Beams 3SGE Swap information dump

[teck]

My goal here is to compile all the information that took me forever to dig up on my own to swap a Beams into my S13 and running it on stock ECU, now I did use a custom wiring harness so I don’t have the info on splicing into the factory harness but there plenty of sources for that.

This engine makes great power for the price but it seems there's a lot of false information on most forums about how to swap it in. When shopping for an engine this is key to remember

In 1998, the fifth and final version of the 3S-GE was released, found only in the Japanese-delivered Altezza RS200. The 'Black Top' as it came to be referred to as, was fitted with a dual VVT-i system that adjusted timing on both intake and exhaust camshafts and came in two different spec levels dependent on which transmission it was coupled to.

Gen 5 uses electronic controlled throttle with cable (semi-drive by wire), so no idle speed controller is required. A returnless fuel rail is also used.
The MT version that came equipped with the J160 6-speed manual transmission featured larger diameter titanium intake valves measuring 35mm, larger exhaust valves measuring 29.5mm also made from titanium, a larger 33mm bucket and a compression ratio of 11.5:1. It made 210 PS (154 kW; 207 hp) at 7,600 rpm and 22.0 kg⋅m (216 N⋅m) at 6,400 rpm.
This means that you do not want an Automatic Trans equipped engine they did not come with the larger titanium valves, had lower compression and made less power. Now onto the swap.

Currently no major companies offer S Chassis swap mounts but my friend Max who helped me a lot on my swap after he did his is now offering engine and trans mounts made to order. If you are interested in a set you can contact him thru Instagram @revhappy86

The Beams requires roughly 60psi of fuel pressure to run and has a returnless rail but has bolts on each end that can be removed and replaced with -6AN to M12x1.25 adapters then you just place one of the bolts in the factory line input in the top of the rail. From there you can get -6AN to 5/16” Fuel hose nipples and run the regulator of your choice. Of course the line off the filter goes into the front of the rail then the rear exits into the regulator that then bleeds off into the factory return hardline. I got perfect pressure with the stock LPH pump.

I recommend getting a GS300/IS300 ECU box from a junkyard or ebay to mount the factory ECU since it mounts in the engine bay. To start wiring I followed this write up to the T minus wiring E6, E16, A6 straight to the battery, I decided to put those on a 12v switched source it seems the drive by wire module stayed on all the time when they ran straight to it.

https://thrillxissues.wordpress.com/...-beams-wiring/

E1 is a Ground like he mentions in the blog post I’ve seen it debated on other forums but yet my car runs and so did his and the actual pinout isn't clear and I’m not risking my ecu by putting power to it when my engine runs fine.

Here is a list of ECU pinouts and other bits of info

https://www.sq-engineering.com/wp-co...lish-short.pdf

https://www.sq-engineering.com/wp-co...ng_Diagram.pdf

https://www.sq-engineering.com/wp-co...s-pin-outs.jpg

On my ECU I don’t even have a connector on pinout “D” I will be adding one for Tach Output

Power Steering is super simple if you have a Dohc line it bolts straight to the Beams Pump.

As far as cooling is concerned if you still have the factory heater core the hoses line up perfect with the hard lines on the firewall. You can just modify the Koyo AE86 Beams radiator to fit in your S Chassis but I chose to run the SR20 Radiator this will work with the factory SR upper hose. You will also have to make a custom lower hose setup with a crossover pipe since the SR lower is on the passenger side and the Beams inlet and outlet are both on the driver side

If you alternator goes bad as mine was on arrival with a slight modification to the adjustment slot you can use the one from the 5SFE mid 90’s Camry with only just running the Sense wire to a 12v source to tell it to charge. Its slightly smaller and has a 5 row pulley instead of a 4 but I’ve had no problem with the belt moving. Other forums state that the plug needs to be rewired but that is false the pinout is on the Beams alternator and it matches the Camry exactly . Be aware there are 2 style Camry alternators one round plug and one oval, the Beams is Oval.

-Beyond wiring and mounts you will also have to make sure you get a good MAF housing with a proper air straightener and the proper diameter roughly 70-75mm because of how sensitive the Denso maf is to proper flow. I got mine thru PerformanceMRP a super nice quality aluminum housing. You will also have to make a custom bracket for the throttle cable but the factory DOHC KA one works well.

If you get lucky and get a factory downpipe with your engine you will have to modify the leftside pipe to clear the steering shaft on a LHD chassis if not a custom downpipe/header is needed. I also did not run the factory o2 sensor just installed a wideband and ran the reference wire to the correct pin on the ecu. And you’ll have to adapt the S13 exhaust to fit.

The only thing you will really have to do at this point is get a custom driveshaft lengths will vary based on mounts, chassis and diff options. The output is the same 21 spline output as a W58 so from what I was told by ShaftMasters is you contact them and order an MK3 Supra shaft at a custom length that they put the R200 flange on. You can always source local options but I have found that both the toyota and nissan factory shafts are nonservicable so you can not reuse the flange or slip yoke, you can however order the replacements that accept Spicer 1310 U joints and then get a local shop to make it to length using those joints.

Overall the engine fitment in the vehicle is superb the shifter sit right in the factory position, but the oil pan does hang a little low which can easily be protected with a skid plate or by reinforcing your factory pan. The factory swaybar will not clear but there are numerous options for this out there such as Gktechs high clearance bar etc.

Battle Garage is a great Stateside source of maintenance parts for the Beams

https://shop.battlegarage-rs.com/

The other great part is most replacement parts did come on other stateside toyotas Advance Autos sister company WorldPac can get you OEM Denso MAFs and other odds and ends with the OE part number.

I might be forgetting something and will try to update this if I remember something or find more helpful information. I know this seems like a lot but in a day where KA’s are becoming rare and expensive its good to have a relatively cheap engine option that you can get from an importer with a warranty.

If you are interested in my build I have a thread specificly for it here
https://zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?...46#post6339946

Hopefully this helps someone along their journey.

[afishysilvia]

Great contribution man, bravo.

[teck]

Originally Posted by afishysilvia

Great contribution man, bravo.

Thanks man, been wanting to do this for awhile just been trying to organize it the best I could and find the right place to put it all.

[ANDY black s13]

good detailed write up there,it is a very underrated engine
I'm making the beams inlet plenum and the j160 fit the CA18det
j160 there is a mainshaft circlip mod, machine shaft & casing to take a larger circlip
stock box can handle 500 whp

[Otto347]

Good info, swapping one into an MGB later on this year.