New to the subie life, need advice.

[Jswapcivic]

Hello, I'm am looking to aquire a legacy soon for a winter car and am looking into performance upgrades.

 

So, I'm thinking about swapping the ej255 out of the forester or legacy. I'm gonna buy a wrecked car and transfer everything over, engine, tranny, diff, axles etc.

 

These cars have a lot less power than a STI but to my knowledge those parts bolt right on. So to make a poor man's STI engine, would I also need the STI stock ecu?

 

Like does everything bolt up Then? I know mechanically it does but I'm unsure if they have different sensors or locations that may interfere with the ecu or does it all plug an play?

 

Also, does anyone have recommendations on someone who merges these harnesses?

 

Thanks!

[Brighton96]

Everything from the EJ257 (STI) motor will physically bolt onto a EJ255. But you also don't need an STI ECU, both the EJ255/257 ECUs are programmable, so no need to find an STI ECU.

[Jswapcivic]

Okay thanks! If I may ask, what program or software do I use to program the ecu?

[Brighton96]

I don't know of specific ones that tuning shops use, but with programmable ECUs, you can just get a COBB accessport of equivalent plug in tuner, and that has preset maps on it that you just plug into the OBD port. I also wouldn't recommend just buying a tuning program and then just start changing the map, you need legitimate training and a good bit of practice... and also a dyno.

[Jswapcivic]

I tried to learn how to tune once doing 3rd gear pulls and stuff on the highway and found out it wasn't for me. It's actually not that bad or hard, but the experts can definitely get more power and a smoother powerband. But thanks! I'll look into cobb

[RustyRuu]

snow tires are the biggest performance upgrade for a WINTER car.

 

good set of tires and a good driver and your faster than and sti...

 

look into local ice tracks this winter most of them have fun track days where you don't have to go home after you lose in head to head racing.

 

my local track has a high number of awd imports and the faster guys are the ones that have the better tires not higher horsepower cars.

[Jswapcivic]

Definitely won't skip on the tires. Just wanted some more power to pull the car around. My fiance has an 2005 Acura RL with sh-awd and I love the thing. Downside though is that car is a tank and I want something a little more nimble. Car has 290hp/260tq but weighs 3900lbs. This car floating around 300/300 is good enough for me.

 

What's a good size tire to run on this platform?

[Brighton96]

I'm running 215/55R16s with all seasons and then I'll be getting 235/45ZR17 for sticky street tires. The 16s let me clear larger brakes without any rubbing or issues. Gas mileage suffers though, I d about 3mpg less than stock cars around town and 5mpg on the highway

[Setnev]

If you want an EJ255 in a second gen Legacy, you need to purchase a 99 Legacy Brighton or L with the EJ22 in it. That is the only year and trim level that will accept the 2000-2005 Engines without ripping out the entire dashboard, HVAC system, and bulkhead harness.

 

Turbo motors have a different harness than the N/A models too, so any turbo motor will need extensive wiring merges done.

 

I'm developing a harness adapter for the Phase 1 harness (95-99 2.5 and 95-98 2.2) to Phase 2 harness, but I'm still a ways off from bringing it close to production.