3S-FE to 3S-GE??

**cy3org** · 11-03-2008, 05:12 PM

Story made short: My ST190 Corona needs a new engine. I can get another 2L 3S-FE (its stock engine), or have been told the 3S-GE is almost identical and would give a bit more grunt.

How true is this? Does anything need to be modified to fit it in? And im talking just about the conversion, obviously brakes and such will get upgrades. Also please note i will NOT be installing it myself, so realistically.. would I be paying a lot more to fit the GE in?

All help appreciated, cheers.

cy.

**HAVABEER** · 11-03-2008, 08:04 PM

your brakes don't really need upgrading, its not like your dumping an extra 200kw in your car.

i'm not sure about all the electrics but its pretty much a straight swap over. mounts are all the same. i think its been covered a fair bit before. do a bit of a search for it.

or try www.ozcelica.com, lots of 3s-fe > ge conversion's done there (i know its a celica site but most of the info on what needs to be swapped over is the same)

**J0RD0** · 11-03-2008, 08:34 PM

FE series is designed for economy, GE is for performance, so yeah it will be alot more fun, with a cheap exhaust and filter even better. As said its the same engine so it'll bolt in but im pretty sure you will have to wire in the "ge" computer which depends on who you get to do it will be the biggest job.

**Jt_70R** · 11-03-2008, 08:38 PM

Hi mate, a good place to start to obtain info is the 162 dedicated thread. The 4th gen celica shares the 3S engine, they came in both FE and GE formats.
Basically the FE engine has a narrow valve angle 'economy' orientated head, and the GE has a wider (almost 45 deg.) valve angle that is more 'performance' orientated. there are a few other differences, like the second cam on the FE is gear driven (as opposed to the GEs which are both driven by the belt) but basically the blocks are identical. Hence the swap is a simple one. I wouldnt bother putting in another FE, you might as well go the GE for the extra grunt etc. I cant remember the exact specs, but you should be able to find them pretty easy on the net.
the 33GE came in four generations, each one 'better' (ie. more power) than the last. the fourth gen BEAMS motor is the most advanced with variable valve timing etc. but they are also the most expensive.
thats why i would recommend getting a 3rd gen. they are the best bang for buck and match the era of your car.
I have a 2nd gen 3S in my 162, its basically stock internally, using a microtech ECU it made 101kw at the wheels. gen 3 should be good for at least another 10kw.
Hopefully that makes things a little bit clearer. Of course thats just the NA 3S, they also came in factory turbo (3SGTE) which can be a very potent package.

**HAVABEER** · 11-03-2008, 11:05 PM

i thought the gen 1 3s-fe and ge computers where just plug and play ie same harness?

**cy3org** · 12-03-2008, 01:46 PM

Interesting, thanks for that.

So can my FE computer just be upgrade to use the full potential of the GE engine? Or do I need to get a new computer in there?

And what about this turbo version? Easy to find/expensive? Sounds fun!

**horse** · 12-03-2008, 04:21 PM

this is a common conversion on celica's and even done somewhat to camry's. thus its been done a few times and discussed a lot of times. have a search in this forum and you'll find a few threads, search for GT2 if you want to look at the 3s-gte conversion. but remember there is a bit of wiring involved.

to answer your questions:
FE ECU upgrade to run GE: no
New computer ie afermarket or a 3s-ge one.
turbo = 3s-gte. pick your generation as each will come with a different price

gen1 3s-fe to gen1 3sge have nfi if its plug and play harness. it'll probably have a few similar wires. but going from gen1 3sfe to gen3/4 3sge will be more wiring intensive.