Prior to the release of the FA, the mainstay for performance Subaru builds was the iconic EJ powerplant. First seeing an introduction in 1989 on the Subaru Legacy, the EJ has seen a variety of configurations and output levels, with both naturally aspirated and turbocharged applications utilized over the years. The most famous of the EJ’s are those that came mounted in the nose of Subaru’s much-loved rally machine, the WRX and WRX STI. For the past two decades, tuners have tweaked this flat box of power for ever-greater levels of performance, and modern builders are pushing some serious horsepower these days. One such builder is Vince “Built” Griffin from Prime Motoring, who gave our friends over at Drive the lowdown on what it takes to turn the EJ into a total beast in this 19-minute, 32-second video.

The video covers just about everything you need to know about building an EJ, including advantages of the platform, common problems and their solutions, intercooler selection, exhaust selection, common mistakes, block reinforcement, and a whole lot more. If you’re into tuning, or you’re simply a fan of the WRX, this video is sure to provide some interesting and valuable insight into what’s going on behind that classic boxer rumble.

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The Full Story

As Griffin points out in the video, the EJ’s replacement, the FA, is still pretty new, and has yet to get the attention it needs to truly outdo the EJ in terms of tuned performance applications. After all, 20 years is a long time to test out new builds and workarounds, which means anyone building an EJ has a whole lot of knowledge to fall back on.

What’s your opinion? Do you prefer the EJ, or the FA? Let us know in the comments below.

And don’t forget to check out our full written review of the Subaru WRX here.