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BoxheadTim (Forum Supporter)
BoxheadTim (Forum Supporter) MegaDork
10/4/20 5:29 p.m.
alfadriver (Forum Supporter) said:

Honda engine from an S2000???  Which is the most powerful N/A I4 that normal people can get.  And it's already RWD.

They're pretty expensive though. Might be better to convert a K24 to RWD. Which is oddly enough something some S2k peeps do. 

Pete. (l33t FS)
Pete. (l33t FS) MegaDork
10/4/20 5:40 p.m.
BoxheadTim (Forum Supporter) said:
alfadriver (Forum Supporter) said:

Honda engine from an S2000???  Which is the most powerful N/A I4 that normal people can get.  And it's already RWD.

They're pretty expensive though. Might be better to convert a K24 to RWD. Which is oddly enough something some S2k peeps do. 

If you're using KMiata bits to do it (the easy button), it's probably cheaper to get an S2000 drivetrain. 

Sure you can buy K24A2s for $699 with ease, but that isn't a package, that is a starting point.  There are no rear drive transmissions that natively bolt up, the computer requires a good bit of work to run stand alone, etc.  The KMiata trans adaptor makes sense for a Miata because the transmission is a structural part of the car, so it is easier to adapt to it than use a different trans.   If you are not starting with a Miata, once you factor in the cost just of the flywheel and trans adaptor, the cost/benefit ratio swings toward F20C.

 

I do get evil thoughts regarding a boost-friendly K24, and a Getrag trans from a 325/330xi.  Hell, gotta make an oil pan anyway, may as well incorporate a front diff, right?

pres589 (djronnebaum)
pres589 (djronnebaum) PowerDork
10/4/20 6:05 p.m.
Stefan (Forum Supporter) said:

Probably some form of motorcycle engine.

If you can find a wrecked one, the S2000 or a 968 would fit the bill, but you'd have to part them out to recoup the drivetrain parts down to $800.

Most motorcycles are not going to offer 180hp.  And with the Challenge recoup rules, good luck getting a good S2000 or 968 drivetrain donor in good condition where you can also get the motor costs down to $800 (I would be scared of a $1600 968 having a bad engine, same with the S2000) assuming I understand the rules right.

Folks keep mentioning the S2000.  Have you priced these engines?  Where are you seeing them for $800?  Post some links.

MotorsportsGordon
MotorsportsGordon HalfDork
10/4/20 6:36 p.m.

The motorcycle engines will be much smaller physically and much lighter than the automotive engines so even if your not at your 180hp number the lighter overall weight should balance out.

there are  4 cylinder engines in both generation of Chevrolet Colorado's and gmc canyons make around 170 to 200 hp stock. Not the highest reving engines though.

Pete. (l33t FS)
Pete. (l33t FS) MegaDork
10/4/20 6:48 p.m.
MotorsportsGordon said:

The motorcycle engines will be much smaller physically and much lighter than the automotive engines so even if your not at your 180hp number the lighter overall weight should balance out.

there are  4 cylinder engines in both generation of Chevrolet Colorado's and gmc canyons make around 170 to 200 hp stock. Not the highest reving engines though.

They do rate extremely high in engine height, though!

itsarebuild
itsarebuild Dork
10/4/20 7:54 p.m.

The packaging dimension issue is mostly height and room for exhaust. The car in question is the fiata. Yes it’s for sale, but until someone does I am still thinking about it. The 4.0 v six in it now is the weak link. I can get the power I want, but it’s all iron, needs extensive intake work to fit under a stock hood since it came from a truck, and trying to get exhaust out of both sides without making the pedal box toasty or lots of extra pipe length. The 5k redline with a Miata 4.10 gear also means lots of shifting and a relatively low top speed.

 

the duratec 2.5 sounds promising. Anyone know how tall they are crank centerline to top of intake? And do they have a front or rear sump? The issue would be how to get a engine and trans, radiator, hoses, and clutch linkage under $800 from multiple vehicles? 

 

the Mercedes option was also intriguing. Same questions as the duratec. Would that fit in a Miata bay?

 

i think the s2k option is awesome but way out of my price range.

Pete. (l33t FS)
Pete. (l33t FS) MegaDork
10/4/20 8:00 p.m.

edited - wouldn't work.

 

What is the trans from?  If it's from something that could also have had a 2.3, you should be able to mate that with a Zetec using "most" of the bellhousing bolts and stepped dowels.   That would eliminate the hassle of a trans swap.

itsarebuild
itsarebuild Dork
10/4/20 8:50 p.m.

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

2.3...... do Lima engines and cologn engines both bolt up?

itsarebuild
itsarebuild Dork
10/4/20 8:59 p.m.

I think I can find enough receipts from fiat parts sales to zero out that chassis as I actually made a profit in the parting. The ranger is a different story as all those sales were local and weird “hey I heard you have one of these “ type sales. So once I hit my recoup total for the event I quit documenting at all.

 

this excercise is a what if for disregarding the ranger from the project altogether, so using a ford product to mount to the ranger 5 speed I have means I have to figure a way to fmv that trans and hydraulics. So it probably makes more sense to think of this a a what car has a workable drivetrain I could get from a scrap car buyer or copart.

 

from that perspective it seems like the Mercedes w111 option might be the best? 

 

pres589 (djronnebaum)
pres589 (djronnebaum) PowerDork
10/4/20 9:05 p.m.

Cologne V engines and the Lima 2.3 do not share a common bell housing pattern.  I know this because it was not an easy thing to get a 5 speed behind a Cologne 2.6 even with all of the T-5's that came in turbo 2.3 cars.

Javelin (Forum Supporter)
Javelin (Forum Supporter) MegaDork
10/4/20 9:05 p.m.

Why not a KA24 from a 240SX? There's got to be drifters giving the things away and they are already rwd.

Solstice/Sky Ecotec? Are they that cheap yet for the NA ones?

Genesis Coupe 2.0T / 4G63?

 

gumby (Forum Supporter)
gumby (Forum Supporter) HalfDork
10/4/20 9:05 p.m.
itsarebuild said:

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

2.3...... do Lima engines and cologn engines both bolt up?

No, they have different bell patterns. I think Pete means you could swap the current 4.0 Ranger trans for a 2.3 Ranger trans and not need to rework the supporting bits.

Or maybe that's just the thought I had while contemplating buying Fiata......swap in a 2.3T using a 2.3 Ranger trans.

Pete. (l33t FS)
Pete. (l33t FS) MegaDork
10/4/20 9:14 p.m.
Javelin (Forum Supporter) said:

Why not a KA24 from a 240SX? There's got to be drifters giving the things away and they are already rwd.

Not that I have seen.  KA24s are expensive enough now that it almost makes sense to just buy a SR20.  And transmissions?  Forget about it!  I had delusions of putting an RB20 in front of a KA transmission until I tried to find one.  And then the price of RB20s went from "the jokers in Japan stuck it in the shipping container and we'd rather not scrap it" to something that suggests they are worth something, so I failed to care anymore.

itsarebuild
itsarebuild Dork
10/4/20 9:32 p.m.

In reply to gumby (Forum Supporter) :

What year range would you have looked for in your “hypothetical” build?

bluej (Forum Supporter)
bluej (Forum Supporter) UberDork
10/4/20 9:49 p.m.
Pete. (l33t FS) said:
DeadSkunk (Warren) said:

In reply to pres589 (djronnebaum) :

I'd still like to see and hear one in a Miata. They had a 2 liter version, so I'll bet the 2.5 is stroked to keep the same bore spacing. Torque is higher than HP, so maybe a cam grind and some head work would do it. I just find the concept intriguing.

Taller deck height (same as 2.3), longer stroke (96mm?) AND a larger bore.

Anywhere the 2.3 fits the 2.5 does, and most 2.5s had a very good cylinder head.

Which 2.3? The deck height from the ranger 2.3 is shorter than the 2.5 a bit. I thought all the 2.0 and 2.3 were/are the same.

pres589 (djronnebaum)
pres589 (djronnebaum) PowerDork
10/4/20 9:55 p.m.

I'm seeing KA24's from early-90's 240SX's for around $500 on car-part.com (which I don't think is the cheapest way to go about this).  Since the US didn't get SR20's in a RWD package I don't know if that makes any more sense.  KA transmissions seem about the same price as the engine.

A Ford Focus SVT Zetec might get close enough to requirements to be acceptable if a beater donor car could be found.  T-9 five speeds live behind them for RWD swaps.  Not sure where the bellhousing comes from to make this work and I fear it would be some British custom thing unless you can do the fab work to adapt something else.

gumby (Forum Supporter)
gumby (Forum Supporter) HalfDork
10/4/20 9:59 p.m.
itsarebuild said:

In reply to gumby (Forum Supporter) :

What year range would you have looked for in your “hypothetical” build?

ASSuming you have the m5od trans currently, a 2.3 m5od could be sourced from an '88-'00 Ranger that would swap directly for what you have, and mate up to any '83-'88 2.3T.

wspohn
wspohn Dork
10/5/20 11:43 a.m.

The naturally aspirated LE5 2.4 Ecotec could well be the answer - 177 bhp, no worries about the additional packaging issues the turbo on an LNF would pose, and if you ever  did lust after more power, there are supercharger kits available for them that are relatively compact and can kick it up to 300bhp+

https://zzperformance.com/products/2-2-2-4l-bolt-on-supercharger-kit?variant=20810496049214

tuna55
tuna55 MegaDork
10/5/20 12:44 p.m.
wspohn said:

The naturally aspirated LE5 2.4 Ecotec could well be the answer - 177 bhp, no worries about the additional packaging issues the turbo on an LNF would pose, and if you ever  did lust after more power, there are supercharger kits available for them that are relatively compact and can kick it up to 300bhp+

https://zzperformance.com/products/2-2-2-4l-bolt-on-supercharger-kit?variant=20810496049214

This is what I used in the Lemons B210. It ran flawlessly even though the transmission didn't survive the 24 hour race. Apparently that 5 speed doesn't like endurance races and needs a transmission cooler. 

 

Matt B (fs)
Matt B (fs) UltraDork
10/5/20 2:24 p.m.
Pete. (l33t FS) said:
bigdaddylee82 said:

JDM 3SGE Beams from an Alltezza, ~200 HP, complete engine, trans, ecm, & accessories for ~$1200.

These are tempting because they are silly cheap, and apparently tuners do not like them because there is no easy path to more power, compared to getting a 3SGTE and cranking up the boost.  (Which is why they are silly cheap)

 

The main question I have about them, that I have never seen a straight answer on, is what does the computer expect for a pedal?  All of the complete dropouts I have seen (for as little as $900!) included everything BUT the accelerator pedal.  Is Toyota kind enough to have a kind of standardized pedal resistance setup so that you could use a pedal from a Rav4 or Corolla or something you can actually find in the US?

 

The information I generally got was "grab a pedal from an Altezza".  Great, if you're in Australia.

Quoting this because it seems to have been buried and I think that the pedal issue is solvable considering guys have put these motors in stuff as old as AW11s and AE86s.  The motor is from the same generation of motors as the 3SGTE it's highly likely the same solution.  I always assumed it just needed a signal from the TPS since the pedals were typically cable-operated.  For MR2 guys that meant a wiring harness job and routing the throttle cable.

edited - because apparently I like the word "considering" way too much and like to use it in multiple sentences.

Cooter
Cooter UberDork
10/5/20 2:40 p.m.

PT/GT Turbo 2.4.   You can get the entire car (truck?) under $1K
I paid $700 for this one running and driving.




180-230Hp stock (any turbo PT has basically the same longblock, so it doesn't have to be the GT if you are upgrading), turbo and intercooled, can be converted to RWD with a 5 speed by mixing and matching parts.  RWD automatic is a little more problematic.  Megasquirt it, or convert to 2.2/2.5 distributor.   Upgrades are common and pretty well documented.   Height of the engine may be your only issue.   It also is more of a low 5000s RpM engine in stock configuration.

captdownshift (Forum Supporter)
captdownshift (Forum Supporter) UltimaDork
10/5/20 3:10 p.m.

Ford 2.3l duratec, headwork, cams and an upgraded intake manifold will get you between 220-230hp

fidelity101 (Forum Supporter)
fidelity101 (Forum Supporter) UltraDork
10/5/20 3:45 p.m.

Can you get an entry K series honda? out of an accord or something? These are a bit tall though but at least spin the right way unlike a B series so everyone is making adapters to put them into RWD platforms. 

plus its sweet. 

alfadriver (Forum Supporter)
alfadriver (Forum Supporter) MegaDork
10/5/20 4:50 p.m.

In reply to pres589 (djronnebaum) :

Possilble to find one on Copart.  There are 6 there where the current bid is below the target.  

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