The Chad Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 I've just bought a '98 Legacy L sedan that's in great shape, automatic, with 154K and hoping to see 300k. I don't want to race my Subie, I would just like a little more pep out of it. Stock plug wires/plugs and new air filter may help, but I'd love to hear what you guys have to say. Anyone have any benefit from using a K&N air filter (panel style, like the stock filter), aside from being able to clean and re-use it? I read someone say that there's not too much you can do for more pep, but you guys know what works, what doesn't, and what's just a waste of time. I'm new on here, and eager to learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 Depends what you're after. You need another vehicle for something fast. Or a motor swap - EJ22T, EJ20T, H6, etc. Or you can even add a turbo kit to the EJ22, they take well to a few pounds of boost. But it has to been done right and well and in small doses, it's easy to blow your motor up with that stuff too. The legacy is a fantastic car and easily maintained to all sorts of mileages. Turbo motors take to modifications very well. You can easily add 100+ hp to a turbo motor. You can't do that with non-turbo motors. If you don't understand the physics and technicalities involved, I can't really sum it up for you not knowing turbo stuff that well, but you can go to how-stuff-works.com and learn all about automotive engines. If you just want to beef it up as an exercise to tickle your fancy, tell friends about, and give yourself a twitch here and there, then do whatever you want. It's wide open since there's really no way to make the car fast without ma$$ive modifications. Or, if you just like to tinker and play - then add the filter, get the ebay air intake tubes, play with the exhaust and call it a day. You won't gain much - 5-10 hp maybe, hardly enough to feel any difference except you'll probably have a heavier foot after doing the work!!:lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericem Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 Best bet is to keep the revs up so da motor stays in vtec. Oh wait.... hahahaha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manarius Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 (edited) Best bet is to keep the revs up so da motor stays in vtec. Oh wait.... hahahaha Edited July 25, 2009 by Manarius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chad Posted July 25, 2009 Author Share Posted July 25, 2009 lol, the VTEC stuff was funny! I didn't think that there was too much that could be done, thanks for the answer. I've owned turbo and supercharged vehicles before (own a supercharged one now), and am pretty schooled in the N/A vs. forced induction engine differences. Wouldn't do the turbo kit on my EJ22, too much work for too much risk and too little reward! Will do the K&N panel filter for longevity purposes and a tune up, at least. Talking about the heavy foot, the person that had owned my Legacy since new was an elderly lady who had a serious light foot. Poor car hadn't had a good run its whole life yet, probably. Your ideas on doing a Seafoam or MMO at this 154k mileage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 MMO? Seafoam is great stuff. Not gonna hurt anything to use it. If its really nasty inside you might be better off to just remove the whole intake and TB and clean it by hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 I asked and searched around here and other forums about exhaust, I was looking for MPG improvements though, but got almost zero feedback on Legacy exhauts. I can find more info on older gen stuff for some reason than EJ stuff for exhaust. The XT6 can have a good highway mpg jump with better exhaust, have never found any info like that about the newer stuff. If you find anything else out, do post it here. Yeah you can run either of those through it, it's not going to hurt anything. If the oil seems particularly dirty, possible for an elderly driven car that doesn't get many miles or any highway miles, then you might rethink any long oil change intervals at least for a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 Wouldn't do the turbo kit on my EJ22, too much work for too much risk and too little reward! The EJ22 takes about 5 lbs of boost very well actually. There's a number of folks that have added a small EJ22T sized turbo and a WRX IC. At 5 lbs the engine gains about 60 to 70 HP owing to it's already high compression. Since the EJ engines were designed from the outset for turbo-charging, the N/A 22 handles it very well at low boost. You can easily break 200 HP (and be reliable) with one and it's cheap in comparison to other vehicles since most of the parts can be had as cast-offs from someone else's turbo upgrade. But do what you like. Without forced induction there's really almost nothing you can effectively do with an N/A engine that is worth the hassle. If I'm not going to get 20+ HP from it - I'm not taking the time to do it. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chad Posted July 27, 2009 Author Share Posted July 27, 2009 Then a'Seafoaming I shall go. Just about ready for an oil change, I'll drain a quart of oil and add a quart of Seafoam for about 500 miles and then do the oil change. Thanks for the exhaust info. If I find anything out, I'll post it for sure. I probably won't do the turbo, unless I buy a turbo'd model one day. Good to know that up to 5 lbs. boost won't be too risky. About oil, the Subie shop (not a dealer, a local shop that specializes in Subarus) recommends me using 15w-40. I use synth 10w-30 now. Gas mileage may go south on 15w-40, but it would be better on the engine. Any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebugs Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 Please update your location to something meaningful. And let us know if you find simple bolt on performance mods. I don't do that to Suby's but might consider it. I don't know of any "chip" for the Suby either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericem Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 Then a'Seafoaming I shall go. Just about ready for an oil change, I'll drain a quart of oil and add a quart of Seafoam for about 500 miles and then do the oil change. Thanks for the exhaust info. If I find anything out, I'll post it for sure. I probably won't do the turbo, unless I buy a turbo'd model one day. Good to know that up to 5 lbs. boost won't be too risky. About oil, the Subie shop (not a dealer, a local shop that specializes in Subarus) recommends me using 15w-40. I use synth 10w-30 now. Gas mileage may go south on 15w-40, but it would be better on the engine. Any thoughts? 10w-30 is completely fine.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chad Posted July 28, 2009 Author Share Posted July 28, 2009 I just edited my profile to include where I live, forgot to do that earlier. Anyway, you think 10w-30 is fine then? So do I, maybe I'll add a little stabilizer to it. I'd had success in finding ways to free up or add mild horsepower in my other N/A vehicles, without compromising the vehicle's health that is, so I'll see what I can find for my Legacy and let y'all know. I'm excited about using the MMO (Marvels Mystery Oil) or the Seafoam, I'll let everyone know how that works out, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chip Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 I had the same car and found that it was painfully slow. The problem is mostly due to the weight of the damn car....something like 3400lbs. I guess the only thing to do would be to gut it. Rip out the interior completely except for the driver's seat. Lose the spare tire. Ditch the radio. Drain half the oil and never put in more than a couple gallons of gas. I bet you'd cut a second off the 1/4 mile time. zzz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 Then a'Seafoaming I shall go. Just about ready for an oil change, I'll drain a quart of oil and add a quart of Seafoam for about 500 miles and then do the oil change. I wouldn't use Seafoam in the oil. Modern oil has lots of detergents in it to help prevent sludge buildup (even though it doesn't always), and mixing other detergents with the detergents already in the oil can lead to chemical reactions creating acids that will do more harm than good in the engine. Use "High mileage" oil or switch to synthetic to clean the crank case. If you use Seafoam, use it in the gas tank, and/or the intake manifold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chad Posted July 30, 2009 Author Share Posted July 30, 2009 I guess the only thing to do would be to gut it. Rip out the interior completely except for the driver's seat. Lose the spare tire. Ditch the radio. Drain half the oil and never put in more than a couple gallons of gas. I bet you'd cut a second off the 1/4 mile time. zzz Yeah baby!!! LOL! I'd already cut the top of the car off and replaced the sheet metal with tin foil. Heck, I'd even removed the driver's seat (I use a bicycle seat now, it's lighter). I will drain half the oil though, great tip! Oh, and I'm also careful to not consume any liquids before driving and to take an Exlax to shed a little extra weight. Oh man, sometimes I read these posts just for a good laugh, you guys rock! Seriously though, I never realized that it was 3,400 lbs., the car's a little porker then! I wouldn't use Seafoam in the oil. Modern oil has lots of detergents in it to help prevent sludge buildup (even though it doesn't always), and mixing other detergents with the detergents already in the oil can lead to chemical reactions creating acids that will do more harm than good in the engine. Use "High mileage" oil or switch to synthetic to clean the crank case. If you use Seafoam, use it in the gas tank, and/or the intake manifold. I hadn't read that before, thanks for the input. It's hard to know if a cleansing additive will do more harm than good, especially with a situation like mine. I'll do the intake manifold for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 all oils today have detergents in them. i have read, here, that the best way to clean your engine inside is to change the oil more frequently, 1k instead of 3 or 2k instead of 5. this gives the detergents a chance to work before the oil starts to break down and leave stuff behind. i don't really know, any truth to this?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 Well the thing is, different oils may have different detergents. You never really know how an additive is going to react with the detergents already in the oil. It might be fine with one brand of oil, but not with another. You just never know, the risk of causing harm or accelerated wear to your engine isn't worth the $10 or whatever it is that the additive costs. Buy an oil with detergents made for high mileage cars, and change it after 1000 or 1500 miles a few times and you get a cleaner engine without the risk. You can still buy detergent free oil if you know where to look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 If you want to clean your engine, run a quart of ATF and three quarts of inexpensive oil for 500 miles. Do this several times. Rislone has similar results but is more expensive. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uniberp Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 Seems to me the best way to increase performance of these cars is gradually driving them harder so the ECU remaps to new performance demands. Of course, this is after you do the mileage maintenance replacements of plug wires, plugs, pvc, what all... I say gradually, because stomping on a low-rpm shifting easy going legacy can easily jumps 2 gears and 3k rpm and slams the gearbox with sudden huge torque, bending everything in sight and making you feel queasy. :cool: By gradually driving it harder, my legato now seems to be readier to downshift when I REALLY want that empty lane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chad Posted August 3, 2009 Author Share Posted August 3, 2009 Funny you'd say that because I'd also wondered if that would change anything. I'd checked out some websites that do ECU mapping, and didn't find anything for N/A Subies. For the last couple weeks I'd been driving it a little harder to see if the ECU would adjust, but doing so gradually of course. Lately it actually seems a bit more responsive than it used to, but that could very well be because I just think it is (the power of positive thinking, lol)! Someone out there probably knows details of how the ECU responds, I'd be interested to hear what they say! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Beast I Drive Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 You could always swap in some Delta camshafts, they aren't that expensive and its not much harder than changing a timing belt to do it... Might see about 30 hp gained from it depending on the grind and fuel map... But thats pure speculation on my part -Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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