If your doing a motor swap just make it easy and get a good standalone. Don't chase demons and used stuff from a junk yard. It's the brains of your motor, don't short change your self.

This is not a hobby for the cheap at heart or thrifty. This isn't like your just doing a little power upgrade on a existing ride. This is a build. You want to run a S/C on a stock set-up, either way at a minium you need the stock ecu and a piggy back for the fuel management. Why go through all the trouble of a used stock ecu and piggy back, when for about 800.00 more you get new reliable and guaranteed tuning.

But you do what ales you.

XBG

 

XBG, just a little perspective here. Not everyone needs French champagne when sparkling wine tastes just fine, and it kind of a waste anyway when it ends up going in a mimosa. He's not building your 375 HP beast, where undoubtedly the internal stresses and oh crap factor are higher.

Under 135 whp, stock and used are adequate, as long as the motor is checked over (compression, leak down test, verify valve clearance, no peanut butter looking oil). "For only $800 more" is the cost of another used motor, not exactly chump change. My suggestion, used motor, stock harness and ECU, if you're getting it from a Scion, '04 or '05, the '06 wiring changed. Supplement it with AEM F/IC and a boomslang PnP harness, or whichever engine management your tuner prefers. Turbo, and only turbo. The blower is a nice toy and adds engine bling, but is heavier and lower performance. On a track car, don't hamstring yourself unless you really need that low end torque.

 

I think 130-140 whp would be plenty. Car is only 1400 lbs, 140 would be like 280 in a xB. So if I go with a small turbo set up, no intercooler, keep the boost under 8 psi, I should be fine with stock internals, and the car would be stupid fast...and not break all the time or leak oil like the Exxon Valdez. Stand alone electronics would be a little pricier, but probably easier than a stock ECU with add ons. 130 whp would be more than a B-series with an advertised 160 bhp, plus more power would be available lower on the rev range with a flatter torque curve. Also lighter and more compact. Just need to make more measurements and see how I would need to modify the car. Do any of you know the total weight of the engine/trans package with accesories attached? The weight for the engine is listed as 187 lbs, but I'd like an idea of the total weight. The total weight of the existing cast iron lump is 335 lbs. I beleive the Hondas are around 400 lbs.

 

187 for the whole engine? Huh, thought it would be lighter. I'm able to lift it myself to mount on an engine stand, it was heavy but didn't feel all that heavy. Auto trans weighs significantly more though, I can't lift it without a jack (and fully filled w/ fluid). Not sure about manual. If you're not running an intercooler get meth injection to keep the intake temps down.

 

187 lbs is the number I found on this forum. It looks compact, and should be light. Might end up lighter than the 1310 I have now. I'd love a figure for hte engine/gearbox/accesories total

 

From talking to a few salvage yards, it looks like the auto gearboxes are much more common. So finding a low mileage 1NZFE might be the easy part. Finding a manual box, especially one with the higher geared final drive as in an Echo. Are there other gearboxes in other cars that will bolt up to the 1NZFE? Such as a gearbox from a Corolla, Celica, etc.?