AW10 - 3ALU Modification

[Mohammed.Al-Ali]

Good evening all!

My name is Mohammed, new member of the club as of this year and also new owner of my childhood dream car, the fabled father the AW10.

Picked it up from Dunedin and drove it all the way to Auckland and first thing that was made apparent was the lack of power in general.

I’ve been doing lots of research, tossing and turning about what to do so I though I ought to reach out to NZ experienced drivers and humbly ask for some guidance.

Full disclosure, I am very new to cars and their inner workings. While I have a general understanding, a vital factor in purchasing this car was that I wanted to learn to build, repair and modify it myself.

So to clarify, my questions are:

1. Has anyone here worked with the stock 3A-LU motor? If so, what mods would you recommend and what could be the max power output extracted? The ideal situation would be to keep this engine and to output around 300hp which is the goal for this project. Excuse any ignorance on my part if that sounds like a far fetched claim!

2. I have read that the 3SGTE is a popular swap, does anyone know an honest, reliable and very good mechanic that can undertake this build in Auckland and possibly do it for under $10k?

3. Keeping in mind the 300hp range, which build would be easier assuming the stock motor does not achieve it, the 3SGTE or the 2ZZ from the MRS? It’s another popular swap I’ve read about but from my research not nearly as supported (parts wise) as the former.

4. Or would life be easier if I just put in a 4agze and modify that?

Apologies for the lengthy read, I am just very excited to get this underway and really would like to do this once and do it perfectly. Any and all advice would be much appreciated and please inform me as to any parts or places you would recommend to help with my build.

Looking forward to meeting you all some day!

[GDII]

Welcome to the club!

The 3AU is definitely not a powerful engine. Poor little AW10 getting it as stock.

For your goals, throw the 3AU in the bin and go with another motor.
1.Yes, a little far fetched for get that power from the engine without essentially turning it in to a 4AGE with a turbo.

2. 3SGTE is popular and will get you 300hp easily with very little modification to the engine although that's nearer the upper limits without having to change the fuel system and ECU. Still achievable though. As for getting someone to do this swap for under $10k, not likely unfortunately. I don't think there are off the shelf bolt in conversion parts for this swap to this car. A lot of custom work plus paying someone just to do the work will be more than buying parts and if you don't know what is needed to provide the person doing the work then they have to source/make a lot so costs skyrocket.

3. 3SGTE like mentioned above for easier 300hp. 2ZZ can get there but far more modifications and cost to make it do that. ie turbo and new ECU. But the stock 2ZZ is quite a capable motor in a light car like the AW10. Yes the 3A is very slow but the 2ZZ is more than 4x more powerful so will still be plenty fun. Still a slightly custom install but the 2ZZ fits up to the gearbox I believe. C series where the 3S needs an S54 or E153 to mate up to.

4. Doing a 4AGZE would definitely be easier as it bolts in but it won't be a perfect straight bolt in swap. Still need to upgrade other parts to support it's power like fuel systems. You won't easily get 300hp from a 4AGZE but like I said previously the light chassis of the AW10 doesn't need 300hp to make it fun. Stock 4AGZE are around 165hp but more torque than the 4AGE so a little better.

Either way, sounds like a fun project to learn on. Plenty of people around to help with knowledge and parts and possibly doing parts of the selected swap. As a new person to cars, we definitely encourage thinking outside the box but we also understand that budget and goals need to line up. There are some 2ZZ AWs here and a 3SGTE so people can tell you what works and what doesn't for your goals. Like a lot of projects, anything can be done but how deep are the pockets and how far off the beaten path do you go when people have done similar things and know what works for less time, money and effort. I wish you good luck with your endeavours.

[Mohammed.Al-Ali]

Hey Phill,

Thank you so much for your prompt reply, truly appreciated the detailed response.

I think it’s clear that 3SGTE or the 4AGZE are the way to go. Am I correct in stating that the 4agze requires the e58 box or can it be compatible with something else?

Ps. I saw that you’re an architectural technician, looks like we architects seem to have quite the soft spot for these angular forms

[GDII]

I'm not an A series guru but I'm sure you could fit a C series box to it. They might not be as strong and will have different gearing but it's the same as a lot of SW20 turbo swaps where the non turbo S54 gearbox is still used. The 4AGZE block is still the same as the 4AGE block for mounting the gearbox.

There is can and should. You can find a C series but you should fit an E58 if you want it not to break. I'm sure there are plenty of high powered turbo 4AGE/GE engines with C series boxes with no issues with power. Similar to the S54, but you can easily break them if you launch hard with a 3SGTE attached, people break them all the time but not everyone does break them.

I do like the AW series but have more of a liking to the SW.
Technically I am not allowed to call myself an Architect, as I'm not registered. I'd rather be a tech anyway haha.

[MIKEP]

Hi Mohammed, As Phil said Welcome to the club. .Im not an Architect and dont have a beard but just a lover of good engineering but think AWs are cool little cars. There are a number of guys in the club have done adaptions and David NZLHD on this forum has a very nice V6 Adaption in his AW10. Mr Paulio has a V6 turbo Camry conversion in an AW11 and there are many more. Go through the rides thread and have a read and send a PM to the guys who have done it before > YOu will find we are a helpful bunch. Malcolm has a beautiful 3SGE adaption in his AW and is always good to answer questions

So with all those resources have a read learn form others and enjoy your car

[Ben]

Welcome!
I saw Frankenstein Motorworks doing a 2AR swap from a Prius and make 280hp in an MRS. Alot of his fans were calling for him to do an AW11 swap kit.
He is well known in the MR2 community for his V6 swap parts. I would guess that the motor would be relatively available compared to 20 year old 3sgte for the budget. I haven't really explored how feasible this swap would be though as I have an SW20. - another avenue you could consider.

[Alsw20]

Have you driven a 300hp sub 1000kg car on the road? My first turbo SW20 was probably ~275rwhp on avgas, it ran high 12s at 110mph down the 1/4 mile. This was faster than 95% of cars on the road and was actually silly fast. This is less horsepower than you are aiming for and the car probably weighed 250-300kg more.

1. 3AU isn't a good engine. It's an ancient tech, budget engine. Trying to get it make four times it's original power will be stupidly expensive.

2. 3SGTE swap for under $10k? Not going to happen. You will spend $10k just getting the parts together for the swap. Double it and add a bit more on.

3. A 3rd gen or 4th gen 3SGTE would be the easiest to get 300hp from. That is basic bolt ons. Exhaust, downpipe and more boost. 3rd gen 3SGTE came in the October 1993+ MR2 turbo and ST205 GT4. 4th gen came in the ST215 Caldina GT-T.

4. 4AGZE is a bulletproof engine and respond well to mods. Throw the supercharger away and fit turbocharger.

Doing it once and perfectly will be expensive.

[*84vvt]

This myay help you out for a Gen 4 swap
https://primemr2.com/collections/diy-en ... ap-package

Don't for get the 20v 4age engine
silver top bottom end black top head
drop some cams in and you away .

[Speedhog]

Welcome,

Bin the 3au if you want any sort of power.

The 2zz can be done easliy. Monkey wrench racing have an E153 adapter for the SW20 Turbo box, then you'll need to fluff around with the axles.

http://woodsport.org/joomla/ has documented the 2zz and C60(6 speed gearbox) swap nicely.
If i was starting the project from scratch again, this is the route I'd go down.

For bolt in, go for a 4ag{z/t]e/c52 combo, and mod from there.

[Mohammed.Al-Ali]

Hey Ben, Phil, Mike, Al, Colin.

Thank you so much for all your input, truly appreciate all your contributions

Looks like 4agze with an e58 is the way to go. Time to start sorting out parts!

Also Al, I used to have a Spec R S15 with 400hp at the wheels, bloody rocket ship. So hoping to get a similar experience in this beauty!

[thorns]

Here you go

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/car- ... f=GXWobhJu

That should sort out your power needs

[Mohammed.Al-Ali]

Have my eyes on that Paul

What do you think is a fair price for that build?

[GDII]

You couldn't build that for the buy now price. Now start looking at brakes to stop the car with that much power.

[Mohammed.Al-Ali]

Any good brake recommendations Phill?

[thorns]

Most likely need to add to that gearbox, axles, suspension, better wheels/tyres setup, aftermarket ECU, certing etc, will add up pretty quickly cost wise, but be a scary machine if done right!