Group thought: 97 Subi 2.5rs coupe

Wondering what the group thinks of the pre wrx 2.5 rs coupe, especially if it has a turbo. Pros...cons? Mods? Reliability? What to look out for and/or avoid at all costs?

We had a wagon as a magazine project car, and then I bought it. Loved it. Durable. Fun. Made cool Subaru noises. 

I've basically sworn off Subarus, but if I ever find one of those in halfway decent shape it's getting bought..  I test drove one back in the day and while it wasn't the fastest thing on the road, that AWD was magical.  But i had just bought a Elantra a couple of years earlier and was too upside down to make the trade work. 

And here’s the link to past web updates.

I am pretty sure they started in 1998.  In 1997 you could get a Legacy 2.5GT.

The GC 2.5RS is a phenomenal car if not totally screwed with.  You can drive it cleanly or you can pitch it around and the car will respond correctly, and it is all very driver friendly with no bad habits.  The engine is pretty meh and seems to run out of oomph over 5000, published power figures notwithstanding.

It is probably about as expensive to import a 25 year old WRX as it is find a clean, unmolested 2.5RS.

We had a 2.5RS but a later model; I've driven the earlier models on track and they are fantastic to drive.

My only reluctance would be one that had a turbo on it.........I just don't know enough about the installation on those and given how many get blown up I'd be reluctant to have a modified one. Grant a lot of the blow ups are from user error/abuse.

In reply to Tom1200 :

The 2.5 engines have very short wristpin to deck heights and the pistons end up being pretty fragile.  It's a lot of displacement for a short deck height.   The actual turbo 2.5 engines are not much better

I wonder about swapping an FA20 into a GC.  This should get you WRX power (about 190-210hp for an early WRX) without having to cram a bunch of turbo stuff in an engine bay barely able to hold it.   The thing is, old WRX engines are still really cheap because nobody wants those old coilpack engines.

What about an ej22 turbo?

In reply to Docwemple :

I have not seen one for sale for a long time.  They only sold them in the US for a couple years and the take rate was low.  AFAIK they were only sold in the US, since Subaru had a perfectly good 2 liter for the home market.

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

Are you referring to the coupe or the ej22 turbo

Can you upgrade the brakes on the gc8 with 1st gen US WRX parts?

Docwemple said:

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

Are you referring to the coupe or the ej22 turbo

I guess both?

Wiki says Subaru made less than 8200 EJ22 turbo engines, 1991-1994.  I do remember that they were non intercooled single-cam engines.

The last time I saw a GC of any flavor for sale it was in about the same shape as my WRX was, basically held together by the e-brake cables and paint, and it was twice as much.  As a WRX.

Brake wise, I don't think you can get going fast enough to run out of brakes on a nonturbo Subaru, but yes, basically all Subaru brakes have the same mounting points in the front, and aside from a few outliers, all Subarus have the same rear brakes period.  Most Subarus have waaaaay too much front brake bias, which can be a little annoying, but it also encourages one to just enter a corner too fast and scrub speed by throwing the chassis in rather than braking for corner entry

I'd personally rather have a 2.2l car, the 2.2 technically makes less power but has a broader powerband so it feels more flexible, and the brake bias isn't as bad.  But they are super hard to find because nobody cared about them, people cared a little about the 2.5RS.

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

What's your take on a 2.5 twin cam head on the 2.2

Docwemple said:

Can you upgrade the brakes on the gc8 with 1st gen US WRX parts?

Mechanically Subarus are like Lego.  Electrically you are going to pay iWire big bucks.