the 3sgte head difference, 2nd. vs. 3rd. Options

[frosty]

Alrighty,

I'm looking to perform the 5s-gte motor build-up and I'm trying to decide which gen. gte head to go with. I know the 2nd gen had the tvis system and the 3rd didn't. I also read on some guys page months ago (and now I can't find it) that the 3rd was a better casting. To me that didn't matter if the head is getting ported and polished, but I believe he said the 3rd already had larger ports. (he had both heads side-by-side for visual aid) Mainly I noticed the difference in the 2nd and 3rd is that the 3rd came with a slightly better turbo and different compression ratios (probably a more aggressively tuned ecu?). I asume that this is really the main contributing factor to the 50ish hp increase.

I just want to know if there is any real advantage of one head over the other.

I see that alot of member on here swap using the 2nd gen motor and have great success with it. Esspecialy with the ct26 turbo. I pretty much want about 250 to 300 whp as a daily driver and see that it's done with the full 2nd gen. 3sgte.

If there is no real huge advantage of one head over the other then I would go with the 2ng gen. due to it's easier to find, parts are also easier to find, and the fact that it's cheaper than the 3rd.

[ice23q]

Thats got to be one of the best set of posts i have read for ages. Great scrap guys.

1. If your gonna do a 5sgte who cares about what gen or port size??? Get it ported out to the specs your engine builder wants. Along with everything else he needs like valves and spring combos.

2. The water galleries on the head and block have to match up. (Easy) get the engine builder to sort that when you have it ported.

3. The only things that you will have left from your 5sfe will be the crank, flywheel and block. Maybe some water line fittings.

4. To do this right, do it right the first time ok...You will need LOADS of cash. Get new parts when you get them....eg water pump, oil pump etc.

Good luck with your choice of direction. Either way you go you'll have a quick car... I would suggest that you get a standalone before you do anything. Altronic SM4 would be nice. Bang that on what you have now and see what you get out of your engine. You can do a swop after that.

Be good..........Rik

This post has been edited by ice23q: Feb 20, 2007 - 4:32 PM