18GForester Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Hi to all, I have had my 08 legacy 2.5i for a couple of yrs now, and i have the mod bug coming back. i cant ignore the itch any more. so i am here to get opinions and advice from you guys. FYI i last car was an 04 Forester XT with a full STi swap. engine, trans, rear 180 diff, DCCD, brembos. the whole nine yards including a 20G turbo tuned at 400whp with ecutech. so i have a little experience modding. this time though, i want to go with a 2L JDM set up. I want some opinions on turbo set ups. i dont mind going rotated. maybe keep it sleeper. FMIC... no hood scoop. i like the sleeper setup. looking to achieve around 450-500whp. i know the 2L JDM comes with a twin scroll turbo. would a GT35 be the way to go? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob-2 Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Brakes are undersized. Suspension soft. Why not buy the LGT, sell the 2.5i and begin with upgrades? FYI 500 WHP is not going to be reliable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
18GForester Posted December 31, 2013 Author Share Posted December 31, 2013 lgt isnt going to get me any further. suspension and brakes are still insufficient. no matter what, they will have to get upgraded. 500hp or 400hp, once you start modding, its always going to be unreliable. i've been down that road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobo2701 Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 gt35, fp Red, blouch 3.0, or if u really wanna get fancy borgwarner EFR 8374. if money was no object i would persnally go rotated EFR but the garrets GTX line or regular GT are always a excellent choice. but def going to be a lot of work pretty sure u will need a whole new ECU also since yours is a NA motor but I'm sure someone else can tell ya more. i know the going consensus is its not worth the extra time on a 2.5i but dont let that stop ya merry new years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Isn't there a better chassis out there for a starting point ? Oh I guess you want to start with what you got. So what's your other car that you'll drive when the Legacy is broke or being worked on ? 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobo2701 Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Isn't there a better chassis out there for a starting point ? Oh I guess you want to start with what you got. So what's your other car that you'll drive when the Legacy is broke or being worked on ? of course there is a better chassis out there but i would assume we all love our lgt and if u wanna follow your dreams why not thats what life is all about. and y not use what u got if you know what your doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
18GForester Posted December 31, 2013 Author Share Posted December 31, 2013 i will be swapping out the ecu to jdm, which needs to get rewired. i know this seems to be alot of work. i we are lucky to have a local race team that is also doing swaps on a daily basis. suspension and breaks are the easy part. for about 10k i can everything swapped out including rewired ecu. though its a 2L, its forged (jdm's are forged) so upgrading the turbo, and retune is whats going to get me to my goals. my other ride while down time or when its broke lol is a 1999 Hayabusa, and a dodge caravan lol. i'm simply tossing the idea around to go this route, if i see to many obstacles going this route, i may think of an alternative route. i totally know already how you guys are thinking... its not the most reliable set up. like rob-2 said, its not the most reliable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JmP6889928 Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Isn't there a better chassis out there for a starting point ? Oh I guess you want to start with what you got. So what's your other car that you'll drive when the Legacy is broke or being worked on ? Minivan....what else is there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 As long as you know what your getting into and have the funds to back them up we can get serious and begin to help you. Good Luck with your project. BTW, my son and I built my 1992 civic Si into a 9 second car, so I know where your coming from. I bought it new when he was 5y/o, he learned to drive in it, then we built it. 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob-2 Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Minivan....what else is there? Your no help.... 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JmP6889928 Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Your no help.... Moi? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Moi? Oh dear, it must be my age, I don't know what Moi means May be it a minivan inside joke... 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgoodhue Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Personally I would rather buy a LGT and use a 2.5GT ecu on a JDM motor rather than rewire a 2.5i for a JDM ecu and engine. Or do you just want 'JDM' bragging rights. A GT35R has the potential to meet your hp goals. Does the JDM have better cylinder heads than the EJ 2.5 motors? To make the same hp with a 2.0L as 2.5L you will need to move 25% more air in and out of the motor. This will have to be done with more boost, rpm and/or engine air flow. Better gas would make your goals easier as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zac88 Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Oh dear, it must be my age, I don't know what Moi means May be it a minivan inside joke... One last thing on the minivan jokes, One of our customers (I work in a high end autobody shop) That has a Ferrari 458 italia, Guess what his daily driver is? 98 dodge caravan. Says its comfortable, drives great, and well if the engine ever failed he would get rid of it but it just wont die! Back on topic, I always hate seeing the negativity when people want to make big HP builds, Hes looking for info on how it can be done and he's come to the right place. Instead of critisizing why not those with knowlege help him out? If I had the money for a better daily driver right now I would also like to do a crazy build on my LGT wagon, so props to you for doing so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strizzy Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 for about 10k Lol There is a LOT more to do, than just swap ECU and rewire the harness. You would honestly be better off selling the NA and looking for a higher mileage LGT with a 5mt (makes swapping to the 6mt possible). 500whp is no easy task. It can also be done with a GTX3076R on E85. Yes, it is fun and definitely worth it, if done the right way. My bad luck build Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JmP6889928 Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 One last thing on the minivan jokes, One of our customers (I work in a high end autobody shop) That has a Ferrari 458 italia, Guess what his daily driver is? 98 dodge caravan. Says its comfortable, drives great, and well if the engine ever failed he would get rid of it but it just wont die! Back on topic, I always hate seeing the negativity when people want to make big HP builds, Hes looking for info on how it can be done and he's come to the right place. Instead of critisizing why not those with knowlege help him out? If I had the money for a better daily driver right now I would also like to do a crazy build on my LGT wagon, so props to you for doing so. I don't see negativity on this particular thread, just the reality of how much work is necessary to do a conversion like the OP wants to do. It was mentioned about brakes being too small, which is a definite reality, and the ECM wiring conversion being a serious pain in the rear is also a definite reality. Exhaust, suspension, even some interior mods will be necessary and again, the question to ask, is it worth it to do all of these things when purchasing a used LGT to begin with would give him a much better platform to start with? It would seem that to take the N/A car and look into a supercharger conversion would be better served. If the OP really wants to do this and decides to start a thread on the build, I'm sure he'll receive as much help as is available on here. To put it in simple terms though, it's not really cost efficient when you begin breaking down all of the necessities that will come to light when this type of conversion is attempted. I have a friend that did an STi swap into his 06 LGT and it's been a bit of a nightmare, even with many more similarities than an N/A car would have and in knowing how much grief he's been through, I believe that selling the N/A car and purchasing an LGT for a beginning platform is sound advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 IMO if your going to do this your better off with more cubic inches to start with. Also its easier to get parts in this country and I assume Canada Most of us are over the JDM thing. PM Mike at AZPinstalls.com and ask his advice. There is also a local member to you that has lots of know how with this cars, look up frank_ster. I seem to recall he's up your way. Here, get to him here, http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/different-trailer-hitch-option-204538.html 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob-2 Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Personally I would rather buy a LGT and use a 2.5GT ecu on a JDM motor rather than rewire a 2.5i for a JDM ecu and engine. Or do you just want 'JDM' bragging rights. A GT35R has the potential to meet your hp goals. Does the JDM have better cylinder heads than the EJ 2.5 motors? To make the same hp with a 2.0L as 2.5L you will need to move 25% more air in and out of the motor. This will have to be done with more boost, rpm and/or engine air flow. Better gas would make your goals easier as well. Enough of your logical thinking! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
18GForester Posted January 1, 2014 Author Share Posted January 1, 2014 I appreciate all the input i can get. i'll take the critism too from all that are skeptic. its all good. as i mentioned earlier, i did a full swap from a forester xt to an sti. i know some of you will say "aha! XT" but that is not the point. because any xt stuff still had to get ditched. meaning any LGT stuff will also get ditched. having said that, from my experience, and from all the swaps the shop has done, people bring impreza ts's and roll out with full conversions. LGT ecu will not mesh with jdm ecu. any usdm will not mesh with jdm harness. brembo conversion is 500 for the fronts. the rear comes with the rear 180 rear diff and hubs. engine and trans can be picked up for under 5k. the rest is labor. jdm suspension is 500 bucks and is bolt on. can be done at home. the biggest issue here is the harness rewire, which i will totally leave upto to the shop. dont forget, they do this everyday. JDM internals are forged. so your starting with a forged motor. and thats the foundation to a solid build. the guy at the shop says, he sees blown ej25s almost everyday. unless you strip it and forge it, and even at that, they havent been able to keep up consistently. i came here to get help and suggestions from you folks since you guys have owned your legacies longer than i have. to me, i came here cause i enjoy these topics and possibilities of big hp on a sleeper. Max capacity, i also am getting my son involved in this, since he always talks about the forester. and thats the idea. have fun with it, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strizzy Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 How will you mount the 6mt trans when the trans mounts are completely different from the auto, and the 6mt cross member/mount will not bolt up to the auto Legacy. Custom fabbing will be required. My bad luck build Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
18GForester Posted January 1, 2014 Author Share Posted January 1, 2014 How will you mount the 6mt trans when the trans mounts are completely different from the auto, and the 6mt cross member/mount will not bolt up to the auto Legacy. Custom fabbing will be required. your a 100% correct. and i had the same issue with the forester. common issues, not a big deal at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idiot4hire Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 I may be bias but 300whp is the sweet spot on lgts. Especially for a DD or I might be trying to convince myself to stop modding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehsnils Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Oh dear, it must be my age, I don't know what Moi means Your French is worse than mine... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
18GForester Posted January 2, 2014 Author Share Posted January 2, 2014 Yes indeed 300whp is a sweet spot on the subies. trouble free and fun all day long. thing is, today almost all cars come with about 300hp. take my minivan van for example 283hp. my friend bought the new s4 and does mid 12s all day long at the track. if i do go along with the swap, by default i'll have the 300hp. then its just a matter of turbos and tune. i think the GT30 is a sweet turbo with less lag than the GT35, i'll be looking at 420hp at that point. i'll go ewg for sure . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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