legacycentral bbs

I'm getting ready to start collecting parts to do a rebuild, but I can't seem to find anywhere that sells higher performance engine parts for a 2.2 N/A.

This is my first subie build, so if anyone has some ideas or tips for my build, let me know.

An idea & a tip is to go forced induction with a stock WRX turbo setup. You can pick up virtually all the stock OEM parts you'd need from eBay, NASIOC & other Impreza forums for well under $1k. I've proven that first hand.

You could swap your stock N/A top end (heads & intake manifold) out for stock EJ22T top end. At that point most all WRX & STi turbo parts will mate right up with almost no modification.
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As for a 2.2 build, you can send your cams out to Delta Cam for a regrind which will bump you a little bit, but you're still starting out with an engine that only makes like 130hp bone stock. With cams, intake, headers, high flow exhaust, & A/F controller you'd likely peak out at like 150hp max. Not a lot of gain for the money that would be spent (well over $1k easily).

Been there & done that with an N/A build on my former '01 Focus ZX3 hatch back. Started with 133hp stock and literally replaced everything w/ exeption of the engine internals and only gained 22hp w/ nearly $1k taken from my wallet. Sure it was quicker, but not what I was shooting for. I sold it before I could sink any more cash into it. I should have just gone with a turbo setup and called it a day...

My best advice is think smart and do a TON of research before you foolishly spend your hard earned money on parts that don't gain you much.

Now if i got a 96 legacy 2.5, will that swap in place of the 2.2? will the trans hook up? exhaust manifolds?

As long as the exhaust is dual port vs. single port on the bottom of the heads. Other wise you'd have to change out exhaust manifolds. Everything else will match up easily.

4subaru wrote:Now if i got a 96 legacy 2.5, will that swap in place of the 2.2? will the trans hook up? exhaust manifolds?

If you are looking for power i would look for a WRX or a 2.2 turbo from a Sports Sedan. the 2.5 has head gasket issues.

for what i'm doing with my car, it has to be N/A. Plus i don't know anything about turbos.

If i did swap the 2.5 in, would my stock 2.2 ecu run it, or would i have to swap the wiring harness as well? Sorry for all the questions, i tried searching but i found mostly things about head swaps, not whole motor.

Thanks again for all the help, this forum has helped me big time.

go to nasioc and do a search for "frankenstien". its a 2.5lblock slid into your exhisting 2.2 heads/intake,etc. your stock engine management will keep up adequitely for general play and you'll need to run super,but it is a "ghetto" build. i'm in the middle of one right now(sort of a back-burner project) should be ready before spring. you WILL lose gas mileage!!!! read the arcticle though, its like 10 pages and full of info.

MPG is not a worry, it isn't a daily driver, my car spends most of its time running between 4500 and 6200 RPMs

now will my 2.2 ecu run the 2.5 if i dont swap the heads and intake? I wanted to pull my stock motor, drop in the whole 2.5 and then i'll have a backup motor if i ever blow it up.

someone correct me if i'm wrong, but i don't think you'll find a 2.5 that'll match up with your stock harness. definately not a dohc. if you're always in the upper revs, you might want to go stand-alone anyways. you could always scoop up a 2.5 for the block and a 2.2 for everything else(i did),build your n/a beast,then swap it out for your present 2.2 . the delta cams will help a lot in the higher revs. give them a call first---tell them your target rev range---they'll hook you up. mine will still be a daily driver,so i'm going with their 220 grind. yours will be much more aggressive.

speedoboy31 wrote:someone correct me if i'm wrong, but i don't think you'll find a 2.5 that'll match up with your stock harness. definately not a dohc.

Most all of the plugs on the 2.2 SOHC will plug into the 2.5 DOHC. I'm not sure about how well the 2.5 ECU will interact with the 2.2 harness...but I believe that it should work pretty well...The most that I see happening would be changing the length of some wires to accommodate the different locations of sensors

555bcturbo, i wasn't aware of that. so, would a stock 2.2 harness and ecu run a 2.5 dohc without any mods/probs? if so, this direct swap would be a pretty worthy venture for many.

posting so I can see what happens with the ECU and harness from a 2.5