turbo charging a non 2.2 Yes or No?

[oldschool]

I have a good running 93 2.2 non turbo legacy motor. Should I but a turbo on it, plus what ever else to get about 200 plus hp ? Is this a good Idea? PS I am new to this subie world. Please help with all of your comments Thanks

[idosubaru]

for a fun project, yes this can be done.

 

if this is your only car and you need a good daily driver then "slapping a turbo" on a car is a bad idea. it should be done properly with good tuning and proper monitoring (EGT), and low boost.

 

this is a very open ended question. yes it's possible and it has been done...but that doesn't always mean it's a good idea.

[oldschool]

QUOTE=grossgary;771186]for a fun project, yes this can be done.

 

if this is your only car and you need a good daily driver then "slapping a turbo" on a car is a bad idea. it should be done properly with good tuning and proper monitoring (EGT), and low boost.

 

this is a very open ended question. yes it's possible and it has been done...but that doesn't always mean it's a good idea.

 

I was going to have a shop build this motor for me. Any good idea's for more HP out of a 2.2?

[idosubaru]

there's a few threads on here about building blocks, including a recent one in the past day or two. you'd be best to search here and on NASIOC for your options of builds, pistons, parts, and heads...etc. then ask specific questions you may have.

[oldschool]

Thanks again for all the help

[JT95]

Check over at rs25.com, as they have a thread dedicated to non-turbo power, including several discussions on the little 2.2 engine. 200hp is possible with a non-turbo Sube, but the money you'd invest would make it more practical to just swap in a turbo setup from a wrecked WRX, which would be cheaper in the end. To turbo a non-turbo block, keep the PSI lower, as the pistons are different from turbo and non.

 

For searching non-tubo oomph, you'd be best to upgrade your cams, add equal length headers, a good-flowing cat-back exhaust, and maybe experiment w/ your intake/filter setup. You might want to consider phenolic intake manifold spacers. I bought some from grimmspeed, though overpriced for what they are imho. I tried a throttle body spacer on my engine and had horrible luck with it, but others have had good experiences after adding one.

 

To do it right, you would probably want your intake manifold and heads ported/polished, which is where some serious jingle would come into play.

 

I think your 2.2 has about 135 crank horsepower. Without dumping in a lot of cash, I'd set my sights lower than 200...say closer to the 165 a stock 2.5 put out. That's what I'm going for. My phase II 2.2 was factory rated at 142, and I hope to be able to add 20hp to it. It isn't a race car, but in my Impreza, I'd hardly call the engine weak. I'm a huge fan of the 2.2 engine, so I'm curious to see what I can realistically get from this one...on a budget.

 

You have an engine from a Legacy, but is that what it's going to be living in? In all seriousness, past your basic upgrades to a drivetrain, I think you might get more "bang for buck" in investing in the improvement of your car's handling. The first "performance upgrade" any car needs is a set of good, sticky performance tires. Then, upgrade your suspension setup for better handling. Your 135 hp Sube can be setup to corner just as well as someone's 250 hp whatever, and there's only so much speed you can hit a tight curve with anyway.

 

Now, I have heard mentioned you could put 2.2 heads on a 2.5 block and produce a more torqued engine (what you probably want more of anyway). I acquired a 2.5 engine with head problems and am wanting to investigate this as an option for it as a project engine. Some of the more experienced guys here can offer more wisdom on that than me.

[wtdash]

Check out this site too: http://bbs.legacycentral.org/

 

A little more info...the stock Legacy Turbo - EJ22T - put out 160HP/180ft-lbs torque @ 8.7psi - this is CRANK HP - not @ the wheels. That was on a closed-deck, performance-built block and internals.

 

I just swapped one into my '90 Leg wagon, and w/12psi, I might be @ 190HP (based on 1psi=10HP that I keep reading about).

 

The EJ22e in yours is an open-deck and not designed for lots of boost, since it's got a higher comp. ratio than the EJ22T.

 

Going w/cams (Delta) can net you 160+HP (common w/the airplane crowd), but you'll need some eng. management (EM) to run it.

 

A lightweight pulley 'may' net 5HP.

 

An ignition upgrade, such as MSD, may add ???HP.

 

Read/Search as there are more options out there....just some things to consider.

 

Have Fun!

Edited December 1, 2008 by wtdash

[oldschool]

Thank you I'm going to go with a factory turbo motor. Like it comes down to more BANG for the BUCK Thanks everyone:banana:

[rweddy]

Check out this site too: http://bbs.legacycentral.org/

 

A little more info...the stock Legacy Turbo - EJ22T - put out 160HP/180ft-lbs torque @ 8.7psi - this is CRANK HP - not @ the wheels. That was on a closed-deck, performance-built block and internals.

 

I just swapped one into my '90 Leg wagon, and w/12psi, I might be @ 190HP (based on 1psi=10HP that I keep reading about).

 

The EJ22e in yours is an open-deck and not designed for lots of boost, since it's got a higher comp. ratio than the EJ22T.

 

Going w/cams (Delta) can net you 160+HP (common w/the airplane crowd), but you'll need some eng. management (EM) to run it.

 

A lightweight pulley 'may' net 5HP.

 

An ignition upgrade, such as MSD, may add ???HP.

 

Read/Search as there are more options out there....just some things to consider.

 

Have Fun!

How hard with this swap?

I found a donor turbo car & was thinking about swapping the motor into my non-turbo 91.

[Ross]

At the risk of being unpopular, a lightweight pulley will not net ANY extra power whatsoever - this is impossible.

[wtdash]

At the risk of being unpopular, a lightweight pulley will not net ANY extra power whatsoever - this is impossible.

 

 

Going off what (little) technical knowledge I have, I thought since the rotational mass was less, it freed-up HP, even if minor?

[wtdash]

How hard with this swap?

I found a donor turbo car & was thinking about swapping the motor into my non-turbo 91.

 

 

 

I can't tell you how hard it was since it's relative to your experience. For me, this was my 1st swap and 1st turbo experience. Only my 2nd engine pull. I replaced the tranny in the same car last summer w/the help of 2 much more experienced helpers.

 

I did it all myself and also had another car to drive while I did it....took about 3 weeks, working after work and on weekends....this includes the time I spent cleaning up the engine while on a stand, putting in new plugs and timing belt kit, configuring the updated TD04 turbo and intercooler I added, etc.

 

Here's a partial list of things you'll need:

 

- turbo's cross member for the up-pipe (I re-used my NA's R&P - swapped w/out removing the R&P)

- turbo's p/s hoses (my NA's rubbed on the turbo's downpipe & are still tight)

- turbo's exhaust

- turbo's sensors/harness - 3 -4 on the pass. strut tower + the wiring to the ECU

- turbo's ECU - there are also a wiring swap w/the cam and crank sensors

- modify your NA radiator hoses to work w/the turbo's reservoir tank - The turbo radiator is too tall - @ least on my '90.

- Tranny? I installed a Turbo 4EAT last summer, so I was good to go. An NA 5-speed or AT should bolt up, but how long will it last?

 

Since you have the whole car, it'll make it easier since everything you'll need is right @ hand.

 

Check out the http://bbs.legacycentral.org site...lots of info - I couldn't have done it w/out it and Legacy777 - thanks JC!

 

BUT I'd do it again! The power boost is great and it was overall a fun project (except when the TC came loose just as I was getting the engine in! )

 

Have Fun!

[Ross]

Going off what (little) technical knowledge I have, I thought since the rotational mass was less, it freed-up HP, even if minor?

 

Not really, for two reasons:

 

1 - the inertia of the car is much more significant that the rotational inertia of the engine when accelerating, unless you have a very low gear.

2 - The front pulley contributes next to nothing to the total rotational inertia of the engine - think flywheel.

 

And of course, once the enigne is not accelerating, the rotational inertia has no effect other than to smooth the torque output. These are the conditions in which power should be measured - with the engine at a steady (or close to it) speed.

[idosubaru]

At the risk of being unpopular, a lightweight pulley will not net ANY extra power whatsoever - this is impossible.

that would mean the corollary is true - that you can add any amount of weight to the crank pulley (200 pound crank pulley) without effecting performance at all. that isn't true either. now, the effects may be small and he may have worded it improperly, but it does affect something.

[Ross]

that would mean the corollary is true - that you can add any amount of weight to the crank pulley (200 pound crank pulley) without effecting performance at all. that isn't true either. now, the effects may be small and he may have worded it improperly, but it does affect something.

 

I never mentioned "performance" in my original statement. The rotational ineria of the engine does not effect POWER output - unless you were measuring the power with the engine accelerating, which is not technically correct.