corolla engine swap

[joearmy20]

i have a 93 toyota corolla and im thinking of doing an engine swap what engine would be good to swap my 4A-FE engine out with im new to this so i dont know what kind or what year engine to swap it out with.

[Kiwi-Corolla]

Welcome to the forums. Most people go for the 4A-GE 20v. It's very high revving and has a lot of potential. It uses the same engine and transmission mounts as the 4A-FE and requires minimal changes to get up and running (such as the loom and ECU etc). There's actually a tutorial about installing one on these forums. Click here to read it. If you're after a lot of power however, then go for either the 4A-GZE (supercharged) or the 3S-GTE (turbocharged) engine. Both require custom work to get it to fit though so it depends on how deep your pockets are and how much power you actually want. There are quite a lot of threads in regards to engine swaps, so I'd recommend doing a bit of a search for more info

[joearmy20]

thanks for the info man...one more question which engine would be pushing out more power?

[Kiwi-Corolla]

Originally Posted by joearmy20

thanks for the info man...one more question which engine would be pushing out more power?

No worries. Out of the three I mentioned, the 3S-GTE pushes out the most power. Both the 4A-GE 20v and 4A-GZE have 165hp whereas the 3S-GTE has 260hp. The 3S-GTE swap has been done a few times in the past and is certainly worth it in terms of the power gain over the 4A-FE

[joearmy20]

cool thats more of what im looking for as far as th 3S-GTE goes any add ons that would be recomended for more power or better performance anything you would recomend? or maybe anything i can do with the transmission that would help me out as well?

[Kiwi-Corolla]

Originally Posted by joearmy20

cool thats more of what im looking for as far as th 3S-GTE goes any add ons that would be recomended for more power or better performance anything you would recomend? or maybe anything i can do with the transmission that would help me out as well?

I'm not entirely sure which transmission you could use as the original 3S-GTE gearbox is AWD. You'd have to use a FWD gearbox. There's a guy on YouTube who has a video of the swap in his Corolla so perhaps you could contact him and find out what he used. As for the mods, there are a lot of possibilities with the 3S-GTE. It's going to be hard getting traction with the standard power, lol, but if you want even more power then you'd start by upgrading the exhaust, headers and turbo, cold air intake, cams or even a 2.2L stroker kit. You can also get a rare Mine's ECU for it which really transforms the whole way the car performs. My brother has a 3S-GTE in his Caldina GT-T with a Mine's ECU and it goes like a bat out of hell. It's amazing how much difference a simple re-map can do. There's a wide range of parts available for the 3S-GTE, but like I said earlier, it depends how deep your pockets are

[joearmy20]

were can i get one of those ecus from?

[Kiwi-Corolla]

Originally Posted by joearmy20

were can i get one of those ecus from?

Good question. You can't actually just go to a shop and buy one unfortunately. They were originally able to be bought through a custom order, where the buyer would choose which features they wanted enabled or disabled, but nowadays they're as rare as hens teeth to find. You just have to keep your eyes open on the net in case one pops up. That's how my brother found his. It came into the country from a wrecked car which had been imported from Japan. There is also a Mine's ECU for the 4A-GE 20v. There's nothing wrong with the original ECU in the meantime however, but you'll definitely notice the difference if you get your hands on a Mine's version. The lack of speed cut and fuel cut are very handy features too

[joearmy20]

thats awesome ill keep my eyes open for that im just hoping to find the 260 hp engine out here in the U.S. things are differant out here you know but if you know any websites that can help me out looking for the things i need i would appreciate them. i was looking online for the enigne and the 260 hp engine doesnt seem to be sold over here.

[Kiwi-Corolla]

Originally Posted by joearmy20

thats awesome ill keep my eyes open for that im just hoping to find the 260 hp engine out here in the U.S. things are differant out here you know but if you know any websites that can help me out looking for the things i need i would appreciate them. i was looking online for the enigne and the 260 hp engine doesnt seem to be sold over here.

The 260hp 3S-GTE only came out in the JDM Toyota Caldinas unfortunately, so to get one you'd have to visit a JDM engine importer. If you don't mind sacrificing a bit of power however, the Celica GT Four (know as an All-Trac over there) came with a 220hp 3S-GTE and should be a lot easier to find in the US. Perhaps you could try contacting JDM Engines Corp to see if they could get you a JDM version

[joearmy20]

now is JDM a japanese company straight from japan? because i would like to get all my stuff from japan.

[Kiwi-Corolla]

Originally Posted by joearmy20

now is JDM a japanese company straight from japan? because i would like to get all my stuff from japan.

JDM = Japanese Domestic Market and USDM = United States Domestic Market. Different engines and cars were imported to different markets around the world. Japanese models were generally the most equipped, and imported to various countries around the world (such as New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia etc). They weren't imported to the states however as the US have their own market, which meant a lot of cars lacked in features and/or power compared to the JDM versions.

[joearmy20]

lol wow how did i miss that one.Would you recommend jdm because im looking at the engines now and i see they are used engines. And do you know of anywere i can get a nice bodykit thats not so common?

[Kiwi-Corolla]

Originally Posted by joearmy20

lol wow how did i miss that one.Would you recommend jdm because im looking at the engines now and i see they are used engines. And do you know of anywere i can get a nice bodykit thats not so common?

I'd recommend the JDM engine purely for the power aspect, but you may find it harder to get replacement parts for. For example, finding 4A-GE 20v parts would be a lot harder in the US as that particular engine never came standard on any of the vehicles made there. Sourcing parts offshore is always an option though and there are usually JDM importers with spare parts. The emissions system is also something to take into consideration as JDM engines don't usually have EGR systems etc.

As for the bodykit, there's not too much available for our cars. The best one I've seen is the Tom's bodykit, but that's even rarer than a Mine's ECU. There are bodykits you can get off eBay but they all look rather 'ricey' in my opinion. You could always try and get your hands on a JDM FX-GT front bumper. These came standard on the AE101 FX-GT and use the exact same mounts as your current bumper. Or look for a JDM SE Limited bumper like mine. You could use JDM BZ Touring sideskirts for the side, or standard USDM 8th Gen Corolla sideskirts will fit too. There's not a whole lot out there for the rear bumper, but you could consider getting a JDM rear bumper (which is shorter in length than the USDM bumper) and put a JDM BZ Touring rear lip on. With those sort of parts, the chances of you seeing another Corolla on the streets like it are very slim.

Here's a thread showing all of the JDM bumper variations you can fit to your Corolla with little to no modification needed:

AE101 JDM Conversions (Front and Rear)

[joearmy20]

bro thank you so much for all your help i really apreciate it all youve helped me out alot if you have anymore advice or websites you can send them to my email joedapunisher@yahoo.com once again thank you for the help