160hp?

[95legacyl]

ok so after a long debate with myself i have decided to keep the legacy and moddify it a little instead of buying something like a honda.
so my question is do you think 160 hp is unreasonable for about a grand.
i was thinking of doing the following.
cai (possibly just the cone filter)
exhaust
grounding kit
underdrive pully
plugs and wires

not to sure how much all this will cost me and i was just wondering what other mods can i do that are resonably inexpensive.

if i make 160hp i think i would be fairly happy i just want to be able to keep up with all the hondas and there stupid fart can tips and after that im doing suspension. Also its fwd so thats a little weight gone right there.

[ooberdoob]

swap in an EJ25D like we GT people have.

165hp or so

and no, you wouldn't be happy, don't waste your time.

[pdawg]

I know its not as much fun as adding HP but do suspension first.

[95legacyl]

haha kinda of figured someone would mention a swap how much would it cost me if i do the swap.

[Wiscon_Mark]

You're not gonna get a swap for under 1000. Even the EJ25 would take more resources than that, and wouldn't be worth it.

Suspension is definitely less expensive and worth it. Think Miata :lol:

The best engine improvements you can make are the ones that increase throttle response and make the engine feel more peppy. It doesn't have to be a monster to feel good.

[SilentRacer]

just out of curiosity how do you figure those mods will get you to 160? Isn't the 95 legacy 135 stock?

[95legacyl]

I know its not as much fun as adding HP but do suspension first.

yeah i guess i dont know mabey ill just keep it stock and be happy i have a car at all



just out of curiosity how do you figure those mods will get you to 160? Isn't the 95 legacy 135 stock?


i wasnt saying that with those mods i would get 160hp, i was saying my goal is 160 and was just throwing out some ideas of mods i am considering and asking if that would get me 160 or if its even worth, it which it sounds like its not.

[bubaru21]

do a good intake exhaust setup. that will give you a little more pep for your step. i only have an intake and it has improved my acceleration a little bit but noticeable none the less.

[scottzg]

160 is not much different from 135, better to spend your money elsewhere. If you really want to make the car feel more powerful, unplug a spark plug for a week and stick it back in. Faster is only fast until youre used to it.

[Wiscon_Mark]

160 is not much different from 135, better to spend your money elsewhere. If you really want to make the car feel more powerful, unplug a spark plug for a week and stick it back in. Faster is only fast until youre used to it.

Yep, why do you think people modify STis? :lol:

[SHOfast]

As everyone else already said, you bought the wrong car to be faster than everyone else. If you really want to spend some money to go faster get some Nitrous kit installed. Its the only way you will come near to meeting your goal.

[Huffer]

You could shave some weight off the car - run lightweight 15" wheels, dump the stuff out of the rear trunk, remove all the AC components, window mechanisms from the rear windows, change the rear quarter panel glass to plexi...

Nah.
Save up, then trade in for a later 90s model GT to get your 160hp.

[SHOfast]

...

Nah.
Save up, then trade in for a later 90s model GT to get your 160hp.

This got me thinking, has anyone put a FWD 2.2L up against an AWD 2.5L? I'm guessing on the pavement neither has any traction issues to worry about, would the added mass of the AWD hurt the 2.5L enough to make little difference against the 2.2L?

What type of losses does the Subaru FWD see? Can't be too good because of the layout but it must be better than all those extra axles. Has anyone been to the track? G-tech times??

On an unrelated note, I love my AWD Legacy.

[deadlydave]

Suspension is definitely less expensive and worth it. Think Miata :lol:

The best engine improvements you can make are the ones that increase throttle response and make the engine feel more peppy. It doesn't have to be a monster to feel good.

I'm in with mark on this one...I bought irridium plugs and performance ignition wires from NGK. 4 plugs and the wires came to a hundred bucks even...steep, but worth it. Definitely a quicker rev. Plus, stuff like plugs, wires, an intake and well-chosen exhaust will give you better gas mileage too. I'm rollin' with the 2.2 liter 4eat, and my car is 'quick' enough to get me into trouble.

[bubaru21]

what is the power on a EJ22T?

[scottzg]

if you've got your heart set on adding power to your ej22, best thing to do is get the turbo plumbing off a turbo car and figure out what to do with the fueling. A ej22 with stacked hg's, megasquirtnspark, and a wrx engineback exhaust :wink: should be able to reach a reliable 240hp and should be attainable for 1k.

Gotta know what you're doing to get it running though.


the fwd cars have 3.9 gears. A awd 2.2 is faster than a fwd 2.2, except on the hwy sometimes.

[bubaru21]

but you can only run about 7psi on that setup right?

[Wiscon_Mark]

the fwd cars have 3.9 gears. A awd 2.2 is faster than a fwd 2.2, except on the hwy sometimes.

There are several AWD Subarus that have a 3.9FD too.

97+ was the start of the 4.11 FD gearing.


...however you have to live with the fact that you have to tell people you drive a honda. On the other hand, telling someone you drive a subaru makes them automatically impressed.

...not exactly. Subarus are still looked down upon by many people as being a quirky/odd brand with little to offer for them. Of course they lead sheltered lives, driving their Lexus's :lol: I'd proudly tell someone I drive a honda if it were the car for me, because I wouldn't care about the ricer mentality. The civic/accord just happened to be a great deal for ricers because they could be had inexpensively (used) and they were reliable, well built vehicles. You can't claim that Subaru isn't getting the same kinda rep now that the price on a used WRX is sub-10k. I'd happily drive several hondas. But I'd have to have a subaru with it for winter ;)


but you can only run about 7psi on that setup right?

mmmm, no, with proper fuel management, etc, you can run more. I believe reddevil's current record is 14psi on a stock internal'd EJ22E with a supercharger. But he's crazy, and went through 4 engines to get the proper setup first. Not for you, espcially if you're budget minded.

Anyways, I'd say that engine mods are really the wrong way to go for a decent investment in a car (not that there really is a decent investment in an automobile). But you'd have way more fun with suspension than you would with engine mods that wouldn't get you very far.

[scottzg]

i havent done any math (adding more power to my car would be silly) but stacked head gaskets should make for a very boost friendly CR.

[warrior]

So what your cars not quick going from one green light to the next red light. Having a quick car in the city or rural windy roads isn't too fun because you'll HAVE to slow down.

Now suspension mods on the other hand... imagine going on the on-ramp to the highway which suggests a speed of 30km/h and our lovely subaru's can take that turn at 100km/h!

That honda in your rear view mirror thats built to go in a straight line will be blown away :cool:

I was all about speed too, but there's A LOT of money involved with speed. It's not just engine work, the faster you go, the faster you want to stop right? Now you have to spend $1000 on brake upgrades and maintenance and what not. Rear sway bar, struts and shocks, $600 later and every turn will be much more enjoyable!

[Wiscon_Mark]

oh btw, if you do go suspension, read scotty's sticky in the suspension forum. It'll give you an idea of the do's and donts of suspension.

[Reason]

swap in an EJ25D like we GT people have.

165hp or so

and no, you wouldn't be happy, don't waste your time.

I'm just jumping in, not sure if this is an old thread (I didnt look at the date) ANYWAY you wont be hitting 165 to the wheels with those mods. I have the GT lightly modded and I'm only at 118 hp.

[Huffer]

We all need NAAAWWWZZZZ

[blackgtbeauty]

We all need NAAAWWWZZZZ :grin:

[jey]

Back to the topic - inexpensive ways of making the car go faster.

Has anyone ever hooked up an S-AFC or something to a stock-ish NA engine and done a proper tune to it?

You can pick up the computer for $150 these days. The person who put together my current hybrid turbo setup said that a proper tune to circumvent the tendency for cars to run extremely rich out of the factory can get you a bunch of hp you never thought the car could make. In fact, he guaranteed me that I could get 200 crank HP out of properly tuned, stock-ish, NA EJ25. I didn't believe him, and told him I wanted a turbo motor instead :) But I think he knows his stuff...

[Reason]

Back to the topic - inexpensive ways of making the car go faster.

Has anyone ever hooked up an S-AFC or something to a stock-ish NA engine and done a proper tune to it?

You can pick up the computer for $150 these days. The person who put together my current hybrid turbo setup said that a proper tune to circumvent the tendency for cars to run extremely rich out of the factory can get you a bunch of hp you never thought the car could make. In fact, he guaranteed me that I could get 200 crank HP out of properly tuned, stock-ish, NA EJ25. I didn't believe him, and told him I wanted a turbo motor instead :) But I think he knows his stuff...

That is kind of crazy. When I had my na gt dynoed and got 117hp 119tq. The guy told me if I did a S-AFC2 I could get around 5hp through out the whole powerband.

[Wiscon_Mark]

uuuuhhhh, so I get to split the topic since sheepie doesn't want to?

I guess that's how it's going down :lol:

Sorry for any confusion created by the split, I did the best I could. And back to Engine & Drivetrain you go...