Limits of a 4th gen 3sgte bottom half Options

[teamchancery]

I have seen a dyno of a 4th gen 3s (caldina)making 400whp on stock internals.However with these things you never know how long these engines last for.My question from either personal experiemce or other persons experience .Whats the most power made on a stock bottom half 4 gen to be driven around daily without breaking
I have a 4th gen and changed the pistons cause orginals cracked but didnt have the extra cash to buy forged rods.So i got some JE pistons but the 4th gen rods look so much smaller than the older mr2 and celica rods that with my new build i am deciding to build it to around 350whp and leave it there cause the rods got me nervous

[_Jim_]

Do NOT rush into anything....take your time. I have personally OWNED both setups...GEN2 and GEN3, and I would personally NEVER go the GEN2 route again. If you are looking for 450+whp, then GEN2 will do fine as EVERYTHING will need to be changed anyway, and you can swap everything in for a LITTLE cheaper.

The best advice I can give you, is go for a ride in a car making 300+whp.....and if you can find a celica, or an Mr2, it will give you a more realistic idea of power to feeling, so you can gauge a bit better on how much power you would ACTUALLY like to have. Pulling a number out of the sky comping from around 100whp in your Celica that is above 250whp is nothing more than that...a number. People dont realize how a car sub 3000lbs will feel/perform above 300whp.

Here are a few things I HATED about the GEN2:
MAF sensor
CT26
440cc injectors
and the BIGGEST killer......You can only get to around 275whp before you are fuel limited. THATS IT, your done....go home. And as you research this more, you will see there really isnt any way to go above 275whp WITHOUT Fuel upgrades/turbo upgrade (BTW the CT26 is only good for about 230-250whp)/and a tune. This wouldn't be so bad if it didnt run you 3000-5000$ ON TOP of what the swap cost you!

Now, the things that I LOVE about the GEN3:
540cc injectors
MAP based
Metal Head gasket
Top Mount W2A intercooler
and the DAILY DRIVE ABILITY

This is a TOTALLY different animal. Lets just do a quick performance comparison between GEN3 and GEN2.....GEN3 comes with a better exhaust cam, better turbo, bigger injectors, NO AFM, Better flowing intake manifold, etc. A GEN2 with a turbo upgraded to CT20B VS a GEN3 with the STOCK CT20B.......The GEN3 will make between 20-30 MORE WHP than the GEN2 at the same boost level and same modifications ie Intake, exhaust, etc.

So for the fuel limits of the GEN3.......Its around 350whp. In its stock forum I made 330whp and 310ftlbs at 21psi.....and 340whp and 340ftlbs at 25psi. I DO NOT recommend running 25psi on the stock CT20B, but I bring this up because I was still at a VERY safe AFR at these power levels. So, like I said before.....Go for a ride in a car sub 3000lbs making 300+whp and THEN decided from there what power level you may be after. If you are wanting sub 400whp, then I HIGHLY recommend the GEN3.

If you are looking for 400+whp.....well a GEN2 will do just fine. Because even a GEN3 above 400WHP will require the same Modifications as the GEN2 to achieve these power levels....ie Standalone/turbo/fuel/tune/cams.

As for the GEN4....I didnt go this route for a few reasons. I didnt want the hassle of the wiring harness, the lack of solid information, I dont like the top mount A2A Intercooler, and the annoyance of finding parts. But. if you have somebody to do you harness, which I would think Tweak would do it, are going with a FMIC, and dont mind having your car down for an extended period of time when trying to locate/recieve the parts when then break, then the GEN4 is as nice of an option as the GEN3.

Keep researching.....you are on the right track, GL.