Engine Swapping - Worth The Headache?

19776 Views 24 Replies 15 Participants Last post by wannabefastsling, Jul 28, 2021

TranceformerFX

Discussion Starter · Jul 10, 2016

So as some of you may know and already have done, engine swapping is starting to become more prevalent for the Slingshot. This is something I also want to do, however, I know nothing about engines (internally and compatibility) to really get a foothold of what I should be looking for. I know there are a few people in here that have swapped the 2.4 Ecotec for V8's, but I'm honestly looking for a tunable V6 engine, like a 300ZX Twin Turbo Engine for example. But obviously the lay out of the new engine will be totally different and work-arounds/modifications to the mounting in the engine compartment/hood will have to be made.

I'm also concerned about space and not sure if an engine I'll want to swap with will even fit... And if it does, then I'd have to worry about tunable options fitting like aftermarket turbo/twin turbo's and a larger intercooler... My god, so much to consider.. Another concern is if an aftermarket turbo exhaust that was made for the Slingshot will work with the new engine. Obviously I won't be doing the work myself, but I don't wanna take it to a shop when I've already bought a new engine and have it not be compatible or not fit...

Is it worth the headache?

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Mr. Clean

· #2 · Jul 10, 2016

Seems like a huge project to me. Check with Alpha and DDM Works on their thoughts.

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TranceformerFX

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jul 10, 2016

Mr. Clean said:
Seems like a huge project to me. Check with Alpha and DDM Works on their thoughts.

Would they even give me the time of day? I tried PMing Bob Ruman at Bullet Speed about some questions I have yet to hear from him.

Slingsomeday

· #4 · Jul 11, 2016

TranceformerFX said:
Would they even give me the time of day? I tried PMing Bob Ruman at Bullet Speed about some questions I have yet to hear from him.

Swapping engines is a huge project. There's really no point since the stock 4 banger lights up the rear tire with ease. Alpha put a v8 into a couple slings but I feel it's only for the sound and bragging rights. I think the v8 sling is cool as hell, so don't think I'm a hater! In reality it's kinda pointless. The only guy on this forum that put a v8 in his sling wrecked it on the track. I know anything can be wrecked but come on! V8+1 tire equals trouble. My point is that the stock 4 banger plus a turbo is more power than the sling can put down. Anything else is just because you want to. Throw enough money at Alpha and I'm sure they could put a 300 Z v6 twin turbo in there, although I'm not sure why you would want to. The stock engine/w a turbo will burn the tire off just as good, with a lot less work/money.

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TranceformerFX

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jul 11, 2016

Yeah, everything you said is completely true. But having said that, i had plans to drive my lazy ass to Florida and stop by Bulletspeed Designs and install a Quad Kit that gives the Slingshot a 4th wheel (which in turn makes it look like a more civilianized F1 car, which is amazing) so that it would make more sense to do an engine swap. The 4th wheel would help get the power down.

As far as crashing it, the first place i'd go is to a track, the Rocky Mountain Raceway is right next to where I live, and do nothing but practice and know my limitations.

However im afraid I'll go down this road but not follow through when I realize an engine swap is a loooooong project... Or it turn out to be a bad idea...

Sigh...

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Wolf

· #6 · Jul 11, 2016

@Slingsomeday the V8 you speak of is @Tango 's and it has been rebuilt, ran at SSITS for a week and all over VA the last two months. I had a chance to drive it and it is Awesome.....sound, acceleration, smooth drive feeling and "Damn Cool" factor. It is VERY managable and the best riding Sling I've ever been in. It surely has the power to melt the rear tire, but can be driven mildly with ease. If I had around 20k for the swap I would sooo do it.

@TranceformerFX , @Turbosling (Henry @ Alpha) and @[email protected] can surely hook you up. I know Henry has a bit of interest in doing a sweet V6 swap.

Reactions: 5

Blitzkrieg

· #7 · Jul 11, 2016

Some people ask "Why", some people say "Why not?".

I'm a why not guy.

Just beware you are biting off a big chunk of engineering complexity. If you are willing to make that commitment, the SS is a great platform to do it in IMO. Pull the hood and body panels off and it's an open canvas waiting for Picasso. And because it's technically a "motorcycle" you can get away with stuff you'd never pull off in a car with Big Brother watching.

The four wheel thing - bad idea from if nothing else a titling and licensing and resale standpoint. At that point it's no longer a "motorcycle" or "autocycle" and IMO you are opening up a huge can of governmental worms and hornets.

TranceformerFX

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jul 11, 2016

@Well... I'd only take it to the track and race events, i wouldn't be cruising mainstreet in a potential 4 wheeled Slingshot. But you're right about it being a messy can of worms in the event a bored cop decides to pull me over and harass me for thinking its a Formula 1 car.

WI_Hedgehog

· #9 · Jul 11, 2016

@TranceformerFX, I think it's a great idea! A compact V-6 would be a good mate to the Slingshot, having loads more power than an in-line four, should fit without too much trouble, and should be lighter than a V-8 so handling and tire wear should be better. The turbo sound is simply intoxicating, and the engine should last a long time as not much boost would be needed. Obviously there's some cost to such a project, but what a result you'll have! How could you not want to drive it everywhere, all the time???!!

Admittedly, I'm biased. A V-6 has been in the back of my mind for a year now, but with the factory rear-end difficulties and other issues I don't want I want to change out more stuff beyond what's been done already. If Polaris doesn't come through with a housing/bearing/axle solution and keeps bagging off on the issues, I'd rather put a tubular swing-arm in from @Bob Runman than waste money messing with the existing Chinese quality-plagued rear.

For you, Bob's quad kit sounds awesome. Sure, some officer with an attitude could cause you some grief if they wanted, but most likely they'll leave you alone if you're not being a wanker in traffic. Give him a phone call, he's been working lots of hours and has a new addition to the family, so he's running on minimal sleep and might miss an e-mail here and there.

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Br4hm4

· #10 · Jul 11, 2016

I think if you are going to swap you should be looking at better 4 bangers that are known to be easier to tune...K20 from Honda being a great option. Or go the rotary option, I have even eyeballed the Renesis from the Mazda 8. Or if you really want to go nuts, 20b from Mazda would be incredible. Having a higher rev range as well as more power could make the Slingshot a much more interesting machine.

TravAZ

· #11 · Jul 11, 2016

This title shouldn't say "Worth the Headache" it should say "Worth the Money".

Like any type of cool idea you are explaining, it's all about having the funds to do it. You will find a couple of people that will do it for you, but are you willing to fork out $30g-$50g to have it done? If you do, I'd say go for it.

If you are going to pay for all of the fab work to switch motors, why not go LS3? It will be a cheaper option because the swap is already designed. You could always turbo charge this platform too.

Don't let people scare you on cop harassment and poor resale value. Most cops don't even understand the SS yet. If your build performs as well or even better then a XBow and/or Atom their will be a market for it. You know this by seeing all of the money people are dumping into their cars at these track events.

If I could do it all over again, I'd buy the cheapest used beat up SS I could find. Quad kit it and build a 06-07 junk yard motor and run 15lbs of boost through it. Ditch the weight and design of the hood and get the exhaust to run out the back. 4 wheels, 400 hp, and hopefully stability and traction control that still functions.

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WI_Hedgehog

· #12 · Jul 11, 2016

Br4hm4 said:
I think if you are going to swap you should be looking at better 4 bangers that are known to be easier to tune...K20 from Honda being a great option. Or go the rotary option, I have even eyeballed the Renesis from the Mazda 8. Or if you really want to go nuts, 20b from Mazda would be incredible. Having a higher rev range as well as more power could make the Slingshot a much more interesting machine.

I looked at the rotatory also, because the RPM range is awesome...but...the Wankel engines in an RX seem to last between 20,000 and 80,000 miles, with "some" lasting over 120K. Very inconsistent, even with a built engine and the wiper seals installed professionally, and oil re-routed, without overdoing the porting/polishing, no turbo. It's just not reliable in my humble opinion, as much as I wanted it to be.

Another option is a Honda S2000 in-line 4-cylinder engine, an early F20C with 9,000 RPM factory red-line. A little work on the internals and some boost and you'll be right there. Small (2L), light, 237 HP @ 8,300 RPM; 153 ft*lb / 207 Nm @ 7,500 RPM stock. 420HP is reasonable, 700HP is probably the limit of what can be done, so the low 400's should allow the engine to run a good long time.

@TravAZ makes good points, especially about having someone else make sure the traction and stability control still works.

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Turbosling

· #13 · Jul 12, 2016 (Edited)

A V6 would be very hard to fit in the engine bay without major frame modification because of the size/configuration. If 6 cyl was your target a 2jzgte would be your best bet.

Reactions: 5

Tango

· #14 · Jul 13, 2016

There is absolutely no reason to go anything other than an LS motor. My sling weighs 200lbs more with the LS3 and 6spd Magnum. Thesee motors can be built to over 1,500hp, they get good gas mileage, and they are not complicated. There is a reason why everyone does an LS swap.

As for why to do it or why not... I have driven every turbo (except Shacks - damn I should have taken you up on that offer at SSITS) and of course the stock sling and my V8 runs better than any I have driven. Yes, it can melt tires but it also bends space and time when you mash the gas going 40mph. It is a NO brainer if you go 4 wheel. I would say it's almost a necessity.

And as for Picasso...

Still working on my masterpiece.

Xoxo
Tango

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Blitzkrieg

· #15 · Jul 13, 2016

That is not a Slingshot. It's a frickin' work of art. I love it.

Kudo's brother. Kudo's.

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TravAZ

· #16 · Jul 13, 2016

Tango said:
There is absolutely no reason to go anything other than an LS motor. My sling weighs 200lbs more with the LS3 and 6spd Magnum. Thesee motors can be built to over 1,500hp, they get good gas mileage, and they are not complicated. There is a reason why everyone does an LS swap.

As for why to do it or why not... I have driven every turbo (except Shacks - damn I should have taken you up on that offer at SSITS) and of course the stock sling and my V8 runs better than any I have driven. Yes, it can melt tires but it also bends space and time when you mash the gas going 40mph. It is a NO brainer if you go 4 wheel. I would say it's almost a necessity.

And as for Picasso...
View attachment 57507

Still working on my masterpiece.

Xoxo
Tango

Your SS looks like it is out of a movie! Really rad looking machine and great attention to detail.

Very well stated post in my opinion. It would be cool to do a 2JZ or something along those lines, but at the end of the day you are just wasting $$$ if you think you will get better performance per dollar compared to a LS3.

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Turbosling

· #17 · Jul 13, 2016

LS3 V8 and Four wheels

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Turbosling

· #18 · Jul 13, 2016

"it can melt tires but it also bends space and time when you mash the gas going 40mph"

Sooo true everyone I took out for a ride in Maggie Valley puckered up pretty good when the right foot went down.

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[email protected]

· #19 · Jul 15, 2016

TranceformerFX said:
Would they even give me the time of day? I tried PMing Bob Ruman at Bullet Speed about some questions I have yet to hear from him.

Yes, it is 8:40am right now

The engine swap from what we have looked at on our Slingshot is going to be much easier than swaps into other regular cars. With the Slingshot there is not a lot you have to integrate to make the engine work, no A/C lines no P/S lines, it is really a pretty straight forward proposition to do an engine swap. There are many companies out there already that make stand alone engine harnesses for different engines that could be swapped into the Slingshot with pretty minimal effort, relatively anyways.

I know there are a couple guys looking at the Rotary option, which we are a huge fan of here and would be a pretty neat swap also.

If you have any specific questions, let me know, I will be happy to answer them if I can.
Dave

Reactions: 4

[email protected]

· #20 · Jul 15, 2016

TravAZ said:
Your SS looks like it is out of a movie! Really rad looking machine and great attention to detail.

Very well stated post in my opinion. It would be cool to do a 2JZ or something along those lines, but at the end of the day you are just wasting $$$ if you think you will get better performance per dollar compared to a LS3.

Actually a 2JZ is not that bad to do with the current transmission in the Slingshot. With a different bellhousing and clutch setup you can bolt the 2JZ to the stock AR5 transmission. The biggest issue with the 2JZ is going to be the length and fitting it under the hood though.

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