please help :[

[Buckatron]

im buying a 1991 mr2 i believe its a sw20, its running a 5s-fe 2.2L, now from what i been reading, this "BEAMS" red top engine is a best bet swap but what would i need to do it? and is there an actual name to the engine besides beams to find it? i wanna get this mr2 movin, if anyone could pleease help out with this, and if you use myspace :P add me there too so we can talk about it there also ^^ myspace.com/buckthebandit

[chicagoisonfire]

the beams is just the most recent variation of the 3SGE (not to be confused with the 3SGTE) the main difference between it and the older 3SGE is that the "beams" has vvt-i.

Now as far as being the best swap, it really depends on your goals for the car.

[Buckatron]

would of the 3 beams would work for that model though? theres a black top, silver and red. and i wanna make this mr2 pretty quick, but mostly reliable, would a black top work?

[chicagoisonfire]

well as far as reliability goes all engines break down, the Beams engine was never offered in the US so all your parts would have to be ordered from japan. If i were in your position I would find somebody scrapping a 91-95 USDM turbo engine and perform a basic rebuild. It might actually cost you less and the turbo engine has more power potential than the beams.

when it comes to reliability its all about how you take care of the car

oh, and as far as i know, the red top is the easiest swap (most common) but you can put any of them in the MR2

[Buckatron]

i found a site that sold a black top for like 800, and thats for everything :X but i the red top cost alot more, but i could of sworn i read somewhere it said the black top is fwd and not rwd

[chicagoisonfire]

technically the mr2 is a fwd setup, just on the wrong axle. iirc the blacktop requires some fabrication to be put in that the red top doesn't.

i'm sure in a little bit here someone who actually runs a beams engine will chime in and answer most of your questions

[metheores]

the BEAM engines have little to no aftermarket support- there's very little non-expensive mods you can do to them and not many manufacturers out there build something for them. If you are going for performance depending on the range you can either get a rebuilt 3SGTE and do lots of mods to it, get a Avalon -V6 and do mild mods on it, or get a BEAMS and leave it mint 200 N/A power is not all that bad.

reliability really depends on you and the way you drive your car. If you are pushing 400+ rwhp your car is gonna need a hell lot more of TLC and maintenance than stock. Wnen you raise the boost- you are straining the engine more.

[MANDALAY]

Black Top has 10 more horses than the Red Top, but you will have hell trying to fit.
Red Top is the one for the MR2 . Silver can work easily but you will have to swap a few more parts.
The Celica Red Top sell cheaper than the MR2 version. Again a few changes necessary.
BUT the most important questions are
How much do you want to spend ?
And what is your power goal ?
Do you prefer N/A or Turbo ?

[Buckatron]

well im trying to figure out all the needs and do's for each swap, im also trying to find out what it would take for a 3sgte swap while im talking to yall about the beams, and so far, im still confused on what to do i was told if i do the 3sgte, to buy a whole new rear clip for it and really... thats just too much =/ a whole new ass end to be welded on? or do i just part it out? but to just part it out its about 2000-3000 for it, i been considering when the 5sfe finally kicks the boot, to just rebuild it and find to the dime spot, where its problem of running so damn rich. but i also read that the engine isnt that great for pulling power out of, but i've also seen a v6 swap, and i have absolutly no info on that one sofar. the mr2 sounds so amazing to get, but sofar the swappage is being suckage

[Buckatron]

well mandalay im pretty much a cheap ass :P i plan to convert to turbo but im trying to stay cheap, but sometimes gotta go abit out of bounds to get what ya need power goal? probably 350hp low boost? some where in that range, its a small lightish car, dont need a dramatic ammount of power to beat much, unlike a 2005+ mustang that weights like 3800lbs and needs so much power just to compete

[chicagoisonfire]

sounds like the beams isnt for you then, try doing a 3sgte head ona 5sfe block and turbo that

[Buckatron]

hrm, i can see building a beast is also a beast! alrighty, so whenever my 5sfe finally spits in the bucket, when i rebuild it, put a 3sgte head on it, whats wrong with the 5sfe head? well better yet, what prevents the 5sfe from being a good power holding block?

[Medusa]

I seriously doubt you'll hit 350 with low boost. From what I've read at least, I don't have much personal experience with the MR2 engines.

You might hit 350 with a V6 with low boost....but you're going waaaaaay into the deep end on that one, loads of custom fab. I can't think of any turbo V6 right now, I'd have to try to look it up.

Really you don't need 350 horses, the MR2 is really quite light and unless you want to drag race competitively you shouldn't need anything too much crazier than stock.

[chicagoisonfire]

the 5sfe has a good power holding block, but it needs different pistons and rods to coupe with being turbocharged, also the 3sgte head flows better and is more upgradeable.

most strokers are built using 5sfe blocks, if built correctly you could reach 300 hp with a smaller turbo like a gt28 or ct20b

[Buckatron]

so far your info is quite, encouraging :P lol. now the 5sfe problem... what truely causes this engine to run so rich that everyone and there mother says it does?

[Buckatron]

wait.. i still dont know why the 3sgte wouldnt just go into a normal 1991 sw20 mr2, why is it you have to have a rear clip? is it for the axel and mountings?

[chicagoisonfire]

it'll go right in, you just need the mounts, axles, tranny, ecu, etc
if youre buying a low mileage engine sometimes its cheaper to buy a clip rather than all the parts individually

[Buckatron]

well the eng. tranny and ecu and all that wouldnt be hard at all to find, its trying to get the axle and i have already found mounts so its the job of finding the axle

[mr220v]

Most people will buy a 3sgte clip just so they get everthing they need to swap. It can end up cheaper than trying to track everything down or ending up with a section of cut wiring, or having something missing like in a swap set.

With the 3sge's, it's not really necessary to get a clip. Nearly everything off the engine except the wiring and ecu is the same.

Parts for some of the 3sge's are going to be harder to find. However, internal engine parts simply don't go bad on low mileage motors (depending how you drive it). So, the parts availabilty problems don't usually come up. Contrary to popular belief, there is a pretty good aftermarket for 3sge's.

A 350hp 3sgte is not going to be cheap, or really that easy. But if that's your goal, the 3sgte is the most practical way to accomplish it right now. However, it's not going to happen without internal engine work.

[MANDALAY]

Man 350 horses is a LOT of power for the MR2. Its a light car and l personally dont believe without a lot of modification it would be stable. Gee the 360 ferrari has only 400 !
and weighs 400 kgs more BUT it was designed to handle that power. IF your using it as a street car its way to much.
I love my beams, it has plenty but im investigating only onother 35 - 50 horses just to beef up the low end. If l cant , its cool as the car is very well balanced