I have always been under the assumption that the EJ20 is the motor to be desired. does anyone what makes them better then the EJ25?
Its all about what you want out of a motor. Lots of guys love the low end grunt they get out of a 2.5. I was happy with the low end grunt that I got out of my 205 and still gained 40lbft of torque swapping in a 207; not the 80lbft that I'd get with a 2.5 but I can rev mine out 1500rpm more than any 2.5. EJ207s are rarer than 257s but you could argue all day long which is better. I will tell you that the JDM 2.0 is much better suited to the short gear ratios in the STI 6spd. It has a one-piece intake manifold (no TGVs) and bigger heads/cams.
EJ205: Despite small differences in cams and ECUs from the factory to suit the different needs of different markets, this engine is your basic point A to point B daily driver/commuter engine with a little bit of 'pep' and advertised as a performance engine. Yes it can usually hangle 300 hp/tq at the crank and be pretty darn reliable when CORRECTLY TUNED and keeping with a rather small turbo. Anything larger than an 18G and it becomes unreliable or you are pushing it beyond its limits. ALL EJ205's come with cast pistons. CoolRex's EJ205 is SPECIFICALLY excluded here. His has JDM black magic installed that keeps it from blowing up. Maybe his accidentally got an EJ207 block at the factory.... EJ207: Two basic forms here. EJ207 in the Version 6 STi, then the EJ207 in the Version 7 STi. The Version 7 features AVCS. Version 8 and beyond is AVCS and twin scroll. Version 10 has Dual AVCS. These engines rev to 8000~8500 very reliably and can make lots of power relatively reliably. The Version 6 and 7 are CONFIRMED to come with 4032 alloy forged pistons from the factory. The Version 8 and up come with the same hyperutectic alloy found in the USDM EJ255/EJ257, same overall power capacity as the forged V6/V7 engines, but they are prone to breakage due to detonation. Careful tuning required. EJ20G/K/H/R: LOTS of different versions here. Lower levels have cast pistons, others (STi, some WRX, All Type R and RA, dunno which ones in the Legacy, but the STi versions and Type RA and R def do...) have the 4032 alloy forged pistons. I'm 99.9% sure ALL of these engines have piston oil squirters. These are nifty to have, but not absolutely necessary. Hope that helps... WJM's personal notes: I only like the EJ205 for one reason: It gets incredible MPG in a properly setup car with proper mods and tuning with the stock TD04L-13G turbo. Wife's car sees 32~33 mpg in the 70~74 mph bracket. Recently while hauling ASS with an average speed of 80~90mph we got 29mpg. Pretty good. However, any day I'll take an EJ255/EJ257 due to the absolute POWER/TORQUE it can make AND make it reliably.
Very good information out of WJM as always. My vote is the 257 also WITH forged pistons as well though!
To update WJM's post. Ver8 and beyond get twinscroll in some markets, and single scroll in others. Lets just say that I've seen some 207 cars outrun 257 cars pushing 50whp and 80lbft more than said 2.0 . . . fairly identical weight. Less max torque, but a flatter curve, lends to a huge powerband on the 207.
im just asking b/c my friend just picked up a 02 WRX with the 2.0 in it. no idea what the motor code is. i told him that the 2.0 is pretty rare now but just wondered why btw thanks WJM as always
the EJ205 is likely the second most common turbo subaru engine in existence. I'm pretty sure the EJ20G beats it.