sr20 de motors are utter rubbish, they don't hang together very well at all

3Ss don't hang together very well either, compared to say a 4age, they definately don't have the bulletproof overengineered reputation that other toyota engines have. given that the original poster has to ask these things, perhaps a gze is better suited to your car?

If i had to pick an SR20...it would be an S13 SR20...they went backwards in the S14-15 when the put the VVT in....

Backwards? Umm... if you say so...

 

The GTiR SR20DET's were actually quite good, with the quad throttle bodies and all that. As far as I've heard better than the age-equivalent RWD one. The S15 ones are pretty darn cool, but the 6-speed gearbox in them isn't as strong as the 5-speed ones in the S13/14

Trust me...i have it on a reliable source that S15 SR20s make no where near as much as S13 SR20s...and they have a bigger turbo

 

S15 186kw @ 6400 rpm with a T28 60 trim 60 mm BCI-1 compressor in T-04B housing

 

S13 ~220kw with the same turbo

 

go figure

 

also...S15 SR20s run 10:1 CR with 8psi boost S13 SR20s run 8.5:1...more boost anyone?

maximum horsepower does not the better motor make (especially if one has vvt and one doesn't) case in point: 3k 73hp, 4k 60hp, which is better?

case in point: 3k 73hp, 4k 60hp, which is better?

 

i wouldn't use that as a valid comparison. i think you will find that the 3k's were measured with no accessories, and that 4ks were choked with more pollution shit. the method of testing changed between when the 2 engines came out.

 

as for the sr20 comparo, no idea. not my thing.

exactly my point. who's to say there's not a similar difference between the two SRs? and besides, i can build you a 3K that makes a maximum of 220kw like the SR20, but i sure as hell know which i'd rather drive around with every day

Just because the S13 makes more power given certain mods doesn't make it a "better" engine. With the S15 SR20 they made it a much smoother, more streetable engine, and it has the same, if not higher, potential as an earlier motor - it just needs different mods. Like you said, the S15 motor has more compression than the S13 one.

 

At the end of the day they are different motors. Just the same as the 4G63, the earlier ones were a lot more basic than the later ones, yet they all produce about the same amount of outright power stock. The later ones just have a MUCH bigger power band and are a lot more driveable.

 

To each his own. You probably rate an engine based on how much power you can get. I look at an engine in terms of how dynamic it is, more than how much power I can squeeze out of it.

sr20 turbo motor = nissan strength and reliability. stock bottom ends can make a lot of power.

sr20 non turbo = utter pile of shit. built cheaply, slow and break easily.

 

neither are my cup of tea as i don't like datsuns but you cannot fault the strength and potential of the sr20det

Moving on from SR20's, I think the 3SFE is a much underrated engine. I mean, true it's not quite the same as a 3SGE, but for the difference in price, it seems to be a fairly strong motor...

 

Or maybe I'm just delusional :P

Or maybe I'm just delusional

 

no, you are just being realistic, when considering bang for buck. like a 4afe vs 4age. some of the 4afes put out more power (and torque) than the earlier rwd 4ages. some young dude wouldn't have anything but the 4age. i've seen a few 4afes on the web turboed putting out over 300 hp, so there really can't be too much wrong with them.

 

with the "fe" versions there would be nothing stopping you fitting a set of warmer cams and giving the head a cleanup. the difference between them and a "ge" version would be minimal then.

if i could afford the engine and be bothered doing all the other crap (diff, brakes, etc) i'd love a 7afe in my car. the stock one in my work's ae112 totally hauls ass. it's just got BUCKETS of torque its incredible, you can climb the byron bay hill in 5th

Or maybe I'm just delusional

 

no, you are just being realistic, when considering bang for buck. like a 4afe vs 4age. some of the 4afes put out more power (and torque) than the earlier rwd 4ages. some young dude wouldn't have anything but the 4age. i've seen a few 4afes on the web turboed putting out over 300 hp, so there really can't be too much wrong with them.

 

with the "fe" versions there would be nothing stopping you fitting a set of warmer cams and giving the head a cleanup. the difference between them and a "ge" version would be minimal then.

with you on this one

 

lots of good motors out there but they don't have the 'fulsik factor' :P

To each his own.  You probably rate an engine based on how much power you can get.  I look at an engine in terms of how dynamic it is, more than how much power I can squeeze out of it.

600nm of torque tickle your fancy?? thats an S13 engine.