I have a friend who is in Japan and is going to ship some engines over. I would like to get ahold of some parts for my 03WRX. Just wondering if someone could give me some advice on which version of STI tranny and engine I should be looking at. I am most interested in getting the tranny and rear diff, axles and all that stuff just to get the six speed in. Should I get a tranny with DCCD? Any links or info or advice you could provide would be great!! Thanks

get one without dccd, its annoying running 65/35 power split, unless he can rip the control box out of the car. most version 7 sti trannys are non-dccd, and most ver8s are dccd.

get one without dccd, its annoying running 65/35 power split, unless he can rip the control box out of the car. most version 7 sti trannys are non-dccd, and most ver8s are dccd.
ding ding ding! It's the one thing that makes me feel better since Dave here got the ver 8 motor and I didn't.

You guys are leaning towards the same thing I was thincking. The Ver7 tranny and engine. Correct me if I am wrong please: Ver7 has no DCCD (depending if RA or not?), a Ver7 engine has a single scroll turbo (my exhaust should work?, Ver7 engine has AVCS which I should be able to wire up(what other electrical options should concern me?)

To run the 6 speed tranny I will need:
R180 rear diff (pod with diff inside not the complete rear subframe?)
STI axles front and back
6 speed clutch flywheel and shifter

Is there any other parts you can think of? I would also like to get the Brembos so I guess I will need the STI spindles?

Thanks again for the help!!!

Please give me some links to explore if you have any good ones.

Well, technically you don't need the front axels, but you might as well because axels are cheap.

You need the rear brembos to work with the rear end. Since you need the rear end (well you can make the stock rear diff work, but it's not as strong and defeats the purpose) you have to get the rear brakes, so you might as well get the front ones.

Call some of the vendors on the board, I would go with Stephen of IAPerformance, Gruppe-S, or Kingpin. Ask for a complete kit, crate motor, tranny, rear end, brakes, maybe even suspension. You get a deal when you buy in bulk. Then recoup some of your money when you sell you WRX motor and drivetrain.

ACVS can be done with an easy wiring kit from Stephen of IAPerformance. It was really really helpful.

And make sure you have a good amount of money in reserve. This is something where the possibility of things going wrong is higher, and you need a buffer. You end up spending a lot more than you think.

Although all said and done I spent 6k out of pocket. :)

I will have some reserve to spend just in case I run into problems. For the moment I would just like to get a parts list up and take it from there. I would alos like some help on finding a tranny and engine combo Ver7 that does not have the DCCD. I will probably never connect it even if I got it so I would just like to avoid it. What years of JDM WRX STI''s came with it and without it?? Thanks again!!!!

Cap Crunch, in your opinion, do you think a Ver7 engine will pass California smog test?

its OBD2, and as long as u have a cat, i dont see why not