300hp Target for my 1997LGT

I now own another Legacy but this one has 260xxxkm and lacks power a bit the clutch is weak and I have a few bucks to play with and some time to do it. I am lookin for some advice on a direct fit 300hp power plant. I dont want to get into a huge mess of wiring unless your gonna come help.

Here is my ride its getting a paint job in the spring something with a little more flash as thats what I do for a living (bodyman)[/ATTACH]

Does this mean you can help answer questions about bodywork?

 

Because I am fixing some rust on my leggy. Can't help you with your question though.

 

EDIT: Also, super jealous of your ride. It's exactly what I am looking for but no luck so far.

Sorry to burst your bubble legman, but there's no way you're going to get 300 hp out of any 4 cylinder boxer engine with out doing some wiring.

 

If you want anything over 200 N/A horsepower you're going to have to run a standalone ECU. And if you want to go turbo you're going to have to run a stand alone or splice in an ECU form a WRX/STi no matter what.

yup. your least wiring option is super charge. which is not very good on these motors.

 

so a turbo would be best. and then your looking at a piggy back. which is not bad at all.

 

other wise you could merge a sti harness with ours and call it a week.

my old gt had an ej22t which was nice I wouldnt mind going that direction again..ok how complicated is this gonna get I am not great at wiring or reading wiring diagrams..and yes if you have questions about body work I am all ears.

 

is the ej22t the best option if so what year of an engine am I looking for to best suit my need..remember 300 is the target. How would you do it

The EJ22 turbo motor or perfect for an easy 300 HP target. Find one from a 91 to 94 Legacy SS and then find some HLA heads off a 96 GT. After that you'll need to do research into finding a stand alone ECU that you'll be comfortable working with. This is the direction I'm heading this summer when I get my friends 93 Legacy SS.

 

You're going to want to talk to Subikid about all of this though. He knows a bit more on this particular subject than I.

im could see my HLA heads. i just learned they are some what rare. what are they worth?

They're rare on the Legacy because our 96 GT's were the only year to ever come with them. But, they are the same cylinder head that was used on the 90's STi's with the 2.2 turbo as well. That's why they make such a great swap over to a 2.2 from the Legacy SS.

 

I'm not sure how much they're worth, but when you find out, let me know. I'll buy them because I need a second. Are they still fully assembled?

+1

At the very minimum, you'll want a piggy-back. If you're interested, I'll be selling a PP SMT6 with a 2.5 BAR here in the next couple of weeks. It's practically brand new and works perfectly. Just something I won't be using for any of my cars. If you're interested, lemme know.

Talk to Brian at IWire, he will merge your harness for $600.

Oh, and btw guys, I've seen sets of 96 HLA heads go for $250 to $300 shipped on eBay and about $200 to $250 at junk yards.

 

Swagon, I will buy yours from you as soon as I have enough after I buy my parts car to help you out. If you'd like, I could even trade you some parts from it if I have them, towards the heads. I want a second set badly.

 

Does anyone know if there is a difference between the 96 2.5 pistons and the 97 to 99 2.5 pistons? I've looked at them but I can't see a difference...

Same pistons as long as they're 2.5. No difference at all. In fact, any Impreza 2.5 RS or Legacy 2.5 GT pistons are the same from years '94-'00 (give and take a year or two for each model...)

Sweet! but um swag, never mind about buying the heads.. I won't be able to afford them until March becasue of everthying else I plan on getting for my car.

 

Legamn, if you want to add at least a little bit more power to your car get your cams regorund and put a full exhaust on from the headers back. That'll probably be good for around 30 or so hp

Depending on the cam weld and grind, you can certainly gain a bit of HP. However, you need to be careful with the exhaust on an N/A. Too much flow leads to little to none back pressure. No back pressure means lower power gains and potential engine problems. At least toss a resonator in there...

i would order an ej20k from japan and upgrade it to a vf43 turbo and stand alone ecu

 

ej20g ftw!

No back pressure means lower power gains and potential engine problems. At least toss a resonator in there...

 

No back pressure actually means you're getting maximum gains... just in different areas of the rev range. Back pressure absolutely, can not, will not increase power anywhere***. Back pressure is a restriction plain and simple and restriction means less power.

 

It is a major misconception that back pressure gets you more low end power. This is simply wrong. The reason you lose low end power when you open up your exhaust is not due to a loss of back pressure, it is due to a loss of exhaust velocity at low engine speeds. When you get a larger exhaust the exhaust is indeed decreasing back pressure but on the higher end of the rev range, which is exactly why your power increases up top... the reduction of back pressure.

 

If you go too big on your exhaust it will be capable of flowing more on the very top end but flow at the low and mid range will suffer quite a bit, which is why you notice the power loss.

 

On a turbo vehicle things change a bit. The turbo itself causes huge back pressure prior to the turbine. Exhaust manifold pressure can easily reach up to 40 psi if there's enough exhaust flow (maybe more even, though you probably should go to a slightly larger turbine by that point. Note: this is also why so called "boost leak" during overlap isn't possible, where boost pressure leaks into the exhaust... not gonna happen, just the opposite actually... unless you go compound maybe and on a diesel that can handle it no less ).

 

Anyway, prior to the turbo there is a lot of back pressure and after the turbo when you get the exhaust as free flowing as possible they gain power all throughout the rev range as the turbo can spool quicker on the low end for more power sooner and and flow much more on the top end for more peak power. They say, the best exhaust for a turbo engine is no exhaust at all and that's why.

 

 

 

*** Back pressure can increase power in only one instance... when the back pressure is being cause by a turbo.

This is what I've always thought as well. I didn't see how back pressure could increase power in any way. I suppose it was just the seemingly lower power on the bottom end that made me believe this. Thanks for clearing it all up!

been thinking seriously about a turbo swap this coming summer. i got offered an sti short block that needs some minor rebuilding for 450. i would rather do a whole swap as opposed to a mix and match parts swap but that block seems hard to pass up.

I have a hybrid setup on my wagon and I love it! The work wasn't all that bad, really. Everything pretty much bolts right up.

I have a hybrid setup on my wagon and I love it! The work wasn't all that bad, really. Everything pretty much bolts right up.

 

What set up do you have? I'm thinking if I get this block, a set of wrx heads and a modestly sized turbo. Something that will spool up some what quickly. Haven't decided yet.

I have the Phase I DOHC EJ25D with a EJ257 short block. I've also put in some 264 cams from Delta, Super Tech valve springs and retainers and some Cometic oversized head gaskets (until I change my pistons... If ever) Right now I'm using a TD04L turbo at roughly 14 psi and so far it's been absolutely fantastic.

I'd go with what broken said, ej20 swap

 

There are plenty and I mean plenty of imported ej20 in the states. I know a place that has them 900 for engine and 5spd tranny, and if your lucky they might have a 6spd trany thrown in. A get the engine checked out at your local subaru friendly shop or if your doing it yourself, check turbo for shaft play, take the heads of get them resurfaced, get the make sure everything checks out. Have iwire merge the harness. Put two and two together and your golden!

 

This is what I am doing next year.

I certainly can't bad-mouth an EJ20 swap. I love the EJ20's. I just wanted to make sure I retained my 2.5 litre status. Going old school with the 2.0 is awesome though!