drivetrain swap? diff choices?
 

Yo

1997 impreza estate.

Been RWD converted. Basically it has a welded diff on the rear and i want an LSD.

From what i can gather the R160 and R180 diff is what i want. Ive been told the R160 isnt an LSD and then i have been told it is? Its clear that the R180 is better but like 3 times the price.

Do i need driveshafts / hubs as well?

Has anyone done a 6 speed swap with a later gearbox and diff etc? Whats involved?

Seeing as you havent got to worry about matching front and rear diff ratios, the world is pretty much your oister as far as getting a diff is concerned, but it will almost definately mean getting the corresponding shafts, and if you go r180, youll be needing hubs and therefore rear brakes as well.

If your bunging all the power to the rear, the stronger r180 is a bloody good idea or in the long run youll spend just as much on replacing the r160 bits as they break/wear out.

As for 6 speed, i havent heard of anyone rear drive converting a 6 speed yet as its nowhere as easy to convert to rwd as the 5 speed.

Yeah i had an idea the more expensive one would be the better choice haha! Do you know what models had the R180?

I was just toying with 6 speed thinking economy but doing a google search it looks like they sit at 3250rpm at 70 mph and my 5 spd sits at 2700!

Theres different ratios bud, the jdm stuff is pretty much the same final drive as a jdm 5speed, but the uk stuffs taller and then theres the really tall hawkeye ratios.

Saying that, theres different ratio 5 speeds too, so its not just as simple as saying 5spd or 6 speed! Thats why when you change to a different awd box, you'll need the diff too as to guarentee the ratios match.

The late ra's and all 6 speeds have the r180 rear end.... but im sure theres someone out there that knows alot more than me about it so would be better to advise exactly.

A cheaper option might be to go dccd! not quite the rear bias youll have at the moment :-)

But its still essentially awd with a rear bias when wanted, so you'll be less brutal on rear shafts etc.