New Member..xA Engine swaps vs Building stock motor..
08-25-2018, 07:35 AM
#1
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New Member..xA Engine swaps vs Building stock motor..
Hello. I'm sure this subject has been beat into the ground, but I'm new here so if anyone wants to link me to the proper threads please do so..
I have a 05 xA RS with about 275k miles that I used to drive 2,100 miles a week for work. It's now retired as a work car but I really want to turn it into a sleeper or at-least just make it a fun car that's faster than stock.
Basically I'm wondering if its cheaper to fix and build the stock motor into something more powerful, or just swap it for something else like a Celica GT-S motor?
Are there any swaps that bolt right in without any major modifications or should I just stick to modding the original motor??
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I have a 05 xA RS with about 275k miles that I used to drive 2,100 miles a week for work. It's now retired as a work car but I really want to turn it into a sleeper or at-least just make it a fun car that's faster than stock.
Basically I'm wondering if its cheaper to fix and build the stock motor into something more powerful, or just swap it for something else like a Celica GT-S motor?
Are there any swaps that bolt right in without any major modifications or should I just stick to modding the original motor??
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Sticky Where to Post Your Question
Sticky How To Advanced Search on Scion Life
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Last edited by MR_LUV; 08-25-2018 at 06:46 PM. Reason: Moved to Correct Forum by Administrator
08-25-2018, 05:19 PM
#2
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It has been beaten into the ground and a search for 'build 1nz', 'engine swap' or '2zz swap' will likely present you with more threads than you'd ever care to read or you could browse this forum if you think keeping the 1NZ is the route you'd like to go: Forced Induction Forum
An xA/xB is never going to be a 'sleeper' and depending upon how much "faster than stock" you are looking to go can get very spendy for limited results. The 1NZ is going to be limited and you'll soon find out that even the most expensive N/A build is going to cost you $2-3,000 and you'll end-up with MAYBE 150 horsepower at the front wheels (being extremely generous and not very likely as that would effectively be almost doubling the output of a stock 1NZ). The 1NZ just isn't a good platform for modding and, should you decide to go that route, then I'd start looking at turbos but then you'll find that most of the folks who offered kits at one point no longer offer them. I've reached out to PTuning for one of their kits and they're no longer making the turbo manifold and that's what originally attracted me to their kits in the first place. Plus you will end-up with random CELs that you'll need to pull fuses or disconnect the battery to clear.
Then there's the 1ZZ/2ZZ route...I've seen one 2ZZ swap successfully done and it was a large shop with a good amount of resources and money to do it. There was a recent thread on here regarding that swap that you should be able to find pretty easily and the claim was there was 'minor' modding required to get the motor to fit and that the electrical was a simple 'plug-and-play' swap with the correct ECU. Last I checked that thread neither of the swaps were running and the progress shown amounted to a motor tossed into an xB chassis. I've researched the 2ZZ swap a fair amount and that is the route I would go but it's not going to be cheap nor easy from what I can see. The good news is the 2ZZ seems a great platform as a basis for a nasty turbo'ed motor but it's still going to run a few dollars to build a good foundation (built bottom end, head work, cams, etc.) and there's still good aftermarket support for it.
If you want a sleeper or something fast, unless you never plan on getting your money back out of it and it's nothing more than a 'labor of love', I'd suggest selling the xA and buying something better with which to start modding.
An xA/xB is never going to be a 'sleeper' and depending upon how much "faster than stock" you are looking to go can get very spendy for limited results. The 1NZ is going to be limited and you'll soon find out that even the most expensive N/A build is going to cost you $2-3,000 and you'll end-up with MAYBE 150 horsepower at the front wheels (being extremely generous and not very likely as that would effectively be almost doubling the output of a stock 1NZ). The 1NZ just isn't a good platform for modding and, should you decide to go that route, then I'd start looking at turbos but then you'll find that most of the folks who offered kits at one point no longer offer them. I've reached out to PTuning for one of their kits and they're no longer making the turbo manifold and that's what originally attracted me to their kits in the first place. Plus you will end-up with random CELs that you'll need to pull fuses or disconnect the battery to clear.
Then there's the 1ZZ/2ZZ route...I've seen one 2ZZ swap successfully done and it was a large shop with a good amount of resources and money to do it. There was a recent thread on here regarding that swap that you should be able to find pretty easily and the claim was there was 'minor' modding required to get the motor to fit and that the electrical was a simple 'plug-and-play' swap with the correct ECU. Last I checked that thread neither of the swaps were running and the progress shown amounted to a motor tossed into an xB chassis. I've researched the 2ZZ swap a fair amount and that is the route I would go but it's not going to be cheap nor easy from what I can see. The good news is the 2ZZ seems a great platform as a basis for a nasty turbo'ed motor but it's still going to run a few dollars to build a good foundation (built bottom end, head work, cams, etc.) and there's still good aftermarket support for it.
If you want a sleeper or something fast, unless you never plan on getting your money back out of it and it's nothing more than a 'labor of love', I'd suggest selling the xA and buying something better with which to start modding.
08-25-2018, 07:41 PM
#3
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Yeah I've got faster cars, AP1 S2k and a T5 Volvo S60.. I also have a Pontiac Vibe with a 1ZZ, buts its the boring awd model that only came with like 118 hp and a 4spd slushbox so it would probably be pointless to donate anything from that.. (hmm AWD xA anyone??)
I don't care about Dyno numbers or racing Corvettes on the highway, I just thought it would be fun to make the xA a little faster than stock for kicks. I was willing to dump about $5k into it. A swap is tempting, but I don't know if I'm ready for that type of headache.
Maybe I'll just cam and Nitrous it when the head gasket gets replaced and beat it until something breaks. Are there any particular brands of cams/valvetrain I should stay away from? Which is considered the 'best'?
I don't care about Dyno numbers or racing Corvettes on the highway, I just thought it would be fun to make the xA a little faster than stock for kicks. I was willing to dump about $5k into it. A swap is tempting, but I don't know if I'm ready for that type of headache.
Maybe I'll just cam and Nitrous it when the head gasket gets replaced and beat it until something breaks. Are there any particular brands of cams/valvetrain I should stay away from? Which is considered the 'best'?
Last edited by MR_LUV; 08-25-2018 at 10:00 PM.
08-27-2018, 04:17 PM
#4
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Join Date: May 2018
Posts: 15
It has been beaten into the ground and a search for 'build 1nz', 'engine swap' or '2zz swap' will likely present you with more threads than you'd ever care to read or you could browse this forum if you think keeping the 1NZ is the route you'd like to go: Forced Induction Forum
An xA/xB is never going to be a 'sleeper' and depending upon how much "faster than stock" you are looking to go can get very spendy for limited results. The 1NZ is going to be limited and you'll soon find out that even the most expensive N/A build is going to cost you $2-3,000 and you'll end-up with MAYBE 150 horsepower at the front wheels (being extremely generous and not very likely as that would effectively be almost doubling the output of a stock 1NZ). The 1NZ just isn't a good platform for modding and, should you decide to go that route, then I'd start looking at turbos but then you'll find that most of the folks who offered kits at one point no longer offer them. I've reached out to PTuning for one of their kits and they're no longer making the turbo manifold and that's what originally attracted me to their kits in the first place. Plus you will end-up with random CELs that you'll need to pull fuses or disconnect the battery to clear.
Then there's the 1ZZ/2ZZ route...I've seen one 2ZZ swap successfully done and it was a large shop with a good amount of resources and money to do it. There was a recent thread on here regarding that swap that you should be able to find pretty easily and the claim was there was 'minor' modding required to get the motor to fit and that the electrical was a simple 'plug-and-play' swap with the correct ECU. Last I checked that thread neither of the swaps were running and the progress shown amounted to a motor tossed into an xB chassis. I've researched the 2ZZ swap a fair amount and that is the route I would go but it's not going to be cheap nor easy from what I can see. The good news is the 2ZZ seems a great platform as a basis for a nasty turbo'ed motor but it's still going to run a few dollars to build a good foundation (built bottom end, head work, cams, etc.) and there's still good aftermarket support for it.
If you want a sleeper or something fast, unless you never plan on getting your money back out of it and it's nothing more than a 'labor of love', I'd suggest selling the xA and buying something better with which to start modding.
An xA/xB is never going to be a 'sleeper' and depending upon how much "faster than stock" you are looking to go can get very spendy for limited results. The 1NZ is going to be limited and you'll soon find out that even the most expensive N/A build is going to cost you $2-3,000 and you'll end-up with MAYBE 150 horsepower at the front wheels (being extremely generous and not very likely as that would effectively be almost doubling the output of a stock 1NZ). The 1NZ just isn't a good platform for modding and, should you decide to go that route, then I'd start looking at turbos but then you'll find that most of the folks who offered kits at one point no longer offer them. I've reached out to PTuning for one of their kits and they're no longer making the turbo manifold and that's what originally attracted me to their kits in the first place. Plus you will end-up with random CELs that you'll need to pull fuses or disconnect the battery to clear.
Then there's the 1ZZ/2ZZ route...I've seen one 2ZZ swap successfully done and it was a large shop with a good amount of resources and money to do it. There was a recent thread on here regarding that swap that you should be able to find pretty easily and the claim was there was 'minor' modding required to get the motor to fit and that the electrical was a simple 'plug-and-play' swap with the correct ECU. Last I checked that thread neither of the swaps were running and the progress shown amounted to a motor tossed into an xB chassis. I've researched the 2ZZ swap a fair amount and that is the route I would go but it's not going to be cheap nor easy from what I can see. The good news is the 2ZZ seems a great platform as a basis for a nasty turbo'ed motor but it's still going to run a few dollars to build a good foundation (built bottom end, head work, cams, etc.) and there's still good aftermarket support for it.
If you want a sleeper or something fast, unless you never plan on getting your money back out of it and it's nothing more than a 'labor of love', I'd suggest selling the xA and buying something better with which to start modding.
And just wanna say that I spent around $3000 total and it is a fairly easy job. If I knew what I know now at the end of this project it would have been done very quickly.
Last edited by Porsche; 08-27-2018 at 04:30 PM.
08-27-2018, 11:29 PM
#5
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I'm the owner of the swapped 2zzge XB...It's running perfectly, just have to make all of the other odds and ends perfect because this is going to my daily driver. I'm going to have a video up very soon. Hopefully in the next 2 weeks to quiet all the non believers.
And just wanna say that I spent around $3000 total and it is a fairly easy job. If I knew what I know now at the end of this project it would have been done very quickly.
And just wanna say that I spent around $3000 total and it is a fairly easy job. If I knew what I know now at the end of this project it would have been done very quickly.
I'm curious to see how you handled the motor/tranny mounts...if you could throw up some pictures of those it would be much appreciated.
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