Flatirons Tuning provides the best aftermarket and OE parts for Subaru WRX, Subaru WRX STI and Subaru BRZ. We are here to supply the Subaru community with DIY info, tech information, build paths, parts development, testing and more. The team here all owns, shows, drives and races Subarus from EJ to FA motors so we have the experience to help you with yours.
I had a 5speed got a deal on full 6speed swap including breembo my little issue is am feeling the gears a bit stiff at times & sometimes reverse a bit hard to get any advice great video but never regret the swap as i don't daily the car
Hi all and thank you for these amazing videos. I'm rebuilding my EJ253 and finally got to the last stage and found a metal bracket I don't recognize and a bolt. I relied on a friend to teardown the engine which caused this confusion. Is there anyone who'd accept an email with pictures of these unknown two items? Thanks again
Thanks for reaching out and glad to hear that the videos have been helpful! Not a problem at all. Open up a Live chat with us on the site here: www.flatironstuning.com/ And we can take a look at the pictures and see if we can help you out.
Just curious why the setup on your website doesn't fit a 2006 STI. Can i make any modifications to your setup to make them fit? I'm currently getting a $4700 quote from Cusco for the same setup on my car. Thanks!
Thanks for your question. There is a different bracket to attach to the 05-07 STI knuckle, so there is another part number for your car. Here is a link to the kit that you need: www.flatironstuning.com/672-63c-sb0-ft-spec Hope that helps and Stay Tuned!
You read my intent well. I’m at about 380whp or so on a 2012 STI driveline swapped into my 04 FXT with the ‘15 steering rack. Looking to step up to 500whp for street use. These Colorado roads aren’t kind to my current torque biasing diffs and plate type seems like a poor choice for drive ability. Wavetrac seemed like the ticket and you mostly solidified my intuition that the plate type will absolutely suck for my goals. TLDR. I am happy with torque biasing diffs except for when I get a tire off the ground. Wavetrac has cons on track but I won’t be on track and seems to solve my specific issues with Colorado driveways. Edit: 86 is sold and track days are over. Moved to Colorado years ago and it’s all Subaru now.
Glad that helped, and thanks for the details about your issue. A driveway or parking lot with a big dip on entry poses an interesting problem for a front and rear TBD drivetrain. If you lock the center diff does that help? I will say that if this is the scenario where you have the most issues, it could be worth moving to a Cusco 1.5 way rear could solve your issue. It would likely also behave better at 500 whp, as at that power level, you can start to have a lot more issues breaking traction. Having that rear diff would make the car feel more sure-footed I'd suspect. Thanks for watching, and Stay Tuned!
@@FlatironsTuning Yes I agree. I just really love torque biasing diffs for my street goals and I like that wavetrac service is that of regular torque biasing diffs unlike clutch type which take friction modifiers and need rebuilds. I’m not making 500 the traditional way with gobs of torque but rather I’m looking for a 9300rpm redline and I figured they would work fine. The issue I have around town is a tire coming up on opposing corners of both front and rear so DCCD doesn’t do much. I understand the advantage of plate clutches on track but I’m too old and broke for that now. I rock the boat until I make it through, it would just be nice (and I’m willing to pay for) how convenient it would be to just go in and out of driveways in Colorado with no fuss. I’ve reached out to wavetrac and didn’t get a response so I was just foolishly hoping you knew something that I didn’t to show it’s actually not an ideal application for what I’m going for, but I see that it really is.
Love learning about differentials. Nice video. One question! I don't think the USDM 2004 WRX STI had a plated front differential. It's a Suretrac with cams/paws. I was under the impression a Suretrac is considered a torque-biasing diff like the helical used in 05. Does a Suretrac require resistance on both axles to engage? If so, that means Suretrac doesn't have the performance benefit of a plated diff (i.e. one wheel is airborne).
Thanks for watching and thanks for the question. You are correct, the 04 STI had the A.P. Suretrack front diff, not a plated diff. And yes, that is also a torque biasing differential. Those use "Cam Followers" which look basically like little pills to connect the left and right wheels together. This is in place of gears. And yes, with this differential it will most likely behave like an open differential when one wheel has no traction. I actually have an AP Suretrac rear diff in my WRX, so maybe I can test this... Stay Tuned!
I'm really interested in the Cusco 1.5 RS for my 19 STI. How difficult is the install? If I can pull the diff housing myself, can just about any performance shop or transmission shop do the installation? Love the format as well as the podcast.
Thanks for watching and thanks for the question. Yes, installing the rear differential is pretty straight forward. A performance shop that has experience with installing a diff should be able to do this, and a transmission shop (likely that works on off-road trucks, etc.) should also be able to install the diff pretty easily. You will just have to check the pinion depth, and pre-load. The pre-load is adjusted by shims on either side with the carrier bearings. Hope that helps and Stay Tuned!
Would you still consider a 1 front and 1.5 rear for a street car? Seems many aftermarket vendors only sell the 1.5 rear and nothing for the front, though I was able to find the different options on the Cusco site. Is there an advantage to leaving the open diff in the front?
Thanks for your question. For which car? We do have the Cusco diff's up on our site here: www.flatironstuning.com/cusco-limited-slip-differential-type-rs If you were to put a 1-way up front, it would really depend on the driving that you do. It is likely that you would need/want to soften it up a fair amount to reduce the understeer issues that it could create. Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!
@@irulual Okay, that makes sense. There is a rear available for your car, but no front yet. The split-case 6-speed is different than the older 5-speed, and there has not been that much demand to develop a part for that transmission (most people seem to be moving right to swapping in the STI 6-speed). It is tricky, a lot of the applications where you would want the front LSD (power track driving with R-Comps, etc.) it would likely make sense to put the STI drivetrain in before swapping out differentials... If people start rallying the FB24 WRX, then that would likely be a motivator to get the front diff sorted out.
Great vid. Can you provide the subaru specs for crank and big end sizes please. I have a ej20 closed deck in my v2 sti and will be doing an engine rebuild very soon. Many thanks.
Thanks for watching and thanks for the question. You can use a Spec-B transmission, you just won't have the DCCD. Axle fitment for the transmission is the same as the STI transmission so the options discussed here still apply. Hope that helps and Stay Tuned!
GF taillights! Windshield trim pieces. Shift boots. Driver side window switches. Antenna trim piece (not the delete piece). EJ22 master gasket kit is NLA. Battery cable assembly. Parking brake cables. Interior door release trim pieces. But mostly GF taillights!
Thanks for the question. This is the engine side seal that seals with the hood. Hopefully at some point there will be an option for door seal replacement. Stay Tuned!
Excellent! They are doing some cool things, and we hope that the more they see people taking an interest, the more of the discontinued or hard to find parts they will bring back. Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!
@@FlatironsTuningHi I needed a little help with my 6mt swap, I’m using a 6mt from a Subaru Legacy Spec B 3 litre to put in my GC8 1998 classic Impreza. The legacy transmission comes with the R160 rear differential with the 3.9 final drive are there any complications compared to using a Impreza 6mt to put in to a GC8, I’m going this route as I can use my standard hubs and axles to save money? Thanks
@@rogue9995 Sure, that will work. You don't get the DCCD or Front TBD with the Spec-B transmission, but fitment is the same as the STI transmission. Hope that helps and Stay Tuned!
I have an 04 wrx trying to swap to a 6 speed setup. Can I use 04 sti hubs, backing plate and parking brake if I already bought an 07 sti trans, driveshaft, diff, and axles? I don’t want to have to change my current suspension set up, I have the car sitting on tiens rn with its current setup.
Thanks for your question. The splines on the hubs are different between the 5x100 and 5x114.3 hubs so you do need axles to match. Hope that helps and Stay Tuned!
Thanks for your question. The rack can move in shipping. We would strongly recommend measuring both sides and then cantering it if you need to before trying to install. Hope that helps and Stay Tuned!
Dealer OEM caps on Japanese cars gor for about $20. give or take. Seems pricy compared to local auto parts store that are $5. However, dont cheap out on caps. If you are going after market buy a good quality cap. It may cost you about $25. But again, dont cheap out. I use the cap that goes on my Megan racing radiator 1.5 years later. No issues at all. I do keep a Honda oem cap in my glove box for backup.
This is awesome! Smart too! BH/BG Legacies/Outbacks are dime a dozen where I live, and as stated in the video most had the r160 rear diff with LSD (mostly Outbacks I think). I'd say for a couple thousand dollars you could build one of these, trash on it and head to a local junkyard to replace whatever you broke for next to nothing.
I can only imagine the RCM taillight seals are much better than OEM. I used to get so frustrated with my GF wagon, replace the seals and 6 months later they would leak. I ended up switching to a window silicone 🤣 which worked great but I feel sorry for the guy who took out the lights after me.
Thanks very much! We are doing our best and the more RCM knows that people are interested and appreciate what they are doing, the more parts they will come out with. Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!
