Switching from Auto to Manual
 

I just bought a 2002 WRX...I got it for an unbelievable price with only 5000 miles...But the only thing is that its an auto...I got it soooo cheap that even if I convert it to a manual I still probably will have saved over 2g's then buying a manual from a dealership or someone else....My question is it worth it to do it...Some of my friends have advised against saying all I will have is headaches and problems...Anyone have any input on this I would be happy to hear from you...Thanks for your help

if you have the money, you might as well get an STi 6spd and replace your gearbox with that, talk about sweet. search around, there are places that will do it, where all you have to do is bring it in, pay for the job, and then pick it up. i dont see the headache, then again ive not done it.

I think you will have to swap the ECU, also, since the auto tranny in Subarus is computer controlled, and if the ECu doesn't "see" the tranny, it will throw a CEL. Shouldn't impact performance, but it will be annoying, and I'm not sure what else might be linked to that stuff. But if you swap in an ECU from a manual WRX at the same time, I don't think it will be a problem.

Thanks for the info on the ECU...I love driving stick and would love to switch over...Before I switched over I had a S-10 xtreme pick up with a 5spd and that was fun to drive and I have so much fun driving this car even though its an auto I can't imagine what a manual would be like...But I read a post on here about the guy who had the 13 second auto and I would love to do that...Especially to see peoples faces when they look inside and see its an auto running that type of time...At the same time I would love to put in the 6spd sti tranny...I haven't found any places yet but I haven't really searched, if you have seen it can you send me the link or give me the website and do you know how much did they want for that conversion...Well thanks for the info again guys...If anyone else has any feed back I would love to hear still undecided whether to switch over...

Couple of things to keep in mind: auto will give very consistent times at the track, and he auto tranny can handle a lot more power than the manual can. Run 300+ through a manual, and you need to worry about the gears; run 300+ through an auto, and it's will be fine. So if you are planning on a big power build up, you might actually want to consider staying with the auto. But I know what you are saying about a manual being more fun; my first 2 cars where both manuals (75 Datsun 710 wagon, 85 VW Golf 2dr), but my last car was an auto (91 Camaro RS). When I got my Subaru, a manual was a must, autos are just kind of boring to drive.

just to add somethings:


everything that hondah8er is saying is totally true. the amount of power that can be ran thru the 4eat is awesome. and with the advancements in tuning, a 13second auto is becoming easier than ever. there is a guy on this board who ran a 13.9 in an auto with just uppipe, downpipe, catback and 17lbs of boost. while i would not recommend 17lbs of boost, thats only 15 more hp over a safer 15.5lbs, and 15hp can be made up with pulleys and intercooler hoses. that aint bad.

but if you actually want to switch over, dont get a 5spd. the STi 6spd is a bulletproof tranny, especially now with the STi here, you could order a new one direct from your local subaru dealer. and the new ones have to be strong as hell considering the usdm STi has an output of 300hp and 300 lb/ft.


o btw, i have a 4eat wrx and love it, but a 6spd would be...........oooo man :D