend blew the tranny trying to do a donut... lol

I've done plenty of donuts without tranny problems, ;)

I wonder if the trannies dying are from abuse or just a structural weakness.

I dont see that many happening, so its IMO its not a reason to NOT buy the car. BUt it might be a concern if you will be doing multiple high rpm clutch drops.

Originally posted by Lawerence
I wonder if the trannies dying are from abuse or just a structural weakness.


anyone can break any manual trasmission if they try hard enough :p

My also be a problem if you don't know what you're doing. Just cuz you can do donuts with no prob doesn't mean everyone can.

whish would be abuse
but some ppl claim not to abuse thier shit and thier trannies just broke.

Still no big worries,.

I've had my transmission replaced by nissan 2 times and on this third tranny everything seems to be just perfect

Some people just don't understand that real high-dollar race cars get a refreshed clutch or tranny every race weekend (or more), yet they expect a street transmission to stand up to sidestepping the clutch, burnouts, and donuts.

Street car trannies break when you treat them like race cars.

Hell, race car trannies break when you treat them like race cars.

If you abuse you car it will break, doesn't matter if it's an RX8, WRX or anything else. Fact of the matter is, it was not designed to be abused and if it is, you increase your chances of mechanical failure.

And no, I heaven't dropped my transmission.

Originally posted by Gonzo
If you abuse you car it will break...

I would further elaborate: IF YOU USE IT, IT WILL BREAK.
General rule for materials....no matter what it is, they might different integrity thresholds, but anything will degrade after use. Some things sooner, some things later.

If you are going to punish your car, be prepared to spend money on it.