3tgte Corolla Owners...

[AE25]

wanting to know from anyone running a 3tgte...

 

what times have you run down the strip

what power have you dyno'd it at

what mods have been done to get your time or output?

[Super Jamie]

i once spoke to the owners of a ke30 showcar with a 3tgte in it

 

it was stock with some boost wound into it, he reckoned he was getting 250hp at the wheels, but i think it was more like 150hp at the wheels, and he just got his numbers mixed up, he was an old dude :lolcry:

 

the stock turbo wouldn't be too big i don't think, i'd be surprised if you could get more than 12psi out of the thing

[AE25]

haha yes can definately get more than 12psi with a 3tgt ct20

i currently do and all ive done is a 2.5" exhaust.. the wastegate is pretty small and i'd say is the cause of my boost creep. I'm running factory boost which shows 0.6bar on my gauge and creeps up to 0.9bar which is around 13psi at 6500

 

previously i had the 3tgte dyno'd with a std te71 1.7/8" exhaust and a bleed valve running 10.6psi, it had a very rich 10.1:1 air/fuel and showed 118rwkw or 160rwhp. compression on that engine was a consistant 117psi. there was a rather large dip in the midrange torque which may suggest weak valve springs?

my 2nd engine has an extra 10psi compression on all four, now running a 2.5" exhaust, bov and pod filter. finally with a new 4 puck ive been able to run some consistant passes down the strip. pb being a 14.59@153km/h and will run 14.7 all day long. should i lower my diff ratio from the 3.9:1 i may improve on that!

 

very interested to see what others have achieved with their 3tgt's!!

cheers

 

 

i once spoke to the owners of a ke30 showcar with a 3tgte in it

 

it was stock with some boost wound into it, he reckoned he was getting 250hp at the wheels, but i think it was more like 150hp at the wheels, and he just got his numbers mixed up, he was an old dude :lolcry:

 

the stock turbo wouldn't be too big i don't think, i'd be surprised if you could get more than 12psi out of the thing

Edited November 15, 2005 by AE25

[Super Jamie]

ct20? that's awesome! i would have assumed it would be a much smaller size, something similar to a gt starlet turbo, only just big enough. what excellent forward thinking toyota had back then

 

i'd agree with your valve spring diagnosis. this is one of the (few) weak areas in the BA xr6 turbo engine, once you start pushing it. same symptom. and my god, you should see the dyno graphs when they put stronger springs in! :lolcry:

[Felix]

i would think if it had weak valve springs the engine would tend to run soft in the top end, not midrange.

 

probably more like fueling or ignition timing.

 

nothing wrong with the old 3tgte's. just not the current flavour of the month.

[Super Jamie]

that's what i thought too, and whilst it does affect top end as well, there was a noticeable dip in the midrange on the magazine cars i read about. it was one or two zoom issues ago, interesting read

[Medicine_Man]

I think also the fact 3TGTEs are not as common over here is why not many people over here use them. Not saying their is anything wrong with them, but parts could be a bit of a bitch.. Probably why most people go for other toyota twin cam motors..

[JapTastic]

Yeh my 3tgte Celica ran at 15psi no problems at all. It would usually back off to 13psi by 7000rpm though. The power started to fall on its nose a fair bit before then too. CT20 is a fairly sizable unit compared to the t25/t28, but I really don't think the flow is there, which is why I've upgraded to the CT15b.

 

Regarding midrange, possibly ignition timing. They just run a dirty old electronic dizzy so they're a little lacking compared to newer motors in that regard.

[Super Jamie]

they're also getting old, it's no use spending all that cash on an engine just to find it needs a rebuild. sometimes parts are hard to find and/or expensive for old hi-po donks like that too. same reason people use SRs over FJs nowadays

[Felix]

have a look HERE . prices for parts aren't that bad. comparable to other newer engines.

Edited November 16, 2005 by Felix

[TOY3TG]

why use an SR engine in a toyota when there are perfectly good 3SGTE's to be had, which don't have crappy single row timing chains and arent as good overall as an engine compared to the 3S. :jealous: . 3T's are getting old and have a shit ignition system but its good to be different and have something that not everyone has like an SR20 for example. ull find most parts still available from SW motorsport and i know for fact paradise racing do forged pistons for 600bucks aus for them. rings can be used from another manufacturer. most 3TGTE's around are pretty stock and have been converted cheap along time ago when they were cheap as chips there just isnt that many anymore which is a shame.

[AE25]

its good to be different and have something that not everyone has like an SR20 for example

:D haha oh sorry i just had to... sr20 is a very popular engine for transplants so i'll have to disagree on that one

 

as to the age of 3tgte's.. yeah its a problem alright.. you can expect to have the spark advance/retard diaphragm fail on you.. as well as the injectors, valve springs and turbo. most likely have a cracked and warped exhaust manifold too. but at least theres good availability of aftermarket parts to build a strong bottom end. (except the unique 3tgte big ends argg).

3tgte ct20 is larger than the starlet ct9 or whatever they are... it more comparable in size to the nissan/garrett t25 like in the old ca18det and rb20et.

you'll ultimately get more power from a 3sgte and more parts available and it's a current engine so theres everything going for them.. but the 3tgte is still a sturdy power plant and a tricked up one is sure to put many late model engines to shame. the reasons i have one is that i do have access to engines and parts, it was an easy conversion into my toyota. because 1983 corolla + 1983 celica turbo engine just go hand in hand! anyways.. back onto topic

 

i have set a new goal!

the ct20 is going to see 13's before it gets junked :(

last pb was 14.59sec.. with a 2.25 60' on std boost and no intercooler.. buggered std rear shocks and now i've found it had a broken diff link eye! which was probably the cause of the tramping off the line nearer the end of day. i want to get the 60' down to at least 2.0sec with the better suspension and grippier tyres. that should hopefully knock the time down to low 14's and the engine tweaks should get it into the 13's :) here's hoping!

 

I'm still interested in other 3tgte drag stories :( cheers

 

[AE25]

oh and yeah i read a Zoom article probably a couple years back.. a weak valve spring can indeed show up on a dyno plot as a flat spot in the mid range.. something to do with spring resonance

 

i have exactly that.. so will be interesting to see the outcome of new springs

 

3tgte dyno graph with flat midrange.

[JDM_GUY]

3tgte is a good motor but I'd choose a 2tg/3t combo over it for many reason. The 2tg's has more upgrades available because it was the most popular motor back in the 70's and 80's in japan. There's TRD racing cams, double springs, bigger valves, efi, and so forth available, even till this day... There's parts for them unlike the 3tgte.

Only good thing for the 3tgte is the lower block to be used and be mated with a 2tg, because that's what makes them a 1.8L stock.

Although the 3tgte has 8 sparks (2 per cylinder) for better spark to the combustion, the 2tg can make as much as sparks for the combustion when they're upgraded.

 

3sgte is my second choice because it will produce more HP when internally built, but there's so much things to do for it to work properly as a rwd. Modification must be done to the motor bay, finding the right bell housing and the tranny to fit the bell housing, widening and cutting the floor board, and custom drive shaft.

 

3tgte is good but not the good ^_^

[ke20rollin]

lets wake up this topic again.

 

i got a standard 3t gte in my ke20 rolla

havent run it down the strip due to a few engine problems

 

last i dyno'd it was 154hp at the rears. this was with standard pump fuel, air leaks, old ugly and way too big for my car intercooler, and bodgy piping. also running on 4sparks not 8. maybe thats why its running too rich??

 

anyways, once i renew rego itll be off the road for a couple months getting everything sorted. spoke to my mechanic, he has previous experience with these engines and guarantees 250hp at the wheels with the same turbo. but me being me, I'm putting a bigger turbo. hoping to get over 300. when it happens ill repost the new dyno run and hopefully a 1/4mile run.