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Im trying to find out if there is interest in the Camry community for engine swaps and other major performance upgrades. Over the past year I have put togeather kits to swap the 3.4 liter 5VZ-FE engines into Toyota MR2's. I have also developed a turbo kit for the motor that is compatible with the transverse drive configuration. I also have a top end kit that includes valve springs and HV oil pump that allows the engine to redline much higher.
Now heres the kicker. The installation kit for the 3.4L V6 (with slight modification) will also allow the engine to be installed into a camry. But I dont know if there is demand for such a thing. I notice many of the questions on this Camry board are performance oriented so this seems a good place to ask.
Here goes:
If you were looking for a V6 to install into your camry and since the price of a camry V6 is about what the price of the larger truck engines is, would you opt for the bigger / more powerfull engine if an enexpensive kit were available to make the engine "bolt up"?
__________________ MR2 V6 with an inordinate ammount of boost www.V6MR2.com
Sounds like a great idea, but, Camry owners are CHEAP and you will not see many takers despite the number of people who say they might be interested "if the price were right."
There are many complaints about there being no parts of Camrys, but then when they're available, people cheap out saying they cost too much.
There's a company on here that is selling CAIs for Gen 3 and there are people complaining that the $200 (I don't know the exact price) cost is too much for it. Also look at Rippmods S/C kit for the Camry - there were lots of people saying they might be interested, but I think they stopped selling them due to lack of interest in the supercharger kit.
I do not mean to discourage you. I'm sure there will be a few customers, but don't expect numbers similar to what you may have seen in the MR2 crowd.
i have a Gen4 2000 Camry i-4 thats is slow as crap but i still love it of course
but if i could get a v6 engine into my car i would do it without a doubt...and yeah money is an issue for me now but i would always try and find a way to get the money
with the camrys, the 1mz is a bolt-on alternative to the 5s in gen 3 and 4, with some minor wiring and other things to consider... it is easy enough overall though. 3 people (including myself) have done the 1mz swap, and 2 or 3 have done a 3sgte swap. most people who are interested in spending money buy a turbo and put together their own kit. i am actually working on a full turbo kit for 5sfe right now in my newer car, and then 1mz at some point when i blow my 5sfe and swap in my 1mz.
also, my partner luis and i made the prototype 5sfe CAI and started a group buy... the price was around 150 bucks. we only got 4 people to pay in almost 2 months. and THAT is the MOST COMMON motor (probably in the world) on the most popular car and the MOST COMMON upgrade that is performed on import cars, domestic cars, and trucks. and we are on a site with over 50 THOUSAND members who tend to be at least semi interested in performance.
the point is... it is generally a waste of time and money to make new performance products for the camry community. I am doing it only because that is the car i have and the car i love. i do it because i want others to be able to have the parts that i want also. basically everything i do for my own car, i will try to reproduce and sell to others who are interested.
overall, you might sell 1 or 2 swap kits in a year, and with the money camry people want to spend in performance, they will be tapped out after the swap so you wont sell any turbo kits.
for all you people who think i am wrong... prove it. prove it by buying something when someone puts their time and effort into making something, and making it cheap enough for people who dont want to spend much.
^ LoL, the 5vz-fe is a monster compared to the 1mz-fe.
did you read what i said? i said i dont know on hp. but torq yes. i havent looked at any specs. and as a power freek as i am would like to see how it does
as you all can see 3mz rocks all... its also a lot more expensive, and tough to find. 5vz can be found almost as easily as a 1mz and for around the same prices...
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