I want to start off by saying that I am somewhat crazy. I don't care about things like money, fuel efficiency, or other things most Prius owners care about. I just want to build a sleeper Prius that runs enough to be a daily. I've done a decent amount of research into the engines and I was wondering how hard people think it would be to swap the stock 2zrfxe out for a 2zrfe into a gen 3. I read the threads talking about a camshaft swap with a corolla cam, and one of the users mentioned just swapping the engine, so i wanted to know how hard that might be. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think that the engine mounting locations are the same. And I also think that the transmission mounts are the same (which if it is true would hopefully mean that the electric motor would still work with the FE engine?). Now if the engine swap works the next step would be to turbo it, but that would be a whole other can of worms building the engine, and trying to make the hybrid drivetrain take a turbo. If anyone has any suggestions or ideas it would be greatly appreciated.
Usually this is just referred to as swapping a Gen3 Prius engine for a Gen4 engine, which is the best long term solution for a gen 3 Prius. There's plenty of youtube videos. As far as I can tell the engine type you want to switch to is pretty much the same as Gen3 to Gen4, but maybe you have something else in mind? If so the biggest hassle is overcoming all the prius sensors sensing stuff they aren't familiar with and red triangling you. Toyota Racing Design (TRD) have done all kinds of engines in Prius, but they have access to source code and can change settings, we can't. Spoofing sensors is primarily how us DIY folks do it. But check with black_jmyntrn | PriusChat as he's putting a Lexus engine in his Prius Prime and might be able to help.
is the 2zrfe gen4 prius? i googled it but came up nada. i thought he was looking for crazy performance
In my searches I found some indication that it's a Gen4 Prius Engine. But there's no reply from OP yet, so this is yet again likely a newbie starting a conversation that they never return to, which leaves us talking amongst ourselves again. <sigh>
2ZRFE is the NON hybrid engine used for ICE only cars. The FXE is the Atkinson hybrid engine. OP is asking if he can swap out the FXE Atkinson for the FE Ottoman. The answer, I'm am NOT an engineer but assuming the dimensions are the same and the flywheel can be attached to the transaxle the same way the yes you probably can. HUGE CAVEAT, the FXE was designed for the transaxle meaning that Toyota engineers looked at the torque provided by the FXE and factored in how the motor (what drives the wheels) would handle that input. It is possible the extra torque from the FE may not be mitigated properly. Again I am NOT an engineer.
The gen 4 engine is the still 2zrfxe engine same as the gen 3 just newer Its not the same as the gen 4 engine. The gen 4 just has a newer version of the gen 3, so still a 2zrfxe. But I will check out black_jmyntrn thanks for the link. Thats the one issue that I've been trying to think about. From my knowledge, the mounting for the transmission is the same on both engines, but I doubt there would be a way to swap a new trans in without having to also rip out the hybrid drive, so i think i would have to leave it stock. Im currently unaware of any parts that could make the stock prius trans more torque, so that will probably be the weakest link of the drivetrain if more torque is added. The gen 4 also uses the 2zrfxe just like the gen 3. The 2zrfe is an engine commonly found in corollas, which is an otto cycle engine meaning that it produces more power, and can take a turbo.
Yes, that's a Corolla engine. It's substantially the same engine, but with totally different tuning and controls, variable exhaust timing. Higher power and torque, which will be a problem (as drbtz said)..
I know the letters and etc are all over the place. The Corolla and Camry stock versions use a 2ZR-FE engine. The hybrid versions of the Camry, Corolla, and Prius use the 2ZR-FXE. They are essentially the same engine but the FXE uses an attkinson cycle meaning it's primary concern is I'm energy efficiency (it no go zoom). The FE uses ottoman or old timers might just say conventional timing, it's made for performance in mind when the throttle is down all the way. Basically the FE does what it does because it utilizes a cycle that produce peak horsepower were as the FXE produces peak efficiency because the drive motors help make up for the lost HP.
I can't imagine the drive motors handling that kind of torque and would likely break the input shaft on the motors I would assume. You'd be going from what, 90HP to 190HP or something akin to that. @ChapmanF is usually pretty knowledgeable on the tech specs of this kind of thing so maybe he could inout some additional feedback.
The Prius has lots of sensors and finely tuned computer settings to maximize MPG. Change those settings even just a tiny bit with different parts and you get warning lights and likely hybrid system safe mode. Change those settings a huge amount with a more powerful engine and you get way more warning lights. And as I said before, you have to fool those warning lights to stay off because Toyota won't give us the ability to change those settings. Here's what's possible with a Gen2 Prius if you get Toyota to help with that part: Excerpt from TRD 2004 Press Release: "The Toyota Prius GT’s Hybrid Synergy Drive powertrain has been specifically tuned to deliver sportscar performance. The standard Prius Atkinson-cycle petrol engine has been replaced by the 1.5-litre Yaris T Sport powerplant, which provides better response and increases power by 29 per cent, from 76 to 98bhp. The electrical part of the hybrid system has also been uprated. The High Voltage Power Circuit now develops 550V, a gain of 50V compared to the street version. This allows a more powerful electric motor to be installed, developing 81bhp on its own – an output similar to that of a conventional 1.4-litre petrol engine. To cope with the extra power, the battery has been upgraded to develop 45bhp (a gain of 12bhp) and the generator’s maximum speed has been boosted from 10,000 to 12,000rpm. The state-of- charge control has also been tuned to provide more rapid racecar-like response rather than to maximise the car’s range. The 1.5-litre engine, in conjunction with the electric motor (which can be compared to an electric supercharger), now returns 143bhp, a figure that beats every other 1.5-litre diesel or petrol unit currently on the market. In addition, specific power comes close to 100bhp per litre."
What @PriusCamper said is ultimately what I'm getting at. There's no way that the engine is going to be drop and replace. Higher power is more charge and now the various regulators and sensors need to know how to handle that. More toque means checking existing part rating to ensure no snapping or sheering. Don't get me wrong this is a cool project but if it were this easy wouldn't Toyota make a "Sport" Prius considering the large culture surrounding Prius modification?
Not THAT drastic. More like from 97 to 132 hp. Base Corollas aren't known as super-high-perfomance cars.
