Aluxes

Paeco suggests that I use aluminum retainers with the stiffer springs to handle higher revs, but also said that if Im going as high as 7500 then I need titanium retainers. At $25 per retainer I cant justify dropping that much on retainers. What do you all think about this this? Ill probably just stick to the aluminum as they are $8 per retainer.

Im gonna give this a go. Also considering that I have the MSD coil mod and Magnecor wires I may get better than average results. It wont be till this weekend though. Thanks for the tip on this easy mod Bushwick!!

Oh I see. Ill try it first and see how it goes. Then get the extender if needed,

Oh you guys are referring to an o2 sensor extender! Gotcha!! Ill get one of these and see how it works out! Thanks a ton for all the insight! Its much appreciated.

So Magnaflow says that moving the rear cat o2 to the front cat rear bung probably wouldnt work. But I think I might try it anyway. If i dont throw a code after a while ill assume it works and remove the rear cat.

So even though I live in Ca. I live in one of the only counties that dont require smog checks every year or two. Only smog check is when the vehicle title gets transferred. Ill contact Magnaflow and find out if the rear bung on the front cat can be used for the rear cat o2 sensor. I dont know why else the front cat would come equipped with a front a and rear bung. If it works out like this then I could do a 2.25 cat back exhaust and be incognito Ill post back when I hear form Magnaflow.

Nice!! I think I found my ECU up grade....for now. What improvements happen with this upgrade? More fuel to the injectors, better timing curve? Where is the ECU located on the 97-99 Legacys? Thanks again for this!!

As far as I know the EL headers produce more usable power and torque. Made a big difference power wise when I installed mine. Even though Im running EL headers I still have a great sound, most likely due to my Magnaflow muffler. My car does not have that jacked up lawnmower sound like a honda. The tone is deep and it is rumbly, although a touch raspy due to the 12" resonator. Maybe Ill post a vid of the sound, and the instrument cluster during acceleration. Then follow up with another vid after the head porting and deltas.

Bushwick as you said in your post about using a "single" cat, Im wondering, what do you do with the rear cats o2 sensor? Do you just get a bung welded in there? My front cat, which is a Magnaflow, has two places for an o2 sensor. One bung before the wide middle part and one bung after the wide middle part. What would happen if I screwed both o2 sensors into the one cat?

Oh I did not know we could use a different ecu. If you dont mind me asking, do you know an alternate ecu I could run in my 97 Imp OBS? Is it a plug and play kinda thing, or is there more involved? Ill def go with the .08 HG since its oem. Thanks for that bit of info!!

Hmmm thats good to know. Is the 0.8mm gasket made by cometic? Is there more of a chance of loosing a HG with it being thinner? What octane fuel are you running? What octane would you run if you were at 11:1? At that hp are you running a piggyback or have some kind of engine management besides the stock ecu?

Found the springs!! Paeco has stiffer springs in stock for the 2.2. Just in case anyone else was wondering.

Cool!! I just did a search and found a few different answers. One was a 15hp gain. Another claimed 20. But the one that resonates with me the most is a 4% increase in hp with every point of compression increase. I dont know how much I could realistically go with a 2.2, but a gain of 6-8 hp doesnt seem that worth it. For the same price I could bolt up a small boost turbo and gain more hp than that.

I would love to get a tune. Ive been searching for the easiest and cheapest route to go. Basically I have been looking for an ecu replacement that can take a tune or reflash as my 97 Imp cant be reflashed. Or so I have been told. I guess a decent piggyback is what I need.

BTW 86bratman, how much hp and or torque do you think your getting from the increase in compression. Is there a estimate or equation pertaining to hp/tq gain comparable to compression increase?

Ok cool Ill check out some of this info!! Im not sure if decking the heads is a good idea with a overhead cam. I read on the Paeco website that decking the heads shortens the distance between the cam sprocket and the crank sprocket and this throws of your valve timing. Dont know if this is a problem but it makes sense.

Wouldnt one get more power from the cams when used with other mods vs everything stock? Im running some EL headers, intake, MSD coil and Magnecor wires, one magnaflow converter and muffler, lightweight pully and lightweight flywheel. Im gonna add a grounding kit and some Grimmspeed phenolic spacers too.

The cams are the 200 grind from Delta. They told me usable power band was from about idle up to around the redline or so. Not sure of the power gains, but with my other existing mods they should be a nice touch.

So I have been searching for some hi-comp pistons for a 2.2 build but seems like no one makes them for this engine. Only the 2.5. So, and this might be a crazy question but, since the 2.2 bore is 96.9 mm(3.815 in) if the block was bored .10 over then the bore would be close to that of the 2.5 of 99.5 mm (3.917 in). So would a 2.5 piston fit in a 2.2 block bored .20 over? Would the .002 be too much of a difference? I know some would say just do a frankenmotor, but I already have a spare 2.2 block and I want the reliability of the 2.2.

Ok! Wow thanks for that mini writeup!! Thats awesome! This is going to be fun!! Any advice on if I should even try to install the new heads with the block in the car, or is it way easier to pull the engine?

Hello everyone. Wondering if anyone has done a writeup on installing some delta cams on the 2.2? I found a write up over on rs2.5 forum, but it is for the 2.5. Not sure of the differences between the 2.2 and the 2.5, pertaining to camshaft installation. These cams are going in an extra pair of heads that are not on the car. Once installed I will swap the heads.

Go with the Subaru Extra S. It is whats used in the STI. It works great!! Had the dealership change front and rear in my 97 imp. I noticed smoother rolling and a bump in mpg.

Im running a pair of EL headers that I believe are 2.25" already. Plus a cai. My front cat is a magnaflow and the rear cat is stock. Then the resonator, 12" I believe. At the end is a Magnaflow muffler. The headers and Magnaflow cat I put on at the same time. Made a difference I could feel. My thought on the heads subject was that I see a lot of posts saying the single port heads dont flow as well as the dual. Im not really sure that is true, but I thought a little port matching on both ends wouldnt hurt, especially when adding some delta cams. I would like to gain a higher rev as well, maybe not 8k, but close. Thanks for the input. Reducing my power is not my goal.

Its in the works so it will be a little while. But I def will follow up.

Also wondering if the springs from the ej20 or ej25 is interchangeable with the ej22. I found some crower springs and retainers on ebay. Ad says they are for the ej20 ej25 and ej22. Want to make sure they will fit before I buy them.