AKJangly Posted May 8, 2016 Share Posted May 8, 2016 newcomer here. i just got my first car, and it just so happens to be a 99 Legacy with an EJ22. (to be honest i haven't gotten my license yet, gonna learn to drive stick before i get that, give it a couple of weeks.) i've been driving it for the past couple of days. everything seems to be in good condition, other than an oil leak originating from the bottom of the engine leaking onto the axle. i absolutely love the car, it drives fantastically, has decent power, and it was cheap. the engine has 148K miles on it, but the head gaskets, valve cover gaskets, and other gaskets were replaced about 5K miles ago. the clutch is in good condition, the catch point is somewhere around 1/3 of the way down. there are some rattles when the engine is revved over 4K, but i'm assuming it comes with age. (please correct me if needed on that.) the very first mod i did to my car probably couldn't even be called a mod. i spent about 2 hours trying to remove the radio unit until i realized that i could stick my hand back there via the area above the pedals. that's also when i realized that there were two RCA inputs on the back of the unit, so i plugged in an adapter i had lying around and had a good time for a bit. that was a very satisfying moment. anyways, on to the original point of this post: i'm looking to do some performance oriented mods, mostly dealing with the engine. it already has a bit of get up and go, but i'd rather have "a bit more". intake and exhaust are options but i'd rather stick to eBay kits due to money reasons. i'm running this motor until it burns up, where i'll then do an STI engine swap. i'd like to see what i can do with the worn stock motor. i've got a steady small stream of extra cash that i can save up, so that's not an issue. what is an issue is saving up several grand. a turbo kit courtesy of eBay is a considered option at this time. i've done a lot of research and looked at a lot of personal reviews of them. one guy ended up getting 10K miles off of his twin eBay turbo setup, still running. the key issue that most people have is getting a proper amount of oil flow through the turbo. the default connectors included with the turbo are definitely lacking. if i ended up going this route, i'd make sure to fix those problems before i start. boost won't kick until the revs get way up there of course. if you guys have any idea what boost levels the stock motor can handle, please let me know. another option would be to swap in a boxer V6, if at all possible. i've never seen it done, but if you know of any way to do it, let me know. it would be an interesting project with a lot of yield. (and if you put a turbo on that..) if there's any other non-bank-breaking mods that i could do, let me know. oh and what could that oil leak i mentioned be? how serious is that? any help is appreciated, thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara32013 Posted May 8, 2016 Share Posted May 8, 2016 I have no clue about eBay turbos and such but there is no such thing as a boxer v6. There are 6 cylinder boxer engines. The "V" in v6 represents the shape of the engine. A v6 is shaped like a v. These boxer engines are flat. I've seen the 6 cyl swap done several times, it's not uncommon but there is no aftermarket for the 6 cyl. Once it's installed it's pretty much done, no upgrading. I'm not sure how much boost these can handle stock but it's probably not much without supporting mods Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara32013 Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Alright, I guess I can try to give some useful advice since no one else has chimed in yet. First, I wanna say, stop driving without a license now! You can seriously **** up your future for possibly the rest of your life! My father drove without a license for nearly 20 years, He lost them in his early 20's and just got them back last year at 45 years of age. Through those years he was pulled over probably 15 times, served 9 months in jail, countless years on home confinement, and thousands upon thousands of dollars in fines. On top of that he lost many good cars because he could not afford to get them out of impound one of which was my 1995 Firebird, beautiful car gone! Luckily my father was never in any type of accident through the years, because that would have been another huge heap of trouble. Ok, I'm done with the lecture. As far as eBay turbos go they are of course sub par when compared to the reputable ones. I'm sure you've heard of Haggard Garage on Youtube? If not, look them up. They had a Lexus, I think? It may not have been a Lexus, and they but an eBay turbo on it. It worked but I don't think it lasted all that long, I believe the car no longer runs. In conclusion, I do think the eBay turbos are worth what you'll pay. I've seen some for right around $125.00 and I'm sure they have some sort of warranty, probably? But you can't just buy a turbo and be done with it. You of course need the downpipe, blow off valve, intercooler etc. Plus supporting mods such as high flow fuel pump and injectors. Also with 148,000 and all new gaskets, your car engine is far from worn out. The 2.2 is probably the most reliable engine you can get in the Subaru I've had two 2.2 Subarus both with 250,000 miles and they still got me from A to B. Some of the first gen Legacys actually had turbocharged 2.2. I've seen a few people slap that turbo on some early second gens but I'm not sure if the '99 would be the same as it's a bit different from the older 2.2s. But from what I've heard you may be able to snag one dirt cheap from someone that's upgraded their old 2.2 Turbos. Also, a little note about the 6cyl. I believe the easiest one to swap into your car would be from a newer 2000 and up Outback, but those have 210 hp vs your 142 hp factory. Now that is quite a bit more pep but that 210 is pretty much the limit unless you can build everything from scratch. You could probably swap in a JDM 2.0 pretty painlessly and they can be had very cheap on eBay with VERY low miles. They look like they were pulled out of brand new cars! They start at 155hp but I think you can turbo those pretty easily! Sorry this was very long, I hope something I've said can be helpful.. good luck finding that boxer "V6" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKJangly Posted May 9, 2016 Author Share Posted May 9, 2016 Lol. I'm 18, didn't get my permit until I was 17 and I've been driving ever since. Yes, I am aware that it is illegal to drive without a permit or a license, but I have a learners permit. I'm very fluent with automatics, but I'm still learning with my manual. Yes, I have an adult in the car whenever I drive. As for all of the info you gave, thank you. That's very insightful. An eBay turbo is all I can afford, but unfortunately it will only boost about when I need to shift, so that's kind of useless. I think I'm going to go for the V6 swap, and in the future I might slap a turbo on that, generate some 300+ HP on 10 PSI, possibly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBisson Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 If your wanting to do a 6 cylinder turbo have a look at the mighty car mods gramps build Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara32013 Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 Not trying to be a stickler here but once again Subaru never made a "V6" V is the shape of the engine. Subaru doesn't have any V shaped engines. All V6 engine are 6 cylinders but not all 6 cylinders are V6s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBisson Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 The gramps build uses the ez36 I think out of a Subaru Tribeca Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKJangly Posted May 11, 2016 Author Share Posted May 11, 2016 I'm used to saying "V6" instead of "Flat 6" simply because it's easy and I'm lazy. Jbisson I'm definitely gonna look into that. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LatentWagen Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 Slapping a turbo on that SOHC EJ22 will be like putting lipstick on a pig... and then it'll break anyway. So a motor swap is your best option for decent power. Also, if an H-6 can fit, then usually so can a V-6, although you'll get a lower center of gravity with the horizontal motor rather than the V. If you're going the motor swap route, it's usually easier to keep it in the Subaru family (and stick with the boxer/H/flat layout, as others have said). However, you're 18 years old and from here it appears that you're not ready to mod the car. This is based on lack of finances, lack of knowledge, and lack of driving experience. 300HP would put you in a ditch, at this point. Not trying to put you down, but it's the reality (ask me how I know). Good luck on learning to drive. Stay stock and stay safe, and put that money in the bank! LW's spec. B / YT / IG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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