Scubi questions, Motor questions Options

[r_towle]

So, whats the list of decent motors for a subaru swap?
What is the price range nowadays?
If going down this road...is there a motor that can be upgraded to the STI motor over time???

Ideally I would like to figure out if a 2.5 liter legacy motor (or whatever) can have new cams and special head work and become an STI...etc...

Rich

[ninefourteener]

2002-2005 WRX - 2.0L, 227 HP, TD04 turbo

2006-2007 WRX - 2.5L, 230 HP, TD04 turbo) much better torque though. They utilize drive-by-wire throttle though, which causes complications when doing a transplant.

2004-2007 STI - 2.5 L, 300 HP, VF39 turbo (VF43 twin scroll turbo in 2007) HP is primarily due to larger turbo only. The 2.5 Blocks are the same as the 06-07 WRXs, however, the STI internals are stronger (several forged components).

The 2.0s can be made to produce well over stock STI power levels safely with turbo upgrades, but keep in mind they will also require larger injectors and a fuel pump to support it. STI "pink" injectors are a popular upgrade.

The 2.5 WRX engines will support nearly 400hp on the stock "blue" injectors

The 2.0 WRX engines can be safely built up to 400 hp without stronger internals

The 2.5 WRX engines will support up to 450hp on the stock internals safely.

The 2.5 STI engines can support over 500hp on the stock internals.

2.0 engines on ebay sell for $2500-ish
2.5 (WRX) engines sell for $3000-$3500ish
2.5 (STI) engines start at $5000, and go up to $8000

Obviously this is vague, generic info, but it's a start. The 2.0 WRX engines are a very reasonable choice if you're on a budget, and will support lots of HP, especially for a 914.

Keep in mind, with ALL of these choices, you will need to be properly tuned, and have some kind of computer controlled engine management system.

Added: To answer a few more questions I read above, The (almost) entire Subaru line uses H-4, 2.5L engines now. The Tribeca and some of the Outbacks use a non-turbo H-6. The Legacy and outback utilze a different intake/exhaust/intercooler setup than the Impreza line though.

The Forester uses EXACTLY the same engine/transmission setup as the Impreza line.

Factory non-turbo Subarus are great, but turbocharging them ends up to be more expensive than just buying a factory turbocharged engine. Not to mention, the internals cannot support NEARLY as much boost as the factory turbo engines.

Added again: The WRX and STI engines, of all years, are essentially legos.... you can swap parts left and right, and they all fit (except the injectors)..... great for planning upgrades, because you never need to change the intake / exhaust, etc.... they all bolt directly on to one another.

Example, my 2006 WRX:
Stock - 230 hp
+ full 3-inch turboback exhaust with bellmouth downpipe - $500
+ Cobb Accessport hand held tuner - $700
+ Used VF39 (stock STI) turbo w/ 1500 miles - $450
+ Used STI intercooler - $250
+ 2 hours on Cobb's dyno - $400
= 305 AWHP (385 @ the crank), mid 12-sec 1/4 mile times.

Thats it..... nothing else was required... it all bolted right on or plugged right in..... and it's a SAFE, dailly driver. The 2 hours on Cobb's dyno was only to squeeze a few more HP out of my injectors (I was at 362 hp before the dynotune)