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Sun Oct 16, 2022 8:55 am

mauricemonge wrote: I went with megasquirt with my new engine. It’s taken a ton of time to get it right, but I’ve got a turbo and big injectors to work with. You might be able to go that route if you’ve got free time to learn and tinker. I think my setup cost me about $600 in total, plus a laptop.

Funny thing is I'm an old carburetor / distributor guy, points ignition even. What makes it funny is I'm the "guest mechanic" at the premier WRX / STi tuner in these parts. This time of year 2019 they had five mechanics. Now they have one guy and the boss. That means my phone rings and I get a per diem gig every so often.

Being as this particular shop is known for obsessive attention to detail the occasional supercar shows up. We're supposed to tune a McLaren this week.

I don't know how to get crazy power from an STi but I know who to ask. 8)

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Thu Nov 17, 2022 9:04 am

Can someone tell me what is involved in putting a Subaru transaxle in a bug? Is there some sort of kit with brackets and such that can be bought for the install? I searched and couldn't find anything unless I'm using the wrong term.Thanks.

Thu Nov 17, 2022 9:30 am

bruceo98 wrote: Can someone tell me what is involved in putting a Subaru transaxle in a bug? Is there some sort of kit with brackets and such that can be bought for the install? I searched and couldn't find anything unless I'm using the wrong term.Thanks.

There is a company in Australia “Subaru gears” who makes all the parts to do such a swap.
The main thing is that the ring and pinion would need to be flipped, and you’d need to use his reverse cut ring and pinion. You can buy a complete kit and prepped tranny from him.

There are a couple problems with this though.

1. The guy is a dick. I’ve dealt with him and can confirm what many others say about him.

2. There have been some quality issues with some of the parts. One person had a stripped out transmission case bolt, and instead of adding a threaded insert, it was filled with rtv and shoved back in. The early ring and pinions also broke when people put power through them, so then he came up with heavy duty ones.

Some of the parts he makes are really cool and nice though. Do a search on “shop talk forums” and you’ll probably find more people who have done this swap

Good luck!

Thu Nov 17, 2022 11:24 am

Ok thanks.. i checked their site and they are crazy. 1400 for a ring and pinion and you still have to pay someone to install it. Nice to have an extra gear or 2 but I'm wondering if i should just buy a Rancho VW built trans for around 2000. Do you think one of those ranchos will handle about 250-300 hp?

Thu Nov 17, 2022 12:48 pm

Okay here’s the short and long answer.

A type 1 transmission case isn’t going to last very long with that much power behind it. If you search the forum, you’ll probably find a lot of “what transmission do I need” topics, start there. I pushed around 225hp (plus 100 shot of nitrous) through a built 5 rib bus transmission. It held up okay. I tried the same engine with a 3 rib stock bus tranny and it lasted 2 months before a freeway pull killed something.
If you go VW, you’ll need a built 5 or 6 rib bus tranny if you don’t want to blow it apart.

Why would you want a Subaru wrx transmission:
Parts are readily available from the junk yard, and you can do some of the internal work yourself. They’re stronger than a type 1 case by a lot, that 5th gear is really nice to have. They’re cheaper to replace.
I abused mine a lot as a mid engine and never had a failure with the 5 speed.

Down sides for a Subaru tranny are:
The wrx gearing can sometimes be too long for 5th and the ring and pinion (junk yard parts swap work since all 5 speeds share almost the same parts)
The initial investment is high.
While they are strong, it’s not impossible to break them with abuse. Some earlier wrx trannies can break under stock power.
If you break the aftermarket ring and pinion, it’ll cost you to replace it.

Upsides to a Vw tranny:
Less modification to get them to fit
Cheaper initial investment
6 ribs are strong transaxle

Downsides for vw:
They break sometimes. Rebuilding one isn’t cheap if you break parts. And you have to send them to a good builder, it’s hard to do internal work yourself, especially without a jig.
4 speeds can be limiting, my 5 rib was built for a 1/4 mile car. So 6200rpm meant 130mph redline in 4th, and it’s not fun when you’re making lots of power. You’d need to get it built with longer gears for a turbo motor. So that’ll cost more money.
You’re forgetting there’s a core charge, and 6 ribs aren’t cheap, I think the last one I saw was $800 just for a frozen core.

If I were to have stayed rear engine, I would have gotten a Porsche tranny, or saved for a mendeola. I’m mid engine now, so I run a sti 6 speed, good for 700hp before they start having problems. Also only cost me about $2000 for the tranny and parts. But mid engine was a huge pain to accomplish.

You should do more research, and really try to understand how much all of this is going to cost. It’s much more expensive than just the motor. Best option is to call Rancho or other reputable builders. Tell them how much you want to make, and they’ll tell you how much you’re going in for. Likely they’re going to say a built 6 rib.

Thu Nov 17, 2022 2:39 pm

ok thanks for the input. I called Rancho and they are saying a bus tranny built to their drag race mods should do it. but again, they want 5000+.So now the Subaru trans doesn't look that bad. lol

Fri Nov 18, 2022 12:07 pm

bruceo98 wrote: ok thanks for the input. I called Rancho and they are saying a bus tranny built to their drag race mods should do it. but again, they want 5000+.So now the Subaru trans doesn't look that bad. lol

exactly

Fri Nov 18, 2022 1:23 pm

mauricemonge wrote:
If I were to have stayed rear engine, I would have gotten a Porsche tranny, or saved for a mendeola. I’m mid engine now, so I run a sti 6 speed, good for 700hp before they start having problems. Also only cost me about $2000 for the tranny and parts. But mid engine was a huge pain to accomplish.

While mid- engine is more work it checks off more boxes than any other combination.

If you want a "Poor Man's Porsche" it's almost inevitable. 8)

mauricemonge wrote: Hey guys, a little hesitant to post here because of trolling I've had in the past. But here goes anyway.

I'm Old School. I like old VWs. I also like high performance. Even better if I can get as much performance as I can for the least money.

The Subaru swap solves so many "problems" and scratches so many things off my wish list.

Like:

Four valves per cylinder and overhead cams.

Like:

Five speeds and a big motor that will go faster than my angels can fly.

Like:

Actual parts availability. I can sit on a bench downtown and count hundreds of Subarus passing by before I see an aircooled VW. I'll probably see a dozen JDM STis for every Bug.

If I want to see a dozen STis all I need to do is drive down to my buddy's shop. :D

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Fri Nov 18, 2022 1:28 pm

Dusty1 wrote: mauricemonge wrote:
If I were to have stayed rear engine, I would have gotten a Porsche tranny, or saved for a mendeola. I’m mid engine now, so I run a sti 6 speed, good for 700hp before they start having problems. Also only cost me about $2000 for the tranny and parts. But mid engine was a huge pain to accomplish.

While mid- engine is more work it checks off more boxes than any other combination.

If you want a "Poor Man's Porsche" it's almost inevitable. 8)

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And now my front wheels stay on the ground, and it rips around corners :D

Fri Nov 18, 2022 1:40 pm

mauricemonge wrote: And now my front wheels stay on the ground, and it rips around corners :D

And your version with a full roll cage, "race" seats and "race" harnesses is the right way to go fast. 8)

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Fri Nov 18, 2022 2:12 pm

I also went with the Porsche 901 5 speed trans.
A side shifter from a late 914.

If I thought I would make bunches of power I would have done the subie trans.

As it stands I am looking at around 200hp but very low torque......an rpm screemer. I can probably spin the input shaft 2x the rpm the 914 did.

In retrospect......I sometimes wish I had went with the subie trans....just so it could handle more torque.

If there is anyway you can go with the subie trans then do it.....I believe it would be worth it in the end.

Fri Nov 18, 2022 3:07 pm

That’s sick!!

What motor is that?

Fri Nov 18, 2022 6:09 pm

My build thread is over here......

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=729931

It don't really apply to your build......other than to say if you can do it get the subie.

Tue Nov 22, 2022 9:18 pm

Does anyone make reverse cut gears for Subaru transaxle besides Subaru gears? From what I’ve read in a few forums that the quality and fit is questionable. People seem to have a hard time setting backlash. Anyone here can attest to their experience with this?

Tue Nov 22, 2022 9:28 pm

bruceo98 wrote: Does anyone make reverse cut gears for Subaru transaxle besides Subaru gears? From what I’ve read in a few forums that the quality and fit is questionable. People seem to have a hard time setting backlash. Anyone here can attest to their experience with this?

They’re the only one as far as I know. Yeah some people have problems with them. The owner isn’t the most polite either.
Shoptalk forums might be a good place to ask this question, I think more people there have done the swap. Or making a separate post asking that question might get you more responses.

Tue Nov 22, 2022 10:27 pm

Seems another gear maker would pick up on a hot item and start making them . It’s not like they won’t make any money on it being way over priced. I bought pro gears for my 8 second mustang for a third of that price . Probably why the guy seems to be an ass , he’s the only game in town .and knows it.

Wed Nov 23, 2022 5:57 am

bruceo98 wrote: Ok thanks.. i checked their site and they are crazy. 1400 for a ring and pinion and you still have to pay someone to install it. Nice to have an extra gear or 2 but I'm wondering if i should just buy a Rancho VW built trans for around 2000. Do you think one of those ranchos will handle about 250-300 hp?

Keep in mind, the prices listed are in Australian dollars. At current exchange rates, their 1400 = $928. Maybe that's still way too much, but I just wanted to point out the apples to apples comparison.

H2OSB

Wed Nov 23, 2022 7:48 pm

I’ve been reading up on the Subaru motors and it seems some have problems with the number 4 cylinder running hot . Is there a fix for that and has anyone experienced this problem?

Wed Nov 23, 2022 10:04 pm

bruceo98 wrote: I’ve been reading up on the Subaru motors and it seems some have problems with the number 4 cylinder running hot . Is there a fix for that and has anyone experienced this problem?

Yes #4 runs hotter, and yeah there’s a fix for it, I think it’s pretty cheap to fix. A search for sure would get some results. I don’t think people usually worry about it unless they’re making boosted power. Actually I should start looking into it again before I turn up my boost.

Thu Dec 01, 2022 1:23 pm

Water injection on that cylinder could work.