5MT swap is done

[mbtoloczko]

I did a few things differently when compared to what other people have done so I thought I'd mention that my 5MT swap is complete. Here is the laundary list of items installed:

*2002 WRX 5MT with STi RA v5/6 gearset and synchros. STi gears are stronger than stock and have better ratios for acceleration. I'm using the STi RA 1st through 4th gear, and then stock 5th gear so I can cruise on the highway at reasonable engine rpm. Here is a comparison of the gear ratios:

gear WRX STi RA v5/6
1st 3.454 3.083
2nd 1.947 2.062
3rd 1.366 1.545
4th 0.972 1.151
5th 0.738

*STi RA 20 kg/100 rpm center diff. The stock WRX center diff is nearly an open diff. The idea with the STi RA unit was to get better power transfer to the rear wheels if the fronts start spinning in a corner. (Also makes it a true AWD in crappy road conditions.)

*Exedy 13.5 lb flywheel

*Exedy Sport clutch with organic disk

*STi group N tranny mount

*STi group N motor mounts

*'97 Legacy Outback 5MT driveshaft

*Custom cross-member

First I'd like to thank Dave Clark (aka oppositelock) for doing an awesome installation. The fab work for the STi motor mounts, the cross-member, and the pedal assembly is fantastic. If anyone in the Pacific Northwest wants to do a 5MT conversion, but does not have the tools/time to do it themselves, I highly recommend Dave. You won't find a better person for the job.

Anyhow, here are my impressions of the car.

Overall impression: Its impossible not to punch it. With the light flywheel, the close gear ratios, and responsive motor, I'm in 4th gear before I know it. I have to be very easy with the throttle and short shift to accelerate at a mild pace.

Flywheel: See above. :-) Its been said that light flywheels make it difficult to get moving from a stop, but there's no problem with this engine because it has so much torque.

Clutch: Clutch engagement is smooth, but using the clutch will result in an Arnold calf if car driven regularly in traffic jams! :-)) Actually, its not bad, but its a bit stiffer than the one I've been using in my Toyota pickup for the last 10 years.

Gear ratios. 1-3 are awesome. 1st gear is actually higher than stock WRX, but this works well with the torquey EG33. 4th gear is a little lower than I would like, but what I'm finding is that the car is so damn torquey, I can cruise around town in 5th gear at 45 mph. With these gears it was necessary to use a speedometer signal transmogrifier because the STi RA speedmeter gears were designed to read proper speed with a 4.44:1 final drive rather than the 3.90:1 final drive that was used. The electronic recalibration box worked out great, and it has allowed me to precisely calibrate the speedometer to the actual speed of the car.

STi Center Diff: My biggest concern was that with it being 5x stiffer than stock WRX, there would be some driveline bind when negotiating corners and parking lots around town. So far, no problem. I haven't had much of a chance yet to see how it affects the car at the limit of wheel slip in corners though. The hope is that with the stiffer diff, power will get redirected to the rear if the inside front wheel starts losing traction in a corner. I'll probably have to install the stock center diff if I really want to know how much its affecting things.

STi motor/tranny mounts: Major reduction in driveline bounce with no increase in NVH! The lack of NVH is due in no small part to the ultra smooth EG33. My statement on driveline bounce is based on driving my friend's WRX 5MT, driving Earl's SVX 5MT, and driving elninoalex's SVX 5MT. (The STi motor mounts are not straight bolt-in. Some fabrication work is required to get these to fit.)

Custom tranny x-member: Its very clean and very strong. The setup uses the plate that the 5MT tranny mount attaches too. The plate then attaches to the 4EAT crossmember (ala SmallCar), and then the plate attaches to a custom tube frame that bolts up to the points that hold the rear of the front subframe to the chassis.

Legacy Outback driveshaft: It was mentioned on the network here that this driveshaft was the correct length for a 5MT install and all that was necessary was to modify the mounting bracket on the driveshaft. We didn't measure as closely as we should have before attempting the installation, and upon installing it, it was found that the front section is about 1/2" longer than it should be. Its in there now, but I'm going to have to take it back out and get it shortened.

Other notes: Even with the STi mounts, the car is still a bit bouncy. I think its partly because I'm still getting the hang of the car, but I think its also partly due to the long driveline associated with the Subaru AWD layout. I weighed the car at the dump scales this morning on my way into work: Without me in the car, it weighed 3390 lbs with about 1/2 tank of gas (according to the gauge). The weight before the car went under the knife was 3490 lbs. I also had the front cats removed when the 5MT swap was performed, so I'd say that the weight reduction for a 5MT swap is 80 lbs with a standard flywheel and 90 lbs with a lightweight flywheel.

[Chiketkd]

That's awesome. What did the total install cost including labor?

Congrats on your 'new' SVX!!!

[Phast SVX]

That is sweet! we have to have a meet sometime for all the shifted people
Have you used your mr dyno yet?
phil

[mbtoloczko]

Cost was way more than I had planned to pay when I started the project. :-) Dave's prices though are quite reasonable. Better than I've found at any automotive shop.

I haven't made a MrDyno run yet. I'm still trying to adapt to the feel of the clutch. I don't want to stress the tranny any more than I have too with rough shifting. I'll probably make a few MrDyno runs later this week. There's also a drag strip about an hour from my house that I may try to visit this weekend so I can get an official timeslip.

[FlagstaffSVX]

Congratulations on your new member of the family.

I am curious though, as to what your totals were in both time and money. I've been talking with my local High School auto's teacher and they think they could do it for me but I'm leery to lend my SVX to a bunch of High Schoolers for a month or two...

[SVX-FF]

Great job on the swap. i can not wait until you post dyno results.

Steve

[wawazat??]

Thanks for sharing the details with me earlier and here in the thread as well!!!

Can oppositelock make more adapters for me for my STi motor mounts? Can you ask what the cost would be?

Thanks,
Todd

[Noir]

Originally posted by mbtoloczko
Cost was way more than I had planned to pay when I started the project. :-) Dave's prices though are quite reasonable. Better than I've found at any automotive shop.

I haven't made a MrDyno run yet. I'm still trying to adapt to the feel of the clutch. I don't want to stress the tranny any more than I have too with rough shifting. I'll probably make a few MrDyno runs later this week. There's also a drag strip about an hour from my house that I may try to visit this weekend so I can get an official timeslip.

Hey mych, what would be a fair estimate for the amount of time you spent to put it in as well as the expense for the whole project? I'm trying to figure out how much I should allocate into my 'svx' budget before trying to tackle this project .

[mbtoloczko]

Originally posted by Noir


Hey mych, what would be a fair estimate for the amount of time you spent to put it in as well as the expense for the whole project? I'm trying to figure out how much I should allocate into my 'svx' budget before trying to tackle this project .

I pretty much wanted the best of what was available, and I didn't do the conversion myself, so I paid more money than probably anyone else has for a 5MT swap. Because of that, my conversion is probably not the best to determine a budget unless you want to do the same. The labor for doing the conversion and the STi motor mounts was around $2300 (a great deal considering the fantastic quality of the work; pictures coming soon). The STi upgrade (gears, synchros, center diff, and labor) to the WRX 5MT cost about $2200. The thing is that I bought all the STi parts while I was in Japan, so I saved a boat load of money on parts. You couldn't do this upgrade for that little money if you bought the parts in the USA. If you were to attempt an upgrade to the WRX 5MT with STi gears using a supplier in the USA (say Rallispec), the gears alone cost $1450. To the labor and tranny upgrade costs, you would have to add the cost of the other parts which will depend greatly on what you choose. Ack!

[mbtoloczko]

Originally posted by wawazat??
Thanks for sharing the details with me earlier and here in the thread as well!!!

Can oppositelock make more adapters for me for my STi motor mounts? Can you ask what the cost would be?

Thanks,
Todd

Just chatted with him. He'll have some info for me next week on labor costs. Alternatively, we'll be posting pictures of the fabrication process, so if you've got the tools, you can DIY.

[wawazat??]

Originally posted by mbtoloczko


Just chatted with him. He'll have some info for me next week on labor costs. Alternatively, we'll be posting pictures of the fabrication process, so if you've got the tools, you can DIY.

Tools, oh yeah, I've got tools

Thanks,
Todd

[mbtoloczko]

Originally posted by wawazat??


Tools, oh yeah, I've got tools

Thanks,
Todd

That's what I thought. :-) Did you finish up the welding class yet?