Home » Some Geniuses Are Using Junkyard Prius Engine Swaps To Go Surprisingly Fast

Some Geniuses Are Using Junkyard Prius Engine Swaps To Go Surprisingly Fast

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If someone told you they were doing an engine swap, you’d rattle off a list of cliche engine codes. “2JZ?” you’d ask. “RB? LS? K swap?” All great engines, all of which have grown more inaccessible due to their legendary status. But what if I told you that a Toyota Prius engine could give you naughty thrills on the cheap? What if Toyota’s other hybrids were packing engines with secret performance sauce hidden inside?

Enthusiasts have long chased engine swaps as a shortcut to cheap performance. Everyone knows that the right Honda four-banger or junkyard GM V8 can offer big ponies for pennies on the dollar. Of course, once a given engine becomes well known, the engines become popular. The junkyard finds start drying up, used engine prices go up, and what was once a low-buck solution becomes all too expensive.

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The best engines in your local junkyard were plucked out long ago [Ed Note: Except for Chevy V8s and Hemis. Those remain plentiful. -DT], but there’s magic lurking where nobody else has looked. Head to the Toyota section. Hunt down a Prius or a Camry Hybrid. Get yourself a dull-as-dishwater economy engine and give it the high-RPM makeover that it’s always deserved. You might just get some surprising power out of the most humble engines on the market. I’ve been speaking to the guys that are doing just that.

Toyota Prius Enginecar
“There’s a performance engine in there!” said nobody ever. And yet…

Prius Power

To understand why you’d want to swap a Prius engine into your track car, we first need to understand what is special about these engines. Most desirable engine swaps have good power and torque in stock form, after all. The Prius engines simply do not. Instead, they were built and tuned for efficiency over all else. However, due to a quirk of their design, they actually have secret performance potential lurking inside. Let’s examine.

The original Toyota Prius came out in 1997. Under the hood was a small gasoline engine—a 1.5-liter inline-four known as the 1NZ-FXE. Paired with an electric motor for hybrid drive, the 1NZ-FXE was built for efficiency, first and foremost. To that end, the early models offered just 76 horsepower and 85 pound-feet of torque. A later version came out in 2012 and appeared in the Prius c, Aqua, and Yaris Hybrid. Amusingly, while more efficient, power and torque actually dropped to just 74 hp and 82 pound-feet in these later models.

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Toyota Prius 1nzfxe Emgome
The Toyota 1NZ-FXE, as used in the Toyota Prius. The engine is to the left, with the hybrid electric motor attached on the right.

To maximize efficiency, the 1NZ-FXE runs on the Atkinson cycle, instead of the traditional Otto cycle used by most gasoline engines. This involves the engine delaying the closing of the intake valve on the compression stroke. This dumps some of the intake charge, reducing the effective compression ratio of the engine. The result is that the engine has a shorter compression stroke than the expansion stroke. Thus, the engine spends less energy on compression, and thus able to gain more motive power out of each unit of fuel burned. Hanging that intake valve open for longer cuts total power output, of course, but the goal is efficiency in these vehicles, not big smoky burnouts.

Now, as we said, the engine is artificially dropping the compression ratio by leaving the intake valve open. That’s all well and good, but if you did that in a typical gas engine, you’d have an issue. With typical static compression of 10.0:1, say, you’d see the effective compression ratio drop as low as 6.0:1 with that little intake valve trick. That’d be far too low to make even mild amounts of power. To counteract this, an Atkinson cycle engine typically has quite a high static compression ratio. For example, in the 1NZ-FXE, if the intake valve closed normally, you’d have a compression ratio of 13.4:1 in the later models. That’s bonkers high. Most performance gasoline engines sit well below 11:1; even the highly-strung Honda S2000 only hit 11.1:1 with its F20 engine.  However, because of the intake valve trick in the 1NZ-FXE, the effective compression ratio is just 9.5:1 in the later models.

Toyota Prius C 2012 5 (1)
Early models had static compression of 13.0:1, but that was upped to 13.4:1 in later models like this 2013 Prius c.
Toyota Prius C 2012 5 (2)
The 1NZ-FXE debuted in the original Prius in 1997. It had a remarkably long run, lasting all the way through to 2022 in models like the Prius c and Sienta Hybrid.
Img02 Large 1
The motor lives on in the Mitsuoka Ryugi hybrid, though Toyota itself isn’t putting it in any current models.

“Wait a minute!” you shout. “High compression is a good thing! Could these engines make real power?” Indeed, you’re correct. If you could somehow modify the 1NZ-FXE with a different set of cams to close the intake valve at the right time, it it could be really good. You could buy an old Prius engine for a few hundred bucks, and you’d have a compact 1.5-liter high-compression engine ready to make big power.

“Why is nobody doing this?!” you scream. Don’t worry—somebody is. And they’re doing it damn well, too.

Priusenginescreenshotforum
On the Scionlife forums, all the way back in 2006, someone named moderngti was frothing at the possibilities…

Did You Hear That Echo?!

Meet David van der Haas. He’s a car enthusiast based down in New Zealand. He’s also a man of somewhat unconventional tastes. Case in point? His track car is a heavily-modified Toyota Echo. Oh, and it’s got a tuned Prius donk under the hood.

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“The Toyota Echo comes with a 2NZ engine [stock],” he explains. It’s a fine engine for an economy hatchback, but totally unexceptional. The 1.3-liter engine puts out 87 horsepower and doesn’t have a whole lot of tuning potential. However, it’s the same engine family as the 1NZ-FXE, which got David wondering. “The hybrid version of the engine sticks out because it has a very high compression ratio—13.4:1,” he says. Small, cheap, high-compression performance engines don’t come along every day, but the Prius engine is ripe for the picking.

Toyota Prius David Engine 1 (3)
The tires on David’s Toyota Echo hint at its true performance.

“Usually you’d need to rebuild a motor and fit higher compression pistons, but this was much simpler to just swap the motor in,” he says. He got himself a 1NZ-FXE yanked from a 2014 Prius Type C. He left all the hybrid stuff behind—he had no need for the batteries or the electric motor. He just wanted to make the most out of that glorious high-compression long block.

Of course, the 1NZ-FXE isn’t exactly race-ready out of the box. The biggest thing to change is the cams, which in stock form are optimized for an efficiency-focused Atkinson cycle. Appropriate performance-focused cams from the non-hybrid 1NZ-FE were sourced from JUN Auto, but that’s just part of the build. A few other well-selected mods are necessary to make the most of those gloriously cheap high-compression internals. “The intake manifold absolutely kills this motor, then second-most important is upgraded valve springs so you can rev past 7000 rpm,” explains David. Add injectors to flow enough fuel, individual throttle bodies (ITBs in tuner parlance), and an ECU to run the show, and you’ve got a properly performance-sorted 1NZ-FXE. Naturally, you’ll need premium gas to avoid detonation at such a high compression ratio, too.

Toyota Prius David Engine 1 (1)
The ITBs are a dead giveaway that this thing rips.

Sound up, you’ve gotta listen to this thing scream at 9,000 RPM.

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The results speak for themselves. With the featherweight 2005 Toyota Echo stripped down to just 1741 pounds, it was woken up significantly with its tuned Prius heart. “It ended up around 150 wheel horsepower at 8,000 to 8,500 rpm,” says David. Redline? A spine-tingling 9,000 rpm. “This car ran a 13.4-second quarter mile, still with the factory exhaust,” says David. “The factory exhaust is the absolute last place to spend money or effort on.” He’s also had the car out on track, and it sounded beautiful thrashing down the straight at Pukekohe.

Those are solid numbers for what started as a $400 engine with under 19,000 miles on it. However, it’s worth noting that David does have a fair bit of investment in the vehicle over and above that. “I used the C56 gearbox from a Vitz RS for better ratios, a Link G4+ ECU, and some BMW S1000RR e-throttle quad throttles,” he explains. It’s a few thousand dollars worth of gear on top of the Prius engine, but few engine swaps get away without requiring you to make similar investments.

It’s also worth noting that, as it was originally a hybrid engine, the 1NZ-FXE wasn’t designed to run a typical alternator or accessories. In the Prius, all that was handled by the electric hybrid motor. David thus had to fab up some brackets and sort out an alternator himself. Having gone down this path, he’s got some advice for others looking to do the same. “Start with an early 1NZ-FXE that still has the mechanical water pump, then the swap is a lot easier,” he says. “You just need to set the intake cam back 1 tooth, then the big cams clear the pistons and you’re good to go.”

It’s not going to make 600 horsepower with an eBay turbo kit, nor will it win you a burnout competition at a muscle car meet, but the value of this 1NZ-FXE build is obvious to anyone looking to build a fun racecar on the cheap with a seriously rad high-RPM screamer of an engine. It’s an accessible modern option for smaller builds, as David explained well in a forum post last year. “A lot of the classic cheap and cheerful engines like the 1JZ, 13B, 4AGE, 4G63, B18C … almost everything from that era, you’re paying an ever-increasing amount for an ever- increasing pile of clapped-out shit,” he says. “There are a few modern-day gems I think, [and the] 1NZ was one of them I reckon.”

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Toyota Prius David Engine 1 (2)
David’s 1NZ-FXE survived the crucible that is motorsport, making strong power all the while. The little Echo hit 197 km/h (122 mph) with its ex-hybrid powerplant with the ECU pulling ignition due to high coolant temps. 

For A Few Hybrids More

The 1NZ-FXE was perhaps the first of Toyota’s Atkinson-cycle engines to go into mainstream production. However, since then, the technology has rolled out across the Toyota fleet. You can get hybrid engines in everything from a Camry to a Sienna these days, so there’s plenty out there ripe for the picking. Thus far, seldom few have ended up in performance builds, until I happened across one guy hacking away in Indiana.

You might have heard the name Marc Labranche before. He’s an engineer who shot to fame in the car world for building an MR2 with an aircraft radial engine hanging out the back, as featured by Car and Driver in 2014. These days, he’s hard at work running his business, Frankenstein Motorworks, which specializes in supplying parts for MR2 engine swaps. “The name of my company comes from a history of just Frankensteining stuff together to make it work without just throwing a crap ton of money at the problem,” he explains. It’s that ethos that drew him towards Toyota’s hybrid engines.

Photos Toyota Camry 2014 3
This wouldn’t normally be your first stop at the junkyard when hunting for a performance engine. But the 2AR-FXE? It’s got promise if you want to make NA power on the cheap.
Toyotahybridswapmr2
Pictured front left is Marc’s MR2 Tonya. Fitted with a 2AR-FXE engine, it’s been thrashed in numerous Chump Car and Lemons races.

Marc’s fascination began with the Toyota 2AR-FE, a non-hybrid Otto cycle engine. The 2.5-liter inline-four was used in the Toyota Camry and RAV4, and put out around 176 horsepower and 172 pound-feet of torque.  “I’ve spent over a decade racing the 2AR-FE,” explains Marc. “It’s been stupid reliable and I wanted to bring it to other people, but I needed to come up with some recipes that make for high-power cheap builds.” This is where the hybrid version—the 2AR-FXE—came in.

Just like the 1NZ-FXE, the 2AR-FXE is an Atkinson cycle engine, with a lovely high static compression ratio of 12.5:1. Stock, it’s a 2.5-liter engine that puts out 154 horsepower and 153 pound-feet of torque.  It was used in a wide range of vehicles, like the Camry Hybrid, RAV4 Hybrid, and the Lexus NX 300h. Marc figured it could make a lot more power if it was reconfigured for performance over efficiency. “It’s all over the place and it’s cheap as heck,” he said in his first video on the topic.

Toyota Hybrid To High Performance Conversion 00 16 05
Marc has found an appreciation for the high compression made possible by modifying the 2AR-FXE engine.

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“Using the high compression pistons from the 2AR-FXE and bigger camshafts, I managed to do this while still retaining the stock intake manifold,” he says, laying out another dyno sheet with a peak power of 252 hp.

He reckons the 2AR-FXE could go even further armed with big cams. “The advantage with those [cams] is that they are big enough now to take advantage of the velocity stack intake I make,” he explains. He’s seen typical 2AR-FE engines with bigger cams gain 30 horsepower from his upgraded intake design, and he hopes for similar results with the high-compression 2AR-FXE. “I’m expecting 270-280whp from that FXE bottom end with these new cams,” he says.

Even on an early test drive, the engine pulled well.

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Tonya runs hard out on track.

Toyota2ar Swap Inspect
Tonya at a Lemons pre-race inspection. You don’t typically expect to find a modern hybrid engine under the hood of an old MR2.

Marc runs his 2AR-FXE in a third-generation Toyota MR2 Spyder. He’s paired the engine with an EB60 transmission from the Scion tC, a six-speed manual that holds up much better than the stock unit. He’s had great success with it on the track, as borne out on his YouTube channel. His team actually set the fastest lap at the 2021 Rust Belt GP, though it didn’t finish the Lemons race due to a brake line issue.

Frankenstein Motorworks currently sells engine mounts to put the 2AR engine family in the second- and third-generation MR2s. That includes the 2AR-FXE, for other fans of high-compression four-cylinder engines. However, Marc notes that the engine needn’t just end up in Toyota’s mid-engine cars. “As for which platforms can this be applied to, there’s no reason this stuff can’t be applied to the normal applications,” he says. “There is at least one Scion tC out there that has done it, but my jam is the MR2s and it’s generally where I stay.”

Toyota2arengineenginemounts
Frankenstein Motorworks sells engine mounts that let you put AR series engines, including the 2AR-FXE, in a second-gen or third-gen MR2.

Moving Forward

In the world of cars, nothing stays the same for long. Once upon a time, long before I was born, Chevy small blocks and Ford 302s were the hot business for swaps. Technology eventually moved on and made them obsolete. Fast forward to my youth, and people were dropping in SR20s and 13Bs, until they got expensive and thin on the ground. These days, it’s Barra this and K-swap that, but the junkyard stocks of those engines won’t last forever. Enthusiasts seeking power will need to move on.

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These Toyota hybrid engines won’t be everything to all enthusiasts. If you want big turbo power figures, you’d be advised to look elsewhere. If you’re building something a little out of the ordinary, though, and you’re chasing an exciting naturally-aspirated engine on the cheap? Look at Toyota, and the junkyards overflowing with ex-Uber cars and grandma’s old supermarket sled. Those humdrum hybrid engines are wearing some awfully sexy lingerie under their boring work clothes. Don’t be afraid to take them for a dance.

Image credits: Marc Labranche, David van der Haas, Toyota

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Freelivin2713
Freelivin2713
15 days ago

I know this is for efficiency and glad they’re enjoying it…but just have to say the last engine I would want to swap is a Prius engine.
“Coulda had a V8!”
(Yes, my pic is a Honda rice burner but that’s just a daily)

Jatco Xtronic CVT
Jatco Xtronic CVT
16 days ago

Fun read, but Marc… wrong transmission!

1978fiatspyderfan
1978fiatspyderfan
16 days ago

How is this a surprise? EV Motors make far more take off power than any ICE motor and as they get to poor recharge capacity they are basically free yet still workable for small stints at the track. I have to say anyone surprised is not an auto afficiando.

AKBrian
AKBrian
16 days ago

He got himself a 1NZ-FXE yanked from a 2014 Prius Type C. He left all the hybrid stuff behind—he had no need for the batteries or the electric motor. He just wanted to make the most out of that glorious high-compression long block.

I recommend giving the article a read, it’s quite good.

Cerberus
Cerberus
16 days ago

I have to say anyone who is baffled by this comment must have actually read the article.

RioCarmi
RioCarmi
14 days ago

Lol bro did you read the article?

Geo Metro Mike
Geo Metro Mike
17 days ago

Love reading about swaps that aren’t to complex or ridiculous expensive. Thanks Lewin!

David Tracy
David Tracy
15 days ago
Reply to  Geo Metro Mike

It’s Thomas!

Geo Metro Mike
Geo Metro Mike
15 days ago
Reply to  David Tracy

My apologies. Subtitle said “by Lewin Day.”
Thanks Thomas!

Andreas8088
Andreas8088
17 days ago

Stop trying to make the “genius” thing happen. It’s not going to happen. Seriously.

Freelivin2713
Freelivin2713
15 days ago
Reply to  Andreas8088

Yeah, that one actually is getting old and played out. Normally, I wouldn’t care, but it’s like beating a dead horse

Hugh Crawford
Hugh Crawford
17 days ago

Instead of putting a new cam in, what about putting a turbo on it?

That way you get the higher compression and air volume but with the efficiency and increased power recovery of the atkinson cycle.

Cerberus
Cerberus
17 days ago
Reply to  Hugh Crawford

That would turn it into a Miller cycle engine. Lot of options here. If only one wasn’t stuck with the rest of the typical Toyota package.

1978fiatspyderfan
1978fiatspyderfan
16 days ago
Reply to  Hugh Crawford

I am no expert but I wonder why a transmission won’t increase it even more.

Torque
Torque
6 days ago
Reply to  Hugh Crawford

Typically compression is lowered when looking to add an alternator*(aka turbo)

*old joke years ago young car enthusiasts confusing alternators for turbos 🙂

Hugh Crawford
Hugh Crawford
6 days ago
Reply to  Torque

The compression is already low, so instead of raising it with a cam change I was suggesting raising it with a turbo and getting the advantage of higher air volume, turning it into a Miller cycle engine as Cerberus pointed out. Pretty economical with a light foot, power when you need it

Torque
Torque
6 days ago
Reply to  Hugh Crawford

Thank you I missed yout intention. Duh (on my part)

Hmmm that IS an interesting idea. The only Miller cycle engine in a car that quickly comes to mind is the Mazda Mellenia from the 2000s.
I did a quick search thinking survey someone has creates a turbo kit for Prii enthusiasts wanting either more power Or more likely those looking to try to make it even More efficient.
I was surprised not to find any turbo kit, I am guessing the few that tried it, found not enough of an efficiency difference and those wanting more power likely not enough of a commercial market demand to make it worthwhile to create

Hugh Crawford
Hugh Crawford
5 days ago
Reply to  Torque

A quick peek under the hood of a Prius and it’s obvious that where to put a turbo without setting the car on fire is a problem with no obvious solution. They dialed the “fit stuff in algorithm” up to 11, maybe 12.
It’s not the worst car to change headlight bulbs on , they are ordinary bulbs at least, but if a properly trained small child is unavailable, loss of blood or at least skin is guaranteed until you have done it a few times.
Dealer wants $150 a side in labor.

Torque
Torque
5 days ago
Reply to  Hugh Crawford

Ha the ability to easily change a light bulb IS a good “no brown M&Ms” proxy test for how easy (or how hard), would it be to maintain the vehicle by yourself.
Changing lightbulbs in the 2012 Prius is easy, ready, Lemmon squeeze
I haven’t had to do it w/our 2917 yet. Just changed the oil in the 2017 for the 1st time since I’ve owned it today. That was very straightforward, as it was exactly like changing the oil in the 2012. It uses the exact same cartridge oil Filter, in the same location and the exact same oil (0W-20). Under hood looked relatively roomy for a new(ish) car too. I’ll have to check out the headlight bulb change situation soon.

Hugh Crawford
Hugh Crawford
5 days ago
Reply to  Torque

2010 Prius on the passenger side requires some disassembly of various things in the engine compartment, very small hands, and attaching the bulb to the wiring before you put it in the fixture. Otherwise the wiring is too short. I have heard that putting the car on a lift and removing the fender liners may make it easier.

Driver side is super easy

I thought the 2010 and 2012 are about the same

Hmm, would not be the first time I missed the equivalent of open other end.

Torque
Torque
5 days ago
Reply to  Hugh Crawford

Interesting.
Yeah the 2010 – 2015 is the same “gen 3” chassis.
My 2012 is the plug-in version i cant imagine that would allow for better packaging bc of the larger
HV battery pack which of course is in the back. Perhaps Toyota had enough complaints and actually listened & they made some packaging improvements under the hood from 2010 to 2012?

Hugh Crawford
Hugh Crawford
4 days ago
Reply to  Torque

If they just made the headlight cable three inches longer it would help immensely. Also there is something really sharp in there you can’t see.

Hugh Crawford
Hugh Crawford
17 days ago

“ These days, it’s Barra this and K-swap that”
???
Or right it’s the antipodal autopian.
He’s not talking about Mary.
Sigh.

So where were we, oh yes, so what about doing the camshaft thing to the engine while it was still in the Prius? That hybrid transmission is so cool. Of course you would need to figure out an LSD because the Prius already eats tires for breakfast, lunch, and dinner plus the occasional snack.

Toecutter
Toecutter
17 days ago
Reply to  Hugh Crawford

because the Prius already eats tires for breakfast, lunch, and dinner plus the occasional snack.

And like all tire-eating cars, poops out microplastics all over the road.

Cryptoenologist
Cryptoenologist
17 days ago
Reply to  Hugh Crawford

Marc sells an LSD for the 6 speed that bolts up to this engine, but I don’t think it would be compatible in the original application.

Torque
Torque
6 days ago
Reply to  Hugh Crawford

“the Prius already eats tires for breakfast, lunch, and dinner plus the occasional snack.”

Huh? I’ve heard some ev’s use up tires on average at an accelerated rate, never lowly sipping Prii

Anecdotal I Know, I have a 2012 prius plugin that I’ve put 140k miles on in 7.5 years and only have changed the tires once.

What is the logic as to why Prii are supposedly consuming tires more than a comparable ICE only car? Weight? My 2012 weighs 3165 and looks like the 2025 weighs comes in under 3300 lbs too.

Hugh Crawford
Hugh Crawford
6 days ago
Reply to  Torque

My daily driving route involves a lot of left turns from a stop sign where the cross traffic doesn’t have a stop sign, acceleration and turning left lifts the left front tire and wheel spin happens. Accelerating over paint stripes and wheel spin happens.

Maybe a rear anti sway bar would help the turning thing, the car understeers a lot. It could really use a limited slip differential.

Driving style probably figures into it, and the tires didn’t get rotated on the last set and the front tires both wore out at 35,000. If I had rotated them I might have made them last 60,000.
The right front tire wore out just as much as the left so the left turn into traffic wasn’t the only factor, just the most noticeable one.

The 0-20 mph range is probably where the most wear happens. The rear blind spots make merging into overtaking traffic more exciting than I like, so there is some throttle stomping on the basis of “I know there isn’t anything in front of that cat I just passed”

Also the people that do stupid stuff if they get passed by a Prius are worth mentioning, there is some squeaky tire driving on their account.

Anyway, don’t be like me, rotate the tires!

Torque
Torque
6 days ago
Reply to  Hugh Crawford

Wow I have a history of driving pretty ‘spirited’, though I can’t recall.ever lifting the inner tire turning left (or right) from a stop sign.

In your case a bigger (ie thicker) front sway bar should help. Though I’d guess either your front struts or your front springs are getting past their prime life (or both). I know on my 2012 I replaced the struts and springs in front And the shocks and springs in the rear at about 200k miles bc Incould tell they were past their prime, in each case I think it was still on OEM struts/shocks/springs all around, made a big difference

That does remind me, my favorite turn at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI is turn 12 where there’s about a 90 degree turn right at the bottom of what is now the fastest stretch of track. If you are on the inside of that curve, any front wheel drive cars it is very common for the back right tire to lift off the ground and of course the wheel on that corner comes to a complete stop, always strikes me as being pretty funny.

Hugh Crawford
Hugh Crawford
5 days ago
Reply to  Torque

Well it’s a two lane road with lots of crown. I grew up driving the snot out of diesel Mercedes and other slow cars fast stuff ( some guy that tailgated the Mercedes on a cloverleaf off ramp in a pickup had a big surprise ) so I’m probably outside the envelope. And is that little yellow triangle that lights up on the dash annoying? Yes it is!

That reminds me of the year when the Monterey Historics featured Cooper and Porsche, and some genius , and I’m not being sarcastic, had one of the heats running half Porsche 930s and half Austin Cooper Ss.
On the first lap when they all went through turn three, the one under the tire bridge, all the Coopers went up on two wheels like it was synchronized swimming, and all the Porsches shot 3 foot flames out the rear. Hardly anybody was familiar with both marques, so in unison everybody said “ are they supposed to do that?” Seeing the Minis drifting around the corners inches apart was quite the spectacle. I never got around to asking if they were running LSDs or spools. Speaking of spools, there were some ex Mark Donahue cars that were definitely on spools.

Last edited 5 days ago by Hugh Crawford
Torque
Torque
5 days ago
Reply to  Hugh Crawford

I love watching original mini’s racing with faster cars on road courses, where the “faster” cars pull way ahead on the straights only to get passed by a mini in the corner & rinse / repeat 🙂
I’m 100 percent in favor of “slow car fast”, thr corners are were the all the fun is anyway

Last edited 5 days ago by Torque
Marathag
Marathag
17 days ago

Hmm. Run that on Propane

Freelivin2713
Freelivin2713
15 days ago
Reply to  Marathag

…and propane accessories!

VanGuy
VanGuy
17 days ago

No mention of the 2ZR-FXE in my Prius v. Surely I have no reason to worry about that…

Last edited 17 days ago by VanGuy
Clueless_jalop
Clueless_jalop
16 days ago
Reply to  VanGuy

Great, now I have visions (or hearings?) of a naturally aspirated Lotus Elise being wrung out to nine grand. It’s glorious.

Captain Muppet
Captain Muppet
15 days ago
Reply to  Clueless_jalop

The 2ZZ engined Elise/Exige already do that as stock.

And some of them have superchargers as well.

Captain Muppet
Captain Muppet
15 days ago
Reply to  VanGuy

Lotus made a supercharger for that engine…

VanGuy
VanGuy
15 days ago
Reply to  Captain Muppet

…specifically the Otto cycle version?

Captain Muppet
Captain Muppet
15 days ago
Reply to  VanGuy

Lotus used the 2ZR-FE, but I’m assuming that if the -FE can take boosting up to 250bhp in a Lotus the -FXE should also be pretty robust.

Speedway Sammy
Speedway Sammy
17 days ago

I’m surprised Toyota would have engineered enough beef in these hybrid tuned engines (crank/rods/pistons) to be durable at 8500 rpm. Would have expected a minimalist approach for efficiency.

Rippstik
Rippstik
18 days ago

The other fun thing about the Echo… it weighs less than a NA Miata. Do with this information what you will.

Speedway Sammy
Speedway Sammy
17 days ago
Reply to  Rippstik

Certainly a sleeper…although fwd takes away all the hooning potential. Apparently that’s only a drawback to us old guys.

Toecutter
Toecutter
17 days ago
Reply to  Rippstik

It also has a 0.29 drag coefficient and a small-ish frontal area around 1.8 m^2. In order to get more slippery without custom building, you’d have to go with a 1st gen Honda Insight, an early Saab 96 or Saab Sonett, or something along those lines.

With proper gearing, 150 horsepower should be good for 140 mph top end in an Echo.

Toecutter
Toecutter
18 days ago

This engine tuned according to his article, PLUS the electric adding power, with a straight-pipe exhaust, would be outright amazing in an aero-modded Triumph Spitfire. Who wants an obnoxious noise-making 1,500 lb car that runs upper 12s in the 1/4 mile and approaches 80 mpg?

Lizardman in a human suit
Lizardman in a human suit
17 days ago
Reply to  Toecutter

Thinking about your next big project?

Toecutter
Toecutter
17 days ago

Nope. I already have 4 of them in partial states of completion and with varying degrees of usability.

Hugh Crawford
Hugh Crawford
17 days ago
Reply to  Toecutter

Yes please!
Turn it longitudinaly, and AWD would be pretty simple.
1,500 pounds with batteries might be a stretch but a worthy goal.

Toecutter
Toecutter
17 days ago
Reply to  Hugh Crawford

I’ve built a 20 lb 1.8 kWh pack of Molicel P42A batetries for my custom electric velomobile. This pack is capable of 50 horsepower bursts, although I will be using about half that peak for the velomobile, which will itself be AWD and weigh 100-120 lbs complete.

Battery weight is not an issue there. There are more power dense cells available.

Ryan Francis
Ryan Francis
17 days ago
Reply to  Toecutter

I haven’t changed the rev limiter yet but my Corvair is running with a mid mounted 2ZR with all of the Toyota hybrid drive components and it’s a wild car to drive. It gets ridiculous mileage, a 3 gallon fuel cell was more than enough for daily driving.

Toecutter
Toecutter
17 days ago
Reply to  Ryan Francis

What fuel economy are you getting and what is its performance? Any measured 0-60 mph times or top speed runs? I bet that thing is a hoot.

Austin Vail
Austin Vail
15 days ago
Reply to  Ryan Francis

Normally it saddens me to hear of Corvairs no longer having their original engine layout, but a hybrid Toyota drivetrain in one is fascinating.

Hugh Crawford
Hugh Crawford
5 days ago
Reply to  Ryan Francis

Oh, I’d love to see that.

Morgan van Humbeck
Morgan van Humbeck
15 days ago
Reply to  Toecutter

Just want to say, I would read the shit out of any article you wrote for Autopian. I often come to the comments hoping you’ve said something about a given article

Lardo
Lardo
18 days ago

sounds like a motorcycle. like it. and seems like stock it is a detuned with it going over 200k miles. I would be interested in buying an MR2 with the this engine.

Freelivin2713
Freelivin2713
18 days ago

Geniuses?

Evo_CS
Evo_CS
18 days ago

That Echo on the track is just a delightfully rude little beast.

Cheap Bastard
Cheap Bastard
18 days ago

Here’s a suggestion for a title I’d like to see:

Some Geniuses Are Using Junkyard Prius Engine Swaps To Go Surprisingly Far on a Gallon (or Kilo) of (insert alternative fuel here)

Suggested swap: Camry or Prius hybrid drivetrain into a 2nd gen Mirai fueled by CNG with AWD.

Last edited 18 days ago by Cheap Bastard
LMCorvairFan
LMCorvairFan
17 days ago
Reply to  Cheap Bastard

And for the challenge round, an tiny version SMR powerplant.

Cheap Bastard
Cheap Bastard
17 days ago
Reply to  LMCorvairFan
Grey alien in a beige sedan
Grey alien in a beige sedan
18 days ago

Wonder if you could fit one of these re-cammed 1NZ-FXE’s in a Scion IQ? That would be a professionally bonkers ride.

Clueless_jalop
Clueless_jalop
16 days ago

I mean, someone did cram an Aston Martin V8 into a Cygnet, so surely a 1.5 liter I4 will be no problem at all!

Acid Tonic
Acid Tonic
18 days ago

This was an excellent article. Well done.

Hugh Crawford
Hugh Crawford
17 days ago
Reply to  Acid Tonic

Yes, hat tip from area man!

TheDrunkenWrench
TheDrunkenWrench
18 days ago

Frankenstein Motorworks also has made 400hp on an N/A 2GR-FE v6 from Toyota.

Bananas power from such small displacement, on a budget no less.

Cerberus
Cerberus
18 days ago

I’ve often wondered about the potential of converting Atkinsons to Ottos. It’s about what I thought, but I didn’t realize the compression would be quite so high. None of these are DI, are they? That seems like a lot of compression to trust to MPFI and the fuel quality of gas stations for a street car. For a racer, though…

That Echo sounds really nice.

TheDrunkenWrench
TheDrunkenWrench
18 days ago
Reply to  Cerberus

This is probably a case where Ethanol is your friend.

My Goat Ate My Homework
My Goat Ate My Homework
18 days ago

Yeah, I was coming away from this thinking… I wonder what it could do on e85.

Last edited 18 days ago by My Goat Ate My Homework
Ben
Ben
18 days ago

I’m curious what jacking up the compression on an engine designed to run much lower would do to its longevity, but these are known for being pretty bombproof in stock form (as long as you keep oil in them, since they basically all burn it after 100k or so) so I can see where they might be overbuilt enough to tolerate some tuning.

Brandon Forbes
Brandon Forbes
18 days ago
Reply to  Ben

That was my question too. It’s gotta have an impact on reliability. There’s a reason no one runs crazy high compression like that from the factory.

Cerberus
Cerberus
18 days ago
Reply to  Brandon Forbes

The Mazda Skyactiv G runs at 14:1, which is the highest, but they’re DI with special pistons.

Brandon Forbes
Brandon Forbes
18 days ago
Reply to  Cerberus

Yeah and that engine never made it stateside either. Not sure why.

1franky
1franky
17 days ago
Reply to  Brandon Forbes

The North America spec skyactivG runs a 13:1 because the gas here is a bit lower in octane than the rest of their markets

Jdoubledub
Jdoubledub
18 days ago

I love NA 4 bangers pushed to their limits. 100hp/liter small engines always make me happy. Owning a car with individual throttle bodies is definitely on my bucket list.

mtnJeep
mtnJeep
18 days ago

I want to see this in a Super 7

Car Guy - RHM
Car Guy - RHM
18 days ago

Never messed with Toyotas, but the potential sounds interesting

Rippstik
Rippstik
18 days ago

Finally… the 1NZ get’s it’s day in the sun. Had one in my Toyota Echo, and the thing was dang near bulletproof. 40mpg all day long. Went to over 200K miles with no issues. Cool to see them modded. Best I’ve seen was the Scion guys supercharging their first gen XBs.

Max Headbolts
Max Headbolts
18 days ago
Reply to  Rippstik

I got to help build both Supercharged and Turbocharged xBs, they induced significant giggles under boot!

Lizardman in a human suit
Lizardman in a human suit
17 days ago
Reply to  Max Headbolts

And now I wanna sleeper a grandma spec xB. Looks slow goes fast

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