How much power can I get from the 5sfe without a turbo? Options

[1994Celica]

I want more power from my car but I don't want to turbo it.Also what could I do to make more power?

[Syaoran]

Since nobody has seemed to answer your question, here I go:

Realistically, you could squeeze out maybe 20-30whp out of a 5s without opening any part of the engine. You'd be looking at a properly-sized header which would have to be custom, a 2.25" mandrel bent exhaust, a 2" intake and a piggy-back fuel tuning method like an APEX'i SAFC-II, along with a base timing advance and using 91-93 octane fuel. You could realistically obtain 130whp with those mods (about a 30% power increase from stock)

That'd leave you close to $1,000 when all is said and done (that's assuming you have no connections and prices around you are towards the higher part).

If you want to open the engine, you can get Rods, Pistons, Cams and a headjob. You'd need a new header and a more advanced tuning solution that'll let you advance ignition timing and remove the limitations the stock ECU has. An example is a Megasquirt-II or Megasquirt-III EMS.


That'll run you about $2,000 more for all-brand new stuff, installed and tuned. You could expect ~170whp if done properly (that's assuming higher compression pistons, water/meth injection for them, 91-93 octane, oversized valves, aggressive cams (101 grind from webcams), valve springs, retainers, forged rods, etc etc.)

So we're talking upwards of $3000 to get decent N/A power out of the 5S. Oh and that's all without taking into consideration the rest of the costs like engine rebuild/machine work.

N/A, a V6 swap is much more practical, which is why everybody went ahead and told you to do that. Even factoring in costs of possible engine rebuild (even though you can get a really low mileage 1MZ since they're less than 10 years old in some cases), and labor to get it in, it's still below $3000 for much more power and just about as good gas mileage. The 1MZ is all-aluminum, so it's also lighter than a 5S.