does anyone know if the 3rd gen 3sgte is a straight drop in a 91 mR2 turbo... if so is it a good engine to get or should i just rebuild the 91 or just get another low mileage one and mod it... dunno what to do...i'm guessing the 3rd gen would be better since it has 245 hp compared to the 91 which has 200 hp, but what can i use normal 91 parts to fix it if something happens to the 3rd gen.

 

from what i've heard, the 2nd gen 3sgte is the best engine to mod. i think the 3rd gen 3sgte is map sensored too. if you wanted, you could just plug in a jdm 3sgte ecu and rewire the egr system (if you even have to do that..) and you'd gain like 20whp.

but yeah, the 3rd gen is a straight drop.. you'd just have to get a new wiring harness and stuffs. just go with the rebuild!

 

The 3rd gen is by far the best engine, it has a small port head, higher compression, no TVIS, better internals, better turbo and better electronics. It's much better to get a whole clip and swap everything including ECU, harness and tranny or you will defeat the purpose of doing the 3rd gen swap. Go to www.mr2oc.com and look/ask in the MK2 turbo section, everything you may want to know is there. Good luck with the project.

 

The 3rd gen is a straight drop besides the wiring , i know a guy in Va beach that will do the whole swap. www.noshoesspeedworks.com

 

I disagree. The 3rd Gen engine is definately NOT by far the best engine. The block is so much weaker than the 2nd Gen. The extra goodies may be better stock for stock, but in the end, the 2nd gen block will hold up much better than the 3rd Gen.

 

what about the third gen suspension geometry being better than previous generations. i know some people end up swapping everything when the get a 3rd gen clip.

 

Why swap over the suspension? Just get a full coilover setup... But yes, stock 3rd Gen suspension is supposively better. But there are also alot that strongly believe the stock 2nd Gen is better.

 

supposedly they changed the actual geometry of the suspension in the rear, not just the shock dampening and spring rates, so that the car is more stable.

 

Was about to say the same thing.

It's basically an upgraded 2nd gen with a weaker block. Put the same electronics and turbo on a 2nd gen and it's basically the same but much stronger.

We actually had a big discussion about this at one of the MR2 meets.

 

The early 3rd gen blocks (some of them) and even some of the 2nd gen blocks had the same problem which was small casting diferences on the cylinder walls (some were meassured to be .010"-.020 " thinner) the only failures documented have been on motors making well over 550hp with very high boost levels so I personally don't think that is an issue. Can you make the same power with the 2nd gen? Sure, it's even cheaper to make more power with the 2nd because the aftermarket support is plenty and easy to find here in the US. But with no doubt, stock engine vs stock engine, the 3rd gen is a much better package.