To Turbo or not to Turbo?! that is the question!

[mrjroc83]

I have been reseaching about Turbo Charging my 96' Camry. It looks like some people have done this to there Camry's, and may I add that they a really good looking job!
But they only got an extra 20-40hp! After spending big money!
My question is should I first try all motor? You know, like rebuild it with new pistons , rings, rods, crank shift ect..? Or do I go all out and do everything? Turbo and all? I don't want just maximum HP, but a car with that great sweat spot.
I guess I need a good tuner and a lot of money! lol!

So if any of my fellow Camry Brothers and Sisters from different Mothers and Misters, have a Gen 3.5 and have super tuned it, then please help me out to decide what to do.
Thank you all for your time!

P.S.
I have only put in NGK plugs, a Weapon-R Air Intake, ad a custom Excuast.

[Rdizzle]

turbo it. And i don't know where you got that they only got 20-40hp. Some people have at least 50 more and that is with only 5-6psi with a ct26. An all motor build of the 5sfe will give you that AT MAX, with no hope for more. I think the all motor record right now is 150. If you spend 3-4000 you should be over the 200hp mark. With the motor build and a good turbo you can hit any number that you have the money to back up.

[GrkBallaG]

DONT DO IT JESSIE!!!!

[WhiteRabbit]

i personally wouldnt do it, youd be asking for trouble

[Glossii]

I really don't think your ready for forced induction.

1. You wouldn't be asking us whether or not to do it... you would have already started it
2. Way way way too many people have come on TN pretty much posting the same thread you did. I don't even want to think of the % of people that have actually gone through with it. It makes baby Jesus cry.
3. Do some more research on the forums, on the internet, whatever. Learn the parts, how everything works, Then YOU decide if it's worth it to YOU to continue "tuning" your cam,

You really want to dump over $6K because we told you, then feel bad on the street when someone criticizes you for hooking up a camry?

EDIT: Damnit! I just realized it was posted under this name.. I dont know how the hell my sister got registered. but this is RUFFRYDASEAN

[Forced Induxion]

I think the first question asked should be... "Are the internals of a family sedan thats originally not turbo'ed capable of running a turbo upgrade? If so, then how long will the engine last?

If 20-40 hp is all you're looking for then throw on some bolt on parts (intake, headers, full exhaust, etc). Almost 20 hp can be achieved this way for under $1000 I bet.

I'm sure some places out there can do some custom programming to increase air and fuel levels and probably throw on some bigger injectors. If you wanna get serious you can port and polish the intake and exhaust ports on your head as well. All this will bring your hp up like crazy actually. If I was going to spend several thousands of dollars to add a turbo to my camry I would probably rebuild my engine first. Nobody wants to spend that much money on a small turbo that won't be worth the cost per hp... you'd probably want to get a huge turbo and then reinforce your engine internals to sustain the insane compression its going to be pushing.

[Forced Induxion]

nevermind my last post... just chunk your ride and get a used rex. I personally don't understand the whole modding the family car thing

[RedPhoenix]

i got 55hp @ 8psi

I personally would RATHER spend the money on a 1mz swap / manual with the 3k that it takes. Then SC/Turbo that. when you have money. far more.... lets just say... worth it on the 5sfe unless your spending MORE and BIG amounts of cash.

[Luckynumber5]

Look into a 3sgte swap, it comes stock with 200 hp and plenty of room for upgrades, the swap is not terribly hard but it will cost you. I dont think I have ever ever heard anyone say they regret swapping the 3sgte (into Camrys Celicas and MR2s). The 3sgte isnt really that much more than a really nice ct26 setup on a stock 5sfe, and you get so much more out of it with an engine made to perform, unlike the 5sfe where you have to pay to make it perform

[RedPhoenix]

Originally Posted by Luckynumber5

Look into a 3sgte swap, it comes stock with 200 hp and plenty of room for upgrades, the swap is not terribly hard but it will cost you. I dont think I have ever ever heard anyone say they regret swapping the 3sgte (into Camrys Celicas and MR2s). The 3sgte isnt really that much more than a really nice ct26 setup on a stock 5sfe, and you get so much more out of it with an engine made to perform, unlike the 5sfe where you have to pay to make it perform

The 3sgte is a very nice engine, i recommended the v6 over it because the amount of work invloved in the 3sgte is far more than a v6 sawp. however, well worth it.

[97camryman]

I have a turbo 4th gen and it pulls hard. I spent about $2000 and learned a lot along the way. As to the motor not being designed for boost thats stupid, with proper tuning any motor will take added abuse. My buddy has a honda accord 4 door that is making 270 hp to the wheels on stock internals on a sohc motor it is all in the tuning. I am pushing 6 psi and its holding up so far. If a rod was going to go it would have already so I only fear detonation now.

[RichieRichJP]

GOD DAMMIT!! I spent 10 mins typing shit for this topic and it deleted!!! >:-(

In short, I've spent just under $3G's on the 5sfe ENGINE; connecting rods, head studs, cometic gasket, custom head/valve train, forged pistons
Will spend about $5G's in Sept. for AEM EMS, GT35R and Custom piping
Still have to do the auto-tranny swap, and haven't bought intercooler, intake, msd ign. bov, and the alike yet. So IF fully building is something you wanna do, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE MONEY. From what I heard that 3sgte swap costs $7-8G's to complete the project, so that gives you the 200hp+, but I'd rather spend that much on fully building my engine. But of course, we don't know the full potential of the Camry, but I heard someone was making in the 700's HP from the 5sfe! So I'm curious myself.
Personally, I wouldn't turbo the 5sfe without fully building it because of blowing the engine, and plus you only get what...50-70 extra hp at low boost? Kind of a waste of money to me, since everyone down here is about racing. I get SRT-4's, RSX's and firebirds trnya race me quite often

[felonyr301]

me personally just spend the money on small mods like CAI,headers,full exhaust system,apexi safc controller and thats it for power then put your money on making it handle like a go kart lol.....sway bar,strut bar,stiffer springs,tokico struts,performance tires and like everyone said suspension wise gives you the most bang for the buck on a camry.You'll have more fun handling like crazy then going straight and hitting a certain number IMO.

[Rdizzle]

I am assuming you were turboing it AFTER suspension and brakes. Any increase in power on stock equipment is dangerous, whether its all motor or turbo. Just look at grkballag, dudes ready for anything.

[shingouki808]

Dizz makes a pretty good point on top of everyone else, but you should probably decide for yourself if you really want to go through the time, effort, and shelling out the money to do anything to this engine. I mod my Camry, because I like the car. I could have just as easily turboed another gsr and whipped out 400hp on top of it being far cheaper, but I would rather do so on a car I like now. It's pretty much a matter of choice. Don't let anyone else tell you otherwise. Just as a couple of tips though, I would suggest against going n/a with the 5sfe, purely on cost/bang for buck. I would also like to suggest getting rid of the weapon R. I've never heard anything good about them, and I doubt they make any real gains. That being said, good luck, and take it easy.