Porscheru Engine Choices, 2.2, 2.5, or 3.0 ?? Options

[R_u_dd]

Added a poll Here

Building a Porsche 914 with Subaru power and transmission Porscheru. Looking for a donor car with a 5mt transmission. I've considered many engine combos. The 2.0 wrx turbo is very popular for this build at 227 hp but I want NA power without the turbo lag. I've narrowed it down to these combos:

EJ22 99-2001 142 horsepower. Less power than I would like, but easy to find a car with a stick shift and fewer head gasket problems. Good potential for additional power. Strong motor.

SOHC 2.5 1990-2004 165 HP. This is a good power range for the lightweight 914 (2,400lbs). Easy electronics. The negative is frequent HG problems. The donor car is hard to find with a stick shift. If I buy a donor car with an automatic tranny, which 5mt will fit, just match the year?

EZ30D 2000-2003 212 HP. The donor car will need a tranny. Which should I buy?

So the big question is which donor would you buy and why? I don't want to buy individual parts if I can avoid it because it's much more expensive and the combinations might not work well together. Individual parts are about $2,000 but I think I can get a donor for around $1500.

[rnellums]

I went the EZ30D route. I bought parts piecemeal, which works well for the EZ30 beacuse all you really need from the donor is the engine and the harness. Transmission is not a huge deal because Subarus are like legos and any tranny fits any motor (pretty much).

I'm running a junkyard 5mt mated to mine with no issues but for two codes from the ECU for not having the auto plugged in, no effect on driveability however.

I would get the longest geared transmission you can find. I have a 4.11 final drive and revs are pretty high on the freeway.

The raw power is great, you will need to invest in a locking front diff for this powerplant. I have not yet and will spin one tire through third without it.

Downsides:
much more difficult to flip the manifold on than the 2.5's
not as easy to cool as the 2.5's (honestly not much of an issue though)
almost no aftermarket support
no good aftermarket headers (I just finished making a second set, my first set is yours for shipping if you want - posted in the classifieds


My view in hindsight: if you are going to go for the EZ30D, why not go for the EZ30R? marginally more work, you can find lower mileage motors, and a standalone ecu that can run the cams isn't THAT much more expensive, you get a bunch more power,and you won't have to spend 3 months combing through, weeding, and re-wiring the stock harness.

As a quick reference, I have spent ~5k on my conversion. 3k of that was offset by selling my old engine and transmission. I also spent about 1k too much for my engine.

most of the conversion parts are available from Coldwater914 and make everything pretty painless.

[R_u_dd]

Great info. Ian has info on the 30R and it sounds like the ECU is a problem. His sight is down right now, but it sounds like the engine mgt computer is about $2k, but that might not be a problem with a donor vehicle??

From Coldwater914: (See next post #4: This can be overcome.)

"I would rank this motor (EZ30D) highest in comparison to the other (suby 6) options in this category. Due to its more modern design and timing chain
(that does not need to be service for the life of the engine) it is smaller/lighter and more reliable than the eg33. On the other hand the ECU
on the EZ30D substantially less expensive than the EZ30R and EZ36R. However to clarify it does not have the VVT or AVCS of the later EZ’s."

How is it that the wiring is easier? Is that because you would buy an engine management system?

If I go this route, I may take you up on the muffler.

[rnellums]

Great info. Ian has info on the 30R and it sounds like the ECU is a problem. His sight is down right now, but it sounds like the engine mgt computer is about $2k, but that might not be a problem with a donor vehicle??

From Coldwater914:

"I would rank this motor (EZ30D) highest in comparison to the other (suby 6) options in this category. Due to its more modern design and timing chain
(that does not need to be service for the life of the engine) it is smaller/lighter and more reliable than the eg33. On the other hand the ECU
on the EZ30D substantially less expensive than the EZ30R and EZ36R. However to clarify it does not have the VVT or AVCS of the later EZ’s."

How is it that the wiring is easier? Is that because you would buy an engine management system?

If I go this route, I may take you up on the muffler.

I believe Ian wrote that a while ago. My understanding is there there are some aftermarklet options in the 1k range now.

An aftermarket ECU has fewer connectors to wire in and a few less sensors overall ( no knock sensors, rear O2, etc.)

I used the stock ECU on my conversion because I am most interested in driveability and reliability.