Hi, I am new to i-club. I used to own an '85 Subaru GL 4WD hi/lo Wagon. Eventually the time came to replace it, and although I originally wanted a 2.5RS, I could not find one in my area for a reasonable price. I ended up choosing a '92 300ZX 2+2 (non-turbo), which has been a great car-- but for some reason, women in this town keep driving into my car. I am somewhat entertaining the possibility of selling it and replacing it with a Subaru Impreza.

The problem is this:
I would prefer to get a 5-speed, mid to late 90's sport wagon, however the highest engine these came with was the 2.2, from what I understand. Quite frankly, the power that these put out is just a little too anemic for my tastes.

The obvious options for improvement with potential would be to swap in a 2.5 RS or Legacy engine, or to turbocharge the 2.2L.

From searching this site, most information that I found was in regards to swapping to a WRX engine, but what other information I found indicated that a 2.5 engine should swap right in, except that the wiring and ECU would have to be changed to the 2.5 ECU.
Is this accurate? What sort/range of costs would this be likely to involve?

I have also found mention of a 2.5 turbo kit fabricated to fit the 2.2 engine, but are there any turbo kits specifically for the 2.2 engine? What sort/range of costs would this be likely to involve?

And finally, could someone perhaps type up or point me in the right direction to a quick list of the various engines/engine codes used in the various years and models of Impreza's and Legacy's?

Thanks in advance. I greatly appreciate any information that can be shared to shed some light on my inquiries.

 

if you can afford it, you might as well invest in maybe putting a EJ20 in your car...since the labor of any motor swap is bound to be pretty high...whether that be the time you put in it yourself or the money you pay for somebody else to do it..

not that hard to find a EJ20 nowadays...i've seen plenty motors for sale at reasonable prices..

turbocharging of course isn't that reliable...and you should probably look more deeply at the pros and cons of this route...

 

Turbo Forester or turbo Baja EJ25 swap. That way you'll still have the torque of the EJ25 as well as the hp of the turbo motor.

 

Unless he lives somewhere like CA that does a visual inspection along with the tail pipe test. Some states like Maryland do an OBD2 test also so if you go with a aftermarket ECU then keep in mind you won't pass.