Stevo F Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 My son was driving the '97 GT (one day will be his) home when I picked him up from school today and we were discussing how poorly this car does accelerating up hills compared to the rest of the fleet. It gets the job done, but you definitely need to punch the accelerator down more to keep the speed up on an incline than out other Subies. My EJ22 '98 wagon is noticeably quicker. I know there was a horsepower/ MPG bump when the combustion chamber and piston were reworked for '97, but I think that was only about 2 HP difference. The '98 GT is of course quicker with it's original, low mileaged EJ25. I'm also wondering if the different gear ratios used on the EJ25 models has something to do with it, but they actually had a lower (higher numerical) ratio that is somewhat offset by the larger 16 inches tires. Along with a bit less power, I notice the fuel mileage is lower, which makes sense, The wagon has been getting 26- 27 MPG, but the '97 GT is low to mid 20's from what I can tell from the first few tanks of gas. The engine runs smoothly with no issues, so nothing obviously wrong with it. I'm thinking of adding an MSD coil with NGK wires (the wagon has these) for a little better performance Any other suggestions for tuning the '95 engine a little more? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doublechaz Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 I think 97 got solid lifters instead of hydraulic for less turning friction. Get a spare intake and polish it inside and then swap. Hybrid intake while keeping the snorkus bottle. Better flowing exhaust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setnev Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 The MSD ignition won't do anything to boost performance. It will improve your MPGs, but only by 1 or 2 MPG. All it does is improve the efficiency of the spark. The 95 EJ22 has 135 HP and 140 ft-lbs of torque, the 97+ has 142 HP and 147 ft-lbs of torque. That being said, there isn't much you can do to improve the performance of the EJ22. You could throw on some headers, either delete or hollow out the second cat, and get a Flowmaster muffler to help improve exhaust flow. The added benefit is that it'll make it sound really good too for when you're doing those uphill pulls. Chaz also makes a good point to build a hybrid intake. If you're not opposed to spending a little extra coin, you could do a NA-T setup and feed it about 5-6 lbs of boost. For around $500, it'll give you more HP than a stock EJ25. Those older EJ22's were very receptive of boost and can actually handle a respectable amount of pressure. Sidebar: A little tidbit about wheel and tire sizes, oversize tires can reduce your speedometer and odometer reading by up to 8% and undersize tires can increase it by up to 8%. I switched from 15" wheels with 225 tires to 16" wheels with 205 tires. I didn't realize it but I was getting 325 miles to 3/4 of a tank which averages about 26-27 MPG, but I've really only driven 299 actual miles. The smaller tires (less than an inch difference in height) add nearly 30 miles to 300 mile trip. Making sure you have the factory height of both wheels and tires makes all the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo F Posted October 14, 2017 Author Share Posted October 14, 2017 One other mod I did with the '98 wagon was swap the air tube for the earlier '95- '96 design which (according to some that were in this group) has a better airflow characteristics than the '97 and newer design). Wondering if that would do this car some good as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brighton96 Posted October 14, 2017 Share Posted October 14, 2017 I haven't had my 2.2 dyno'd and probably won't bother but with the mods I've done, the car is night and day difference from when I got it. There's not a lot of room to make more power when everything is computer controlled, but you can set the car up better to use the power it has. I've noticed the largest differences in performance from a lightweight crank pulley, grounding kit, running 92/93 octane, NGK wires and iridium plugs, and a hybrid intake with K&N panel filter. The other mods I've done MAY have had tiny affects but it's hard to say, but now collectively, when I get on the gas, the car drops a gear and scoots with literally no drama. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doublechaz Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 I think I've done all those things that Brighton96 mentions and I agree there is a good difference. It's not going to be a racecar, but at least it'll go up a serious hill without downshifting, and I'm pretty much never the slow guy at the light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.