Hello all, eventually i am looking to 1.3 (K3) swap an L700 Mira, i want to turbo the K3 motor, what are the differences between the K3 variants? how is the compression lowered on the VET compared with the VE and on the VE compared with VE2, is a VE the same as a VE2 just with less power? i have read the daihatsu wiki entry on the K series engines and i can’t really find any information on the differances between the engines. also what are the factory and safe red lines of all the K3 variants, not bothered about information for K3-DE. i was initally just going to buy a mk1 sirion and use the 1.3 out of that but someone i know has a 2007 (second generation) 1.3 sirion that i may be able to get cheaply off of them when they come to get rid of it, would it be worth the hassle of changing parts on this k3-ve to make it better than a ve2? (boosted) i understand the compression ratio is quite high hence why i ask about the differances, maybe i could build a franken engine. i hope all of this makes sense to everyone, thank you for the help in advance, sorry for rambling on a bit
Hi mate. Externally I’m almost certain there the same. I have both and I can’t see any difference.
(Driven both and can’t really feel a lot of difference either). I’m pretty sure it’s just the compression and the ecu tune. Also has less rpm on the ve. More than likely the VCT comes in at a different time also.
As far as VS the VET, I’m not sure. Possibly just flat pistons and slightly larger rods plus a tiny bit lighter in the flywheel but again you better clarify that. I’m only going off other motors from the Toyota family which aren’t too far from these.
Thanks yeah I thought like other motors they probably change the Pistons between them to change compression and most of stuff is ecu and other small bits, it’s all very confusing to work out the differences so I can work out which engine is best to buy haha
the K3-VE from the M301 (not sure for the K3-VE in the M201) has an engine mount on the timing chain cover that the K3-VET does not have. the covers are interchangeable. not sure about the K3-VE2.
So what would people recommend for turbocharging? I want 200hp at the wheels eventually, a k3-ve2 or K3-VE are my only real options as I think a Yrv Turbo donor is going to be out of my price range
The ve has lower compression than the ve2, I remember reading somewhere the pistons are different. I think the easiest thing to do would be buy a vet, after you buy manifolds, turbo, intercooler, piping, injectors, mess around lowering compression ect. ect. I think you would have spent way more than what a yrv turbo motor is worth. In the UK they are cheap as, I have often seen them sold for less than £1000, I’ve even seen complete cars for less than £1000. You need to keep an eye on gumtree, ebay, and the daihatsu rally Facebook page and the daihatsu performance enthusiast Facebook page, they come and go all the time. I’ve seen at least 10 bought and/or sold over the last 8 months, all between £500-£900.
My only problem is I wont be using factory manifolds, turbo injectors or ECU, and I can pick up a complete car containg a k3-ve for around £150, whereas for me a YRV Turbo is expensive at around £500 starting
Are you planning on using after market internals?
If you are then I don’t think it’s really going to matter.
I’d say if the cams are stock then just go the VE2.
Only because of the cams & top end I suspect are built for revs.
If everything else is going to rebuilt then I don’t think it’s going to matter.
Pistons, rods, bolts, head gasket, clutch, bearings, manifold, injectors and turbo is going to be changed anyway plus the balancing needed and new machining so up to you really.
The ecu and tune will be the biggest cost for you.
Take a tiny bit of spinning weight out of the flywheel and get a decent clutch and with internals I think your goal of 200 will be easily achieved.
Make up a oil return for the sump and an oil feed line and that’s it. The rest you can prob fabricate or buy a kit.
Obviously your going to have to muck around with a cooler too but it can’t be too hard.
Thats where my problem is, if I can run 200hp safely on VET internals then I think that will be my route of choice, if I have to change Pistons anyway I think I will go VE2 for cheapness, I don’t think 200whp is too much to ask of an engine like this and yes I will be upgrading clutch and adding oil return to sump etc. now to decide wether I plan on aftermarket internals all along or try the ‘standard’ VET upto 200, I’ve seen a YRV Turbo running 180whp so it’s not much more than that, although that was automatic and I want a manual box which should suck less power from the engine
hey ewdwan, I have done a manual K3-VET swap into my L7 and have a VE2 sitting in my basement… apart from the obvious difference of turbo, and associated parts, they are identical core engines, from the outside. It seems as though they all share the same rods as I can’t find any evidence in any of the service and technical manuals to suggest otherwise and I haven’t had either of them apart to check.
The differences I do know about however are: Pistons (VE, VE2 and VET are all difference) and therefore compression ratio, rings, cam profile, exhaust manifold, port angles and valve size
although it might be hard to tell the difference in the seat of the pants between the VE and VE2, side by side there would be a major one… then there’s the VET the ~30% power difference between the VE2 and VET is not really the point, it’s the HUGE difference between the torque curves from 2k rpm to redline. they are vastly different engines. for me, having driven GTti’s all my life, the VET should have always been in the L7 chassis. it just feels right. lots of point and shoot torque where you need it and power-to-weight is great even with a bone stock engine
Look up Lumpy Space Princess here and facebook, she has a K3-VE2 built with standard internals and does 210hp at wheels on an E85 tune, 180hp from memory on a 98ron tune so is doable
That looks absolutely rapid! What hp are you running? that has got me very excited for a turbo cuore, what’s the redline ok the VET engine? Looking at prices further I think I’m going to try and squeeze 200whp (150kw) out of the standard vet engine as it’s only around £600 for a write off YRV
yeah she’s pretty fast. I really haven’t done much at all to it at all engine-wise… only 2.5" exhaust from the cat back and a K&N filter. I fitted a boost controller but it hit boost cut so frequently that I just decided to leave it at stock boost. probably the single biggest improvement I’ve made on it is changing from the stock 4.2 final drive to a 4.9 and 2nd, 3rd and 4th gears are from the GTti which are much better spaced ratios. they rev to 7400rpm stock which is plenty. 200whp will be a piece of cake. a slightly larger turbo with a nice exhaust behind it, front mount intercooler and a bit of boost and it’ll be there… the expensive and critical part, as always, is choosing a good ECU to run it
Hi all
I’ve read the thread. Thanks for the info. I have a Terios with K3 VE which died. I want to replace the engine with a K3 VE2 from a Sirion - engines in Australia are scarce. wanted to know if anyone can help with specifics in the changeover as the engines are rotated between the two vehicles.
Also any comments re the ECU’s and any other items like timing sensors etc?
Any help and advice would be highly appreciated.
Thanks a million.
André
the ~30% power difference between the VE2 and VET is not really the point, it’s the HUGE difference between the torque curves from 2k rpm to redline. they are vastly different engines. for me, having driven GTti’s all my life, the VET should have always been in the L7 chassis. it just feels right. lots of point and shoot torque where you need it and power-to-weight is great even with a bone stock engine