renob123

People run into right-hand-drive/left-hand-drive fitment issues with these swaps sometimes. I think we should know what kind of EJ engine you have in mind. I'm pretty sure the twin-turbo Legacies (Liberties, in your country, I think) have a different up-pipe in a different spot. Jacob

I just drove it in to work. It seems to run ok. I have a few observations that I encourage people to comment on or take into account for their own projects: -It seems to run a lot cooler than the EJ22 before it. It's probably a good 10-20 degrees cooler everywhere, if not more. -I think I could probably launch it in 4th gear:eek: -The idle is weird. I cleaned the IACV and sprayed everything with brake cleaner to check for vacuum leaks, but I found nothing. I'm sure I'll think of more later. Jacob

Poor-weather traction is definitely a concern. I don't see the point in having a Subaru that can't go in the snow. I honestly didn't know it would be this crazy, and now I'm hoping I didn't shoot myself in the foot on this one. Jacob

Hmm, I guess I could get more specific and ask if anyone put one in an EA81 Brat. If that didn't work, then an EA81 Brat that's half blue and half gray:) Jacob

And blood. We both contributed blood to this project... Jacob

Well, when we met up, it was but a fevered dream of a madman. It came to life on Wednesday. I guess I should start soliciting ideas on transmissions that can handle this thing. Jacob P.S. Can't say no to 10.14% alcohol in a beer that's so dark that light cannot escape its surface:)

I'm going to try to get away with not doing the 5-lug swap. I have mostly new braking components, and when I get them working correctly, they may be enough. I also have an EA82T master cylinder and booster, if I decide the stock brakes aren't enough when they're working correctly. I'm going with 2wd struts and RX springs to get a stiffer front and keep the same basic ride height. I already have front and rear swaybars. Adding power steering may help with driveability too. I always wanted an SVX with paddle shifters and 4.44 final drive, but the Brat is my project and will be until I can't afford it, or I crash it. I'm reading up on Numbchux' EJ transmission stuff into EA case project. That may be a good way to go about beefing up the transmission. I'm not totally convinced that even early WRX transmissions will hold this torque. The RA-width ones, the 6-speed, and probably a 4.11 4EAT or 5EAT would, though, from what I've researched. This thing is for rallyx, so I'm hoping the wheelspin will help with longevity. Jacob

I was thinking about writing something up. The benefit of the Frankenmotor is that it's as easy as replacing head gaskets, only you use a different block when you reassemble. I'd take pics of it, but it looks the same as any other EJ-swapped Brat. Yes, GD helped by torquing the heads, giving advice/verbal abuse:lol:, and use of tools/garage. I went with: -Phase I EJ22 heads. They're dual port, so I could keep my awesome eBay header. -Phase I EJ25 block. I'd prefer a phase II, but I couldn't find one cheap and local in the timeframe I wanted. -Delta Cams. I opted for the torque grind. I was told by them that the power would come on at 1200 RPM. I believe it:banana: -Thick OEM head gaskets. There are two thicknesses of the new MLS gaskets. I went with the thick one because the Phase I EJ25 has the "peeping tom" pistons, and the Frankenmotor is high compression, so the thicker one gives me a bigger margin of error. My concerns now are: -Stuff will definitely break now. I don't know which thing is first, but I hope it's easy to replace. -The idle is weird. I don't care that much if everything is working, but RPM hunting and mild shaking makes me think something is wrong. If it turns out to be the cams (which I hear happens but is rare), then I'd put the weird idle issue in the "Totally Worth It" category. -Suspension and brakes are hilariously inadequate for this. I did a lot of research going into this. We're looking at something like 11:1 (I've read between 10.8-11.3) compression and somewhere between 160-205HP. The estimates/dyno figures I've seen don't always specify WHP or CHP, so I'm not sure where I am. The torque is off the charts, though. Jacob

It's been said probably at least a hundred times here that dealer t-stats are better. I put one from a reputable aftermarket supplier in a couple days ago, and it wouldn't open. It was the same size/dimensions/fit and finish as a dealer one. I replaced it with a dealer one, and it opened fine. Sometimes I need reminders like that:) Jacob

I tried searching, but I can't find another case of this. Yesterday the Frankenstein motor went into the Brat and fired up. There's still a bit to do before it'll be race-ready, and I'm sure nothing in that car can hold that amount of torque, but I wanted to check to see if anyone else had put this in a Brat. Here's the big thread at NABISCO on the High Compression Frankenstein build. It's supposed to be one of the best power upgrades to a car that came with an EJ22. After a short run, I think I agree:banana: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-631527.html Jacob

Just don't feel too rushed to start/complete it. It will probably take way longer than expected to complete the EJ swap. I'd hang onto the Pugs and make up the money over time. If you sell them to buy another part for the swap, then you'll be in the same boat next time you need a part and don't have the money. Jacob P.S. Oh yeah, and it's totally worth it:banana:

Hmm, it's odd that they call it a full review, but all they did was ride with someone on a road. I'm seriously questioning how this is going to work. What if a student balled up one of their cars on the first turn? Hopefully a real full review will keep them from having to rely on expensive cars and name-dropping, which is all I've seen from them so far. Jacob

When I was in college, I would have killed to have a car like yours. I recommend that you be happy that you have a relatively cool car and wait to get power until you can afford it. Instead of wasting money trying to make my POS faster, I finished school, got a master's degree, and bought an STI. If you're not going to listen to that advice, then go onto NASIOC.com and rs25.com. NASIOC has the NA power white paper in their NA section which you should read. It covers almost everything you can do to that engine. The basic idea, though, is that it costs a lot of money to make power. Also, do you really want to be without a car for a week or two if something fails? What if you have some parts off the car and something breaks/doesn't fit? Finally, with a car like that, the thing that's keeping it from being faster is almost always the driver. One racing school or track day or something will make you way faster than anything you could do to the car for that price. Also, after that, maybe you'd know what direction to go with your car on your own. I know that's not the answer you're looking for, but I hope that helps. Jacob

Yeah, that's what I was trying to say before. It's how the whole thing is setup. If SVXs and STIs have the same final drive (for the most part), then how is the SVX gear limited at 196 mph vs. 165 for STIs? Blindly grabbing a setup with the final drive you want may be disappointing. Imagine having a FXT and wanting better gas mileage. You could see an STI 6-speed with 3.90 final drive and think it would help. You'd be wrong because the actual STI gears are shorter. Also keep in mind that Subaru went to RA-width gears around 2004 or so. Jacob

My STI has a 3.90 final drive. It feels like it has short gears because its actual gears are shorter. If you put a 4.44 final drive in it, you'd be shifting constantly and probably be hitting 4,000 rpm on the freeway. The SVX is gear limited to 196 I think, while STIs are limited to 165. Some SVXs came with 3.90 as well. The difference is the gear ratios, not the final drive. I thought only automatic Foresters got the 4.44s here. That's why this conversion is so rare here, and the people that do it order a bunch of stuff from Japan. Jacob

I hear you can do pull-ups on the 02-03 style, but I'd still research it more and make sure they didn't redesign it or something. I wouldn't rest my beer on the '06-'07 style, though. It may be best to avoid them altogether and get some stuff from Primitive or AllWheelsDriven. Jacob

Was the cable loose when you first got it, or did it loosen up in the last couple days/weeks? Jacob

I can't see your pictures at work, so I can't tell what year WRX you have. If you have an '06-'07, DO NOT get the Rally Innovations light bar. I have one on my STI, and it wobbles so much that I never bothered to put lights on it. They're a total joke in the rally crowd, and it's with good reason. Jacob

I only have EA81 brackets, so I wouldn't want to test-fit them and lead you astray with my results. Bump for someone to help this USMB contributor. Someone must have some calipers lying around. Jacob

My 6MT has a 3.90 final drive, but it has shorter gears. As Gary said, final drive is not the only thing that matters. To do what you'd want, you'd probably have to keep your transmission and swap the final drive to 4.44. Just swapping transmissions with 4.44 final drive won't cut it, because they change the gearing a little to compensate for it. I'm basing this on some gear ratio spreadsheets someone sent me a long time ago. 4.44 final drives are available in Japan in manual transmissions. I also hear you can buy the stuff at the dealership in the US. mellow65 mentioned something about it over at NABISCO. Jacob

Hmm, I don't remember seeing an auction that had all four lights. Are you sure you didn't get one high and one low? Jacob

That's odd. It's been on my calendar as the 12th for at least a month now. Jacob

I was reading up on Frankenmotors and saw some discussion about this. Subaru switched to MLS prior to the latest revision, so seeing that it's MLS does not guarantee that it's the latest and greatest. However, I have no idea how substantial the changes were after they switched to MLS. It could just be different part numbers... Jacob

Hmm, that would explain it:) You don't need a harness. Mine work fine without one. You just need to understand how the lights and wiring work. Then you plug the right wire into the right connector on the new housing. It's way easier to use the adapter, though. That eBay link you posted included them. The Autopal people sell them separately, though. I never took before/after shots because I didn't get the lighting thing figured out until I had all of them in. Plus I had Silverstars in before, and I switched to cheap AutoPal bulbs. I'm thinking I'll see the real gains once I throw in the Xtravision bulbs. Jacob

Hmm, I get the feeling you didn't read that big-rump roast post I just put up... If I remember correctly, mine was 4656 for the lows. Read and understand my last post before acting on that, though. The high beam connector wasn't even close to the H1 replacement. Just pop the spade connectors out of the connector and plug them straight to the bulb. No fancy harness needed. Jacob