F20C or Beams?

[Dimitri]

marvinng Wrote:as much as i love toyota, i'd vote for f20c.

my mechanics has a beams motor in his 86 which i have driven. the engine is heavy. need to drop the sub-frame by 1.5" or 1.75" and messes up the suspension geometry. the car doesn't handle very well.

another buddy of mine has done many f20c swaps (like 5 this year), and he has also driven my mechanic's beams-86. he said the f20c-86 is way faster, no comparison. the engine is lighter, only needs 1/2" subframe spacer, minimum change to the suspension geometry so the car handles better. i have never driven a f20c-86 but i take his words for it.

marvin

it is definitely just as easy to fit the beams without "sub frame" spacers as it is the f20.

if you cut the tunnel and raise it, you can easily push the beams far enough back to not to space the sub frame using the 6 speed, i know, we've done it. seeing as you basically HAVE to do this to fit the f20c's box, i dont see how you can argue that the f20 is easier to fit nicely/with less mods. the beams also has other transmission options i mentioned above, which will require little more than a few taps with a hammer.

power wise.. 1 beams v's someone who sounds like they make a living out of doing f20 swaps isnt really an open and shut case.

this is a total wild guess, but im assuming that if youre mechanic is happy to fit the engine, by dropping the sub frame by over 1.5", which is HEAPS, he might also have not quite got the wiring/tuning spot on.

most people run the beams on standalone.. if thats the case with your mechanics car, then possibly his tune isnt getting everything out of the motor. its definitely a fairly "tricky".. or at least time consuming engine to tune. basically there are 4 things to tune.. instead of the normal 2 on most engines.. as both cams are constantly varying (not just on/off like a 20v vvt) so there is a map for each cam, as well as ignition and fuel.

as far as weight.

id love to see some numbers. not just the aluminium is lighter than steel rationale.

thats the same as people assuming SR20s are light because theyre all alloy.

or that rotarys are light because theyre small.

the way i see it, the honda engine, as standard, makes a little more power, but is a little harder to fit.

here in australia though, the difference in price (over $3000) tips the balance fairly heavily back towards the beams. out right potential is also very similar with each engine being capable of hitting the 300hp mark, which is commendable for any 2L engine, production based or otherwise.