10 replies to this topic

[Kahn McCall]

Hey guys, new to the car scene, just picked myself up a 1997 forester, EJ20 with a factory turbo.  I am wanting to start modding the car, with a slight power upgrade (nothing massive wanted) 

 

little background, the car is from my parents and all it needs is a new radiator which i will do first. Car has been treated well since its my parents and they dont hoon too much i would imagine. 20 and want to start getting into the car scene and starting on this because I dont mind if I dont do the best job. Doing it for fun and experience.

 

Mods ild like to do at some stage ( chassis, SF5 )

 

- Blow off valve

- Higher PSI on the turbo (if possible)

- New exhaust system - not for loudness, for better airflow. 

- Better injectors 

- Better Fuel Pump if needed 

- A Cold air induction with a pod filter

- Fuel pressure regulators

- New coils

- New sparks

 

If can be done without much hassle 

 

- Bigger turbo (not massive just enough to hold out more but still with a quick-ish spool up)  

- Bigger inter-cooler 

 

Any feedback if much appreciated and will be taken on board, please share photos of your angry toasters or any comments you have

 

photos will come if post goes anywhere 

[Jimbo]

Being a 1997 you can get away with some basic mods to the engine. Remember being nearly 20 years old, she might be getting a bit tired so don't get too overboard.

You could upgrade the turbo easily, anything off a 2.0L WRX (single-scroll) will work . In my experience on a 2.0L , if you can find one, a VF30 is an excellent turbo giving good all round performance. These days you can buy brand new Kinugawa or similar brands off eBay for a pretty reasonable price. Do some research into turbos and find a spec that will suit your application. Match that up to a 3" dump pipe and exhaust system with a good quality Japanese muffler and that'll keep you pretty well entertained.

A manual boost tee set to about 15psi with your chosen bigger turbo would do the job nicely. The factory TD04 turbo would probably be pushing past it's efficiency around there.

Don't bother with a pod filter, they're garbage. Although spool sounds super cool, the factory airbox will perform just as well, if not better than a pod filter. Best thing to do is get yourself a non-oiled performance panel filter. Same with a BOV, a good quality plumb-back will get the job done, BOV noise is silly and so 2001. I can recommend Turbosmart Kompacts.

Before blowing too much cash on engine mods though, you would want to make sure everything underneath the car is up to scratch. Replace all the consumable suspension components ie; ball joints, tie-rod ends, control arm bushes, steering rack bushes, strut tops, rear arm and linkage bushes, swaybar links and mount bushes etc. It'll freshen up the car again and feel nice and tight.

No point spending oodles on the engine if the body will just slop, roll around and feel like you're driving an overpowered marshmellow.

Make sure the struts aren't leaking and that the brakes are performing well. The standard front 294mm rotors with 2 pots are good stoppers when paired with good pads and stainless braided brake lines. The lines are pricey but will give good pedal feel and get rid of the spongeyness of the old rubber lines. It's all about instilling confidence. 

Fuel pumps can be had cheap and a good upgrade, even just to replace the tired old units. Deatschwerks make good units which are well priced. A fuel pressure regulator is probably not necessary along with bigger injectors at your current stage. Once you move to bigger injectors, your moving into aftermarket engine management territory. I'm not sure what injectors a '97 GT Foz would have, probably 380cc's. You might be able to upgrade to 440cc's and use a WRX ECU, not 100% sure on that one, someone else might have to chime in there.

New spark plugs and leads is a great idea. Pretty sure '97 Foz has wasted spark (leads) instead of coil-on-plug.

Good luck!


 

[El_Freddo]

Pics should come first!

With the radiator I'd be further checking out the cooling system. If the engine is running hot I'd be looking further than just the radiator as the cause of the problem. EJs are great for a little HG leakage creating issues people chase until the HGs let to good and proper. I'd imagine in a boosted EJ a little leak wod grow quickly depending on how it's driven.

Sounds like a good project to start with - and Jimbo's advice above is gold. I've taken some notes for my RS build too

Cheers

Bennie

[Kahn McCall]

Thanks heaps for the feedback will definitely take all into consideration. Plan to start working on it in thew next month after I scratch up around 3k so i can start buying things with no worries. Will come with updates everyweek once i start working on it!

[Barbbachello]

Being a 1997 you can get away with some basic mods to the engine. Remember being nearly 20 years old, she might be getting a bit tired so don't get too overboard.

You could upgrade the turbo easily, anything off a 2.0L WRX (single-scroll) will work . In my experience on a 2.0L , if you can find one, a VF30 is an excellent turbo giving good all round performance. These days you can buy brand new Kinugawa or similar brands off eBay for a pretty reasonable price. Do some research into turbos and find a spec that will suit your application. Match that up to a 3" dump pipe and exhaust system with a good quality Japanese muffler and that'll keep you pretty well entertained.

A manual boost tee set to about 15psi with your chosen bigger turbo would do the job nicely. The factory TD04 turbo would probably be pushing past it's efficiency around there.

Don't bother with a pod filter, they're garbage. Although spool sounds super cool, the factory airbox will perform just as well, if not better than a pod filter. Best thing to do is get yourself a non-oiled performance panel filter. Same with a BOV, a good quality plumb-back will get the job done, BOV noise is silly and so 2001. I can recommend Turbosmart Kompacts.

Before blowing too much cash on engine mods though, you would want to make sure everything underneath the car is up to scratch. Replace all the consumable suspension components ie; ball joints, tie-rod ends, control arm bushes, steering rack bushes, strut tops, rear arm and linkage bushes, swaybar links and mount bushes etc. It'll freshen up the car again and feel nice and tight.

No point spending oodles on the engine if the body will just slop, roll around and feel like you're driving an overpowered marshmellow.

Make sure the struts aren't leaking and that the brakes are performing well. The standard front 294mm rotors with 2 pots are good stoppers when paired with good pads and stainless braided brake lines. The lines are pricey but will give good pedal feel and get rid of the spongeyness of the old rubber lines. It's all about instilling confidence. 

Fuel pumps can be had cheap and a good upgrade, even just to replace the tired old units. Deatschwerks make good units which are well priced. A fuel pressure regulator is probably not necessary along with bigger injectors at your current stage. Once you move to bigger injectors, your moving into aftermarket engine management territory. I'm not sure what injectors a '97 GT Foz would have, probably 380cc's. You might be able to upgrade to 440cc's and use a WRX ECU, not 100% sure on that one, someone else might have to chime in there.

New spark plugs and leads is a great idea. Pretty sure '97 Foz has wasted spark (leads) instead of coil-on-plug.

Good luck!


 

All of this. Can we get this stickied somewhere 

[tryangus]

+1 as above.

Being a 20 year old car, there is likely to be no shortage of bits needing TLC - I'd reiterate the need to get your car into a good state before modding, especially if you're short of funds. Inspect parts for wear, replace fluids and repair / replace / upgrade worn parts as necessary.

The suggestion of the TD04 turbo is an excellent bang for buck turbo upgrade. Even without a tune, these will pull a lot better than the tiny TF035 fitted from factory.

Sadly the SF forester sports 277mm rotors on the front, not 294mm as described above. Many SF owners have been content with simply upgrading to the Forester XT brakes. These use a 2-pot caliper over the 294mm rotor and can be acquired very easily and cheaply - you can then upgrade tot eh WRX 4-pot front caliper at a later date. 

For handling, in addition to refreshing any worn/perished bushings, a 20mm rear sway bar out of a WRX is an excellent low-buck upgrade that will help reduce body roll, even on stock suspension. If you want to lower your SF, WRX wagon struts and springs are a popular budget option.

Very best of luck!
 

[Jimbo]

Weird they used 277's. Didnt know that. Odd.

[tryangus]

Weird they used 277's. Didnt know that. Odd.

It's absurd, eh? Painfully under-braked.

 

[LPM_B4]

yeah 277s N/A brakes   

GTB lib 316mm with slotted rotors and good pads are an awesome upgrade on the front 

[andrew_k]

Ditch the tf035 turbo asap. Td04 off any newer stubby should be $150 or less all day every day and is the biggest you'll get away with on stock ECU. 11-12psi is maximum Boost before fuel cut. Stock intercooler is also tiny. Again 02-07 Wrx item $150 or less Inc bov and plumbing.

When changing the turbo, your plastic intake manifold will be VERY brittle due to age. If you crack it it's manifold off to replace with an aftermarket silicon job. Brakes and fuel pump are the most undersized items on SF Forester. Fuel pump will run out at 4.5k rpm with td04+3” exhaust. Liberty gen 4 is biggest brakes you'll fit under your stock wheels. Injectors will be 440cc sidefeed, no need to upgrade until you've got aftermarket engine management and bigger everything else.
22mm rear sway bar and a rear strut bar are best ROI handling upgrade outside of tyres and suspension. Huge improvement in body roll.

[LPM_B4]

Ditch the tf035 turbo asap. Td04 off any newer stubby should be $150 or less all day every day and is the biggest you'll get away with on stock ECU. 11-12psi is maximum Boost before fuel cut. Stock intercooler is also tiny. Again 02-07 Wrx item $150 or less Inc bov and plumbing.

When changing the turbo, your plastic intake manifold will be VERY brittle due to age. If you crack it it's manifold off to replace with an aftermarket silicon job. Brakes and fuel pump are the most undersized items on SF Forester. Fuel pump will run out at 4.5k rpm with td04+3” exhaust. Liberty gen 4 is biggest brakes you'll fit under your stock wheels. Injectors will be 440cc sidefeed, no need to upgrade until you've got aftermarket engine management and bigger everything else.
22mm rear sway bar and a rear strut bar are best ROI handling upgrade outside of tyres and suspension. Huge improvement in body roll.

GTB brakes wont fit under 16's FYI

and from my measurements 02-07 wrx cooler is sideways step in performance, GT coolers are deeper than 01-02 where as the wrx are slightly wider but thinner