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Originally Posted by ScottyS
1) The car: "Plain Jane" 1998 Impreza Wagon 2.2l 5spd bone stock
2) The objectives: perform various light upgrades for performance, cosmetics, and versatility. Car uses would range from cornering in the Spagetti Bowl to dirt roads in Nevada's outback.
3) Use mostly high-end Subaru take-off equipment as all the specialized race stuff is not needed, and take-offs would likely be less expensive
4) If an certain upgrade has a high-maintenance nature or a short life, or possibly negatively affects to related systems in the car, I'm probably not interested. Remember, we're not trying to wring out every last bit of HP, just take a stock Impreza and make it a little nicer.
5) Assume that I know nothing of available options and inter/intra-model compatibility
6) If we absolutely need to work on a budget, let's pick a nice round number like $1000 for upgrading funds
Let's hear the suggestions, according to catagory:
(these are not listed by priority or anything)
A. Wheels & Tires --- Currently 15" steel, would like alloy. Ride height must be maintained or increased slightly for more clearance. Stay with 15" and go same tires? Can taller tires be used? Would 16"s rub anything? What about this 55 offset thing?
B. Suspension --- Keep stock or wait for replacement time? Ride height must be same or higher, with ride quality not getting too much stiffer
C. Interior --- currently beige
1. How comfortable are WRX seats? They just drop in, right?
2. I don't know if a "short-throw" shifter is a must have
3. Already have a CD player
4. Extra gauges --- this would be nice (oil temp, trans temp etc), but I don't want to use the drain plugs as clearance is enough of a problem already!
5. Anything else? Flashy is not necassary as I'm alreay married ;-)
D. Exterior --- that forest green color
1. Has a luggage rack
2. There are holes in the bumper for fog lights, but I guess they came on sportier models
3. A sporty hood might be cool, but paint matching would be hard, I'll bet --- no idea as to model compatibility
4. "Rally" lights on the front? Has this been done?
5. ???
E. Engine --- 2.2l
1. I have a feeling that all these "chips" and "cold air" things are minimal increases that might mess with the computer control of the engine over the long term. Correct me if I'm wrong.
2. Sure, a supercharger or low-boost turbo for high-altitude would be great, but I have a feeling that they would cost almost as much as the car!
3. Anything obvious?
F. Drivetrain --- I don't know.....LSD???
G. Brakes --- the rear are drums, for heaven's sake. Can they be swapped for disks? Off of what models? Front upgrades? No ABS, I believe.
H. If I missed anything.
Replies: Thank you in advance. Say as much or as little as you want/have time for. Consider complexity of upgrade, local parts availability (or light weight for shipping!), and swaps from other Subaru models.
I have basic tools, but alas no shop. I've gone as far as changing the radiator, water pump, timing belt, and front mainseal of a 2.2l before, in addition to normal maintenance, but that's about it.
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A) 16" subaru-intended wheels will be great for the car. Look into Rotas, or RS takeoff wheels when you can find them. They are 16x7 with the proper offset and 205/55R16 is the perfect tire size for your intentions. I wouldn't go with tires that are taller than your stock size, as this causes your speedo to read low, and makes the car slower than it is. I also am a believer in having dedicated winter wheels/tires so that the summer set can be a little more fun. Winter tires are also handy in the dirt.
Your steelies probably have M+S tires on them now, so there's your rain/snow/gravel set. For the dry season, like I said RS takeoffs are great wheels, or you can find Rotas pretty cheap. New sets can be had at times under $450 and used ones for even less. Decent summer tires will run you less than $450 in 205/55 or 205/50. You'll want something like Falken Azenis Sports or Kumho MX if you plan to hit the autocross or trackdays with us (and we hope you do!).
B) I would stick to the stock suspension for now unless it's broken. You would have a hard time finding anything that has equal or greater ride height and still improves handling. For now I would suggest a WRX wagon rear sway bar (17 or 18mm depending on year), and some steering rack bushings, along with a good alignment.
C) WRX seats are really good unless you are like most of us and really concentrate on the high-performance stuff. They aren't too hard or too small, and they bolt right in. You can find them used as cheap as $150, but they are usually closer to $400. RS seats are similar, just a bit less cozy, and cheaper. You can usually find them at the recycler in Rancho Cordova. I like short throw shifters, but it's not something that makes you go faster, just a personal preference. For now, stick with stock or maybe get an RS/WRX stock shifter. Whatever head unit you have is fine, but the Subaru components suck. Even the cheaper stuff from Best Buy or Good Guys is a big improvement. Gauges are really unnecessary until you do lots of engine mods.
D) You could do a complete front end conversion to match an RS, and it looks really sweet on a wagon. Good luck finding the parts though, as there are more people looking for them than there are donor cars. Fog lights won't be that hard to find though. If you come out to the meet on Thursday night, 7 pm at Bully's in the mall, JC and I will be able to give you more advice on this stuff than you can possibly remember.
But that's okay because you can always come back and ask us again.
E) Engine-wise, there's really very little you can do with it, but it's not what I would consider "anemic" anyway. Just a little underwhelming. I would just suggest some Borla headers (under $300 new) and a catback exhaust. Any 2.25" catback will do, pick the look and sound you want. Everybody's tastes are a little different on that point. You will get maybe 10 hp out of it and your car will sound wicked.
That's the true beauty of the Subaru boxer motor. Since you're not after every last horsepower, there's really nothing else to do that's worth the money until you start talking forced induction and motor swaps. It's certainly possible to build yourself a 200 hp turbo kit, and it would probably be perfectly reliable, but the odds would eventually catch up with you. You could do it for under $1500 though if you were patient with acquiring the parts and careful in your planning. We can talk about that in great detail at the meet if you can make it out. And of course, there's the ever-popular WRX swap, but you're looking a $4-5k there before you're all said and done. Oh, and the EJ25 swap will get you 180 horsepower with basic mods, and cost you anywhere from $1000-3000 depending on the condition of the motor and whether or not you converted wiring and ECU.
F) Drivetrain- nothing much that's cheap enough to justify being added to your inexpensive daily driver. I'll find out if there's an OEM Subaru rear LSD that matches your ratio, butI would avoid LSDs if you want to get out and really do the 4WD thing, aside from gravel road runs. For that you'll need lockers, which doesn't help you anywhere but the mud and sometimes snow. Flywheels and clutches are great go-fast mods, but you're looking at $1000 minimum installed, and they make the car harder to drive in the winter by quite a bit. Not really worth it for you yet.
G) You have quite a few brake options, starting with rS/WRX disc conversions. The downside is, better brakes will require bigger and better wheels. For now, I would suggest an RS rear disc conversion. The details of that swap are posted around, but it's not difficult. Finding the parts is actually harder than doing the swap. Once you have discs all around, it's really just a matter of getting good pads and rotors and learning how to manage your brakes to make them last longer.
H) Not much you left out. Nothing that's cheap, easy, and obviously beneficial for you hasn't been covered already I don't think. If I was going to prioritize light mods to a daily driver L wagon, I'd go wheels/tires, swaybar, steering rack bushings, and catback exhaust. You can do all that quickly for under $1000 pretty easily, almost entirely with Subaru takeoffs. I'm a big fan of STi, Prodrive, and Whiteline, as you'll notice when I tick off the list of mods on my RS at the meet.
Don't worry about needing a shop. We're more than happy to lend fellow SECCS members a hand with most mods and maintenance chores, and for the really important stuff, we usually go to S-Squared Motorsports in Rancho Cordova. Long drive, but worth it for the quality of service. Feel free to ask us for any help you might want. I say "might" because sometimes we can be a bit overwhelming when it comes to helping out the new folks. :wink: