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I just gave into the family thing with my third child being born, and traded a heavily modded 2000 Mustang for a 96 Legacy Brighton. I had the Stang on rails in the handling department, so this soft suspension has to go.

 

I would like to know what parts can cross from the higher end Subarus to my "grannie car" (my wife's words not mine). I would like a stiffer set of sway bars, adj. coilovers (for more height not less), better braking, and some input on rims to make the most of this AWD. I figure to raise it an inch or 2, and put some bigger tires on it. Also where can I get a CAI, UDP, and exhaust for it? Since this model is not one of the "performance" models I find it hard to find the parts for it. If perf parts from other cars work on it that would help me out a ton.

 

Also it has no tach, or cruise. could you give this newbie a list of what I need to put these in? I have a good source of parts cars with these options (I never thought of a tach as an option before).

 

I appolojize for the length of this post, and thank you for any help you all can give.

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yeah, cai, exhaust, etc, isn't going to make much of a difference. Either buy a faster (turbo) car or get something else, or do a swap.

 

As far a coilovers, there are a variety available. Whiteline group 4s seem to be good coilovers at a reasonable price. SubieGal has them on her RS so maybe you could ask her what she thinks or check her site for a review. Anyway there are lots of them available, and I'd assume you could get a bit of extra ride height. I would say to stay away fron the japanese coilovers (such as tien and cusco). From what I've heard, the european and such ones are better.

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If this wasn't a family vehicle I would do the turbo. But the suspension is the real killer. I love to hit corners, and the falling over feeling doesn't work for me. The reason I'm looking for ground clearance is to get a look closer to that of the Outback. If I can get this this car to clear some 225-245/50-60's on a 15 or 16" rim, then I'll be happy.

The little power parts are more for efeciency than HP. In a Mustang a CAI and UDP are worth about 5-6 mpg. ( moving the rear spoiler back 3" on a 2000 is worth 5mpg and is free!) These are the kinds of tricks I know on Stangs (I've built them from the ground up), but I need to learn them on the Subarus. I have no idea what crosses with what for parts. This is where I need the help.

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well, as far as hitting corners hard, as long as it is on asphult you may want to lower the susension. a low COG goes a long way. if you really want to raise it for the off road look you are gonna suffer in the handeling dpt. for efficency, really a good service, includeing flushing the transmission (if it is AT) and oil change to a high quality oil (I reccomend a high milage synthetic or blend) with something like z-max or a seafoam treatment, and a k&n airfilter, will wake the engine and grab you a few HP. and raising the car also adversely affects the milage a bit (though perhaps not noticeabley, hasen't really been studied as the most common lifts are on trucks where they arn't worried about mileage), the more air you allow under the turblant undercarradge, the more drag. most CAIs out there dont work well with MAF based cars, so conferm what you have before installing one. If you want a little more power at the cos of oise you can remove the resonator, I believe it is in the airbox but I could be wrong.

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I can say (again on a Stang, '93) That raising and lowering about one inch is about 10 miles a tank, or less or equal to than one mpg. The height advantage is because I live in the country and the AWD would make it more practical. Besides, I think it might help its looks a bit by giving it a more agressive stance. As far as the COG, I don't plan on winning at Watkins Glenn, so it should be fine if what I've seen of the suspension is any indication. It is my thought that some stiffer springs, struts, and swaybars will mor than make up for the height.

Maintenance has been done including a total fluid change through out. I didn't notice a limitted slip device in the rear diff. so maybe that would also be an upgrade for later.

The reason CAI's don't work well with some MAF's is because they tend to have a bend just before the sensor. The turbulence this causes keeps the MAF from getting a true reading, on most vehicles this causes a rich condition. It is eay to fix by assuring at least 5" of straight pipe in front of the sensor. I usually mod the harness for this, but this car might work without it.

I know quite a bit about cars so I'm not new to modding. I'm hust new to this type. I think this Legacy has allot of potential hiding in it, and I want to wake it up. The big problem is what fits. I see allot of parts for Imprezas, Outbacks, ect. but not so many for the Legacy. If these parts can be made to work on my car then I'll use them.

I will be taking it to 29 Palms this fall where there is allot of desert, heat, sand, and coyotes to shoot. If this car is up to hit I would like to make it the car I use there for hunting.

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many subaru parts will bolt up, most can be made to fit. FHI used the same basic design for all their cars since the 360, with the exception of the justy. the engine are pretty much interchangeable since the eairly ninties, some not even requireing a ECU change. If i can post this (some fourms are funny about competeing fourms) NASIOC.com is a good resource for simple mods to squeeze a little more power out of it. as for raising the suspension, if you want it lifted go for it, just not my bag.

 

and if it's an auto, espcially if you are going to the desert, ill give the default, any auto tip i am sure you've heard, get a tranny cooler, cheap protection.

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all of the EJ cars are very similar in terms of the motors and transmissions. the 2.0, 2.2 and 2.5's you can even swap heads on...that shows the similarity a bit. many parts are close, or identical or swappable.

 

for exhaust - i'd have one custom made, forget aftermarket parts. except headers if you really want to go that route, but i don't think there's much return available there but what do i know i haven't tried. would like to see someone do it and post numbers. i know the older models better (like the XT6 that i've owned about 15 of), they're good for an additional 3+ mpg highway miles by removing the stock POS muffler and playing with the intake a little. i have an impreza and am curious what difference a muffler would make on it, but it's too young to bother replacing stuff on yet.

 

if you want good offroad capability you need to splice a duty solenoid C switch in to control the lock-up of your rear transfer clutches. lock them up and these things are AWESOME offroad. makes all the difference in the world. i have that and an LSD and i never worry about getting stuck anywhere. do a search there's plenty of information on this board about how to do this if you want it.

 

for cruise - your throttle body and wiring is probably all there, you just need to find a car with it and scavenge the parts off of it. i'd check to see if your wiring plugs/harness is in place on yours, if it is then it would be MUCH easier to add the cruise, i'd bet alot that stuff is there. cruise control stuff is typically mounted to the passengers side strut tower, look there for some unused plugs/harnesses.

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I have taken out the second cat and the resonator on my '95 imprezaL 1.8 and the old butt dyno says its got a little more bottom end, i am eventually going to take the other cat and the muffler off and put a flowmaster or similer on(no emissions here). if you open the exaust up it will help low end torque generaly. I also put KYB GR2 struts with Prodrive springs and even 2" lower i rarely bottom out, and i drive on alot of gravel roads and driveways.

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So if I understand you all correctly, I can rip just about any suspension, engine, hood, or option out of another Leagacy, Outback, or Impreza and it will fit? Or us the aftermarket parts intended for them? That would be great. I've been making tentative plans for a 97 hood with scoop, Outback springs, KYB struts, and ripping the options I want (which now includes fog lights) from another Subaru.

I will probably be asking specifics before each step. Thanks in advanced for the help I'll need. By the way, this thing gets worse milage stock than my Stang did modded (25 vs. 29). Any idea why? I expected better. I tuned it up the moment I got it so I thought it would be a great gas saver.

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It sounds like you enjoy tooling around with your cars... but have you considered just trading your brighton for a GT or Outback model? Just about every modification you mention is addressed in the Outback (higher ground clearance, tachometer, cruise control, more power, stiffer suspension, bigger wheels, etc....) and for the price (and convenience), I'm not sure you could beat just trading rather than spend all your money (and time) on spare parts.

 

I realize that neither the outback nor gt model are track cars, but you yourself admitted that this is a family car and you just want a little more "oompf" to get a more secure feeling while driving. I'd rather take a turn slower than clean up all the vomit on the seats from my kid when I take a corner like its on rails.

 

anyway, just a thought.

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So if I understand you all correctly, I can rip just about any suspension, engine, hood, or option out of another Leagacy, Outback, or Impreza and it will fit? Or us the aftermarket parts intended for them? That would be great. I've been making tentative plans for a 97 hood with scoop, Outback springs, KYB struts, and ripping the options I want (which now includes fog lights) from another Subaru.

I will probably be asking specifics before each step. Thanks in advanced for the help I'll need. By the way, this thing gets worse milage stock than my Stang did modded (25 vs. 29). Any idea why? I expected better. I tuned it up the moment I got it so I thought it would be a great gas saver.

 

well, not every part will be a direct fit, but many will. asking beforehand here would be a good idea. and as to why the lower milage AWD, more aerodynamic drag and probibly more weight than the stang. you can try the acetone additive trick and be gentle on the fast pedel.

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I've been making tentative plans for a 97 hood with scoop, Outback springs, KYB struts, and ripping the options I want (which now includes fog lights) from another Subaru.

I will probably be asking specifics

 

Yeah, you could do that without problems. Springs would need to be from a 96-99 Outback because the rear suspension on the Legacy changed for 00. You should grab the rear swaybar from an Outback while you're at it, too.

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Yes, 29mpg, infact, 34 on 4 occasions. Here are some tricks I've used on different cars to get these results. I don't know if any will apply here, but I plan to try a couple.

1. The '00 Stang has a Fake hood scoop. Drilling out the holes and allowing the air to blow on the intake (not into) was worth about 3mpg on the highway and none in town. Probably due to the venting-depending on your speed the scoop can actually reverse flow- of the under hood temps. My intake was never too hot to touch.

2. A chin spoiler was equipped to the Mach I Stangs. Adding one to my V-6 was worth 3 mpg. Air flow under the car was reduced I guess.

3. Lowering the car 3" up front and 2" in the rear was worth a bit (though I must say that wasn't the reason I did it). Probably the same reason as above.

4. My CAI helped by about 3mpg in town, but none on the road:confused:

5. I reduced the weight of my car by some 100# during the time I owned it. Need I say more? I can't say how much it was worth per pound but I certainly noticed when I did something to put weight back in.

6. The big winner was the rear spoiler. After losing allot of milage to an aftermarket (2"bigger front and rear) brake swap, and the rims required to clear them, I moved the spoiler back by 2 7/8" for looks. My milage peaked at 34.6mpg on a trip to Cincinatti and back- about 600 miles:headbang: . This was a 5mpg improvement with no other changes.

 

I won't use most of these on my Legacy, but maybe someone would like to know now that gas is around $3.00. Personally most of these were accidental. If I wasn't such a miser tracking every tank of gas to the drop, I wouldn't have noticed them each seperately.

 

As far as trading in on an Outback. Sorry, I seem to have a fettish for the hard way. Besides, if I bought one, then how would I learn how to make one (or beat one). I think I'm going to like disecting this wagon:clap: . And my wife will think of it all as "maintenance":brow:

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Did I do something wrong with all the Stang talk? you guys got quiet. I scored a free hood scoop today painted to match. I also located some more cars I can raid for parts cheap.What do I need for the cruise?

 

you neglected to mention that it was a wagon.

 

somethings you should know that havn't been mentioned...

 

all subaru wheels will fit all subaru car (except the old 4-lug ones)

 

your motor is the non-interference EJ22. [model:EJ litre:2.2]

 

outback suspection parts are a direct fit

 

all legacys from 95-99 are interchageable (except for the grill/front bumper combo. they both need to be either 95-96 or 97-99)

 

outback struts will give you about 2" of clearance. the springs are the same as on the legacys (i havn't seen any evidence that they're stiffer)

 

the biggest tires i can fit undre my lifted 96 legacy are 215/70R15 BFG's

 

you can get your 16" wheels off of a legacy gt, but they won't fit a 245. they're 6.5" wide.

 

i'm SURE that there's stuff i left out.

 

if there's one thing you'll learn its that subarus are INSANELY well designed for the DIY mechanic. everything is very easy.

 

good luck. and yes, check out www.sl-i.com

 

see you there

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