7MGE -> 7MGTE

[Murd]

here's a good writeup on it.
http://4cefed.com/conversion.html

[rnoswal]

You know, there is really nothing wrong with the N/A engine. It is a much cleaner setup, more room to work on and such an understressed engine it could last almost forever! With attention to breathing and a nice raise in compression, it could be made very strong.

I have an N/A and a turbo. My daughter drives the N/A and really likes it. She likes the turbo too, but her car has more drive around, useable torque. I rebuilt hers a year ago with stock stuff, but milled the head for a bump in compression. It was a pretty cheap rebuild.

I would say, stay with the engine you have. You can pour some money into it and have a very fun car. With a shot of nitrous, well, twice as much fun. There are enough goodies out there that would make your car a fast car and very reliable still. Headers, a must. You could spend the money on a set of cams, they seem to be very pricey, but cams are what makes the N/A engine breath and pull at the higher rpm's.

Spend the money on making your car handle, lower it and maybe a body kit. Turbo charging makes quite a bit of power, but at a reliablilty price and if you go crazy, at the expense of an engine. Build what you have. Get that experience, keep the better shifting transmission on the N/A, then after you have doen that, or while doing that, keep looking for a turbo car and after selling yours you can get a turbo that has all the right stuff already in it!

Just my opinion, but I am happy with both. They are still just rare enough to turn heads, but with a big enough following to still have a pretty good aftermarket supply.

Good luck and keep us informed.

Russ

[thechori]

Originally Posted by rnoswal

You know, there is really nothing wrong with the N/A engine. It is a much cleaner setup, more room to work on and such an understressed engine it could last almost forever! With attention to breathing and a nice raise in compression, it could be made very strong.

I have an N/A and a turbo. My daughter drives the N/A and really likes it. She likes the turbo too, but her car has more drive around, useable torque. I rebuilt hers a year ago with stock stuff, but milled the head for a bump in compression. It was a pretty cheap rebuild.

I would say, stay with the engine you have. You can pour some money into it and have a very fun car. With a shot of nitrous, well, twice as much fun. There are enough goodies out there that would make your car a fast car and very reliable still. Headers, a must. You could spend the money on a set of cams, they seem to be very pricey, but cams are what makes the N/A engine breath and pull at the higher rpm's.

Spend the money on making your car handle, lower it and maybe a body kit. Turbo charging makes quite a bit of power, but at a reliablilty price and if you go crazy, at the expense of an engine. Build what you have. Get that experience, keep the better shifting transmission on the N/A, then after you have doen that, or while doing that, keep looking for a turbo car and after selling yours you can get a turbo that has all the right stuff already in it!

Just my opinion, but I am happy with both. They are still just rare enough to turn heads, but with a big enough following to still have a pretty good aftermarket supply.

Good luck and keep us informed.

Russ

thanks for the advice, i've never really heard anyone say to stick with the N/A platform, but i think you just might've swayed me. i just really wanted the easy power from a turbo, and just the thought of boost was almost hypnotizing :[

how much do you think i would need to spend to achieve ~300hp on the 7MGE? cams, headers, my exhaust is fine, my intake should be too, maybe take out the converter (would this make enough of a difference in power to actually do it?), how much did it cost to mill the head? was it a noticeable gain in performance? if i'm up to it, i'll look into nitrous, seems like a very cheap way to gain temporary hp, and i'm VERY curious to see how real nitrous affects a car's performance.

what else can i do that won't cost me my left arm?

[rnoswal]

I am not really sure about the costs. I went back with stock pistons and didn't even port out the exhaust ports. The biggest problem is the intake system. It is very restrictive. Cams are expensive too, but you might be able to have someone regrind the stock ones. The can take some off the heel and that will raise the lift. You can buy better cams, but it is very expensive.

The engine has about 200 HP stock. I know there is a site where the engine can be stroked and brought up to either 3.2 or 3.4, not sure right off. If you could live with premium, then higher compression pistons would help a bunch.

The whole thing as you know is breathing and it is hard to beat the turbo in this area. Nitrous is going to be a short burst at best and there is a pretty good range of shots to use, 50 HP and up. I used to race a Celica and shaved 150 thou off the heads with no problems. The Supra head looks like it could take at least 100, but I couldn't be positive.

www.horsepowerfreaks.com is a good source of performance for the N/A and the turbo. Again they are pricey. I would go with the headers, good free flow exhaust, at least 2 and 1/2 " without cat if you can, Mill the head a bunch, retard the stock cams if you can't afford new ones, that will give you more upper end HP without sacrificing lowerend too much. Advance the timing as much as you can with the best gas you can. Block off the EGR valve and try an electric radiator fan.

All these things will add HP and not cost too much. You will feel the gains and the car will be more fun, but eventually you will want a turbo, but with a rebuilt engine you can get more money for yours and look for that turbo in the mean time.

Sorry I am not more specific as far as exact gains and where to buy parts. The Supra is an expensive machine to upgrade, but I guess HP does cost money, but way more than a 350 Chevy!

Russ