20V 4A-GE Swap Done! Options

[Coomer]

Today, after six months and four days of waiting, my car is finally finished!

My mechanic swapped the AE101 4A-GE into the car, and it is awesome! Though I can't go fast in it yet due to having to break in the clutch, I can tell that it's going to be sweet once the clutch is broken in.

The motor itself sounds amazing. It sounds so so sweet, and will only sound better once I'm able to run the car at full throttle. I'm running just a generic filter on the end of the AFM, and for exhaust, I'm using the factory 4-2-1 header, with 2.5" crush-bent piping and no cat, and a OBX universal muffler.

As for drivability, it's very good. The light JUN flywheel took some getting used to, as you have to rev the car higher when starting from a stop, but once I got the hang of it, everything is nice. The Clutch Masters stage one clutch kit is excellent, and feels great and is not to aggressive for a street, daily-driven setup. What is really nice is how little the engine changes momentum. This is due to a solid front motor mount which hardly allows the engine to move at all. I no longer have A/C or cruise control unfortunately though.

I have a couple hundred more miles to drive to break in the clutch, and then once that's done, I'll let you guys know how the power is.

Tomorrow(Today, technically) I'll take some pictures and post them up here.

[Coomer]

I did still have to pay for the swap. The labor, along with more parts, including the belts(alternator and accessory), MSD Blaster coil, air filter and piping and hose couplers and clamps, oil, oil filters, tranny oil, external power steering reservoir, and a bunch of other stuff costed me $800.

The main reason why I went 4A-GE rather than 3S-GTE was because of my parents and my insurance situation. They pay for my insurance, and since the insurance we have doesn't allow anything with forced induction, my parents wouldn't insure me if I got the 3S-GTE or 4A-GZE. And before the "You just could have just not told them." comes up, they would've found out one way or another. It's really scary how much they find out about my friends and I.

And if I had the 3S-GTE, I seriously think that I'd get in so much trouble. I'm already getting crazy with the 4A-GE, but if I get one more ticket, I'm pretty sure that I'll get dropped from insurance, which would not be good.

Also, I absolutely love the AE101 4A-GE. Not only is the sound really sweet, but after 4,000 RPM, the car just takes off with what feels like a lot of power. I couldn't even imagine riding in a sixth generation Celica with a 3S-GTE.

It's probably just me, but my car feels faster than the two third generation Integra GS-Rs that I've driven, and they're supposed to be pretty quick, so I'll see how I do on the track sometime soon hopefully.

And maybe over spring break I can get a video together for you guys to enjoy.

As far as final swap cost, it's right around $2,500.