SevenDreamz

Alright as alot of you guys already know I have a 88 GXL w/ a S5 Jspec T2 Engine swapped in it. Quite a few people have pm'ed me about how the whole swap was done or what way to do it to make it easier. The purpose of this thread is to clear up everything about my swap and how it was performed. First off I purchased a 37,000 original miles and Great compression Jspec S5 T2 Engine. I purchased the Engine, Tranny, Intercooler, Full Wiring Harness, and ECU all for $1,250. All of the parts are guaranteed and if any problems occur...you get the part replaced or your full amount of money bck. Well I did not perform the swap myself. I paid for the swap to be performed by a very, very, good shop called RotorSportsRacing. Their site is www.rotorsportsracing.com but either way I have asked them for details on how they performed this swap which they have done many times before. First off we decided to use a S4 T2 ECU and S4 T2 full wiring harness, since I had the S4 Dash Harness already in my 88 GXL. They have all the wiring diagrams they needed and they performed the necessary wiring to make the harness work with the engine. I used the entire S5 engine w/ NO PARTS FROM A S4 T2 ENGINE!!!! All the wiring was done PERFECTLY and as for the drivetrain I of course already had a T2 Tranny that came w/ my engine....but I purchased a $70 T2 Driveshaft and a $300 Complete S4 T2 Rear Subframe. I also had to purchase a Left hand drive throttle cable b/c of course my Jspec came with a Right hand drive one. That was $40. RotorSports removed my N/A engine for me as well. Now with my Jspec they disassembled the top half of the motor and Sonic Cleaned the parts and had them repainted(looks great). We also cleaned the rotor housings and stuff as well. We removed the turbo unit to find that the Turbo was in excellent shape and also FULLY PORTED THE WASTEGATE. After that they reasseblemed everything and dropped the Jspec in my car. Everything was wired. They did all the work on the car and everything necessary for the swap for $2000. So my total on this project was $3660. I find this a very great deal and I have warranty on the engine and the installation work performed. Well I decided to mod as well and did not want to be stock

My Mods
Jspec S5 T2 Engine
All emissions removed
OMP Removed
Racing Beat Spark Plug Wires
SRP MBC (12psi)
S-AFC
Cosmo 20B Fuel Pump
Fully Ported Wastegate
K&N Air Filter
Full 3 1/8in Turbo Back Exhaust

Well the swap turned out great and the car is Extremely fast and holds boost very well w/ no boost creep. The car does 0-100mph in no time at all. The car actually was stronger than we thought it would be and the stock clutch has trouble and slips on hard launches or hard pulls. And of course I do need to install some 750cc Secondaries(on the way). But other than that everything works great together and I couldnt love it more. Actually I thought it was pretty cool that the other day I raced a New SRt-4 Neon and beat him by 3 cars. I have not had the car dynoed yet but the Butt Dyno tells me 230-240rwhp. So if you guys have any questions then I will do my best to answer them but I definitely wanted to post my info so I would not confuse any more people. Thanks
Mike

RotaryResurrection

iTrader: (8)

That's all well and fine, but I see no specifics of pinout and wiring changes. IT does nobody else any good, other than to tell us what we already knew. That, this swap CAN be performed. I'm a big antagonist of these sort of swaps, but I never said that it cannot be done, just that it isnt really worthwile when the proper parts for the swap are so readily available and your cost will be less than the time you invest to rig up the alternative, so in the end there is no reason not to use plug in parts.

13b_drifter

Can you elaborate a bit more about this? I am considering a similar swap (s5 TII into an s4 TII). I understand that the s4 TII wiring harness and ECU can be used on a Jspec S5 TII. I don't understand what it is that you don't like and why?

Thanks.

RotaryResurrection

iTrader: (8)

Well, here's my take on it, this goes for any cross-series engine swap. You have 2 options (s4 or s5, one of which matches your car, one does not), each basically equivalent in cost, availability, and end result. ONe is a direct plug in with no headache. One requires many hours of wiring changes and studying diagrams hoping to get it right. Why choose the path of greatest resistance? Just buy the right engine for your car (s4 for s4 car, s5 for s5 car, both are available) and go on.

When starting an engine swap of any sort (even stock for stock) it's usually hard enough to get it running right, with everything else being correct. Now you go and add this extra complexity and guesswork. After you do all this custom wiring, how much second guessing are you going to be doing when it doesnt start? What about when you buy some parts of one series and some parts of another series, take the car apart and try to reassemble with the new stuff, only to find half of it does not come close to plugging up? Why bother?

True, a professional such as rotorsports, myself, or any rotary shop can make a cross series swap work, but the bottom line is WHY? The power difference between the 2 engines is 15hp, and most of that is accountable to the extra 2psi of boost the later engine ran by way of an ecu controlled boost solenoid in stock form. Just about anyone who does a swap will run an aftermarket exhaust and be subject to normal boost creep anyway. Therefore this 2psi difference is negated, either engine will probably achieve 10psi or more with the exhaust you're going to install on it.

So again, if power levels are the same, fitment is the same, cost is the same, availability is the same, why choose the setup that requires more work to install electrically? It's just stupid, IMO. To those that decide to do so, for whatever reason they have in their minds, then go right ahead, enjoy yourself. I call it an excersize in futility.

RotaryResurrection

iTrader: (8)

Note that I am referring to an entire longblock swap across series, trying to swap the electronic controls and wiring from one series into another which is obviously not directly compatible. I see nothing wrong with swapping a block in, retaining all your original control components that came with the car. This is fine.

IT seems like you're talking about just a block swap, while the original poster is talking about making an entire s5 longblock setup work in an s4 car.

13b_drifter

Well, yes, I am considering swapping an s5 engine and tranny into my s4 TII. My reasoning for this is that there are likely more lower mileage s5 engines out there than lower mileage s4 engines AND my tranny is shot.

You may suggest that I rebuild my current s4 TII engine, but with the complete swap I am planning, it will be considerably less than a rebuild. I will use the s4 engine block as a learning forum for me. I will tear it down, port it, etc. This way, I will learn how to do many things on my engine and still have a daily driver--as you mentioned, the differences between the s4 and s5 engines are few so I can take what I learn and use it on the s5.

Circumstance dictates that I use my car's current harness and ECU. When I get my hands on an s5 ecu and harness, I'll likely swap it then.

In any event, in an ideal situation, I would likely do what you are suggesting.

Thanks for the input, especially since you are very experienced in these matters.

All the best to you and your family during Christmas and the New Year!!!

gonzz

Did you use the S5 injectors?