Few questions + introduction.

[requiemk626]

Hey forum,

Im Joseph im 17 and i live in New Zealand.

I have probalby spent 50hours easy reading through this forum learning about boxer engines and older generation subarus.

 

I have purchased a Subaru Omega/Leone RX 1987, its running the full time 4wd and ea82t. My other car is a Toyota Corolla KE30.

 

My plans for the Leone are exhast pod filter and hopefully front mount intercooler, then a few more pounds.

 

Now question time

 

1. An Intercooler is imminent but which. I am leaning greatly towards front mount. The question is what sorta materials can i use for the piping? Not looking for bling, just practicality. And sorta prices i can expect.

 

2. Can the cat be removed, why do people suggest hollowing it out.

 

3. Will running a 2.5" straight through exhaust from just before the cat(want gone) give me a nice rumble, or will it drone it to much? I have a ricer cannon with electronic control valve to control flow/volume which will be installed.

 

4. My speedo, revs, fuel and temp lights, all of them in that dash area dont go. Any idea on problem? have looked for fuse in fuse holder but nothing.

 

Cheers, hopefully i can get a few answers.

Please do not refer me to search as i have already used it plenty.

 

Edit: o here are a few pics of it.

 

 

Now for a paintshop chop

 

[baccaruda]

hi Joseph, welcome and thanks for searching first.

 

Hollowing or otherwise bypassing the catalytic converters will negate their restrictive properties (as well as their cleaning properties), thereby allowing the turbo in your car to work more efficiently. You would notice that the boost kicks in earlier or with less pressure on the gas pedal.

 

You can obtain a similar result by cutting out the bottom of the air filter's box. Leave enough of a lip to retain the filter. This will increase the size of the passage through which your turbo draws air.

 

Both of the above modifications exploit a turbo's need for unrestricted airflow.

I'd advise you to chop the airbox first, and then to consider swapping in a WRX downpipe and cats rather than completely discarding yours, as I lean more environmentally instead of as an all-out hot rodder. WRX stock exhausts can be found relatively easily and are more than large enough to improve airflow through a smaller engine that's using older valvetrain technology.

 

I did have a turbowagon with a 2.5" catless exhaust and it was a bit loud. Damned fun to drive though.

 

I'm not the one to answer your intercooler questions except to say that a top mount will be far easier to rig.

 

Your dash may be fried. Whether you replace it or resurrect it, you will want to go through the groundwires in your car's engine bay and replace most of them as they'll be crusty and crispy, and the digital dashes are sensitive to such.

 

Good luck!

Andy

[requiemk626]

I was probably going to go the cold air intake method as i have read posts saying there is a difference between trimming the airbox and this.

Hmm yer wasnt aiming at inviromental car here.

 

Can also get full 2.5" or whatever size installed for under $50 ($35USD approx) so no need to go trying to find a WRX system.

 

Will a wrx downpipe fit? or can i custom one be made? wil all be done for pretty much free by a engineer.

 

Dash is not digital as you may think? its just standard type dash but the back lights for at night do not go.

[Gloyale]

Dash is not digital as you may think? its just standard type dash but the back lights for at night do not go.

 

 

Is it just the lights in the dash that don't work? the gauges themselves operate? If it's just the lights check the connections on the dimmer switch(lower left portion of dash) All the grounding for the dash lights goes through the dimmer. If it was just one bulb ou tI would say "it's just the bulb". But all of them out is a sure sign of the dimmer switch problem. That or a fuse. Try fuse #6 as well. Could be blown

[subyrally]

welcome to the club man.

if you are looking to bypass the cats, i would recommend taking it out and replacing it with a pipe instead of hollowing it out. when you punch out a cat, it leaves a large empty chamber that can actually cause a more of a restriction from the air not having a direct flow and bouncing off the sides and what not. i think the magazine sport compact car did a test with that. personally though, i would recommend the use of a high flow metalcore cat. they are a bit pricier but that flow much beter than a normal cat and they last a lot longer.

 

as far as mounting a pod filter, it can be done, you just need a maf adaptor and a low profile filter from my expirience. i think the best would be the hks filter. they flow very well and are shorter than most every other filter ive seen.

 

i actually went with the front mount intercooler on my rx, it wasnt too hard to fit. the hardest part was having to cut a hole in the front fender where the battery currently sits for the cold side pipe to come through.

 

 

 

 

these pics are a bit old, but you get the point with em. the biggest difference is that i have a different intake manifold now. the problem i had with the stock intake manifold is that the 90* elbow i had to use to connect the pipe to the throttle hit the hood and was rubbing paint and such.

 

the front mount i am using came as a kit for the 04 sti. the hardest part of it was that i had to make my own bumper beam for mount the core. i had the center of the stock bumper beam cut out and then welded in some peices of 1"x1" angle iron to make a 1" x 2" c channel then boxed it in with a peice of 2" flat stock. then that was welded to the front of the beam to reinforce the bumper. then to mount the core, i had another peice of 2" flat stock welded to the top of the original beam, then drilled out for the bolt holes. took about two days of messing around to get it done, but it works rather well and seems to be rather strong.

 

eh, im sure ive missed something, but feel free to ask me anything.

 

peace

tim

[requiemk626]

Is it just the lights in the dash that don't work? the gauges themselves operate? If it's just the lights check the connections on the dimmer switch(lower left portion of dash) All the grounding for the dash lights goes through the dimmer. If it was just one bulb ou tI would say "it's just the bulb". But all of them out is a sure sign of the dimmer switch problem. That or a fuse. Try fuse #6 as well. Could be blown

 

All of the bulbs do not go. Gauges still function. I am thinking dimmer switch too.

Wil look at fuse 6 soon. Cheers.

[pheonix165]

nice car...is it even possible to make those things that low?

[requiemk626]

nice car...is it even possible to make those things that low?

 

I hope so. will find out in a few weeks. Maybe even this weekend

 

Fuse 6 was blown, im so happy. Cheers, i didn't bother checking fuses initaily cause i hadn't fiddled with anything.

 

Can platstic piping be used for intercooler piping? or is alluminium the way to go?

[subyrally]

you havet o be carefule where you use plastic. too close to the turbo and it will melt. im sure you could use it on the cold side ofthe intercooler, but you have to check it frequently for cracking. aluminum is recommended due to its light weight and ability to be bent into various shapes. that and its strong

[requiemk626]

you havet o be carefule where you use plastic. too close to the turbo and it will melt. im sure you could use it on the cold side ofthe intercooler, but you have to check it frequently for cracking. aluminum is recommended due to its light weight and ability to be bent into various shapes. that and its strong

 

Wuld you buy another pre made wrx kit and adapt or custom make piping?

I dont really want it cracking so first time itw ill be done properly then.

[subyrally]

the only down side to the kit for the wrx is that you have you cut a couple holes in the car to run the pipes and slightly modify a couple bits of piping. mainly streightening out a few bends and adding length to a couple others.

 

the biggest pain on mine is where the pipe comes through the old battery box. the hose that came with the kit was too short to make a good seal, so i had to use a piece of radiator hose from my friend's semi truck.

but once i got that in place, it never came loose again.

 

for the most part, the kit fit rather well in the rx. but like i said, there will be some moddifying required to make it fit.

 

Wuld you buy another pre made wrx kit and adapt or custom make piping?

I dont really want it cracking so first time itw ill be done properly then.