The WRX is a fun car that is full of potential and easy to modify to make more power.  But there has always been a large gap in the amount of power that a WRX can handle reliably and the amount of power that an STI can handle reliably.  This comes down to the fact that the STI has a much more durable drivetrain starting with the STI 6-Speed transmission. Nearly every drivetrain part is different between the WRX and the STI, and for a long time, it seemed like putting the STI transmission into the WRX required a nearly complete swap to all of the STI components. This put it out of reach for most WRX owners for a long time.

We discovered that the STI 6-Speed swap could actually be done keeping the majority of drivetrain parts from the WRX, which made it much, much simpler. That made it possible to swap the STI 6-Speed into many more WRX's.  

Once we figured out these details, we put them into some model specific videos to help WRX owners make the swap.

We created this page to group all of the videos and blogs that we have on our site on this subject into one place, and you can find all of that information below.

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If you still have any questions after going through this information, you can reach out to us though Live Chat, or you can submit a question via email.

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The GD model of WRX is any car made from 2002 to 2007, and the GR model of WRX is any car made from 2008 - 2014.  Because there were significant changes made to the WRX/STI chassis between these two models, each one requires some different parts to swap in the STI 6-Speed.

In this Video:
00:00 - Introduction to the GD STI 6-speed swap
01:00 - Differences for 2006 and 2007 WRX
01:33 - Clutch needed for GD swaps
02:30 - What clutch do you need for an STI 6-speed swap?
03:25 - What blocks will the STI 6-speed bolt up to?
3:33 - What Front Axles do you need for a 6-Speed swap?
04:18 - What driveshaft do you need for a GD 6-speed swap?
04:45 - Why it is easier to keep your R160 and WRX hubs and knuckles to do the swap
05:21 - What if you want to use ALL STI components to do the swap?
06:08 - Using a 2004 STI front knuckle and axle
06:25 - Using a 2005 - 2007 STI front knuckle
07:18 - What is needed to run an R180 or STI rear axles?
08:16 - What brakes do you need if you are using STI rear knuckles and hubs?
08:39 - What parking brake do you need if you are using STI rear knuckles and hubs?
09:32 - Advantages in keeping the R160 in the rear of the car to do this swap
10:06 - Do you need a DCCD controller to run the STI transmission?
10:22 - What year STI transmission works with which rear differential?

The narrow-body WRX is any 2008 - 2010 WRX sedan or hatch, and the wide-body WRX is any 2011 - 2014 WRX sedan or hatch.  The first video we made was for the wide-body WRX because that is the model of our WRX Pikes Peak race car.  We figured the swap on this car first, and then we figured out what differences there were for the  narrow-body WRX later.  Those small differences are covered in our FAQ video, but first, the main GR WRX swap video.

In this video:
00:00 - Intro to the GR (2008 - 2014) WRX 6-speed swap
01:21 - What clutch do I need for the GR WRX 6-speed swap?
02:10 - What axles do I need for the GR WRX 6-speed swap?
02:40 - How are axles related to which hubs and knuckles you need for the swap?
03:20 - What driveshaft do you need for the GR WRX 6-speed swap?
03:42 - What rear differential do you need for the GR WRX 6-speed swap?
04:48 - What rear axles do you need if you use an R180 differential?
05:45 - The R180 differential uses different mounts than the R160
06:03 - What transmission mount do you need for the STI 6-speed?
06:17 - What Shifter linkage do you need for the STI 6-speed?
06:42 - What parts from the WRX can you keep with the swap?
07:02 - Does the shift linkage change between body styles?
07:24 - Do you need a DCCD controller when you do the STI 6-speed swap?

After we made these first two videos, we continued to get some common questions, and we also figured out the specific details for the narrow-body 2008 - 2010 WRX swap as well.  So we put all of that information in our STI 6-Speed swap FAQ video.

In this video:
00:00 - STI 6-Speed Swap FAQ Intro
00:42 - What are the wiring options to connect the STI 6-Speed to my WRX?
01:38 - Can I install a newer STI 6-Speed without a speed sensor into an older WRX?
02:15 - Neutral Position and Reverse Switch wiring between 5-speed and 6-speed
03:55 - Clutch compatibility between the 5-Speed and 6-Speed Transmissions
05:11 - Which driveshaft do you need for the swap, and which Rear Differential Flange?
06:20 - What rear differential do I need to go with the STI 6-Speed?
09:00 - What is involved to run STI Hubs on a WRX? And how are axles related?
12:35 - How can I swap an STI transmission into a narrow-body WRX? ( that is a 2008 - 2010 WRX)

We brought in our resident expert from Corda Corsa, Jeremy, to wire up a MAP DCCD controller into our shop bugeye and cover everything needed to fully wire the controller into a 6-speed swap.

All of the STI transmissions (USDM from 2004 - 2021) have an electric DCCD (driver controlled center differential).  This center diff is activly contrilled in the STI and this lets the car move the power delivery between the front and rear axles to maximize traction, and give the STI its special handling characteristics.  In the STI, this system is complicated, and it is tied into other driveline systems like the ABS brakes, etc.  That means that you can't get the STI's system to control a DCCD transmission that is swapped into a WRX.

But it turns out that there is a very good way to get the same, if not better control and behavior out of the DCCD in a swapped WRX, and that is a standalone DCCD controller.  We tried a couple, and have ended up being happiest with the MAP DCCD controller.  This standalone unit works very well with just a few sensor inputs, and that is why it is now in every STI swapped car that we work with or run.

All of our kits are built around the 2007 STI transmision, but we do get a lot of questions about other year STI transmissions, and people also ask if there is one year transmission that is better for certain years of WRX, and so on.  So we made a video going into detail about the best year STI 6-Speed to use for a swap.

And if you have wondered if it was possible to build a WRX 5-Speed transmission to get the same strength and reliability as an STI 6-speed, we just covered that here as well.

Short answer: Yes! Here is our kit for a VA chassis.

We just swapped an STI Drivetrain into our 2024 VB WRX. For all the details on what it took, check out our video!

Make sure you follow us on Instagram and Facebook, and check back here from time to time.  If we do any other swap videos or have any new information, we'll be sure to put it here as well.