2AZFE? Options

[uberschall]

primarily for conversation...

seeing as the 2AZFE has assumed the role of replacement for the 5SFE, and it is similar in application and displacement....how feasible/worthwhile is a swap in your opinion?

i got to thinking about it because it is a much better 6-speed option than the peaky, fragile 2ZZ.

based on a quick browse on ebay, the highest price i found for the motor itself was $1700.

and for pete's sake, don't be obnoxious.

[uberschall]

i definately did not mean to get anybdy riled up about the whole thing.

the engine in my car will be pretty much done in 20k, period. it will need to be replaced or rebuilt. end of story. so sometime in the middle of next year, there will be the opportunity for me to replace the engine with more of the same, or something "better."

i have spent ALOT of time compling information about the swaps people have, what other parts they have with them (turbo, ems, etc.) to try and figure out what is going to be the best. there are alot of options, and i'm still trying to find the right one for me.

the few things i want:

1. decent fuel economy (regular gas is a plus)
2. ease of maintenance (i don't want to be fighting sparkplugs from the firewall side of a v6, etc.) and parts availability (i would like to be able to stop at a murrays and get regular maintenance parts if needed, like a timing belt, for example)
3. minimal fringe expenditures (i don't want to spend a bunch of extra money to rebuild a turbo, etc. i don't need to be constantly throwing money at it when i'm done, either)
4. reasonable entry cost. a blacktop 3sge would be my first choice if money weren't an issue. i would like to keep the clip around $2k if possible.

i'm not interested in more that 200 hp or so. the primary goal is a daily driven tsm-class autocross car. the reason the 2azfe interested me is that it's got alot more torque than a 5sfe, and a little more horsepower. it runs on regular unleaded, has an aftermarket that is growing exponentially, and is very new. by very new, i mean that you can buy a clean low mileage motor domestically for under 2k.

i'm wary of a 3sgte swap because the engines available domestically are either 15 years old or rwd, and they tend to be high mileage. i'm also uncomfortable with buying an engine from japan. i know that alot of people stand by the quality of the imported ones, but i just don't like the idea. you have to wonder why they would be selling them here. you'd think that if the 3stge was the best engine toyota ever made, the japanese public would buy every last one of them. the only ways they'd end up here are if there's a reason they don't want them in japan, or they're laughing all the way to the bank on how much we'll pay for them because they're worth so much less there.

on top of that, it's kind of hard to argue any issues that could come up with a clip when you've paid a sh*tload of money just to get it here. if i can get a totalled and mostly parted tc for a few grand, i'd be thrilled to pull the engine, trans, harness, and ecu myself. hell, there's alot of money to be made in breaking cars, i could recoup alot of money by buying one nearly complete and parting myself.

i'm not going to argue that the 3sgte isn't a great engine--it absolutely is. but in order to do the swap RIGHT, it's alot of money on a good intercooler, additional engine management, turbo, bov, wg, etc.....none of which is necessary for an n/a swap. yes, it's more horsepower, but there is no doubt in my mind that i could build a 2azfe that would put down 175, which is enough for me. when i get a 350 hp car, it's not going to be fwd, period.

if anybody thinks that i would "just do it" they can get buggered. everyone that does a swap does some research first. i am of the mind that it's stupid to just buy a clip and hope i can get things to fit. right now, it's pretty much down to this, 3sgte or 5sfte. i'm actually still planning on a 5sfte, but i'm also weighing the other options carefully because i'm NOT going to do this twice.

talking about it IS going to do something. if enough people with valuable input contribute, i'll scratch this one off the list, too. i would never have asked if it were a simple "do it" kind of thing.

thanks to everyone that has contributed alot of useful information, specifically k-esd, bigmeanbulldog, kwanza, and tweak.

i appreciate everybody's opinions even if i don't agree.