STI Transmission Swap Review

[@adamb.4750]

2014 WRX with a 2015 STI trans swap completed about 6 month ago. I installed the MAP DCCD Controller. I had terrible mileage after the STI tranny install but I was playing with the front to back bias with the manual controls. When I selected the “automatic” mode for the DCCD controller, I got most of my mpg back.

[@StreetInspired1]

Woah!! Didn't even think to check this! You are absolutely right. After the swap I went from averaging 25-28mph to getting average and 20-21mpg. Just reset and drove on auto for 36 miles during same normal commute and averaged 26mpg!

[@itskells7557]

Congrats to you bro! Great great work. Glad to see you happy with the outcome. I just upgraded to an sti recently, the transmission makes a big difference

[@drewmiller3447]

Dude!!! So glad the swap is working out for you I knew at your power level that swap would be great sucks you had a few mini or issues but I’m glad it was worth it!!! I just did full mounts on my WRX torque solutions motor mount trans mount and rear differential mount and at my power level it feel amazing I love it but I’m so glad your doing good man keep the videos coming I miss watching you every week man your my go to Subaru KZbinr!! Keep up the good work my friend and god bless!!

[@davo5400]

Watching this with a tear in my eye 🥲. Thank for the content bro. I will do this one day

[@xil3ntkha0s]

Good to know the swap met your expectations (for now lol). Also lucky you can do pulls onto the highway there. Difficult to do pulls here because of traffic even late at night.

[@StreetInspired1]

I usually can't I didn't expect to actually have an open spot I thought I was going to have to reshoot it later haha

[@paulhadnot1173]

Props to you my guy, I’ve been watching you since before you moved to Florida and started working for josh. I was also able to finally check out your whip finally at subifest 2021.

[@StreetInspired1]

Thank you for all the support!!

[@luisloera1309]

I’m glad with your results, it inspired me to do the drivetrain swap on my 2020 WRX

[@shinobi-media]

Fashooooo. Thanks for the update/review. Gonna upgrade the trans when the stock blows for sure. Happy to be seeing this!

[@Not_very_grey]

Yo, you got to get with Ron and send him some logs and let him know you have an sti trans now.(if you haven’t already told him) it is 100% necessary that you see if it needs any adjustments made it the tune because the sti trans gearing is shorter and that’s going to change the power band and a lot of other factors with the tune. That’s bad ass and I’m glad you got an sti trans in there good luck to you bro

[@StreetInspired1]

Already done. I mentioned that in my swap video. I sent him an email and got a new tune before the transmission was in the car he only charged me $25 for the adjustment!

[@grassbag1]

@@StreetInspired1 I'm hoping he doesn't give me any issues because I'm catless. Ive been running the same tune with him for the past 3 years and will be swapping my trans in soon also.

[@reflexboxer2ndlt807]

4:20 that’s because of your new Upgraded LSDs The computer is working it harder so ur losing mpg. But it’s worth it. Cause you have all 3 LSD diffs now.

[@IamYou4Now]

I was going to do the 6 speed swap too. But for my built WRX Hatch being that would be my next and best step to do on the hatch. Not sure if you are tuned yet but either way. If you don’t have the DCCD controller(connected/working etc.) just yet or at the moment. You can always run it without a controller and it will just default to “open”. But I could be wrong being that I have an EJ and not FA engine.

[@2018wrxaddict]

Nice. I'm almost done with my STI transmission swap. Good to see your opinion on it. Just got my Spiider dccd Pro in the mail a few days ago. I'll be doing an install video on my channel in the near future.

[@StreetInspired1]

Glad its going good! Ill be sure to check it out!

[@2018wrxaddict]

@@StreetInspired1 thank you. Doing the work myself, and between work and furthering education and family responsibilities, it has taken longer than I'd like, but I am getting there one step at a time. I'm doing a whole new build, though, not just the transmission swap. Car will be between 600-700hp.

[@rodriguezangel62]

@@2018wrxaddict What block are you building that much power on?

[@2018wrxaddict]

@@rodriguezangel62 just a closed deck FA20F with forged rods and pistons and built heads with some porting.

[@impala20002005]

Great Video man!! Definitely my plans for my WRX when I can get her put away. Trans is still good, so I’ll probably do like you said and wait until it blows. Again awesome video!!

[@Mobstoper]

I’ve been thinking about swapping my transmission out of my 2020 WRX 2020 Sti transmission and drivetrain. The WRX feels so sloppy. I had an 05 Sti and it felt solid and I miss it.

[@keionjoyce3904]

Awesome man actually picking my swap up soon how much power do you make just started following

[@jameskocks4734]

i want this done to my 18. one day. i did solid motor mounts to an '88 GT mustang. that was a big mistake.

[@islandirie3683]

That’s great man I guess I’ll cross that bridge if that happens to me but I’m glad I have an option great video

[@cughan_9482]

Awesome job on the swap!!!!!!!

[@Clay1jz]

It's great to see your car running fully again man 👍

[@gaivoron]

Nice bro, better than a used WRX transmission.

[@evan_n6136]

sti gears have a little bit straighter cut? i think i hear a little whine from the transmission, sounds awesome!

[@jasonbelanger6192]

Sounds like straight cut gears I also have a fa with sti 17 drivetrain

[@MoJoNinjaGarage]

Great feed back big homie! I will definitely be looking to do this at some point. Quick question though, I am looking to do a clutch job before I do flex fuel and trying to find a clutch to handle my power goal which will be 350 to the wheels with hopefully matching or mor torque? Plus what are your thoughts on using stock flywheel?

[@StreetInspired1]

So if you're planning on stopping power mods for a while after doinf flex the ACT Heavy Duty Street should be good. That one holds 449ft tq at the crank or around 380-400tq at the wheels. That should hold your power on flex with stock turbo. If you plan on doing a bigger turbo and making over 400-420whp I would maybe go with the ACT Extreme Street. That one for thr wrx is rated at 532 tq at the crank or around 440-460 tq at the wheels so that one should handle 500ish whp. As far as Flywheel. You can certainly use an oem Flywheel however I would definitely recommend getting a new oem Flywheel. I've heard lots of horror stories of brand new clutches getting toasted from reused Flywheels or resurfaced flywheels.

[@MoJoNinjaGarage]

@@StreetInspired1 kool, I was planning to get a new stock flywheel as well thank you for the suggestion big dawg I really appreciate it sir! Keep owing what your doing man your videos are very informative and I really appreciate your honest reviews!

[@hai_katsu807]

"just send it til it blows" haha - awesome vid bro!!

[@matd8958]

Great to hear 👍, the work paid off,

[@leftinashes]

Sounded great when you got were on the highway. Is your new clutch ceramic? Ceramic clutches always have that chatter / shudder during break-in period but sometimes it never goes away. Glad to see you have success with this swap...

[@StreetInspired1]

No it's still an Organic disk. But thank you!

[@JagjeetSingh-dw9qc]

Nice bro what exhaust setup are you using?

[@StreetInspired1]

At the time of this video I was running 1320 catted jpipe, stock midpie and Subiedepot axleback. Now I'm running the same jpipe, the Remark midpipe and remark boso axleback and it sounds a bit deeper and not as raspy at top end but still just as loud

[@JagjeetSingh-dw9qc]

@@StreetInspired1 Thank u broski, urs sound like the perfect setup lol, not too raspy not too deep or annoying, gonna try it on mine

[@Puma6922]

just put a 6 speed from a liberty gt (same trans but with no dccd and no front lsd) into my 03 wrx and fuck its good ay

[@2015wrx_build]

Hey man did u have any issues getting the front cross member on with out the drive line hitting the shift linkage maybe i have the mount upside down that holds the linkage to the frame of the car

[@felipeavina6951]

So I just did mine. When put in reverse makes a loud thumping sound some help would be nice

[@StreetInspired1]

Mine occasionally did this also until I got the DCCD Hooked up. I double checked all my mounts and everything but it didn't go away until I got the iwire dccd spider kit and was able to keep the center diff in auto mode. It would only happen occasionally though. If yours is consistent I would double check that all the mounts are tight!

[@felipeavina6951]

@@StreetInspired1 hell yeah thank you for the response will do that today. Man didn’t know it was going to like tho for a daily lol

[@evoeyerex3518]

I have the same clutch on my 17 rex. I love the clutch . Im also gojng to be swapping my wrx shortly . Where do you find the swap? I don’t really wanna buy off of eBay lol

[@StreetInspired1]

Well I got it on ebay but it came from TAE Used auto parts out of Tampa. I used to see them on Facebook Marketplace here and there as well

[@evoeyerex3518]

@@StreetInspired1 alright fair enough thanks man

[@evoeyerex3518]

@@StreetInspired1 if you don’t mind me asking how much was the complete drivetrain swap including the brakes, calipers and all that.

[@jaybandz1709]

any reason as to why your mileage got lower w the new trans swap? any updates on mileage since u did that 20hr roadtrip

[@BADHABITSem]

I want to swap my wrx tran for a sti. What do you recommend for the process?

[@pasigiri]

Great video as always. Looks like you definitely "unleashed" your WRX. But this really got me thinking about the gearing comparison of the WRX and STI. ... Dat gas mileage tho!

[@StreetInspired1]

Thank you. And yeah it seems like the gearing isn't much different until you physically feel the difference. The mileage change kinds sucks but it definitely could be worse.

[@fang4524]

Dude it’s exactly worth doing it. The STI trans, drive train, limited slip front and rear diff. Even axles make it a far better handling Subie. STI drivetrain is on another level of driving experience. DCCD is also a great feature to customize your drivetrain. Let alone SI drive.

[@StreetInspired1]

This car handled so much better with this driveline. I'm definitely sold on doing it to my new wrx also. Such an amazing experience!

[@fang4524]

@@StreetInspired1 I can’t wait to see you swap it. But on your new wrx You can if you use the aftermarket carbon driveshaft so that will be OP. I’ll go ahead and resubscribe. I had a similar experience with my wrx and now I have a new 2020 STI that I suspension modded and tuned for autocross

[@fang4524]

@@StreetInspired1 I’m just confused why you said “not to do it if you don’t have to” when you admit it handled better after the swap. Can you please give further insight on that cause Iv been wondering for a long time.

[@StreetInspired1]

@fang4524 because it's a very expensive swap and as much as I loved it, it wouldn't be worth the money to most people who have a perfectly good transmission. I think if your wrx transmission goes out it's worth the extra money for an upgrade. For the repalcement, durability, and dccd. but I don't think it would be worth it to most people if theirs is fine and upgrading only gives them the dccd. It's great but to most people there's a million better ways to spend $7k-10k

[@fang4524]

@@StreetInspired1 I understand what you mean. I hated that my wrx has open diffs. Very happy I got an STI now.

[@tannerl2971]

Let's see a launch!!!

[@maryburgess9293]

The bulletproof transmission :)

[@vash337]

Did you say the rough total cost for the trans swap?

[@douglasbrill1376]

i think when my 14 wrx trans goes.. i wanna build the 5 speed with ppg gears.. instead of swapping. what you think abou tthat idea? i currently sitting 400 whp / 401 tq on e85 - 20 lbs boost on a mdx-555 turbo

[@zilchthegrate63]

I'm not sure if you're going to see this, but how did you wire up the heated seats in the STi cener console?

[@StreetInspired1]

I actually ended up ordering the STI Center Consol which came with the sti heated seat switches and they had the wiring with plug from the car with a couple of inches of wire on them where they were cut from the vehicle. I then tested the circuit of the stock seats by using a voltage meter to see which wire did what and then cut and spliced the wires into the sti harness. I should've made a video showing and explaining, but I didn't. I hope this helps In some way

[@zilchthegrate63]

@@StreetInspired1 gotcha, thanks for the reply

[@traviswatson4986]

what do you do for work man?

[@Bted__ever]

How much did you pay for the Sti transmission?

[@MichaelMiller-xv9rx]

My wrx transmission went out who did you purchase yours from. Just started looking and only seems to be running on eBay.

[@StreetInspired1]

I got mine on ebay and had it shipped from a used subaru parts dealer in Jacksonville, FL

[@nausea86]

Do the shifts feel more engaged? The wrx tranny feels sloppy, putting it in gear feels like all over the place.

[@StreetInspired1]

Definitely feels more engaged when you select a gear. The wrx uses cables and the sti is direct to transmission.

[@nausea86]

I did a 2018 sti tranny swap on my 16 wrx but get torque bind when one wheel is off the ground is that normal? It’s to the point where the car won’t move anymore. Also Noticed while making right turns slowly I get a jerk from the rear Aside from that it drives fine no grinds on any of the gears. Pulls hard. I’m thinking the center diff is bad.

[@StreetInspired1]

If you don't have the dccd controller the majority of the power is sent to the rear so it will feel slightly jerky when making slow turns or reversing while turning. It isn't very noticeable though. Not sure why you would get any binding thats concerning. The center diff may be having issues but it's hard to say. Transmissions are so hard to diagnose without tearing them apart.

[@thatvettethovideos2919]

Where did you get the swap from? I’m looking at doing this to my 2021wrx but need a reputable place that won’t sell me a blown one

[@StreetInspired1]

I got it on ebay from TAE Used Auto Parts

[@RIVIMAX]

Hey man I was curious about that one time that you mentioned how you were waiting to get ignition cut launch control and flat foot shifting and my question is how you plan on achieving that

[@StreetInspired1]

Cobb was supposed to be releasing that In 2021 and never delivered. Not sure what other options their are without getting a Motec ECU

[@grassbag1]

@@StreetInspired1 Wait you can't FFS after swapping the STI trans?

[@StreetInspired1]

@@grassbag1 you can. You just have to do it through the Cobb Accesport

[@grassbag1]

@@StreetInspired1 Copy. I have it set up already just wasn't sure if you were still.avle to due to the trans swap. Thanks man

[@williampalmeri2128]

So you lost some gas mileage because the sti has 410 gears. Peak out of my sti was maybe 23 mpg on the highway with a tailwind.

[@deadman8736]

My trans just blew up 🥲

[@StreetInspired1]

Sorry to hear that. It's not fun at all 🙁

[@brandonwharton4819]

Do you use the center diff control when doing this swap?

[@StreetInspired1]

You don't need it but the power will be mostly sent the the rear I think it's 65/35. I haven't had the extra money for the I-wire Spyder DCCD controller yet to utilize the diff control. It's like $800 until it's all said and done.

[@brandonwharton4819]

@@StreetInspired1 thanks that's what I needed to know. I didn't wanna do the swap unless I could use the diff controller. Appreciate the info

[@Jay-sn7wu]

the gearing the wrx should've had..

[@jordantucker6352]

Dude, I want an sti soooo bad, but I can't drive stick 😫 yes I'm a failure in life. So I'm considering a cvt (15-21), but I hear they are 💩 unless you CAREFULLY take care of them, but the sti possible hp threshold sounds so good to me. Any suggestions?

[@StreetInspired1]

I would recommend learning manual. It's not hard just takes a little practice. If not maybe wait for the new wrx. They claim the new cvt is a lot better they even went ad far as calling it "subaru performance transmission"

[@MrArmand2134]

Just buy a manual and learn to drive if

[@Rebecca-713]

I bought my manual ‘16 wrx without knowing how to drive stick. Forced me to learn. Clutch still going strong after 30k miles with protune stage 2. You’ll be fine! Just send it.

[@nikesbeast]

Force yourself to learn. I bought my manual brz without knowing at all. Taught myself and glad I did

[@MrArmand2134]

@@Rebecca-713 i did the same with my 2018 Wrx

[@stock.cars.2ned]

Is this a VA or VB?

[@StreetInspired1]

This is a VA. But the process should be very similar on a VB

[@midnightquest9758]

Dope

[@leftinashes]

Bruh! You live in "...dry Florida weather"? In what dimension does this exist!? Lol...

[@StreetInspired1]

Well by dry I meant no ice/snow haha

[@faascencio]

And your wondering why your gas mileage has gone down…….lol

[@eodninja6]

ACT is crap. Period

[@shakultra]

How much did you pay for the swap kit on ebay and how many miles did the trans have