Hey guys I going to be doing some major work to my 2007 Legacy SpecB. To start I guess ill say how I found the car since thats a top question I get sometimes. Well I had been looking at Legacys for a while before I got mine. I was always looking for SpecBs and some of them were either to much or to far away like on the west coast. I found mine in a dinky dealership in Springfield, IL. I talked to a sales rep at the Ford dealership where i work and they organized getting the car and completeling the sale threw them and it all worked out great. I instantly fell in love with the everything about the car from the feel of the power to the comfort of the seats. A few months after I got it, I started getting a misfire on cyl3 code. I did the basic diag stuff. New plugs, New coil, swapped around coils and injectors and it didnt follow anything stayed on cyl 3. Some how it fixed its how and it ran great again. I took it to AllPro and has them run a compression test on the cylinder and it was fine. So I for got about it and sure enough a few weeks back the code came back and the first thing I did was take it back to AllPro and run a compression test again while it was misfiring and sure enough..Cracked ringland and the spark plug electrode has been damaged.:wtc: So this leaves me with one of my life mottos " If it breaks build back up Stronger!" So lets get to the plans, but first a few shots of the SpecB. My final goal for the legacy is be around the 375-400whp range. The future mods list: Built Short block from Ball Racing 850cc Injectors Invidia Uppipe Invidia Downpipe Greddy EBCS Perring silicone Turbo intake tube. Decent boost gauge. Thats pretty much all I can think of for now.I know im still missing a few things like clutch and suspension mods but ill decide those when I get to it. being that the car really needs an engine thats my main fix right now.Im still undecided as to what route I am going with on the turbo setup. I have been thinking about doing the STI manifold swap with a bigger sti intercooler and a decent turbo or staying with the stock manifold and just an aftermarket intercooler and again a decent turbo.
I know I only rode in it for 10-15min, but I was thoroughly impressed with how nice the car is :bowdown: It seems as though you have a decent build planned, the only thing I will say is to pass on the Greddy EBCS. I'm assuming its a standalone unit more commonly called an "electronic boost controller" which utilizies a solenoid, but works independently of the factory ecu. Some of them are a bit slow to respond and take alot of effort to not have boost spikes. You would be much better suited with a Grimmspeed 3 port EBCS that will plug and play (with tuning) with the factory ecu. One of the advantages of interfacing boost control with the ecu is the abilty for the ecu to limit boost to wastegate pressure if certain parameters are met (excessive knock which could be caused by a lean issue from a post maf leak or bad tank of gas)- this is not possible an electronic boost control separate of the ecu...
Hmm interesting I'll have to add that to my list thanks for the advice. I Probably give you a call to do the tuning for it. I know it's gonna be a long drive for you though. Haha
The stock manifold on the Legacy is better than the STI manifold. If you are staying with a stock location turbo, just get an upgraded IC.
I appreciate it I make the drive as long as I get compensated for gas, I don't mind in the least bit. Just ask lucky13 or stirhino :coolugh: And yes, your manifold setup is the way to go- much more effecient! As for turbo options, check these guys out: http://bnrsupercars.com/ Never had any experience with them, but I've heard good things about them. Feel free to shoot me a PM or text anytime :wavey:
Make sure to keep up posted! I would love to see where this project goes. There will a whole bunch of "details" still to work out to safely hit the 350-400 whp range... clutch, brakes, suspension, ect. If you haven't already found your way there, I highly recommend checking out http://legacygt.com/. There is a wealth of Legacy-specific information that will really help you make decisions. I am on there with the same screen name, and I am almost positive Integroid is on there as well. Good luck!
Save yourself the trouble and just go ahead and go rotated with a front mount. Add it up...It will cost you almost the same and yield way better numbers and more choices on turbos.
Be sure to either clean or remove the turbo oil feed banjo bolt filter if it hasn't been done already. I learned the hard way: Just a couple days after buying a used 08 Spec.B... Turbine. Err, what's left of it... Just some of what came out of the oil pan... Thread: http://legacygt.com/forums/showthre...shly-blown-turbo-unheard-186594.html?t=186594
Usually happens when there is oil starvation. The shaft breaks and and it destroys the wheel when it hits.
:eek3: Oh snap! I thought the banjo bolt issue was resolved by '08 Model Year (as long as you stayed on top of your oil changes/oil levels). Well it looks like an IP&T Turbo Oil supply kit from Infamous is in my near future. Max Q, did you swap out the oil pickup tube with the rebuild or did you leave that alone? Edit: I just read through your post on LGT.com and found out the answers to my questions (surprise!). I guess I never check out the New Member introduction section. In other news oil system upgrades just took priority for me. Is the Legacy done now?
Berzerklo: I plan on upgrading the suspension and brakes pretty soon but being that I need some major engine work right now Im just going to go ahead and get it set up for the power and once clutch and suspension is all good. Ill unleash the power!! Max Q: I read all about those oil feel filters a while after i bought mine and to be honest i havent checked mine...but being that its coming out Ill definetly add that to my " things to check" list to keep my turbo in good shape...atleast untill I upgrade. integroid: Thats kinda of my fork in the road for me right now. I know going with the rotated set up opens up a lot of options for diffrent turbos. But for right now im going to stick with trying to push an aftermarket TMIC to hit my goal. Im going back to what i said before, Im middle of whether to go with an STI manifold set up becuase I can get bigger aftermarket intercooler than just an aftermarket one for the set stock manifold. I dont know if that makes sense but im still doing some research to see what im going to run. Thanks guys for all the input. Ill deffinetly keep you guys posted with pics and new add ons I get. And of course... THE NUMBERS!!!
Here is some pics of the engine pull out from the past weekend. I got the canopy set up and a fan going all afternoon to keep cool as me and my dad started getting the engine ready to pull out. Everything was pretty simple nothing troubled me no broken bolts or connectors. It was all just time consuming getting everything off. I started the tear down of the block some stuff gave me some trouble since I have never stripped down a subaru block so it was time consuming as well. I started by getting the manifold and tgvs off. The wiring harness all the hoses underneath, getting the exhaust and turbo off. I didnt get a picture of it but the flywheel and clutch are pretty well worn so a new SPEC stage 2+ clutch is getting added to my list as well before I put in the new engine. Overall it was a fun pull and teardown. Hopefully it will all be easy assembling and installing it all back together and getting the legacy back on the road. Im ordering my short block from Matt at Ball Racing this week and giving him my heads to get redone also. I didnt get a chance to tear off the valve covers and take the heads off but ill deffinetly take some pic of that and the damage of cyl3 that is all messed up that lead to me doing all this. Ill keep you guys updated as things progress. Thanks for reading, Alvaro
Don't go rotated. Your goals put you right smack in what is in my opinion the best turbo out there.....a Dom 1.5R. They make 375-400 on pump 93 octane all day long. Over 400 hp and you are talking substantial engine reinforcement and high maintenance.
Get an ACT Clutch. I have already been down that road with SPEC. Also, stick with the stock IM.....Any IC bigger than what is available for the Legacy becomes a huge heat soaking device. The hood scoop/duct is not big enough to cool a huge TM.
I agree with everyone on the DOM 1.5. Its my current favorite turbo and I'm actually considering putting it on our new shop car. Without head work it should put you right around 380. With headwork and cams it should get you between 400-420 depending how deep we go into the heads and if you stay top mount or go front mount.
Alright well it's been a couple weeks since I posted so since then I have added some stuff to my list and other plans, so I decide to post an update. Mostly I narrowed down some specifics. Matt from Ball Racing still has about one more week left until I get my motor. I ordered a turbo inlet pipe from AVO and since I’m going with an Invidia exhaust system I went ahead and ordered an Invidia Up-pipe. Sucks the AVO pipe is on backorder for 4 weeks but that opens up time to order more stuff and plan out purchases like the Downpipe and Catback. I called Mike from TSM to talk about some parts and tuning. I decide to add in an ACT clutch and an Accessport to my shopping list since the car will require some fine tuning with the 1000cc injectors and the other bolt-ons. He seemed like a cool guy. I have decided to go with a process west intercooler. Mainly because it allows me to keep the flange style VF turbo I have already and also change the intercooler inlet pipe with one for an STI process west intercooler. This widely opens my turbo options in the future. Possibly a DOM 1.5 with head work. Ill post up some more pics once I get the motor and some parts in and I’ll keep you guys updated on the progress.
Alright guys so after a long wait I finally got my engine. Ill be installing it on thanksgiving day since I have the day off from work and school. Then hopefully get a basic break in tune as soon as possible. Ill posted some pics up of the install. As far as mods go I got most of the things I wanted: Invidia Up Pipe-heat wrapped Indivdis Down Pipe.-heat wrapped noname UEL headers-heat wrapped VF52 turbo Grimspeed EBCS 1000cc injectors AVO turbo inlet ACT performance clutch. I miss driving my car alot so Im just gonna drop it in now everything else is easy bolt on. I can add those in during th break in.Somethings left for the legacy are: Invidia Q300 cat back exhaust. Processwest TMIC. namebrand UEL headers. Here some update pics.
bolt everything on now, will save you time, money and headaches paint the wrap, it will last longer nice build, Doug tuning it?
O yea almost everything is back together. Getting the bigger turbo inlet was a PITA, but eventually it all sat in right, had to reroute some vacum hoses but is all good, got the EBCS installed. I did coat the wrapped headers,uppipe and down pipe today aswell came out looking pretty great for being my first subaru header wrap. As far as tuning, My eventual goal is to get an Acessport and have a great tune from Doug at TSM for the biuld. But since I had a bit of a longer wait for my engine than originally planned,and I have a planned road trip in late dec have decided to go with a Opensource break in tune untill then and see where I stand with as far as getting an Access port and Dyno tune or just a more powerful opensource tune. If that is the route I go, Ill probably wait till Jan to get an AP and dyno tune. But we will see where it goes the next few weeks.
Alright...Well I guess now that I some extra time for the next few months. Ill start by shaking the dust off my journal thread. Well to start the car is holding up fine since the install. Steve has been tweaking the tune on my car every now and then, trying new maps. About a month ago, TopSpeed had a dyno day. I was pretty surprised at the power and torque the legacy made. It made 298 whp and 340 ft/tq at 16lbs of boost. Even Steve was surprised with it. I can't imagine how much power it will make at target boost, which I think will be somewhere around 20-23lbs with some other bolt ons. I have a good intercooler, an intake ,and a bov on my shopping list of power mods. The power mods will come later tho. Right now since I am having a blast doing autocross, I am planning some suspension upgrades. Two weeks ago I bought a set of Whiteline adjustable front and rear sway bars and man I could feel a good difference just leaving the parking lot from work after the install. On the front, I had to cut and chisel out the end links from the control arm because they were rusted to hell but after that the rest of the install went pretty good I left them on the both the soft setting. Anyways I took it to run autocross in the novice class and boy did I have understeering issues at every turn. O'well I have fun. Well another week goes by and I sign up for the next autocross event. This time the day before at work I tighted up the rear sway bar. At the event, The car handled so much better throughout the course hardly any understeering issues so yea I was a bit happy about how it went. The future plans for the suspension will probably be some adjustable struts and some good springs. I would like to eliminate as much of the front to back weight transfer as possible. I got a quote from work for some Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires going a bit wider. Probably some 235/40/18 or 245/40/18 the car has right now 215/45/18 so hopefully they will mount up ok. So I can get some better grip will get me around the course faster and better. I still would like to maybe at some point get some coil overs but there aren't really many out options there for a Legacy so I am trying to do some research on them to make a best choice. Then Ill probably start on some front end bushings. So hopefully here pretty soon Ill be able to get some of this stuff, and get the legacy handling and running like a champ.
Did you take the starting line course a couple of autocrosses ago? There was a nice spec.B there with a killer sounding exhaust. I was in the blue EvoMR if it was you. I certainly noticed a lot of weight transfer on your car, especially launching and breaking. Seemed like the springs were too soft. Love your build though, keep it up!