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Old 04-14-2017, 05:59 AM   #1
Jdm forester
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Default Ej20g from a 97 forester

Hey guys... So Ive come into a car that me and my buddy swapped motors for him... And now I own the car and trying to get it done the rest of the way... I've read a bit on the ej20g but would like more info on it! Would also like to know where to get the correct harness and ecu for this motor as I can't find one to save my life!!!! Any info on the motor and also where to get the correct harness and ecu and which version I need? would be great!! TIA by the way she runs just not 100% as its wired to the stock usdm harness and ecu... Don't ask how he did the wiring..... I want to finish it the correct way!
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Old 04-14-2017, 02:05 PM   #2
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Bump....
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Old 04-18-2017, 11:32 PM   #3
i10scooby
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Hello JDM,

I am currently working on the same engine and can tell you what I have discovered from researching the engine for the past few months. I may also be able to get the ecu for you, which I can tell you is not easy to find!

Let me start off by saying that this engine is really more of a ej20g/k frankenstein than an ej20g. That is to say, that the engine was basically subaru's way of getting rid of all their ej20g parts while they transitioned to the new ej20k platform in 1996-1997. That said, you can essentially treat the engine as an ej20k in most cases, as the wiring etc. will all be compatible with the ej20k engine.

Though it is wired the same and has similar hp as the ej20k (250 instead of 276), the compression ratio is different. The late ej20g has a 9:1 while the ej20k is 8:1. As I understand it, this difference is due solely to the pistons, which have a smaller dish than the ej20k. The differences in the heads are shown with pictures in the sticky, but basically the only difference is that late ej20g has shim over bucket valves and less aggressive cams.

The harness is the same as all of the V3/4 wrx engines, so I would just search for those instead of trying to find the rarer forester harness. My harness was merged, so I am not sure if you will run into problems with the wires being to short, as the forester harness is likely a tad longer for some plugs.

You can find a complete list of ECUs for V3/4 jdm subarus through Enduring Solutions. The proper ECU for this car is the 4W for the manual or 5W for the automatic. You can also use the S2 (manual) from the wrx wagon which had the same engine. You need to make sure that you are using the purple MAF for this ECU. It is very possible that you will be able to find neither ECU, in which case not all hope is lost. Though not ideal, you can purportedly us the 1S or 6S ECU from the wrx/sti as long as you change out the MAF to the orange label one. You will also want a boost controller to make sure your not over boosting your tiny TD04 which should be set to 14 psi.

As far as tuning goes, it would be ideal to get the engine tuned for the proper octane to avoid detonation. You can't tune these ecus, so the best option I have found is Enduring solutions, which essentially turn your stock ECU into a standalone using a daughter board. This will give you closed loop knock control, 3D boost maps, and data logging.

Any comments or corrections from other members welcome as I am only recalling information off the top of my head.

Last edited by i10scooby; 04-18-2017 at 11:44 PM.
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Old 04-20-2017, 02:57 PM   #4
elislider
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Can you post some pictures of the engine bay? that will help
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Old 04-20-2017, 03:30 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by i10scooby View Post
Hello JDM,

Let me start off by saying that this engine is really more of a ej20g/k frankenstein than an ej20g. That is to say, that the engine was basically subaru's way of getting rid of all their ej20g parts while they transitioned to the new ej20k platform in 1996-1997. That said, you can essentially treat the engine as an ej20k in most cases, as the wiring etc. will all be compatible with the ej20k engine.

Though it is wired the same and has similar hp as the ej20k (250 instead of 276), the compression ratio is different. The late ej20g has a 9:1 while the ej20k is 8:1. As I understand it, this difference is due solely to the pistons, which have a smaller dish than the ej20k. The differences in the heads are shown with pictures in the sticky, but basically the only difference is that late ej20g has shim over bucket valves and less aggressive cams.
This is only partly accurate. Visually, functionally, and mostly be design the "late EJ20G" or "v3/v4 EJ20G" is essentially the same style of motor. Uses the same wiring, same layout, same bolt-on parts (like timing kit, manifold arrangement, plug wires etc) as the EJ20K, its just a dumbed-down more basic version with lamer parts, TD04 turbo, and less power.
IIRC the variations in models for JDM MY97-98 were:
- turbo Forester and plain WRX wagon had the motor called the EJ20G, shim over bucket, TD04, lower power
- EJ20G WRX sedan models incl RA, shim over bucket, VF22, higher power
- EJ20K STi models, shim over bucket, VF23/VF24

For all intents and purposes the v3/v4 EJ20G is nothing like a v1/2 93-96 EJ20G and it only confuses things for most people when referring to EJ20G engines. You can call it a "late EJ20G" or a "v3/v4 EJ20G" or JDM Forester EJ20G. Kinda like how the EJ207 has multiple variants depending on what year/model it came from.
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Old 04-20-2017, 03:35 PM   #6
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Old 04-20-2017, 04:54 PM   #7
i10scooby
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Great, thanks for the clarification elislider.
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Old 04-20-2017, 10:34 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by elislider View Post
Can you post some pictures of the engine bay? that will help



Not the nicest right now! And still needs work! But here it is haha
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Old 04-20-2017, 10:35 PM   #9
Jdm forester
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Quote:
Originally Posted by i10scooby View Post
Hello JDM,

I am currently working on the same engine and can tell you what I have discovered from researching the engine for the past few months. I may also be able to get the ecu for you, which I can tell you is not easy to find!

Let me start off by saying that this engine is really more of a ej20g/k frankenstein than an ej20g. That is to say, that the engine was basically subaru's way of getting rid of all their ej20g parts while they transitioned to the new ej20k platform in 1996-1997. That said, you can essentially treat the engine as an ej20k in most cases, as the wiring etc. will all be compatible with the ej20k engine.

Though it is wired the same and has similar hp as the ej20k (250 instead of 276), the compression ratio is different. The late ej20g has a 9:1 while the ej20k is 8:1. As I understand it, this difference is due solely to the pistons, which have a smaller dish than the ej20k. The differences in the heads are shown with pictures in the sticky, but basically the only difference is that late ej20g has shim over bucket valves and less aggressive cams.

The harness is the same as all of the V3/4 wrx engines, so I would just search for those instead of trying to find the rarer forester harness. My harness was merged, so I am not sure if you will run into problems with the wires being to short, as the forester harness is likely a tad longer for some plugs.

You can find a complete list of ECUs for V3/4 jdm subarus through Enduring Solutions. The proper ECU for this car is the 4W for the manual or 5W for the automatic. You can also use the S2 (manual) from the wrx wagon which had the same engine. You need to make sure that you are using the purple MAF for this ECU. It is very possible that you will be able to find neither ECU, in which case not all hope is lost. Though not ideal, you can purportedly us the 1S or 6S ECU from the wrx/sti as long as you change out the MAF to the orange label one. You will also want a boost controller to make sure your not over boosting your tiny TD04 which should be set to 14 psi.

As far as tuning goes, it would be ideal to get the engine tuned for the proper octane to avoid detonation. You can't tune these ecus, so the best option I have found is Enduring solutions, which essentially turn your stock ECU into a standalone using a daughter board. This will give you closed loop knock control, 3D boost maps, and data logging.

Any comments or corrections from other members welcome as I am only recalling information off the top of my head.
I currently have manual boost controller and have it set at 8psi for now! And as I learn more and get the correct ecu and harness I will be going for a 5-600whp goal!
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Old 04-22-2017, 12:23 PM   #10
i10scooby
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Yep, diffidently looks like you have the ej20g from the 97-98 jdm forester!

Do you have the power steering reservoir down there? from the picture looks like the intercooler piping was routed over where it should be. 8 psi is a good conservative setting till it gets some love. 500-600hp is going to be a huge task for this engine! What are your plans for the rebuild?
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Old 04-22-2017, 02:37 PM   #11
elislider
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Quote:
Originally Posted by i10scooby View Post
Yep, diffidently looks like you have the ej20g from the 97-98 jdm forester!

Do you have the power steering reservoir down there? from the picture looks like the intercooler piping was routed over where it should be. 8 psi is a good conservative setting till it gets some love. 500-600hp is going to be a huge task for this engine! What are your plans for the rebuild?
The power steering reservoir is on top of the power steering pump, you can see it right there in the pictures, it has kind of a trapezoid shaped lid, same location as any 90s subaru just a different shaped reservoir to make room for the turbo inlet pipe

There is absolutely no way you could make 500+ horsepower on this motor. You can barely do that on a USDM STi motor with $10k in mods
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Old 04-22-2017, 05:29 PM   #12
i10scooby
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Ahh, okay I was thinking of the plastic one that is on the newer ones.

I agree that 500-600hp is an absolutely insane figure for this engine, but not an impossible one. This guy did it on a ej205 engine, bored out to 2.35L with EtOH and nitrous.

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Old 04-23-2017, 12:05 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by i10scooby View Post
Ahh, okay I was thinking of the plastic one that is on the newer ones.

I agree that 500-600hp is an absolutely insane figure for this engine, but not an impossible one. This guy did it on a ej205 engine, bored out to 2.35L with EtOH and nitrous.

The TOASTER - 500hp Nitrous Subaru Forester! - YouTube
I plan on spending a good gold penny or 2 to make it happen! Lol I have another daily pick up to drive while this is being built!! Then have big plans for that too
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Old 04-23-2017, 02:25 AM   #14
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What do y'all know about the ej20tt??
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Old 04-23-2017, 10:27 AM   #15
elislider
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jdm forester View Post
What do y'all know about the ej20tt??
Don't buy one. Also EJ20TT is not a real engine code. There was the EJ20H, EJ20R, and a few others. It came in JDM Legacy models. At its core, the longblock is the same or similar to the same year wrx. Everything else bolted on is totally different. Subaru made them not as a show of power (none make as much power as the same year STi) but as a display of market competition and technical prowess compared to other brands like Mazda, Nissan, and Toyota. The actual twin turbo technology subaru used totally sucks. It's really complicated and you can't swap one into a LHD car because there is too much stuff where the USDM brake booster and steering rack goes (well I've seen maybe 2 people do it but there is no point, the motors are absurdly complicated and don't make very much power)
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Old 04-23-2017, 02:50 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by elislider View Post
Don't buy one. Also EJ20TT is not a real engine code. There was the EJ20H, EJ20R, and a few others. It came in JDM Legacy models. At its core, the longblock is the same or similar to the same year wrx. Everything else bolted on is totally different. Subaru made them not as a show of power (none make as much power as the same year STi) but as a display of market competition and technical prowess compared to other brands like Mazda, Nissan, and Toyota. The actual twin turbo technology subaru used totally sucks. It's really complicated and you can't swap one into a LHD car because there is too much stuff where the USDM brake booster and steering rack goes (well I've seen maybe 2 people do it but there is no point, the motors are absurdly complicated and don't make very much power)
It's the ej208 lol I was just to lazy to figure out the exact code
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Old 04-23-2017, 02:52 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by elislider View Post
Don't buy one. Also EJ20TT is not a real engine code. There was the EJ20H, EJ20R, and a few others. It came in JDM Legacy models. At its core, the longblock is the same or similar to the same year wrx. Everything else bolted on is totally different. Subaru made them not as a show of power (none make as much power as the same year STi) but as a display of market competition and technical prowess compared to other brands like Mazda, Nissan, and Toyota. The actual twin turbo technology subaru used totally sucks. It's really complicated and you can't swap one into a LHD car because there is too much stuff where the USDM brake booster and steering rack goes (well I've seen maybe 2 people do it but there is no point, the motors are absurdly complicated and don't make very much power)
After I posted it I did more research and read pretty much the same thing! Better off with my ej20g already in my car and building it
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Old 01-17-2019, 09:05 AM   #18
Jdmrevd
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Default "Ej20tt"

Ej20r and ej208 from the rev D are closer to the sti motors than WRX. Cams, heads and ports, "semi forged" internals, more aggressive tune, AFM, and injectors. Also both make 280hp. Ej20h is absolute garbage. Old ej20g was epic, late ones are meh but not without their merits. I have all of these motors across my various subies
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