Well I am thinking of starting to save up to prepare for the 2.5 hybrid and I will definately need a beefier tranny. Funds are limited and as much as I would love to have the PPG gearset I simply cannot justify a $4000+ gearset. After talking with SS he has convinced me that the RA gearset is the way to go. Now I need to decide if I need to keep the stock 5th gear or not? I will be doing the tranny work all myself (I rebuilt 4 of my DSM trannies so I am familiar with tranny works and the Subie tranny is much simpler than that PITA DSM AWD tranny). Anyone here has the RA gearset whether you have stock 5th or not? I really want to know what mph 4th can get up to. Looks like its 105 mph but the sweet thing is the car will ALWAYS be in it's sweet spot and boost really really quick and be a torque MONSTER! However I am worried about 5th not being practical enough to utilize the power efficiently but if I pull someone so bad through 3rd and 4th that shouldn't be an issue :keke: But the reason I am considering keeping stock 5th is this is my daily and I drive 45 miles each way to work M-F and crusing at 3500 rpm at 65 mph can't be pleasant not to mention gas mileage. In the everlasting quest for a fun driving car give me some insight guys. :ddirty: Whether you have the gearset or have ridden in a car with this gearset let me know you opinions.
well, I will be watching this for input as my ride is at SOG getting the RA gearset 5 week wait for the gearset. Broke some teeth off in 2nd gear on the stock gearset. I decided to use the full RA gearset as I do very little hwy driving. I would love to see the difference (thickness) in the 2 gearsets but SOG is sending my tranny to a buddy of Will's to be setup.
i believe, bobby - gtscoob, has the ra gearset. i'll be watching this thread as well. i hope to one day do the 2.5 swap and will have to upgrade my tranny as well.
I love my PPG gearset, it was expensive though. I rebuilt my tranny with the help of the guys at Batlground. Its not very hard at all. If you have a press available to you thats pretty much all you need
I'm running a non-RA STI transmission in my car. 1-3 are longer than stock, 4 and 5 are the same ratios as stock but the final drive on the transmission is a 4.44. I cruise 75mph at 3500 revs but I never have to downshift to pass :naughty: I've never driven a car with the same power as mine on the stock tranny to know how the ratios really affect the driving but it's great for around town. You can get whole STI tranny's on NASIOC and not have to worry about cracking open the case. Check the vendor for sale classifieds.
You talking whole 6 speed's? Well that'll just cost WAAAY too much. I figure for around $3800 I can get both the RA set and the 2.5 and with my 18g have one torquey beast! Reason I'm staying with the 18g? Well it's paid for....lol That and I'll be buying a house for the upcoming wifey soon Hmmm the Nazi's on Nasioc are saying that the RA sets will break with the power I'll most likely get (400/400 according to SS). But like SS told me and like I agreed, I think a lot of it will be how you drive the car. Don't get me wrong I do drag but usually only after getting retuned to see what a difference it made to the car. Mostly I romp on it from 2nd and on so that initial stress in 1st is gone as the car is already moving.
Does that $3800 include labor or are you doing it all yourself? What about the ECU, any issues there?
You can use your stock ECU from what I understand but I am going to have to rely on SS to help me from that standpoint. No boost whatsoever and I should be okay but again SS will be giving me info and feedback when that time comes. The money figure is with me doing ALL the work (which I am very capable of doing). I have fully rebuilt several DSM's, SR20DET's, and other things. I have worked on several transmissions as well. Only thing I will need is a press which my shop will be getting soon as we need one for ongoing projects. The transmission really isn't that hard or bad after looking at the manuals and online pics. Just got to be very careful, have a completely clean work area, and take your time and not rush anything. The 2.5 swap will be a piece of cake. I can have the engine in my car yanked in 45 minutes. If I have all the gaskets I can swap everything off my old block and swap back into my car in a good weekend. Tranny can be done in a good weekend as well.
When I meant whole transmissions, I meant whole 5speeds as well as 6speeds. I got the tranny, all 4 axles, shifter, driveshaft, and a matching rear end for $2500 plus shipping. 6speeds can be found for less than 3K if you wait around. I've seen a few sell for 2700-2800 on Nasioc in the past. You just need a 4EAT driveshaft (I've got one for sale if you need one) and a 3.9 rear end.
Well, I mean, if you are slipping the clutch you are letting it take the brunt of the drag damange and letting the tranny rest slightly. Or am I mistaken? It seems that if this is the case, than you could throw the RA set on there and just go with a beefy clutch to take the abuse.
You are correct however with a beefier clutch comes more strain exerted on the gears themselves. When you shift in the other gears fast and let that clutch out quick it'll grab harder. Comes and goes all with how you treat the tranny throughout the entire process....not just in first gear off the line. Which is why my tranny is still alive and all my buddies have blown shift forks and rear ends. Yes it's the JDM STi RA 5 speed.
Well I am gonna start saving furiously for these gears and hope for the best that my stock tranny lives. It'll be cheaper to do this 'before' the tranny gives. The 2.5 can wait a while until the 2.0 decides to puke which I hope will be quite some time from now.
Just dont beat the hell out of the car on a daily basis and your transmission should live a while. Low boost means low torque which the transmission can definately handle.
I have the 5 speed RA gears in my 02 wrx. I got a new box with the gears pre-installed from IAPerformance. The RA box came with better syncro's, something which you will notice right away. You can shift into first on tight corners or when autocrossing. Something which comes in really handy. My car is a daily driver so I was also worried about the 5th gear. My best highway tank is 332 miles. Slightly better than it was with my factory gearset. At 70 miles per hour I'm doing around 3100 rpm or so. City mileage is down for me because I have too much fun with the gears. Performance with the new gear set is great. 1st gear is worth something now and on an autocross the ratios are perfect. On the freeway the biggest thing i noticed was how hard 4th pulls now and you can get good acceleration in 5th.
Mine was 2600 for the gears (RA + Syncro + cryotreated and micropolished) and 800 dollars for the core charge on the transmission itself.
I also run the full Sti RA gears. 1st gear is longer and the rest are shorter. I love 1st gear because I don't need to shift in parking lots. I kept the stock 5th because of the gap between the RA 4th and the wrx 5th is too large for me. I max out 4th at around 112 mph which means I'll need to shift to 5th in the 1/4. I also like not downshifting to pass. Each shift puts you back in the power. If I remember correctly 80mph in 5th is around 3750 rpm. I don't remember exactly because I have only driven my car around 100 miles since Feb. I just started driving it again a few days ago. I'm breaking in a new motor and clutch.
Woah that is gonna suck on interstate travel for me but I'll deal with it. What you sit at when you go 65 and then 70 as that is my drive to work speeds?
Your 4th and 5th sound almost just like mine, I've got a longer gear but a shorter final drive ratio. http://www.northursalia.com/techdocs/history/history.html Good site with all of the different gear ratios for past Imprezas.
After much research I think I am gonna go with the RA gearset and a 4.44 final Drive. What you all think of that. That'll make crusing a little better for me there.
The 4.44 final drive will make your crusing RPM's higher, but on the positive side the car will really fly.
Yeah I misinterpreted that. I am learning gear ratio jargon so bear with me. On the plus side a local VF34'ed WRX just blew his tranny so he is gonna go 1-5 RA gearset with the stock 3.90 final drive. He is gonna let me drive his car and see how I like it so I am really looking forward to it.