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Just finished doing a 6-speed conversion on my 06' WRX from a 2012 donor STI. A straight forward job, or so I was lead to believe. For those of you who may be considering a similar mod, here are my thoughts regarding the benefits and pitfalls. THIS IS NOT A STRAIGHT FORWARD JOB. Contrary to what some professionals will tell you.
1/ I discovered that due to the relatively short supply of late model boxes, very few people have done this conversion so specific info is almost nonexistent. It's primarily a trial and error proposition.
2/ A major plus is that late model boxes are usually in great condition with comparatively low kms on them. Also they're on average only about 10% dearer than 12 to 15 yr old JDM ones. Mine looks and feels like a brand new box.
3/ No amount of research will furnish you with the detailed info needed to plan a trouble-free conversion. The whole process took over a month once I acquired the box.
4/ 08' and onwards boxes have no speedo output. These models get the vehicles speed reading from the ABS tone ring pulse. I had the speedo drive gears machined in by Rising Sun Subaru. http://m.risingsunsu...peedodrive.html The whole process cost about $410 including freight and they were excellent to deal with.
5/ Front WRX driveshafts were a direct swap, but there's no standard Subaru shafts that are compatible with the Rear late model R180 diff. The input male stub shafts are about 10mm longer on the later ones. 06' STI ones do not fit. Statewide Driveshafts were very helpful by way of making me up a set for only $500. http://www.truelocal...d/clayton-south
6/ The late model tail shaft is totally incompatible. The auto trans shaft fits but the center bearing bracket is off centre and needs to be replaced with the original one from the WRX shaft and they're tricky to remove without damaging the rubber bearing mount.
7/ Gearbox wiring loom is different but again, mixing and matching the standard WRX connector sorts that.
So far I'm in for over $7500 just for parts including an Exedy sports comp clutch, although I hope to recover some costs by way of sales of the original parts which are still in excellent condition. I had access to a full workshop and the job took me alone, over 4 full days to complete. Getting specific info on late model boxes through part numbers, like ratios etc was nye on impossible.
Anyone considering doing this conversion don't hesitate to ask any questions. Everyone I spoke to who specialize in this work had an opinion on this but none had actually done it and the info they gave me was usually wrong.
Was it worth it? Hell yeah.. But I had the time, the ability to do the work myself and I enjoyed the challenge. Knowing what I know now, doing a swap from an STI of my model year would have been far easier. though.
