Subaru Questions. Options

[broomhandle]

Hello All,

I have had a project 914 since 2009. I have a hard full of 1.7's and 2.0's, I feel I am tired of these.. plus.. the 901 I feel is the downside... from my past ownership of a 914. I have decided to go subaru. On this forum. I see so many, some go 2.0, some go 2.5? Turbo?

I am unsure of what combo to look for. It sounds like Turbo motors, need turbo 5spds. which are very hard to find. So is naturally aspirated jus fine? I would think so.

I have gotten prices of a non turbo 2.5 from 2005sih at 1500.00... ugh.

Do there majority of the sub motors mount to the transaxles? Or anybody in California want to sell a motor/trans? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I would love a turbo, but I think I am ok with a non turbo...

any help? Thoughts?

[lierofox]

I went with an EJ20K (2.0L Turbo from a 1998 JDM Subaru STi) and paired it with the stock side-shifter that was in the car already, I went through an adapter plate made by Kennedy and the transmission bolted right up without issue, though I had to make my own crossmember to mount the engine.

My setup ranks at about a 7/10 on the jank factor, due to having a less-than-ideal shop arrangement while building it (drama that I don't really want to get too much into) but so far over the last few years I've had decent luck pairing the Subaru turbo engine with the stock 901 transmission, save for a heavy clutch pedal due to the extra grippy pressure plate I got. If you don't dial up a turbo Subaru engine much above stock (220-280ish HP), the 901 will, albeit begrudgingly, handle the power.

Renegade Hybrids makes a full cradle for mounting the engine and transmission, as well as an adapter plate, they're a more expensive but a much more turn-key solution.

The 5MT Subaru transmission can be used if you convert it to 2WD. There's pre-made setups available for doing that, along with instructions for converting it yourself, as well as converting the shifter mechanism over to a cable shifter using a bellcrank mechanism, and adapting the inboard CVs over to adapt to the Subaru output flanges. In terms of Turbo vs NA transmissions, not much difference other than what kinda clutch they use (pull for Turbo, push for NA) and I believe some subtle differences in the gear ratios.

As far as turbo vs non-turbo on the engine itself, just about anything modern will have more get-up-and-go compared to any Type IV engine. That said the turbo EJ engines tended to have lower compression ratios (somewhere around the low 8:1 range) to compensate for the boost pressures they ran, 12-18psi depending on the car and how it's set up. 8:1 in a 2 liter engine is pretty abysmal below 3k rpm, but after that the turbo spooling up is like you're pulling back a slingshot. Once it starts making boost, you're at 7k (or 8k in the STi) RPM before you know what's happening. That said I've never experienced an NA Subaru engine in a 914, I only know what my EJ20K feels like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58YY_S53gyE