EJ208 swap ECU question

[2ToneTurbo]

Hello! first time posting, long time lurker. I will be soon be swapping a JDM EJ208 (TT) motor into my 2000 outback LTD 5MT. I am not sure what rev engine i will find but hopefully I can get my hands on a rev-D. I would like to stay away from aftermarket engine management at least at the beginning as it seems that the JDM EJ208 ECU has no problem handling the single turbo conversion that I plan on doing.

 

When i purchase my engine I expect to be buying the JDM ECU and engine harness that comes with it.

 

My question is will I be able to directly swap the JDM legacy ECU into my USDM outback? Will my lights, gauges and other USDM accessories still function correctly? basically can i plug my USDM body harness into the new ECU?

 

Ive read that at least the rev-D version of the ECU is decently tune-able so I'm not worried about that.

 

The reason id like to stick with the JDM ECU is that id rather not have to change the timing components and intake like I did when i swapped an N/A JDM EJ20 into my car.

 

Ive searched extensively for the answer to this question, sorry if it has been answered before. Thanks!

[Somac]

No, you will have to do an entire harness merge to get it to work properly. It will end up being the same as any other WRX swap, which, if you're going to end up using WRX or STI components, you might as well just do an EJ205 swap. It'll be just about the same in the end.

[Setnev]

First off, you better be planning on either converting it to a single turbo or converting your car to RHD. The EJ208 will not go in to a LHD car because the second turbo will not clear the brake booster.

 

That being said, you'd be better off with aftermarket engine management if you decide to convert the twin turbo to a single turbo because the tuning will be off on the stock ECU.

[ehsnils]

First off, you better be planning on either converting it to a single turbo or converting your car to RHD. The EJ208 will not go in to a LHD car because the second turbo will not clear the brake booster.

 

Some more alternatives:

 

• Remove the brake booster. But expect more brake force needed.
  
• Move the brake booster and change the brake pedal linkage.
  

[RSKST]

I wouldn't go rev D. Rev A-C could potentially be easier swap. You could just single turbo it with a VF35 for example and use ECU from late 90's WRX (or a standalone made for classic WRX/STI) with little wiring modifications. Just don't use STI's stock ECU because Ej208 has a higher compression ratio than a Ej207.

 

Bad thing about Ej205 is that it doesn't have forged pistons from factory like Ej208 has. So Ej208 basically is a stronger engine internally. So no, it's not the same as a Ej205 swap.

 

Almost forgot to mention that you could keep the stock ECU, but expect it to throw a check engine light sometimes when you do pulls and limit the rpm to 4000. Ask how do I know lol.