I have a pristine '93 Impreza with 2wd, a 5 speed and the 1.8 engine. Love the car but it is slow, too slow for me. I would like to increase the performance and driveability without repalcing the engine. Anyone had any experience with hopping up this engine ? Nothing radical, I just want it to be at least adequate for traffic conditions. It is painfully slow, especially with the AC on. Thanks!

ditch the ac:D lose the power steering and take off the clutch fan. lose the muffler and drill holes in bottom of air box. simple and cheap

Get a new air filter...get a new exhaust system. If you want to spend money get a turbo for it. It is a 1.8l...without a turbo there isn't to much that can be done to make it really fast.

A K&N drop in panel filter has given my 2.2 a little extra pep.

Seems to me that there could be some more tweaking done with this motor,,, is there no one out there with a chip or a larger intake?

If you really care about getting performance then get a turbo or something that will add a good deal of power but will cost a bit.

 

Air filters, exhaust, etc.

 

 

Perhaps redoing the gear ratio? Maybe that will improve acceleration in lower gears?