I want to mod my 98 legacy brighton wagon but I can't find parts!

[Zac86]

What parts are interchangeable on a 98 legacy? What i'm looking into now is strut tower bars and a catback will strut bars and a catback from a 98 impreza either L or 2.5RS fit on my 98 legacy brighton wagon?

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[that one legacy]

as far as i know, only the front strut bar from that year range impreza will fit. for a rear strut bar, you'd have to go with the GD body impreza. keep an eye on eBay too, JDM BG5 Legacy strut bars come up every once in a while.

catback, most people here are going to tell you to either go with a WRX or (preferably) an STi cat-back, and just have it modded to fit your car. if not that, go with a custom built system, cause the actual number of real cat-back systems made for our cars that are actually available here are very nil.

myself, i've got a JDM BG5 front strut bar (nothing in the back for now), and an STi cat back that i had modded to fit. the catback i picked up for $100, and then it cost like another $180 for modification and install. it's pretty quiet, but if you step on it, you get a nice, low growl out of the tail. i used to have a custom system made out of an OBX straight through muffler, and i loved that thing, but it got destroyed on a driveway so....

the strut bar....i think i picked that up for like $45 shipped on eBay, it was like a year ago though so i don't really remember.

[Zac86]

what about sway bars? As for suspension I heard you can put GD WRX Wagon struts and springs on as long as you have the strut mounts right?

[k2snow]

I'm running an IPD adjustable sway bar on mine and it made a world of difference it's actually the same one I had on my WRX wagon.

I'm running a custom catback exhaust and it was probably around $250-300 bucks.

Also have a set of Eibach Lowering springs on it and some Rota Formels.

I'd get the sway bar first and then decide what you want to do for performance wise. Kinda hard to get any "real" gains out of our cars so I'd start with the suspension and handling.

Good luck.

PJ

[that one legacy]

there's also the option of running '97-'99 Outback sway bars. the stock front one is 20mm, while the stock rear one is 18mm (compared to your stock 19mm front and 14mm rear). i picked up my set for $75, but i have yet to swap out the bushings for poly ones. you might be able to get yours cheaper if you have a local pull-your-own junkyard, i got my rear one from a salvage yard so it was a bit more expensive (still worth it though).

my suspension set up is:

JDM BG5 upper front strut tower bar
'04 USDM STi OEM Springs & Struts
'97-'99 Outback OEM front and rear sway bars.
16X6.5 '99 Forester S rims
225/50/16 Kuhmo Ecsta 711 tires

this is all on a '95 L wagon, and even with the somewhat crappy tires, it still sticks to the ground really well. i've taken a couple of freeway ramps at over 60 mph (this is on the really wide ones obviously) and never squealed a tire, or felt any body roll. i don't know if i would necessarily recommend this set up to anyone else though, cause it is a bit stiff. i love it pesonally.

[Zac86]

no really gains eh? What I really want is that boxer sound from mine, Would just an aftermarket muffler do the trick?

[Kraziken]

Originally Posted by Zac86

no really gains eh? What I really want is that boxer sound from mine, Would just an aftermarket muffler do the trick?

A catback would get you maybe somewhere from 5 to 8 hp I'm guessing. It doesn't do much.

The Butt Dyno will feel it, but not much else.

[Huffer]

Originally Posted by Zac86

What parts are interchangeable on a 98 legacy? What i'm looking into now is strut tower bars and a catback will strut bars and a catback from a 98 impreza either L or 2.5RS fit on my 98 legacy brighton wagon?

Interchangeable parts from WHAT other car? Everything's interchangeable... with another Legacy...

98 Impreza strutbraces will fit, providing they are low enough in the front to clear the Legacy hood.

Catbacks won't fit - the Legacy has a longer body, more so if it's a wagon.

[Zac86]

Will stock headers from a 98 impreza 2.5rs fit on my legacy?

[jey]

Originally Posted by Zac86

Will stock headers from a 98 impreza 2.5rs fit on my legacy?

No, and the main issue is that the 2.2L from the 98 Legacy has single exhaust ports on the heads, versus the dual exhaust ports on the heads of the 2.5L. I'm not sure when they switched the 2.2L over to dual ports - might want to crawl under the car and double-check on yours.

[that one legacy]

it was either in '97 or '98 that they switched to the single port heads if i recall correctly, but the '98 will definitely have single ports. really sucks cause if you switch over to earlier heads to get the dual ports, you have to mess with the valve lifter ticking issue.

[that one legacy]

Originally Posted by Zac86

no really gains eh? What I really want is that boxer sound from mine, Would just an aftermarket muffler do the trick?

yeah, but your car will never get the rumble that you get from a WRX unless you turbo charge the motor. the NA motors just don't push enough air to really get that sound.

[Zac86]

I bought a magnaflow muffler tonight because I was checking on youtube and it gives the 2.5i's a pretty good sound so i'll see how it sounds on mine. Also bought a new O2 sensor. Hopefully i'll have those installed on tuesday when I have free shop time. Also have my cousin in alberta that's gonna look around for some WRX wagon struts, springs and strut mounts. Should I ask him if he can get WRX wagon sway bars too?

[that one legacy]

if i recall correctly, the rear sway won't fit because the bottom of the legacy gas tank has an extra hump in it which prevents the impreza RSB from fitting. if you pound out that hump, then yeah you can make the bar fit....from what i hear anyway. this might just be net rumors though.

the front sway, has different mounting points from your stock one as well, so it won't work either from what i understand.

the springs and shocks will work just fine, but poke around these boards a bit more before you go that route. some people who have used those parts swear against them now.

[linsavy]

I have some sway bars for sale 22mm front and 20mm adjustable rear with bushings. The rear sway for a Legacy is different than an Impreza.
I am in London, ON.
PM if you are interested.

[Huffer]

Originally Posted by that one legacy

yeah, but your car will never get the rumble that you get from a WRX unless you turbo charge the motor. the NA motors just don't push enough air to really get that sound.

That's complete crap.

[jey]

Originally Posted by that one legacy

yeah, but your car will never get the rumble that you get from a WRX unless you turbo charge the motor. the NA motors just don't push enough air to really get that sound.

Ever removed your muffler? It's quite a rumble!

[ebayking90]

Be careful with exhausts on N/A. You do not want your car to sound like a riced out civic.

[Zac86]

ok so I shouldn't get the WRX wagon suspension? Ok so the swaybars will not fit. When I get the muffler installed i'll take a clip of it.

Ok now what can I do about my intake? Today I saw some guy with a prelude basicly just get rid of his piping. Connected his MAF sensor right before the TB and put a cone filter on the end and it sounded like it had ITB's lol! Is this something you guys would suggest trying?

[linsavy]

That intake set up will likely cost you torque. Maybe add some HP but questionable. I would think it would be loud too.

[Zac86]

Next mod I have planned is to buy some PVC to get rid of that stupid box.



Also thinking about getting rid of the box where you put the air filter in and just putting a universal cone filter on the end.

[Plays_With_toys]

Ok I quickly skimmed this thread and my biggest advice would be to slow down. If you start pulling parts and swapping stuff you're going to spend more money when you realize you bought the wrong stuff or that there was better things out there.

Like why bother with PVC piping when subaru intakes are like $15 on ebay?

As for the guy with filter ->maf ->throttle body, his car probably runs like crap. Two reasons. MAF's need a steady stream of air across to get an accurate signal. Being that close to the throttle body introdues intake pulses. Being that close to the filter introduces turbulence. Both of these lead to erratic MAF readings.

Single ports were late 96 and up. Throw a muffler on there and you'll rumble, but again, do some searching. You have a wagon. You know how a subwoofer works right? It's not sound you're really hearing, it's the air moving at some low frequency. You have a huge column of air right above your muffler. If you put some big can there you are going to set that air into harmonics and you'll get the drone so many wagon owners complain about. A little research into your exhaust will net better results (trust me, I'm on my 4th exhaust, when I should have just bought a stromung from the get go).

As for suspension, I had a stock L. So similar set up to yours. I now have an outback rear sway bar, kyb GR-2's, and eibach pro kit springs for the legacy sedan. It provides a 1.5" drop and the car handles amazingly. I can take 90* right hand turns at about 35mph without a squeak from my tires. I have gone up to 45mph through a 90* bend, but, my front tires started plowing, and it definately requires the new road have two lanes.

Anyway. Like I said, take a breather, do some more reading on here and sl-i, and then after you've seen what others have done and learned I'd start thinking your mods through. There is a huge assortment of articles written by legacy driving folks at the top of this page and on SL-i that covers chassis codes, parts interchangeability, power adders, noise makers, cosmetic modifications and etcetera.

[LetItSnow]

NA mods aren't worth your money, unless you can afford internals. Do tires and suspension; the speed you accumulate, you can keep. You'll never be a dragstrip star, but you can sure set up for some wicked cornering.

If I could, I'd take back every penny I put into bolt-on engine stuffs from my Legacy; they didn't pay.

Don't waste your money!

[jey]

Originally Posted by LetItSnow

NA mods aren't worth your money, unless you can afford internals. Do tires and suspension; the speed you accumulate, you can keep. You'll never be a dragstrip star, but you can sure set up for some wicked cornering.

On that note, and back to the original question - all Subaru wheels are interchangeable - except for old school Subarus, the SVX, and newer STis that don't use the 5x100 bolt pattern.

[Zac86]

I want to do suspension mods but I cant find any parts that will fit my wagon. Also about the intake there's none that will fit my wagon on ebay.