Will the Drivetrain go into a Subaru?
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 49
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From: Denver Colorado
Will the Drivetrain go into a Subaru?
My cousin has a 2006 subaru WRX STI and he has been looking a lot into doing an LS swap into his subaru. You can banter all you want but he won't change his mind. He wants to take the whole Corvette Drivetrain out of a C6 corvette that had some water damage to the interior, and put it to his Subaru. I'm not sure if wheelbase of the corvette to the subaru matters? Does it? He doesn't care if the car is now RWD only. Some advice would be nice if you can without complaining about the swap. Yes there are alternatives out there like turbo etc. But he wants to get 450+ hp out of the car N/A not FI. Thanks in advance! 
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 4,359
Likes: 6
From: Los Alamitos California
St. Jude Donor '09
Dumb idea. I just sold a 2002 WRX a few months ago and would never think about using a Corvette motor and drivetrain. There are plenty of big hp Subies making huge power out of 2.0 and 2.5 liter motors.
San
San
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,493
Likes: 809
From: West coast CA
If there wasn't a six-inch difference in wheelbase, your "friend" could make a Corvette that looks like a Subaru by using the entire C6 rolling chassis and sticking the WRX body on top. This would be accomplished by carving away savagely at the Subaru unit body with a plasma cutter and welding panels in where necessary. Unfortunately, the wheels don't line up right.
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 27,254
Likes: 136
From: Short Hills, NJ
Wellll, I wouldn't exactly go that far:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ru4ybNpJ1g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnChY...eature=related
Granted it's not an entire Corvette drivetrain/underpinnings but yes, you ultimately CAN get an LSx motor into a Subaru WRX/STi.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ru4ybNpJ1g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnChY...eature=related
Granted it's not an entire Corvette drivetrain/underpinnings but yes, you ultimately CAN get an LSx motor into a Subaru WRX/STi.
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Instructor
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 138
Likes: 19
From: Coon Rapids MN
Sure you could swap an LSx powerplant into it, but why the entire corvette drivetrain? It would be almost impossible since you would have to modify the length of the torque tube and driveshaft. Not to mention mounting all of it once you get to the rear of the car. Tell him to put in an ls1/T56 combo out of an f-body and use the stock rear end with a custom driveshaft.
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 3,712
Likes: 3
From: TEXOMA
St. Jude Donor '08-'09
Wellll, I wouldn't exactly go that far:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ru4ybNpJ1g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnChY...eature=related
Granted it's not an entire Corvette drivetrain/underpinnings but yes, you ultimately CAN get an LSx motor into a Subaru WRX/STi.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ru4ybNpJ1g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnChY...eature=related
Granted it's not an entire Corvette drivetrain/underpinnings but yes, you ultimately CAN get an LSx motor into a Subaru WRX/STi.
-carl
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 49
Likes: 0
From: Denver Colorado
Alright sweet Ill tell him to take the engine and find him the T-56 out of a camaro.. Sorry I'm very ill knowledge on subarus... What should he do about driveshaft, and rear end?
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 49
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From: Denver Colorado
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 3,712
Likes: 3
From: TEXOMA
St. Jude Donor '08-'09
clearly not! lq4 from a hummer,, iron version of our ls2.
Pre-Turbo setup.....Stock 6.0 2006 hummer h2 motor with a magic stick 4 cam. Stock truck manifolds. Maxed out stock injectors with stock wrx fuel pump. Stock t-56 tranny with stock clutch.
Instructor
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 138
Likes: 19
From: Coon Rapids MN
Should be able to use the stock rear end, just need a custom driveshaft made. Maybe contact the guy on You tube to be sure???
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Nov 2009
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From: Denver Colorado
_Sloth Whisperer_
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 3,369
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From: Malaysia Air Flight 370
Why so many naysayers? God forbid we shorten a torque tube by a foot. That's an impossible feat of engineering if I've ever heard of one. 
If you had a bare Impreza chassis, welding in a trans tunnel to facilitate the torque tube and working the rear pan area to fit the rear-mount trans and diff would be plenty possible. You may give up the rear seat, but I don't imagine that's a huge loss for a Subaru getting a Corvette drivetrain.
It would obviously be many man hours of work, but stranger and much more intensive things are done every day in hot rod shops, prerunner shops, rock rig shops, and others all across this country.
If you had a bare Impreza chassis, welding in a trans tunnel to facilitate the torque tube and working the rear pan area to fit the rear-mount trans and diff would be plenty possible. You may give up the rear seat, but I don't imagine that's a huge loss for a Subaru getting a Corvette drivetrain.
It would obviously be many man hours of work, but stranger and much more intensive things are done every day in hot rod shops, prerunner shops, rock rig shops, and others all across this country.
