What to do with $10k

[BAC5.2]

So your going the 6-speed swap route?

*sigh* if that's your fancy.

Jason - $3500 for gears, $650 to drop them into the box. That doesn't include whether you want new synchros, or if you need a ring-and-pinion. Plus, you'll need a WRX transmission case and output shaft to use this stuff, since it won't work with SS stuff.

I hope you like the 6-speed. It's not all it's cracked up to be.

[93forestpearl]

how so?
















Just curious. I like hearing everyone's opinions.

[BAC5.2]

6 speed gear ratios suck. Want to drag race it, get used to launching in 2nd gear and shifting to 5th by the end.

You have to row the SHIT out of the STi transmission when you've got some power.

That's the downfall of the STi if you want to drag race. Heavier than a WRX by a LOT, and the gear ratios blow. The transmission alone is 80 pounds heavier than the 5-speed, plus all the additional stuff you need (R180 rear diff, axles, driveshaft (custom for our application), DCCD controller and accessories.

To do the swap correctly, it usually runs close to 6k. For that kind of money, you could have a transmission that's been perfectly happy behind 600 and 700whp motors.

Just a perspective. We work a LOT with transmissions.

[93forestpearl]

I'm not into drag racing, really. I may occationally, but I'm much more interested in open track days at a road course and Solo II. Thats why I'm attracted to the 6MT as opposed to a built 5MT.

I don't HAVE to get the R180, I just need a 3.90 ratio. I might have to get by with an SS diff for a little while untill I can get something good, like from Cusco.

For the driveshaft, can't I just use one from a 4EAT? Thats what people do (I've heard, I think) with Imprezas. The difference should be the same on our cars.

The stock STi clutch, I believe, is up to handling what I'm gonna put down. I could just get the ACT street disk to go with the stock pressure plate and flywheel, and the stock flyewheel is only 18lbs, which is fine for me. I don't want a super light one. The stock clutch, p.plate, and wheel is under $400, as opposed to over six bills for anything aftermarket.

I'm not doubting your experience with these gearboxes at all. You know much more about them than I do. I just have different goals with my project.

[BAC5.2]

If you aren't really into drag racing, then it should be OK. To be perfectly honest, drag racing is my biggest problem with the 6-speed. 1st gear is over SO fast, if you are making any appreciable power, it's a useless gear for anything other than driving Miss Daisy. Launching in 2nd isn't clutch friendly, and isn't a good way to launch for auto-xing. Plus, stock STi's don't have the power to do this without bogging.

That's really my only problem with the 6-speed. You need to make a LOT of power to be able to be quick off the line in an STi. If you don't make enough power to launch in 2nd, you'll be slow. 1st ends at 60', and you need to hit 3rd gear before you get to 60mph.

A long legged 5-speed can help even in auto-x and on the track.

The Element Tuning Time Attack car runs a straight cut dogbox, and it (as the name would suggest) runs many many Time Attack's. It also runs 11's in the 1/4.

It's personal preference really. I wouldn't run the 6-speed mostly due to weight. It's heavy. Gutting the whole interior (including carpet) will balance you out on the weight gained by the tranny. Just a thought.

Considering the fact that DCCD allows you to force rearward balance, you might not want to run the R160. There's a reason not many people use the R160 for the 6-speed swap. If you use the R180, you need the STi driveshaft (bolt spacing on the R180 is different). Remember, you'll be making more power than a stock STi, and that'll put a hurtin on the R160 in any other mode but "Auto".

[93forestpearl]

So the SS rear end is an R160 with a 3.90 ratio? I'm guessing you are saying there is a major difference in that and the R180 as in case design or some other big factor. I figured I could run it for a while and put a decent diff in it.

Right now, I can't get the R180 with all the associated hardware. Some things are gonna have to wait a few or several months, since I ended up getting $8k. I might have to take out a, ahem, self loan through the state for "school" since the interest rates for that kinda stuff are super low.

I just like how the 6 speed is the latest revision of Subaru's manual transmission in 25 years, and will hold up fine to the abuse I would give it. When I get out of school and make it a serious track car, I could, theoreticaly, beef up that gearset to suit my needs then. I dunno, its just one of those things that always drew me to the STi. If I could, I'd be driving the uber roo and slowly be building up this thing.

As far as weight goes, thats not on the top of my list right now. This is gong to be my daily driver, so I have to live with it, although I have no plans on fixing my AC. Duluth is pretty mild in the summer. In the next year I'm gonna mold a hood and decklid out of carbon, that'll save some pretty good pounds. I'd also eventually like to get the forged control arms to save some wieght, sprung and unsprung, and to have the wider front track. That and a set of Gram Light 16's or 17's and I'd be sittin pretty.

My friend at school was working on filament winding carbon fiber for his senior design project. I haven't talked to him in a while, but if he actually got a machine going, it would be tizight to try making a carbon driveshaft for a sube. I'll stop with this nonsense before I drool on my keyboard.

Right now, I'm trying to figure out what i want to do for EM. I want the control of a stand alone, but the cost is pretty high. Thats why I want to use the Megasquirt, but that has certain issues right now. Its the crank trigger. The tabs on the sprocket don't have a pair that is exactly 90 degrees apart. I think the cam sensing might have similar issues, but I can't remember as I breezed through the 9 page thread at msefi.com. If someone who knew firmware really well, they could write the code to condition the signal, or sometning like that. I took a microcontroller class four years ago and don't really remeber a whole lot of it. By the way, where has free5ty1e been?

[BAC5.2]

If you can deal with the downsides of the 6-speed, then you should go for it. Yea, the stock diff is an R160 with a 3.90. Run DCCD in AUTO mode until you beef up the diff. I'll have an extra open diff soon that I'll hold onto for you if you blow yours up before you can afford a pimp diff. We'll also have rear helical LSD's from PPG soon, I'll get you more info on those if you want.

Carbon Hood and Deck, huh? Sign me up for a set of those!

I want to learn to mold carbon. I want to make a Carbon Hood, Fenders, Trunk, and Bumpers. That'd be sick.

What course did you take for carbon molding? I gotta take a course like that!

[93forestpearl]

We mess with vaccum bagging carbon a little bit in our materials processing class. Plus we have a professor that got his Ph.D in working with carbon. Specifically, drilling holes in carbon fiber.

But seriously, working with carbon is just the same as fiberglass. Not to complicated. Just time consuming. You can use room temp epoxy if you want, so you don't need a large oven to cure it.

I've talked to one of my other professors about molding stuff and basically all I'd do is make shure the steel hood has a good coat of car wax, and use fiberglass to take a mold of it. THen you can lay up carbon in that. Plus, there is the added benefit of taking advantage of carbon's properties by using a foam or honeycomb core, which will make it lighter than most carbon hoods you can buy. Ever notice they have the same structural reinforcement as the steel hoods?

In our class, we just make a small beam in lab, and then see what it takes to break it. Kinda neat. Its crazy how strong the shit is in a sandwich construction. Even with only one layer on each side.

[BAC5.2]

Yea, I was thinking about that. Carbon is reinforced differently than Steel.

What year is your car again?

I would be all over as many carbon body panels as possible. Bumpers, hood, trunk, fenders, anything. All that stuff adds up to a LOT of weight. If the carbon copies weigh half of the hood and boot, and slightly less than the fenders and bumpers, then that's awesome!

I need to get some books on making fiberglass molds and stuff. Know of any good ones?

[93forestpearl]

Mine's a '93.

I don't know of any books off hand. I did just get a sweet book about EFI tuning from barnes and noble. I've had good luck there just doing searches for stuff. Like the one I got on welding.

I don't know if you read SportCompact Car, but they got a trunklid for their Miata project car tnat was made the way its supposed to, and it weighed 4lbs.

I'm guessing that our hood could be made to weigh 12 lbs or less. What does the steel one weigh? 30-40 lbs?

Iwouldn't care if it had a rough finish because I'd give it a very light skim of filler and then paint it. I like sleeper status. I might have to use two hood pins to keep the hood secure though, since I'm gonna get rid of that vertical support to put my intercooler behind the headlights. I don't know how I'll keep hood pins stealth. Or maybe it'll work to my advantage and up my rice factor, thus drawing in suckers.

[scottzg]

just saw this thread

5k of track worthy wheels, tires, brakes, suspension parts.

5k of replacing parts and paying for events.

[93forestpearl]

I didn't skimp in the suspension and brake departments. This weekend I'll be installing a set of H&R coilovers, all the polyurathane bushings I could get my hands on, group n tops, and the Racing Brake front setup with lines. I've got the adjustable Whiteline rear bar coming too, but I need to beef up the mounting brackets, and make my endlinks. Also a set of camber bolts for the rear. I'll get some for the front if I decide I need them.