ClimberDHexMods

It's a $15000 motor, stock. My legacy is worth less than that, and is almost as fast. There is something to be said for some of the wtq graphs people are posting of modestly modified LS3 setups. Comparing that n/a torque to even a VF40 LGT is laughable and inspiring.

The problem with that is the axle shaft angle, especially at the inside wheel when turning. You would need to go back ~6", maybe more. To accommodate the trans in the tunnel, you would thus also need to lower the front powertrain a few inches. So the inner axle joints would be offset perhaps 8" from the factory plane. Then with a GTO oil pan which has a huge slot for steering rack immediately in front of the lower torque converter / flywheel, you would fit really well. Issue, again, is solely with the axles. Custom axles with Porsche CVs would perhaps work, but if you have to kill your turn radius or replace expensive axles all the time, it would be a nuisance to drive. Even then, can Porsche 930CVs handle 500wtq at (random guess: 22* offset)? Maybe it is indeed the best way to handle the problem. Maybe some amount of it would be really good for the swap (only a few inches back, in conjunction with geometric repositioning of the steering ball joint points. As you made clear to me, even if you get the car setup such that you can bolt in a LSx, you still have to pay for the LSx WITH all the powerband upgrades that justify it over a well-setup EJ25. That means turbo(s), and a LOT if supporting mods that get expensive, even if labor is cheap or free (DIY). Due the realistic cost for me, I personally am tabling it for at least a year. There are ways to make a stock EJ25 perform well on the street that are a hell of a lot easier than all this. But if you have massive amounts of money you don't mind making disappear, then I'm STILL convinced that with some interesting and questionable work-arounds, it'll bolt right in. If tomorrow I lost my motor AND heads to metal in oil, it would be a different story, maybe.

Power, yes. Low end torque, no. Turbo spooling characteristics, again no. LSx has 50-60% more displacement than V6 counterpart, and roughly 130% more than EJ25. If folks wait a little while LSx VVT will go mainstream in the modified world. The way forward with the LSx swap is to enter the suspension geometry dimensions into software of the same-ish name, then move the steering rack and tie rod ball joints-on-knuckles down, forward, back, in, out etc until (IF you're lucky) you find a solution that allows the suspension to work as intended with reasonable bump steer curve, while still allowing the LSx oil pan to clear. You would still need to lower the front drive train to clear the hood. All in all a LOT more complicated than Frankster's swap.

Cheapest I see on eBay is $90 shipped http://www.ebay.com/itm/2004-SUBARU-IMPREZA-WRX-STI-OEM-BRAKE-MASTER-BOOSTER-EJ257-GD7-/290644124056?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item43abbd6198 car-part.com is probably cheaper...

I don't think he's planning to do much launching. Not sure if the converter and his turbo would even allow much boost to build. Remember, the power band is entirely top end. Might even surge making some boost at low flow.

A trans with extra layers of clutch pack material is great and all, but it still needs a valve body to feed it a lot of pressure or it will eventually slip like a stock trans, if fed tons of power. That is the issue.

Nevermind I found my answer in your last video posted, and I found info on the TSX lens swap elsewhere. Sweet stuff

Do you have pictures of demon eyes installed, and separately, do you have a review of swapping in the TSX lenses?

I am not quick at anything, but I'm getting better.

More time, it's a complicated bugger.

05-07 are similar. I just modded an 07 for a customer. Let me look over some PDFs and see what external visual differences I can find. Actually, just post a picture of the front of your car

Got your email. Year and what country? What final drive ratio? 3.272 or 3.083

I don't think he cares about a little stutter step here and there.

doublepost The Subaru center diff bearings are great for stock power. Increased friction appears to not be a problem, though high mileage will be required to know for sure.

I looked at doing that. It would be a pretty custom diff, but nothing frank_ster can't do. Would require some custom machined parts. Actually, not sure about whether you could get a MT pinion to go in a 5eat... would need to be a 5eat pinion mated to a MT ring gear... nevermind that's not sounding good anymore.

Frankster can't upgrade to R180 unless someone finds a 3.272 or 3.083 R180 gear/pinion set, which TTBOMK was never made by Subaru.

Or 3.272/3.083?

Generally a shop will work with a specific supplier that they are familiar with. Definitely have that conversation before pulling the trigger on your own bring-in parts.

Your best bet it to call the best transmission shops in your area, and they will give you quotes over the phone for a standard rebuild. Make sure it has a guarantee, and make sure you check their review online to be preemptive against come-backs. Maybe $1500 for a rebuild. CTS-V is a great car. I won't tell you to stick with the Legacy. That is up to you. Have you test driven the V? The LS-A version I hear is ridiculous. The LS6 version, still very good. Everyone, thank you in advance for your patience as I work out the shortage of cores for F1 upgrade swaps. The waiting list is getting pretty long, and I do not have the time I need at present to sort out a solution. Thank you for being patient. It is worth the wait.

I'm still a fan of the Ford 8.8 IF THE AXLE SHAFTS AND DRIVE SHAFT can be adapted, but to be realistic it is a waste. Any reputable aftermarket rear R160, or even some OEM helical or clutch type diffs are probably plenty strong to endure the abuse you give. That's funny, Cryo is (from what I can tell) one of the big things IPT offers over a standard rebuild for their race build. Other than that, it's a spring in the valve body, and lathing the 3 main clutch pack pistons down to allow more layers of frictions/steels. Slap it back together with proper tolerances, and it lasts for years of hard driving. Says a lot about how stong the 5eat really is, that the only thing it lacks is firm clutck pack engagement, and a durable center diff. R180 rear would be nice, but you would have to find it in 3.272 ratio, which isn't going to happen from what I've seen.

Interested to see what you choose. There are used options on Nasioc classifieds for a lot less than the $1200 price tag.

That would be fine. At the moment I have much more demand than supply, so you have time to decide what you want to do.

$6000? New VBs here are <$1000, and new transmissions are <$5000 IIRC. Cost to ship a F1 to you one way is in the neighborhood of $1000 plus international shipping, which off the cuff may be ~$100 or more. I believe the 3.272 ratio 5eats are all the same VB everywhere in the world, though there is a tuned-by-STi TCU for the 5eat STi (unrelated) which was Subaru's way of making a behigher-performance 5eat. Frankly, that would be the best way to do it, except no one has ever hacked the 5EAT TCU, let alone defined it. It's just one heck of a lot easier to go with the F1.

I have everything I need materially, and am starting to get into my work's dead season, which will be a real joy

^^^ That's about right. I had a customer ship me a IPT Valve Body, which he thought was stock. He never had any idea what he had bought used. It's not an obvious thing, unless you know to look for it. Conversely, the F1 is very pronounced when you get on the gas. There is no missing it, it will wake you up. I can imagine some people thinking the car is not working right, as it does shift real firm at WOT. In my opinion, too aggressive for OEM factory settings, but then people who modify the car for power are NOT looking for the kind of shifting delivered by a soccer mom grocery getter, which is what you get stock.