I am pretty darn close to doing a WRX swap into a 2.5rs. I am waiting to see if this one higher milage RS will be cheap enough (negoating price). I am goign to have LaChute do this swap. I am curious as the reliablity of this car. It will be my every day car, driving between Maine and New York a few times. I figure this car should be fully capable but Id like to hear from you guys. There are few of you with swaps so lets here what you have to say!

Are you talking about a USDM WRX swap? Regardless, as with any used engine, you never know. However, there is no reason that the engine would be any less reliable in your car than in the car it came in.

Bottom line, not knowing what type of use/abuse the engine took in it's former body, expect it to be as reliable as any used car (engine only, in this case) you've ever bought with the same mileage.

Lachute does great work. You'll be pleased. Good luck.

- Trent

The reliability depends on how good your donor parts are.

There have been NO issues with any of the ten USDM conversions we have completed. Well, actually the one issue that all the conversion people tend to have is ...boost itch. Meaning, once they go turbo, it isn't too long before they want more boost:D

Good luck

chris

Originally posted by dsmawd
Are you talking about a USDM WRX swap? Regardless, as with any used engine, you never know. However, there is no reason that the engine would be any less reliable in your car than in the car it came in.

Bottom line, not knowing what type of use/abuse the engine took in it's former body, expect it to be as reliable as any used car (engine only, in this case) you've ever bought with the same mileage.

Lachute does great work. You'll be pleased. Good luck.

- Trent


Trent,

Did you have LaChute do a swap for you?

Yup, Lachute sourced the parts (they already had them in their garage when I called them to ask about doing a swap) and performed all the labor. At the time (Oct. '02), I think my car was about the 9th or 10th JDM swap they'd done. I'm sure they are well into the 20s now. Julien called me and let me listen to the car start-up and run just 3 DAYS after they started the work.

My experience was absolutely first rate. Feel free to ask me any questions you might have. Julien, Mark, Yves and co. are a fantastic bunch. I just wish Montreal was closer!!! :lol:

- Trent

Rallispec did my jdm EJ20 swap, and it gave me 20k miles of driving thrill before I made a mistake on one of my favorate sandy back roads and put it into a tree at 50 mph:( Fortunately I walked away unscathed, and the car only had $2500 of damage when all was said and done, but I sold it, and now its rippin' around in Tennessee with its new owner.

I'm in the process of doing another jdm EJ20 swap myself this time.

There is no reason you should have any less reliable a car for doing a swap. Its a great way to build quite the sleeper, and save on insurance costs, for one. Plus you'll inevitably end up with a far lighter car by doing the swap. My '94 Impreza swap was 2700 lbs after the swap. So that's 400 lbs lighter than a WRX. Its no wonder that the 325 hp went so far when it only had to pull 2700 lbs.

Think about it this way, if you run the WRX engine at stock levels and the vehicle is Lighter than the WRX it should last longer if not equal right?

QS Motorsports in CT did mine. its been in for almost a year now, with about 20,000 miles put on it. No problems except for a bad TPS sensor. Knock on wood.
Frank

If you don't mind, How much is QS charging for labor, and how many have they done. You can pm me the info or email it if you prefer. Thanks.

QS did mine a little under a year ago. Mine was the first that they had done. I dont know if they have done anymore, I know that they have a pretty hectic schedule over there building rally cars. All together it was about $2500.00 in labor.
Frank

FWIW, that is almost the exact same total for labor that I got from Lachute. Lachute has done a TON of JDM swaps. I would guess probably 20+ at this point. When they did mine last September, I was no. 10 or 11.

If the price is the same, it comes down to who can more closely meet your schedule and who is closer to drive to! ;)

- Trent

What makes the WRX heavier? I was considering a '03 WRX but my friend suggested gettinng an RS and doing a turbo conversion since he has his stock WRX turbo that he'd give me for free. How strong is the 2.5 compared to the 2.0 engine?

Ed

I am trying to gather as much info as I can b/c Im wanting to do a US WRX swap or a JDM WRX swap as soon as I can save the money.

What are the negiative and positive aspects of a US vs. JDM WRX swaps?

Costs, Horsepower, availability, etc.

Im in Tennessee, how do I get ahold of Lachute to get the parts.

I have already talked to a Subaru mechanic and he said that he would do the swap on the side.

Matthew

USDM WRX Pros:
Fewer miles on motor (in most cases)
OBD2 compilant
Easier to source replacement parts if necessary.

USDM WRX Motor Cons:
Less HP than JDM motors (in most cases)
Lose the "cool guy" JDM swap bragging rights.

JDM WRX Motor Pros:
More abundant (right now anyway)
More HP than USDM motors (in most cases)

JDM WRX Motor Cons:
Most motors not OBD2 compilant.
Many don't come w/ECU & wiring harnesses making the use of standalone EMS necessary.
More miles on motor (in many cases)

Click here for Lachute Subaru (http://www.lachutesubaru.com) Talk to Mark in the motorsports department. Great guy and very willing to work things out for you.

The physical part of the swap is not a problem; it's the wiring that's the PITA.

Good luck.

-mykr.

Thanks Mykrrrr

Alot of good info. When I get the money I will definatly get in touch with Lachute.

Any more info is greatly appriecated


I think Im going with the USDM WRX b/c it seems to be alot less of a pain and alot less hassle to get everything together.

Matthew

actually i might beg to differ about the usdm being easier to gather everything. From what i've seen most usdm engine's for sale are engine (turbo, intercooler) and that's it. Sometimes they include a downpipe. You still need
-xmember, swaybar
-downpipe, rest of exhaust
-fuel pump
-fuel controller
-maf sensor and airbox
Usually if you get jdm engine's they come with downpipe and the maf sensor. So that makes a few less things to get. If you get a front clip then you get it all, sans fuel pump. But it's also more likely to be able to see if usdm engine is in good condition before you buy, and see it yourself, this is harder with jdm.

Originally posted by Soon2Bgreat
But it's also more likely to be able to see if usdm engine is in good condition before you buy, and see it yourself, this is harder with jdm.

Yet another reason to go with a shop like Lachute or RalliSpec. You could probably source a front clip a *little* cheaper if you did it on your own, but these shops perform leak-down tests, etc. If you buy your swap parts from a reputable dealer, you cut down on the stress of worrying about mis-represented parts/mileage/condition/etc. by a huge amount. Something to think about.

- Trent

Good advice Trent.

When the time is right I'm still going with a place like Lachute because of all the extra stuff they'll do to the motor to assure it's road worthy and won't cause you problems after the install.

This is well worth the extra cost IMO.

-mykr.