Hi everyone,

I'm a reformed domestic muscle car guy looking for some help on my Subaru. Bought a 1998 Forester L with 70,000 for $4,000 cash and now I want to have some fun with it. I want to either swap a WRX EJ20 engine/trans/ECU, or modestly boost the current 2.5L.

If anyone has a suggestion as to which would be more cost effective, or less headaches I would love to hear it. I plan to do this in the next 3 months, so any info or eperiences would be appreciated.

 

If your going to swap, why go with a the little brother engine... don't get me wrong, the 2.0 L is a nice piece of metal but it doesn't compare in torque and power to the 2.5 L turbo charged engine. In my mind, if you are going to do a swap, do it right - two ways to go - both are large ticket items.

1) Swap in the 05 WRX STI engine and Tranny, since the motor is out of the car anyway, drop in forged pistons, rods and complete with headwork and cams. Complement your fully built 2.5 L engine with a rotated mount GT35 or FP Red Turbo, cool the operation with Aquamist Alky/Water injection, feed with dual walbro pumps and PE or Perrin 816 cc injectors. Put power to the ground with better wheel/tire set up and a Exidy clutch and oh... don't forget your breathing with a full 3" race exhaust. Call it a day with 500 + whp... Crap, don't forget your engine management. Go with the Utek piggyback system.

2) ULTAMATE!!! Swap in the 3.0 L H6 from the 06 tribeca and an 05 STI Tranny. Do all above except go with a rotated mount GT40 or GT42. Rip some sh*t up with 700 whp!!! There is not a mussle car on the planet that would compete straightline.

Did I go overboard? A little - all I am saying, go with the better engine and tranny if you can afford it!