upgrading a wrx to an sti

[theisen22]

I heard you would have to buy a mounting bracket,and rewire somethings,and its a different drive train?any of this true?

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[Black94Snake]

I heard you still haven't read the stickys and FAQ's.

FWIW, STi's are a completely different car. Engine, trans, suspension, brakes, body parts, interior.

[Tyranosaurus Wrx]

Originally Posted by Black94Snake

I heard you still haven't read the stickys and FAQ's.

FWIW, STi's are a completely different car. Engine, trans, suspension, brakes, body parts, interior.

I heard Blakesnake is right.

[Black94Snake]

Originally Posted by Tyranosaurus Wrx

I heard Blakesnake is right.

FINALLY! Someone with some god damn common sense!

Lmao!

[DONx3]

Yup when you own a WRX first, you will learn there are major differences between the two.

[djtypewhazn]

upgrading a wrx to an sti....:sight: u might think it be a fun project but ur in for a whole lot of swearing and paying out a ****-ton of cash...just sell the wrx n buy an sti....read around on here to get an idea what owning a subaru is all about.....

[HinshawWRX]

Here it goes again....

[turboterror99]

I've played with the idea too. Thought about trying to find a salvageable wrecked STI and doing a full swap but after researching it's really not feasible. I'm just going to mod and enjoy the WRX until I'm ready to upgrade vehicles and then I'll splurge for the STI. What about the STI turns you on? You could always focus on those specific characteristics. I.E. tranny swap... brembos... etc

[talvai]

Originally Posted by djtypewhazn

upgrading a wrx to an sti....:sight: u might think it be a fun project but ur in for a whole lot of swearing and paying out a ****-ton of cash...just sell the wrx n buy an sti....read around on here to get an idea what owning a subaru is all about.....

^Not true. Changing a wrx and sti can be sometimes cheaper than selling a wrx and buying a sti. Now if you don't know anything about cars and paying for labor then yea might be higher but most of the time its not. Not to mention cheaper insurance, etc.

OP The difference in price tag at the dealer has to tell you the wrx and sti are a little different than just some mounting bracket and wire. Their is a good amount different but their is a lot more that is actually the same. Since you don't even know the difference for you I would recommend selling the car and buying the sti if that is what you want. Or just read up a whole whole lot and the more you know the more you will see that doing a sti swap is not that expensive

[Jack ffr1846]

The perfect situation for this kind of swap is this:

Say you bought a blue ridge pearl 2002 2.5RS 4 door in November of 2000.
Say you used it as your daily driver and then in 2007, you decided to buy an STi.
Now, let's say that a small NASA satellite fell out of the sky, landing on your STi's roof, crushing it in, but leaving no electrical or driveline dammage and NASA paid you the full retail value of the car and let you keep it.

Now...you can swap that entire driveline....engine/tranny/rear/axles/hubs/brakes/wiring harness into your GC8. You'll have to spend a few months time doing this but when you're done, you have a very nicely upgraded Impreza with a nice, stock 07 STi power system.

If that doesn't happen, it's expensive.

[BigRob74]

i dont think this has ever been discussed before. can we sticky this?

[tibug]

I thought you were going to say that's what happened to you ^^^.

[Navendra94]

It osn't as sinple as that. It's expensive. Just tune your WRX...

[talvai]

Why do you guys keep saying its expensive? Its not. You can get ENTIRE drivetrain for like $6-8k. You sell your stock stuff for 3-4k. Total upgrade would be about $3-4k if you did all the work. That is not expensive. Find me how to sell a WRX and buy a STI for only 3-4k more.

[Bluemachine]

Originally Posted by Jack ffr1846

The perfect situation for this kind of swap is this:

Say you bought a blue ridge pearl 2002 2.5RS 4 door in November of 2000.
Say you used it as your daily driver and then in 2007, you decided to buy an STi.
Now, let's say that a small NASA satellite fell out of the sky, landing on your STi's roof, crushing it in, but leaving no electrical or driveline dammage and NASA paid you the full retail value of the car and let you keep it.

Now...you can swap that entire driveline....engine/tranny/rear/axles/hubs/brakes/wiring harness into your GC8. You'll have to spend a few months time doing this but when you're done, you have a very nicely upgraded Impreza with a nice, stock 07 STi power system.

If that doesn't happen, it's expensive.

Excellent loved the nasa bit!

[emazz104]

Originally Posted by Jack ffr1846

The perfect situation for this kind of swap is this:

Say you bought a blue ridge pearl 2002 2.5RS 4 door in November of 2000.
Say you used it as your daily driver and then in 2007, you decided to buy an STi.
Now, let's say that a small NASA satellite fell out of the sky, landing on your STi's roof, crushing it in, but leaving no electrical or driveline dammage and NASA paid you the full retail value of the car and let you keep it.

Now...you can swap that entire driveline....engine/tranny/rear/axles/hubs/brakes/wiring harness into your GC8. You'll have to spend a few months time doing this but when you're done, you have a very nicely upgraded Impreza with a nice, stock 07 STi power system.

If that doesn't happen, it's expensive.

You mean 2001, not 2002 right? If so I completely agree, that would be an excellent setup, as long as the car is still in good shape.

[MyDopeWrx]

Where did you hear that story cuz thats exactly what happened to me!

[the suicidal eggroll]

Originally Posted by talvai

Why do you guys keep saying its expensive? Its not. You can get ENTIRE drivetrain for like $6-8k. You sell your stock stuff for 3-4k. Total upgrade would be about $3-4k if you did all the work. That is not expensive. Find me how to sell a WRX and buy a STI for only 3-4k more.

That's just the drivetrain...what about the engine, turbo, suspension, brakes, DCCD controller, and dash?

There's much more to an STi than the transmission/rear diff...

[talvai]

Originally Posted by the suicidal eggroll

That's just the drivetrain...what about the engine, turbo, suspension, brakes, DCCD controller, and dash?

There's much more to an STi than the transmission/rear diff...

Thank you. I know that. And that is including all that. Why would just tranny and rear diff cost $6-8k.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/JDM-Subaru-W...4bed64&vxp=mtr

^Quick search and found ton better deals than that before. Again its not that bad if you do the labor yourself. Only thing missing there was DCCD controller, rims, harness and suspension(which you could keep your stock ones if you want). Cluster you can pick up for $225-250 if you really want. Again sell your stock stuff and you will see its not that bad all said and done.

[Drewbie]

I'm going to pay solid auto works here locally to swap my 02 wrx into a 04 STi w/ 5x114.3 hubs/knuckles and ****.. The are charging me roughly 2grand, and I supply all the parts..

I have 97% of everything.. Gotta find a few minor parts here and there.. It can be done, I COULD do it, but.. The time it would take me, is worth 2k to me...

[mhoerath]

take a close look at doing these at the same time:

clutch/throwout bearing/resurface flywheel
all 4 axle seals
motor and trans mounts
inspect all cv boots
use something like mobil 1 synthetic for 1k miles then replace with your choice of trans and diff fluids - unless you know 125% certain what fluids were in both before and their service intervals.
get an all wheel alignment
i went with a neetronics dccd controller and would prob do a dccd pro today.

fyi i paid a shop 2 hr drive distance quite a bit less to do a complete 6 spd jdm drivetrain swap into an 03 wrx, but within a 3 hr drive are 5 shops that are full service subie performance shops.

[Navendra94]

Once again...Just tune up your WRX... they can easily be as fast as STi's...

[Ernest]

Originally Posted by Navendra94

Once again...Just tune up your WRX... they can easily be as fast as STi's...

This - sure the STI is better but you can make the WRX what you want. Unless you are tracking - no need for Brembos, they are just bling.

6speed is nice, but a built 5 speed is nice too. DCCD is nice but not necessary.

[Isop Vic]

hey yall! I'm new at this.I'm curious to know if i can put 2011 wrx rims on a 2013 sti

[BigRob74]

Originally Posted by Isop Vic

hey yall! I'm new at this.I'm curious to know if i can put 2011 wrx rims on a 2013 sti

nope......