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Getting more performance out of an EA82


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Hi folks,

 

Just wondering, what are some cheap/free ways of getting extra oomph out of a carbed EA82?

 

I read about things like tuning the carb and stuff like that, but I don't know how to do that.

 

Any help would be appreciated :D

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if you're not looking for much power, a complete tune up can help a good deal. test compression so you know you've got something solid to work with if you're looking for significant gains. a normally aspirated (non-turbo) is hard to get more horsepower out of. i completely resealed a guys XT EA82 a couple years back (3AT transmission) and it ran better after i was done. against my recommendations he had the heads ported, polished and upgraded delta cams....$1,000+ worth of work...and it was not very much increase with all that work and parts. i think the reseal alone, new head gaskets and a valve job and cleaning everything up might have been most of the increase. but it was by no means "fast" even with all that work. that's why i say a basic tune up....plugs, wires, cap, rotor, carb stuff, timing belts, changed trans fluids will all help some.

open up the intake and exhaust a little should help some.

 

a turbo is much easier to extract power from, so your best bet for performance increases you can feel is to go with an EA82T.

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Hi folks,

 

Just wondering, what are some cheap/free ways of getting extra oomph out of a carbed EA82?

 

I read about things like tuning the carb and stuff like that, but I don't know how to do that.

 

Any help would be appreciated :D

 

Since mid-grade and premium gas are only 10 - 20 cents more expensive than regular, you could get a fairly cheap power increase by advancing the timing a bit. Depending on how far you advance it, you might need at least mid-grade gas to prevent detonation.

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how much increase? what are you looking for?

 

like i said NA will be very tough to get more power out of. you can do everything above and you won't notice much. it will not make the car fast. you will not get a "WOW" experience by doing anything simple to an EA82.

 

advancing the timing is a great idea though if you want to run higher grade gas. very simple, 10 minute job. but you'll likely need higher octane. myphalyx did some dyno tests on his XT6 and i think he got 7 or 11 hp increase just with timing advancing. that's alot for NA, but not very noticeable while driving. and that was on a 6 cylinder, not a 4, so expect lower numbers, close to the same percentage.

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Fair enough - as Carol Shelby said, horsepower costs money :D (I read that somewhere on these forums)

 

I'm just looking for a little bit more - its gearing is very steep, esp. 1st, and when you're taking off uphill it loses half the momentum it's gained in 1st gear in the time you shift from 1st to 2nd, and it has a pretty hard time gaining speed in 2nd.

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Hi folks,

 

Just wondering, what are some cheap/free ways of getting extra oomph out of a carbed EA82?

 

I read about things like tuning the carb and stuff like that, but I don't know how to do that.

 

Any help would be appreciated :D

 

You can get the car to run better, but you will never get oomph without spending money. a complete tuneup is a good place to start, as it was said, advance your timing a few degrees, base is 8 BTDC you might be able to go as high as 12, but your fuel economy will suffer, Pinging and detonation will kill the motor in a hurry, so don't let that happen.

 

Keep in mind that you are starting with 80-90 horse power, so you will never get the car to feel "fast" unless you put some real money into it.

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On another note, I have fairly bad TOD, isolated to one side of the engine, possibly cylinder 1. When it's idling low (500rpm?) the engine sort of lurches a little with each tick, and you can feel and see this lurch through the rest of the car. I'm suspecting the valve or valves dont open up fully - might this be eating away at the performance a little?

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If you suspect one of your valves isnt opening or closing all the way then YES that would be a big thing eating away at your performance. If it isnt opening all the way then you may not be getting enough air and fuel in the cylander. The flip side of that is if its not closing all the way you have no compression, or low compression. Ive heard on this site about using sea foam to clean up sticky valves and HLA problems on those motors though i dont have experience with the stuff. Try using the search function to find more on sea foam. I know there was an entire post dedicated to it a little while ago.

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TOD does effect performance for sure.

 

run ATF, MMO or seafoam in your oil to alleviate it. if you know it's in one cylinder only then it's likely related to the HLA's being dirty. change your oil OFTEN...all the time. it can take some time. start with low dose...then increase if you don't get results. often you see results immediately, sometimes it takes awhile. if yo'ure comfortable, pull the timing belts, cams and replace the faulty lifters. cylinder #1 cam is much easier than drivers side. it can be done in an hour or two for those that have done it alot. (don't have to worry with disty, more room than the drivers side, no ATF hoses, etc).

 

if the TOD moves around (occuring across multiple cylinders) then it's likely oil pump related. repalce your oil pump seals

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I just bunged some seafoam-like stuff in there - a whole 250ml bottle, 'cause they said one whole bottle per 5 liters of engine oil capacity - please tell me if I overdid it, I don't want to screw up my subie! :)

 

I noticed an immediate difference - the ticking is softer, but it's still not gone yet.

 

I'll keep you posted...

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now i add a quart here and there if needed. one quart is %20 so i'd start with that much for now. i've done more before in the past, but haven't really needed to in a really long time. better to start light and work your way up only if needed.

 

give it time and it may gradually come clean. i'd run about %20 ATF or MMO or seafoam in it personally and drive it around like normal like that. keep doing that and see how it is in a month.

 

change your oil all the time and keep an eye on how dirty/clean it is when you drain it. if it's really black you're not changing it enough and that will hurt the HLA's. as a matter of fact, depending how dirty the motor is internally any cleaner could quickly dirty the oil so keep an eye on it. dirty oil is bad for HLA's.

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I know it doesn't really work that way ;)

 

Good deal. But for those that don't, If you keep refilling oil without replacing, the additives and waxes build up, and the crud that the oil picks up dosn't burn off with the oil, so it just increases its concentration. That and the acid from condensation builds up and eats at your engine from the inside out.

 

I had a car like that, i didn't change the oil for 2 years, filters every three months though.

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on your next oil change, put in one quart of ATF and run it for 50 miles or so on the freeway at high speeds, like 70+. after that, change it and add one quart of rislone or mmo in place of one quart of oil, repeat a couple times until the tick subsides or goes away. if it goes away, stay true to the oil changes but every 3-6 months or so, revamp it with a quart of ATF. but dont run atf through your system for too long, it will eat seals and could damage bearings also.

 

 

 

 

~Josh~

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An update - just ran some seafoam-type stuff through there, and 10km's later, it's purring along as if it were new! There's an increase in power as well, but not a "wow that made a difference" sorf of an increase, more of a "hmm, I swear that 0-60 time was a little faster..." increase.

 

This seafoam stuff really is good :D

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Here's a simple modification that can be done to your carburator:

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=49976

 

I performed this mod to the HItachi 2BBL carb on my old EA81. The EA82 has a similar carb, and the mod can be performed to it as well. Make sure you use new carburator gaskets ( i believe i have a set Im not able to use since my car is MPFI, PM me if you want em ). Besides, new carburator gaskets should add at least 5hp, since they prolly leak :)

 

-Brian

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Thanks for that. I have some trouble trying to pinpoint all the various bits mentioned in that thread though - if I find/take pics of the EA82 carb, is it possible you could tell me what bits are where?

 

Cheers!

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LoL, now that I notice, cylinder #1 IS on the driver's side for me :D

 

nice, that's tricy. well assuming the engine is layed out the same, your drivers side is much easier. but no matter, your TOD is fixed.

 

valve covers are the easiest oil loss culprit, might want to check those out. easy and inexpensive to replace. 10mm wrench and some time is all that's needed. they will leak at the far back, bottom corner.

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