RHD Legacy... what to do?

[Chimera84]

I have an opportunity to buy a 95 RHD Legacy Wagon for a pretty cheap price. The question I have is what all can i do to it? What swaps from other Subaru models? The first thing on my list would be a 5spd swap. Anyone know the difficultly of that? Thanks.

[green97gt]

when buying a RHD car, one must always consider passing w/ oncoming traffic. could be rough.

but as i understand it the TT JDM motor is the best due to it fits around the RHD.

are JDM 5speeds different shift patterns? i just realized i have never thought about that before.

[2000gtb]

shift pattern is the same

[impreza_GC8]

EJ20TT will fit in there no problem but I would recommend against that motor. It is a mess of vacuum lines and it isn't particularly powerful. Stick with a USDM swap and just wire for the RHD or get a JDM EJ20G for an early model WRX and throw the harness down without having to relengthen. If you can get an EJ20G with the complete car harness it will make things much easier. The EJ20G also share a lot of parts with USDM EJ22T and 02+ EJ20

[Yamazaki]

EJ20TT will fit in there no problem but I would recommend against that motor. It is a mess of vacuum lines and it isn't particularly powerful.
I wouldn't say the EJ208 isn't powerful. My car is completely stock and can outrun any unmodified or mildly modified GC around. People get hung up on the EJ20H and EJ20R, while forgetting that there were more powerful "EJ20TT"s. Less lag than a single turbo, and pulls longer than a single turbo. When I drove the '05 Tuned by STI Legacy, I just wasn't able to summon the power down low. The various GC WRXs/STis I've driven have the power down low, but run out of steam quickly. The twin turbo setup can eliminate those problems. Even my monster 2.7L GD has to pause below 4K RPMs as it spools up the turbo...

[impreza_GC8]

I have never seen a newer TT EJ motor for sale stateside yet. All we get from the importers (usually) are the old ones from the BG/BK body style so I stand by what I said.

[ouch1011]

Is the EJ208 sequential twin parallel twin turbo? If it is sequential, those systems on older (vacuum/pressure) controlled system tend to be problematic because, as was said, they use a ton of vacuum lines and switching valves, and 1 problem will cause the entire system to run weird or not at all basically. A parallel twin turbo system has most of the benefits of a sequential, just with a little more lag, but a lot less complicated.

But honestly, as long as you aren't aiming for 500hp on a 4cyl, lag shouldn't be a problem on a correctly sized single turbo. The 04+ US STI hits full boost right about 3k. Realistically, on a port injected gas engine, you aren't going to be able to make good use of a ton of boost below that engine speed anyway on pump gas. My old MS3 hit full boost about 2300rpm or so (variable valve timing and small turbo) but even with direct injection, it still had detonation issues if you nailed it at 2500rpm. Port injection will make that even worse.

Thats getting off-topic though. Most of the mechanics of the RHD Legacies are the same as the LHD. 5MT swap should be no problem. Only thing I can think of might be the pedals or the clutch hydraulics (specifically the master cyl and lines)

[Reuben]

I stand by what impreza_gc8 said also. Been there, done that, converted to single and saved my sanity. Though he was probably refering to the EJ20H which is a fail engine. EJ20R's, and EJ208's make the same power as STi's.

RHD also means you can chuck in a GC8 STI RA steering rack with 2.5 turns lock to lock. I have just a standard STi rack with 2.72 turns, and it's a fantastic upgrade.

And btw, only buy a RHD subie in the states if you are going to JDM the fuck out of that car. And i mean full interior swap sort of thing.