06 Forester X, XT swap or hybrid build?

[Shmeatwagon]

Hey everyone, new guy here. First post so be gentle unless you plan to take me to dinner.

So let's start with the obvious. I have a 2006 forester x, ej253 sohc avls engine, 5 speed mt. No performance mods at all with 220k on the clock. Now with that said, I am a diehard gear head, love messing around with cars, been at it since I was 5.

I have been toying around with the idea of either XT swapping it ( I know, if you want to turbo a N/A subaru why not buy an XT) but where is the fun in that? Or doing a hybrid build.

Option 1: full jdm 2005 forester sti ej255 swap, engine, engine harness, dash harness and ecu. I have searched and searched but haven't found much on the my06 forester like mine. I know I could get a salvaged 06-08 XT but I can't find one for a decent price near me (Virginia). If I got said swap as mentioned above, replaced my dash harness and ecu with the 2005, is there any merging I would have to do with the rest of the harness from my 06? Back half, door or front end harness?

Option 2: hybrid build. I have read and searched so much on hybrid builds. But have not been able to find any answers, solutions or specs to what I would like to do.

The hybrid build i have in mind would be this. EJ255 or EJ257 closed deck block with sti crank, h beam rods and forged pistons. New avls sohc heads, Ported and polished, supertech valves (if the ones I found are correct) twe springs and retainers, still using avls if possible. Process west reversed dbw intake manifold, Tomei uel header and up pipe, tomei arms mx7760 turbo, tomei down pipe, invidia cat back and a fmic with custom piping.

Now the questions I have with the hybrid build. I have noticed that the avls heads have the valves configured differently than the ej255 and ej257 heads. For the life of me I cannot find any true specs on the avls heads, specifically the cc of the combustion chamber. The question, will I have any issues with the avls heads interfering the the pistons? Will I have to get custom made pistons for this setup?

Second question. Is my stock ecu able to be flashed or tuned? I can't find that answer anywhere.

Third question. I know my stock 5 spd wouldn't handle either the jdm swap or the hybrid build. Should I 6 speed swap it or go with the PPG dog box straight cut gear set in the 5 speed mt? ( i want to hear the whine of the gears)

I know this is a lot for my first post, and I have been reading and researching on both options and was able to get some information but not truly pertaining to my year and engine trim of my forester.

Any kind of input would be greatly appreciated.

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