Engine/Power - EJ20T (pre-2006 WRX and JDM) There is replacement for displacement, it is forced induction - OEM 2.0 liter turbo engines in the USDM WRX. 90-94 Legacy Turbo EJ22 turbo engines can also be discussed here.

STI vs WRX block comparo (pictures)

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Old 03-06-2003, 12:21 PM
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STI vs WRX block comparo (pictures)

Adam, John and I got together last night to tear down his USWRX EJ20 motor, and I thought we would take a few comparo pictures with the EJ207 block I have in the garage. (full details at http://www.wrxworld.com/projects/STIvsWRXEJ)

Here are the block pictures.









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Old 03-06-2003, 12:22 PM
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Here are some shots of the cranks.





and the pistons.




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Old 03-06-2003, 06:45 PM
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Thank you. I finally understand exactly what a semi-closed deck is. What I don't understand is why Subaru spent the (large amount of) extra money to make an entirely new casing for the USDM block just to make it weaker. Can some one please explain??? Why in god's name did they feel like they had to make all our interals weaker? I know some of it is cheaper but the weaker block doesn't make any sense to me. (Then again I am not exactly well versed in the trade of large scale combustion engine manufacturing)
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Old 03-06-2003, 10:26 PM
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Yes I understand how business works. You still did not explain why Subaru would spend an assload of money so they could mass produce a lower quality block when they could have just as easily stepped up production of their current blocks or replicated the castings of the current block. Paying extra money to make a product worse does not make business sense. It hurts the business and the consumer and creates a loss to society in general.
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Old 03-07-2003, 05:58 PM
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Great pics tnx!!!
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Old 03-07-2003, 09:02 PM
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Steppin
I think that you may be a little confused or mabe I am
But the ej20 that we get is the same ej20 that all wrx's get
the STI is different

just talking about the castings I know that there are several market variations
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Old 03-08-2003, 10:19 AM
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Originally posted by bamfwrx
Steppin
I think that you may be a little confused or mabe I am
But the ej20 that we get is the same ej20 that all wrx's get
the STI is different

just talking about the castings I know that there are several market variations
I think the point Steppin is making is interesting. The difference in casting is amazing small. The only difference is the four small bridges from the sleeve to the block. In fact, if looks like the regular block was cast the same, and just has the webbing machined out.

It is possible there are other differences in the block in terms of metalurgy, but from looking at it externally, they are identical. The other internal componets are quite different, especially the rods, pistons, and head. But as for the block itself, it looks pretty much the same.

Jeff
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Old 03-09-2003, 01:34 AM
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Originally posted by sponaugle
Adam, John and I got together last night to tear down his USWRX EJ20 motor, and I thought we would take a few comparo pictures with the EJ207 block I have in the garage.

Thanks for posting those, Jeff. I've never seen a photo comparison like this. Is good!

Do you have any pics of the STi vs WRX connecting rods (piston assemblies off) side by side? Also, did you happen to weigh the two blocks and crankshafts? Would you happen to have an outside micrometer to measure the crank journals (or, do both cranks fit in both blocks)? I suspect they are the same size, but even a slight increase in journal size means more load-carrying capacity. Small-block Chevys crank journal size varied as displacement and engine output went up.

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Old 03-09-2003, 09:20 AM
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Originally posted by Wingless Wonder
Originally posted by sponaugle
Adam, John and I got together last night to tear down his USWRX EJ20 motor, and I thought we would take a few comparo pictures with the EJ207 block I have in the garage.

Thanks for posting those, Jeff. I've never seen a photo comparison like this. Is good!

Do you have any pics of the STi vs WRX connecting rods (piston assemblies off) side by side? Also, did you happen to weigh the two blocks and crankshafts? Would you happen to have an outside micrometer to measure the crank journals (or, do both cranks fit in both blocks)? I suspect they are the same size, but even a slight increase in journal size means more load-carrying capacity. Small-block Chevys crank journal size varied as displacement and engine output went up.

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^ww^
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If you've seen some of the other pics this guy's posted, he better have every freakin micrometer under the sun. I remember seeing one where he had his tranny in about 8 million pieces. And even more amazingly, he claimed to have put it all back together and installed it in his car. Now I actually enjoy working on my car, but I KNOW that if I decided to take apart my tranny, it would NEVER work correctly again. If it ever worked at all.

WW: I did not know that about the mouse motors. Very interesting info.

Jeff, Please post more pics of everything, especially the heads and pistons like Nathan asked for. That would be simply awesome.

Nathan: Would you explain what the quench area is for all the n00bs who are reading this and don't know. Perhaps we could have a little "fundamentals of combustion engine building" seesion here.
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Old 03-09-2003, 10:26 AM
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Originally posted by Wingless Wonder
Do you have any pics of the STi vs WRX connecting rods (piston assemblies off) side by side? Also, did you happen to weigh the two blocks and crankshafts? Would you happen to have an outside micrometer to measure the crank journals (or, do both cranks fit in both blocks)? I suspect they are the same size, but even a slight increase in journal size means more load-carrying capacity. Small-block Chevys crank journal size varied as displacement and engine output went up.
The crank journals are the same size. I wasn't planning on unbolting the rods from the WRX crank, but I may have another WRX rod laying around to get a better side by side shot. The STI rod is a bit beefier in the center, and the bolt/cap is a bit different. I believe they are both high carbon steel forged.

The blocks are identical in weight as far as my scale could see. I'll weigh the cranks, but they feel exactly the same. More to come..

Jeff
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Old 03-09-2003, 11:05 AM
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Yeah baby, keep it coming.

Would someone be kind enough to advise on appx how much an EJ207 short block would run? Also. would that even make sense because one of the real advantages of that motor is the AVCS? Would it be better to just buy the whole thing?
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