aftermarket tuning --> but not Fast and/or Furious

[bb2004]

hey gang. I posted here once or twice a while back, but I have returned
looking for some direction.

I am looking to take my 1997 2.2 litre impreza wagon and give it a little
modification. It recently became our 2nd car, and at eight years old and
with a little over 100K miles as the family truckster it seems like a good
time to start tinkering.

Not looking to turn it into a rice-burning, street racing machine like the
high-school kids would do or anything like that, but rather just give it a
little extra "oomph"...

you know, a little more pep on acceleration, a bit better handling, a tad
more power, that kind of thing. Add a bit of "fun" to the ride, while
maintaining practicality and an "everyday car" kind of look.

Nothing outrageous, just a little here or there that you'd consider a DIY in
the driveway over the weekend type thing. Oh yeah, I don't want to spend a
fortune on it either (makes it harder,, no?)

Any links, tips, tricks or pointers would be appreciated..

I know I am being a bit vaugue, but I don't want to limit any responses, and
am looking for a wide range of input. I have no specific goals in mind,
just looking for some easy yet fulfilling projects to improve my favorite
little Sube.

thanks in advance

 

[Scott Johnson]

hey gang. I posted here once or twice a while back, but I have returned
looking for some direction.

I am looking to take my 1997 2.2 litre impreza wagon and give it a little
modification. It recently became our 2nd car, and at eight years old and
with a little over 100K miles as the family truckster it seems like a good
time to start tinkering.

Do some junkyard suspension upgrades - stock
suspension off of an Impreza RS, and some 15 or 16
inch factory subie wheels. (Or you can take mine
off of my hands! <grin>)

A homemade cold-air intake and an 2.5 inch exhaust
with a straight-through design muffler and
glasspack resonator will add a few hp.

Do you subscribe to Grassroots Motorsports? If
not, do, and you'll get tons of ideas, especially
from their $2005 challenge.

 

[Ross]

I am looking to take my 1997 2.2 litre impreza wagon and give it a little
modification. It recently became our 2nd car, and at eight years old and
with a little over 100K miles as the family truckster it seems like a good
time to start tinkering.

What you want is one of those house sized Garrett turbochargers they put on
transatlantic supertankers, bolt a supercharger onto it too just to combat
the turbo lag! A couple of bottles of NOx in the boot and a billion ron
fuel and you are good to go...

Seriously tho, have a look at getting it chipped this would improve the
engines power output,dont go crazy and make sure the engine is in good
working order and has been serviced regularly.

You could firm up the suspension springs and lower 15 - 30mm this would make
the car a bit more sprightly, also new shocks would make a difference, the
damping oil in 100k shocks will be pretty broken down, just replacing them
with stock would make a noticable difference. Stiffer suspension bushings
are pretty cheap and would help improve handling too. you could also beef up
the anti roll bars front and rear. Remember handling is a tradeoff, all
the above will reduce the cars ride quality.

Also fit bigger rims (no more than 17inch needed) and shod them with better
wider tyres, tyres can make a huge improvement to handling and grip,
especially the lower profile you get with bigger rims.

Doing all the above at once could prove to be expensive, Id go with matched
new shocks and springs and an engine chip first.

Ross

 

[SilverFXT]

hey gang. I posted here once or twice a while back, but I have returned
looking for some direction.

I am looking to take my 1997 2.2 litre impreza wagon and give it a little
modification. It recently became our 2nd car, and at eight years old and
with a little over 100K miles as the family truckster it seems like a good
time to start tinkering.

Not looking to turn it into a rice-burning, street racing machine like the
high-school kids would do or anything like that, but rather just give it a
little extra "oomph"...
snip<

Well, the basic route is always reduce air flow restriction. This
usually means a high flow air filter and exhaust to begin with. There
are tuning shops where you can take in your Imprezza and they can
re-flash your ECU to maximize performance. You can do all the
"bolt-on" stuff yourself. Only you can determine how far you want to
take it. But, remember the motor does have 100,000 miles on it. Make
sure it is in good mechanical condition before you start pumping up
the HP.

 

[Spudster]

Go here: www.nasioc.com and then open up the "Normally Aspirated" forum and
read, read, and read some more. Then look at the "Aftermarket Forced
Induction" forum and you'll see what you can do to make real power from that
engine. The latter may be a bit more complex than you were looking for.

Steve.

 

[grape]

any turbocharged engine has reinforced its strength, piston thickness and so
on. merely add a turbo surely will improve huge torque, but your engine will
die out soon