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Pics of the LGT manifold conversion


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So I did this. And it went nothing like that. :lol:

I bought a stock 2005 LGT manifold, and I have a 2007 NA Leggy.

 

 

The up pipe collector (stub coming off the header that needs the "small addition" welded to it) is too steeply angled to mate up with the stock midpipe. I wish it was that simple, the two do not simply meet in a straight line at all, the front sway bar and suspension unit is in the way. The up pipe collector on the LGT manifold points up where the suspension is, and the stock midpipe also points upwards. See photo.

 

http://i.imgur.com/IrLScTy.jpg

 

The shop decided the best way to get around this problem was to forget about the flanges because that robs space for the angle the pipe needs to take downwards to mate up with the stock midpipe. I agreed. They chopped off the collector pipe as far back as they could go without getting into where it branches, and chopped off the rest of the midpipe up to the second cat.

 

http://i.imgur.com/s1jPrtk.jpg

 

These are the funny angles you have to deal with, and on top of that trying to get under the suspension/swaybar. The only solution was to do hours of custom fabrication for a piece that would join the 2 holes and give enough clearance on the sway bar.

 

http://i.imgur.com/ecsPUes.jpg

 

The hours of custom fab was VERY pricy. I was worried this would happen and it did. It really isn't as bad as it looks, considering the mess of the bends on an EL header. It still flows well. I also got 2 mufflers put on and it sounds unbelievable... That makes it worthwhile for me, but the price was not what I expected at all, and what I saw in this thread was simply not do-able. In the end I used all the parts listed minus the 3 bolt flange.

 

LGT exhaust manifold

2 stainless O2 bungs from Vibrant

Grimspeed extra thick crosspipe gaskets for Subaru turbo manifold

Casper electronics 36" Subaru O2 sensor extension

Mufflers of choice (Vibrant 1034 stainless)

All stainless piping

Shop only charged me for labor since it was so intensive

 

 

Result: Good and bad. Don't do this because I ran into a massive roadblock with the header and it ended up costing me a ton of money. It still cost less than a manifold already made, and I got the mufflers custom welded as well, but it was much more expensive than I foresaw. I'm very happy with the way it sounds and have no check engine light.. yet.

 

The reason I did this instead of buying the Borla reps or Rallisport manifold was because they sound different (in my opinion) and I wanted the space saving features of the stock manifold as well. Plus it cost less, and if it went as this thread had planned then it would have cost a lot less. The stock EL header on the 2.5i has a cat inside somehow, so now that's gone and there is less piping and more direct flow (despite that kinky addition.) The O2 sensor locations seem to be working right now. Front O2 sensor on the new piece, rear O2 sensor just behind the second cat on the old mid pipe. No noticeable "loss of power" as most guys would object (there are still no dyno results for this claim) and it sounds nice and deep and mellow with the mufflers.

 

Thanks GEE-OTTO for taking the time to go through this and experiment! Also thanks for answering my endless emails to clarify certain parts of the process! Unfortunately it didn't go as easily for me, but I'm wicked happy with the results. Sound clips to come if anyone wants to hear, but it just sounds like and LGT.

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/yDM5iYU.jpg

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http://i.imgur.com/ecsPUes.jpg

 

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r182/GEE-OTTO/ge_hdr4.jpg

 

Nice muffler tips!

 

I was in and out of Mach V in under 3 hours mostly due to heating and letting the cast steel manifold cool between welds. I assume you are going UEL 4 life giving the more permanent connection/creation btwn the passenger side manifold and mid pipe? :)

 

We are all in for sound clips :)

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I assume you are going UEL 4 life giving the more permanent connection

I had no choice, a flange woudn't fit with the bend the pipe would have to take. That's why I'm wondering why yours came out so differently.

 

Sound clips today

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I had no choice, a flange woudn't fit with the bend the pipe would have to take. That's why I'm wondering why yours came out so differently.

 

Sound clips today

 

I credit Mach V for the fab work the only difference is the fabricator :mad: I almost feel like they didnt try hard enough:lol:

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May come down to expertise as you said, but it didn't look good under there when they bolted the manifold up. What I suspect your shop did was drop your midpipe a bit lower, but I still don't see how they could have made the up pipe connector on the header angle the way they did for you.

 

Anyways sorry, ran out of battery and my camera I brought along as a backup just recorded static. I'll have sound clips tomorrow. The upside of using a stock manifold is the sound is much better than the aftermarket headers I've heard. They sound like helicopters.

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I have split exhaust manifolds on old inline sixs just getting the right sound and not performance but this seems too expensive for the end result. Buyers remorse? It does sound pretty decent but not same or as good as being sent through a Turbo. Can us N/A guys just be honest with ourselves and admit no matter what the reason was...price, fuel economy...ect, we would rather have a Turbo! Why don't we focus on making our cars stand out for different reasons than trying to mimic something we will never be.
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Personally I'd rather have a flat 6 and a manual tranny than a turbo four.

 

Was I looking at GT's before I bought? Yea, but in my price bracket the mileage was 100k and above. I got this car because it had 38k on it and I want to enjoy it and get the most out of it dynamically and handling wise. The point of this mod was to bring out some of the inbuilt character of the car for a DD without making it loud and suggestive of power (it's quiet but rumbly when warm) and not to mimic a turbo at all.

 

If you wanted a Legacy GT though you could have easily got one instead of an NA 2013.

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May come down to expertise as you said, but it didn't look good under there when they bolted the manifold up. What I suspect your shop did was drop your midpipe a bit lower, but I still don't see how they could have made the up pipe connector on the header angle the way they did for you.

 

Anyways sorry, ran out of battery and my camera I brought along as a backup just recorded static. I'll have sound clips tomorrow. The upside of using a stock manifold is the sound is much better than the aftermarket headers I've heard. They sound like helicopters.

 

My midpipe is actually closer to the FSB by about 1/4" they pulled is forward by an inch as well (there is enough play).

 

Sound clip is nice! What mufflers did you go with or did i overlook that :lol:

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Personally I'd rather have a flat 6 and a manual tranny than a turbo four.

 

Now this is something we definitely agree on, how do we get a 3.6 and a 6mt?!?

 

Look, I get it, I can't help my self from modding/personalizing my car either, no matter what it is! All my point is that the majority of N/A guys wanted a turbo or at least the performance level of one and we all have some excuse justifying why we didn't.

 

Do they have a Turbo Envy Anonymous forum? We could get together and have a "Tea Party" pun intended.

 

I'll go first,

My name is Robb and I was to cheap to buy a turbo but I still love my Subaru!

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Now this is something we definitely agree on, how do we get a 3.6 and a 6mt?!?

 

Look, I get it, I can't help my self from modding/personalizing my car either, no matter what it is! All my point is that the majority of N/A guys wanted a turbo or at least the performance level of one and we all have some excuse justifying why we didn't.

 

Do they have a Turbo Envy Anonymous forum? We could get together and have a "Tea Party" pun intended.

 

I'll go first,

My name is Robb and I was to cheap to buy a turbo but I still love my Subaru!

 

No:lol:

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As far as I know the 08+ are PZEV and not mine. That means you have different ECU tuning, a denser cat, and a rougher idle is somehow figured into the mix (I saw you'd asked about that) GEE-OTTO also has an 08+, so same thing as you.

 

Danvers? Wicked! Cool to have people close by, if you have any questions or want to hear it in person especially in cabin then let me know. As you can tell from the thread the fab work certainly depends on the shop's skill level... I got the short end of that stick and payed for it.

 

And oops. I need to make more videos after Monday's midterm.

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Now this is something we definitely agree on, how do we get a 3.6 and a 6mt?!?

 

Look, I get it, I can't help my self from modding/personalizing my car either, no matter what it is! All my point is that the majority of N/A guys wanted a turbo or at least the performance level of one and we all have some excuse justifying why we didn't.

 

Do they have a Turbo Envy Anonymous forum? We could get together and have a "Tea Party" pun intended.

 

I'll go first,

My name is Robb and I was to cheap to buy a turbo but I still love my Subaru!

 

My name is Greg and I want to swap a 6MT into my 2004 Outback and install a Raptor supercharger so I can make my classmates with Mustangs and Camaros cry :icon_twis

 

Lol but seriously, I would very much want a 6MT on my OB; with or without any engine mods it would definitely improve the car.

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My name is Greg and I want to swap a 6MT into my 2004 Outback and install a Raptor supercharger so I can make my classmates with Mustangs and Camaros cry :icon_twis

 

Lol but seriously, I would very much want a 6MT on my OB; with or without any engine mods it would definitely improve the car.

 

There is a user on these forums that did that swapped in a 6mt drive line. he loves .

 

I saw a 6MT from 10' 2.5i Legacy but that is a cable shifted gearbox and I hear it isnt as stout as our 3.90 F/D 5MTs (05-09).

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