Subarus. Can. Go. To. Heck.

"1337HPMustang" (1337hpmustang)
10/15/2014 at 22:25 • Filed to: Subie quest

why the hell are there 18934877 different kinds of damn ej engines!? How the frick am I supposed to research the ej208 in !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! which, by the way, has probably made !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! research I did over the last two days moot!?

Just look at this gosh darned mess!

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

I give up. I can't tell if it's phase 8 or 6; generation "v7" or "v5"; if it's got 440 lb injectors or 500; if !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ; if it's type R, RA, GT, GT-B, or RAGTBWHOGIVESASHIT

I want a turbo flat four but not bad enough to have an aneurysm

DISCUSSION (12)

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > 1337HPMustang
10/15/2014 at 22:29

Check your self before you wreck your self....

LappingLuke > norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback
10/15/2014 at 22:35

This advice might be a little late...seems as though he's wrecked himself

1337HPMustang > norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback
10/15/2014 at 23:04

Why can't it be easy like mustang buying... you got your six cylinder... and your eight cylinder. They get changed every few years but that's ok. EJ engines have a new 2 liter every .3 of a model year! Literally the only info I can find on the ej208 is a bunch of NZ and UK morons arguing about their legacies and how much boost they can add until their engines assplode

Kanaric > 1337HPMustang
10/15/2014 at 23:09

I've always been told "V7 STI engine is best" and take it at face value because it's so annoying to figure out shit on these. That one had 8000rpm redline and all forged internals.

Boxer_4 > 1337HPMustang
10/16/2014 at 00:04

I agree the EJ series is a mess, especially with the Japanese turbo versions. The twin-turbos are a different mess all together.

There are 5 versions of the twin-turbo EJ20 engine, which are identified by phases. There are 3 phases in total, Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III.

Phase I engines refer to the EJ20H and EJ20R engines. The H was a lower performance engine, while the R was a higher performance engine. Both are found in the second generation Legacy (sedan chassis code BD, wagon chassis code BG). The H first appeared in 1993, while R appeared by 1996. Both were discontinued in 1998.

Phase II engines refer to the EJ206 engine and most EJ208 engines. Similar to the Phase I engines, there were higher performance and lower performance versions. The EJ206 was the lower performance engine, while the EJ208 was the higher performance engine. The EJ206 is found in all revisions of the third generation Legacy (sedan chassis code BE, wagon chassis code BH). The Phase II EJ208 is found in the first 3 revisions (A,B,C) of the third generation Legacy. Slight changes were made to the EJ208 for the C revision, and the compression was bumped from 8.5:1 to 9:1.

Phase III engines refer to the EJ208 found in the 4th revision (D) of the third generation Legacy. The EJ208 saw significant changes, and should really be considered different engines from the original EJ208. I have no idea why Subaru didn't change the engine number on this one.

All the higher performance engines were only offered with a manual transmission. If a twin-turbo Legacy has an automatic transmission, then it does not have the higher performance engine.

It appears that the GTB you linked is a BH5A, which means it has a Phase II EJ208 with the 8.5:1 compression ratio. It also has the 440 injectors, unless they have been upgraded.

The EJ208 is an open deck engine, which you can see in this engine teardown (BH5A and BH5B share the same engine). As far as I can tell, head gaskets on any Subaru 2L should not be an issue at stock or moderate above stock horsepower. Unless I'm mistaken, when I've seen someone mention head gasket failure on a turbo 2.0, it's from heavy modifications.

Boxer_4 > Kanaric
10/16/2014 at 00:09

*Best if you are going for a high horsepower build, or plan on running it very hard. A V7 STI engine shouldn't be necessary for a daily driver or a mild to moderate performance build.

1337HPMustang > Boxer_4
10/16/2014 at 01:23

God bless you boxer_4. I was thinking of soliciting you again but figured it might be annoying at this point; and yet you answered my silent cries. You are a subie master yoda and I, as the novice luke, have come for council and been schooled once more. I bow to your incredible mind, and your incredible sagacity. You are a polished opal in a pewter world, my friend. I'm sorry for insulting subarus. Forgive me for being fickle.

I did read about the phase II and III engine heads and to be honest I managed to figure out a little bit about the revisions (thank you for FINALLY making it clear "rev" means revisions) from the forums. I think I will put down a refundable deposit on this car (so it doesn't get scooped like that other gf8 wrx I wanted) as I do more research.

I must ask though, since you've seen the ad , would you buy this GTB? It's obviously an improvement over the '95 ej20g wrx that I was looking at before, right? There is also a '99 with a BH5B . They're very similar besides the fact the '98 looks closer to stock. What is the difference between the two ej208s, if you happen to know? It appears they have the same compression. Thank you again and I wish I could buy you a drink for being so awesome.

Boxer_4 > 1337HPMustang
10/16/2014 at 12:45

This stuff has basically become my hobby. I've been researching all sorts of Subaru information since we first got one in the immediate family 5 years ago. I still don't know it all. I've been enjoying sharing what I know, and learning some new information along the way.

From what I was able to find, the BH5A (Revision A) and BH5B (Revision B) have the same EJ208, just that the EJ208 in the BH5B has some slight changes. I'm not sure what those slight changes are (I'm still trying to figure out how Subaru does their 10 digit engine codes). However, I do know that Subaru did make adjustments over the years on several occasions to try to reduce the turbo lag from the change over between the two turbos.

The BH5A GTB looks really nice. It's certainly newer and more powerful than the GF8 WRX you were looking at. Whether it's better or not depends on what you are looking for. The GTB is going to be bigger and heavier than the WRX, and will probably be a bit heavier on its feet in comparison. The GTBs are still really nice cars, and the handling should still be really good. The GTBs definitely have a nicer interior than the WRX, and in general feel more like entry level luxury vehicles. Also, the GTB will be more likely to not have been used as hard.

The BH5B GTB isn't a modified as it may look. The grille is actually a Subaru part, from what I believe is their "Concept Part Line" RFBF. It supposedly stands for "Run Fast, Run Beautiful". Yes, really. The BH5B does have an aftermarket strut tower brace, and what appears to be a grounding kit. Taking all of that into consideration, as well as the fact that the BH5B doesn't look quite as pristine and has more KMs, and the BH5A might be a better choice.

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > 1337HPMustang
10/16/2014 at 15:23

Because Japan likes to make everything complicated.

1337HPMustang > Boxer_4
10/16/2014 at 18:39

Again, thanks for sharing all your knowledge. It really is like an oral history that seems to be mainly unwritten haha. Speaking of which I came across this rather informative thread on ej20g/k which you may appreciate

http://forums.jdmvip.com/EJ20K_discussi…

Also I found a v3 sti for sale nearby

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-cars-trucks/…

the owner is entertaining an $8k offer and I'll be going to check it out this weekend. It seems I'm constantly looking at pricier and pricier cars although this car's had high milage maintenance done, including timing belt, so it's really made me consider it (the 5 grand cars from japan would probably cost me 7 grand by the time everything was said and done). What do you think? I'm glad it's local so I can actually check it out.

Philbert/Phartnagle > 1337HPMustang
10/17/2014 at 01:15

Hello everybody my name is Harry Cemetery, if you're good you go to heaven, if you're bad you go to hello everybody....

Boxer_4 > 1337HPMustang
10/17/2014 at 22:51

Thanks for the link. I'll be sure to check it out.

That V3 STI looks really nice. It's definitely a bonus that the timing belt and other maintenance has been done already. It's even better that it's local to you.