subarubrat

I had been trying to reach my brother on the phone for about a week and couldn't catch him other than voice mail, his cell was toast but he had another cell that I didn't have the number for. We live about an hour apart but work in a close proximity. So anyway as I was headed home from work in the Porsche on my hour commute I saw him headed past me in his lifted 84 Gl wagon going the opposite way. To avoid traffic backups we have both discovered some great backroads. I was on a tarmac road when he passed. I waved but he didn't see me so I whipped it around and nearly caught up with him just as he turned onto this dirt back road. It is a twisty beast with part gravel and hard pack. I honked but he was already rolling. As I tried to keep up the gap kept getting further and further. I kept on the horn and he just pushed it faster and faster. All he could see was this black car outline in the dust, had no idea it was me, and assumed it was some tard wanting to pass. I have years of rallycross and lots of other performance driving time under my belt and I was getting my rump roast handed to me by the GL. I had the back of the Porsche sliding and whipping around and the GL was gripping like a cat on carpet. Finally just as he topped a hill and hit a 90deg corner he looked in the mirror and saw me waving and pulled over. I thought some fellow old school owners would enjoy hearing just how well a properly lifted and modded subie can do in an honest head to head with an untrained driver against a Porsche with a trained driver on a rally type course. His engine is headered and webbered but otherwise the stock 300k plus mile engine. The car had a 250Lb plus driver and about 500Lbs of gear in it. I was honestly shocked to see him just walk away on the road, but it happened.

Great point, that is what almost killed Subaru in the late 80's early 90's. Moving up market saved them. I would like to see them create a spin off brand and keep more of the economy cars but I don't know that they are large enough. I do disagree with subyluvr2212's assertion that people who can buy nicer cars are all #ssholes. Just because someone makes more or less than you doesn't make them any worse or better than you. The guy riding the bus to school or work probably has some choice words for you sitting in your car. I like to see Subaru durability and knowhow applied to nicer cars to achieve the incredible results that they do. Every STI owner that I know to include myself is very much a hard core enthusiast and the majority are old school fans as well. And I gurantee if Subaru produced a 60k plus super car that the folks who buy it would be as well. Trust me there is not much love for Subaru by the pretentious crowd, buying an expensive Subaru doesn't get you any kind of poser respect like allot of names. You can prove to someone that the STI flat out dominates their car and they will dismiss it as "still just a Subaru" and consider it no better than the mail ladie's 91 GL.

I think the price on the Tribeca is reasonable, the car IS as good or better than upscale rides. Subaru has shifted it's demographic, get used to it. Just because Subaru once was known for economy cars doesn't mean they are tagged to that role forever. Saying that a pricetag is too high for a Subaru is to suggest that the quality and features are somehow diminished by the nameplate. Car manufacturers do change demographics and customer bases. Look at hyundai, they did it, so did VW (big time), Subaru did, and there will always be an upcomer to fill the economy market. I believe that the next economy car will be the Cherry line imported by Malcom Bricklen the same guy who brought in the 360 and launched Subaru in the US. Give it 15~20 years and Cherrys will be upscale and something else will be economy. Subaru has maintained it's core qualities and built on them to a whole new level. I am glad to see them move up market and produce cars with more features and performance. When Subaru know how is applied to the next level they get a hell of a result, such as the STI. I want to see them apply that know how to a mid engine, 6cyl STI tuned with 6spd AWD, composite body and a space frame, a 150k plus supercar killer for the price of a vette.

Done!

I got the driver's side door hinge welded in place to the frame, and some inside the door glasswork done over the last month and that is about it. I have been very busy buying the new house and preparing to move. It looks like not allot will get done in August either, just too much involved with the house. The good news is that I will now have the garage space I need to really get some progress done and done quickly. I expect that the project will really take off making up for any lost time recently.

For those of you with VWs, or mid engined cars (like my Lambo) there is a conversion kit to transform it from AWD to 2WD, Saker cars in Oz has it for 215.00 Austrailian dollars.

Also, on some implementations it sounds like a semi auto 12 guage going off.

I see a few vanagon threads these days, and since there seems to be a crossover I thought I would mention this: I was at Wal-Phart yesterday and they had some fairly large, maybe 1/6 scale, radio control vanagons. The detail and trim was not too bad and the molded in color was not terrible. With a good strip/paint/detail it could be a very scale looking model. I bought a 1:6 scale huge honkin Stuart tank that is R/C. I stripped it, painted it witha good airbrush job, replaced the stock crap with a good Tamiya DMD unit and conventional R/C system. The base quality was good enough that it turned out nicer and more detailed than the Tamiya ones I have that are 1/2~1/3 the size at $600~$800 Vs about $350 total for this.

$500 or weeks of custom development IS the bargain. Hockey pucks and bolts DO work as a body lift on a 2nd gen bronco for an inch or three but not here.

While not technicaly a bolt in, the engine and tranny are not difficult to swap in. The EA81 (engine in the 84) is a much stouter design than the EA82 so I would suggest just shelving them as spares.

Frederick isn't that far at all, when is the meet? If I am off I will come, I work 4 on adn 4 off so some weekends are free, some aren't.

New pic, rear bumper is on, vents are cut, and the rear deck is glassed in and ready to be welded to the lift frame.

As MorganM said: "Very few ppl have stuffed an ER27 into an EA81 platform; of which is a major acomplishment itself. Once you are one of those very few individuals then you are on the road to having a turbo ER27 in an EA81 platform. Debating simentacs on the USMB won't get anyone there." Let me put in my 2 phennigs. I have an ER27 in a BRAT, 6k miles on it and putting out about 250Hp NA. I have built an EG33 twin turbo powered XT6 and put over 60k miles on it daily driving, over 180Mph on the Autobahn, and skunked Carreras at will. My daily driver is an STI with over 500Hp at the crank, point is, been there, done that, and my current project is a subie powered Lambo that will top out at over 200Mph, so you can either take or reject what I have to say on the topic. There is so much misinformation in this thread that I can't go through and debunk it all. I would suggest reading Maximum Boost by Corky Bell, it isn't very up to date on engine management technology but the basic facts and figures of how turbos work and the impacts of turbo charging an engine that was not designed for it. As for how compressors work, axial/radial etc. none is better than Bob Kress's work. I don't disagree with bench designing/building done in the theoretical, bouncing ideas off each other, and sharing plans because that is what the whole idea of this board is. When it extends into absolutes, rants based on bogus information and claims based on conjecture being taken as fact over actual experince, things are going wrong. The ER27 will fit into the BRAT and it is a damn tight fit, in a lifted BRAT with the lift frame designed around it it is still tight. A turbo could well be fitted, this is true, there are oil and coolant taps available, the exhaust path is possible, as is the intake and intercooler paths. I made mockups of a up pipe and down pipe after swaping in the ER27 while I was still considering NA or forced induction. It will fit. The ER27 however is NOT a good candidate for forced induction on stock internals. The pistons are completely wrong for forced induction, the rods are weak, and the block is not very rhobust in terms of coolant passages and wall thickness. I run a massive aluminum radiator made for a big-block on my high compression NA build. Some engines are fanstastic for boost such as the EJ25, and some aren't. With proper pistons, and sufficiant cooling capacity it would be OK for low boost and perform well but you would still be limited to about 250Hp either way. The ER27 is a very impractical engine for performance use given the available engines in the Subaru line that will fit. It is also far heavier and needs a front suspension designed for it. I run 380Lb coil overs on the front of my BRAT. So why did I choose that engine? The sound, visual impact and low end tourqe, but mostly the sound and visual impact, I never said that practicality should be the deciding factor.... But just be aware it is not the ideal choice, again that said, it might not be the best way but it is fun to do. A single turbo or the even more impractical twin turbo, is NOT that difficult and is certainly no more difficult than rebuilding an EA82T. It has been said a few times that we will never see one, I wouldn't be surprised if we never do either. But that doesn't mean that it is out of reach or even difficult. And as MorganM also said: "Now turboing or twin turboing that engine is a nother huge task. Then we get into the issue of a drive train that can actually put that power to the wheels and withstand the abuse." On the subject of twin turbos.... Sequential or parallel, staged or linear, it is more than just a cool sounding term, there are good reasons for and against them and good reasons to choose one type over another. You won't necessarily make more power, but a more effective power band. In the ER27's case a single turbo is by far the better choice. The BRAT power train is Ok for the stock power of an ER27, running relatively stock tires, but much over that in either catagory and you will need to update those components. I ran a modified EA81 4MT and nuked it being rough on it, then nuked a second on a simple highway cruise, so out it went and in went EJ tranny. With a turbo ER27 you would want to do the same. Also, I don't like the shooting down of other people's projects in planning, execution or even after completion. I had people tell me that I would never lift a BRAT 12 inches, and even today, I have people tell me it isn't possible, even when the thing is parked outside the very place the discussion is taking place in. People too often get comfortable with what has been done and what hasn't been done that they can't imagine something different. I have also had people tell me that the 200Mph plus Subie powered Lambo is not possible. Never mind that the facotry one has been proven to touch 200, on less power. Here I have more power and less weight in the same aero package, it must be that Lambo Mojo unit installed in the trunk that lets it do that. I do get that often, like yesterday we were debating at work and somehow a subie engine at 300Hp is less than a Mustang V8 at 300Hp according to a few folks.

It would work fine, the CR on that engine is not that high and you might not even need to dial the timing back that much unless it is under load or higher temps.

That sounds promising for a number of reasons... I'll be sending a PM in a min.

This may sound basic, and you may have already checked it, but if you haven't pull your plug boots and inspect the coil contacts for corrosion. Mine were fine in October of 03, then in Dec of 03 when I was having major performance problems I discovered they had turned green in just two months. Just remember that the Subaru coil is a bit different than most you may have seen. It is a dual coil and if you look at it you can see which cyl are pared. It fires two plugs at the same time, one in the ignition cycle and one that is in it's exhaust cycle, this is called a sacraficial spart. This can throw people and make you think it is firing at the wrong time or out of sequence.

Turbo, injectors, ECU, pump, IC etc.

OK, here are some pics, and I have reached a verdict on the engine, STI motor.

Unfortunatly it comes down to one thing the length of the tranny that projects beyond the axle output shafts. The 2WD tranny or the AWD tranny shortened by removing the AWD section barely fits, the AWD tranny would actually project beyond the rearbodywork. If one were to go with this Tcase setup it would be hanging out behind the car.

Harley Heritage Springer 04 STI, 463HP/500Tq 82 BRAT 02 Boxster (not sweet)

Do you have an Aerospace or Engineering background, military experience in space-ops? We do have some slots open now for Flight Opperations Specialist (satellite pilot). As for the car, unfortunatly it will be RWD and not AWD, the hoodline does not permit the engine to be mounted in it's correct location for the front shafts to power the front wheels. The engine moved far back enought to clear would put the tranny out of alignment by a signifigant ammount. The Subaru AWD system is just not adaptable to a mid engine configuration. I looked at a few (and I do mean few) AWD systems that are such as the Carrera4 that can run AWD and rear engine but they put the engine too far back or have reverse rotation of the engine etc. etc. etc.

Subeman my brother, I dout it will make Carlisle this coming year but the year after that, well, yeah I think so! And I wish I could play with these all day, but as Subeman90 said, the rockets need tend'n

This week I have begun the build of my 99 Diablo VT which will be powered by a Subaru powerplant and most probably, tranny too. The car is going to be at the house this week after we pick it up at the seller's house. This won't be built overnight but when finished it will be right around a full thousand Lbs lighter than the production 99VT and will sport the same HP. A stock Diablo VT puts out 523Hp and 446Tq at the crank, right now my STI is putting down 463Hp and about the same in Tq, this is not an unusual goal for the STI to reach and be a daily driver. I ran just under 600 in my XT using the EG33 in a TT configuration close to that of the Nissan 300ZX. The sort of build needed to make a safe, reliable daily driver at 525HP is well proven in the Subaru world. Pics will be up on my site as the build progresses. Here is the car as it is right now: And the same 99VT model with the same paint and interior I have chosen:

While Subaru can order you a new one for about $80, Autozone sells a few for about $12 and one of them is a very good match.