Vvti Vs. 3sgte Swap

[weaponrcamry]

Ok I have a question. Would it be better to swap the variable valve timeing 03-05 camry engine or 3sgte into a gen 4-4.5 camry? I know neither of these engine were avaiable in the platform. I dont want to trade or sell my camry it only has 61,044 miles on the odo.. I want to buy a another camry but on a budget, same year or so to be my project car. But since it is seems hard to pass emissions these days which one would be better to get. I know most states require you to have the engine into the car that was the same year or something. Even though more power is in the 3sgte, the vvti is pretty much easier in passing emissions.

[ECale3]

passing emissions won't really be easier, since you have to pass as the year of your engine, not the year of your car. Many states do require the engine to be from the same year or newer however and considering that it will be difficult to find a 1997+ 3SGTE Engine, especially one that isn't out of an MR2, i would consider something like the 3SGE, the 1MZFE, the 5VZFE, or the 2AZFE if you're going to do an engine swap (which is very expensive by the way, so if you're on a budget i would consider another way to make power).

[BakaWill]

damn the world is changed if people are baseing their engine swap pref on emmission stds. what would you do with the extra power n e way. an engine swap is a hella stupid investment if your only reason is braggin rights. if you want better performance for track days or something its different. but to each his own

[ECale3]

No UFOZ even in cali it is legal to swap engine's the catch is the engine has to be from the same year or newer and you have to pass emissions as the year the engine is from, not the year the car is from.

[white90dx]

Originally Posted by ECale3

No UFOZ even in cali it is legal to swap engine's the catch is the engine has to be from the same year or newer and you have to pass emissions as the year the engine is from, not the year the car is from.

That's true as long as the motor started its life as a US/CA legal motor... so pretty much any JDM swap is out of the question.

-Charlie

[white90dx]

Originally Posted by UfoZ

Not true. The swap has to be done from the SAME car, ie, that car had to have been available here in the US with that motor from the factory. Meaning for instance that a 3SGTE swap in a Camry would be illegal, SR20 in a 240SX is illegal, etc. In a Camry, the only legal swap would either be a 5SFE or 1MZ/3VZ depending on what year your car is. All JDM motors are out of the question in terms of legality, regardless. Even if you have a turbo MR2, swapping in a JDM 3SGTE is still illegal because it doesnt pass US emissions. On my 3SGTE I wont be running EGR anymore because it didnt even come on the motor, so that plug in my wiring harness is just going to be empty.

That's p;retty close to correct...

The motor has to be from the same *class* of vehicle - car motors into cars, truck motors into trucks. There is a guy up in Santa Barbara (Adrian) who has a '97-99 1MZ in his 90' Celica - and it has been CARB certified.

As for JDM motors, they are only legal if they have all the exact same smog equipment that came the US (or CA) motor from that year. CARB has a list of legal Japanese motors on their website that fit in this catagory.

-Charlie