"I looked into the Burien kit when I first got my car, and supposedly it is a pretty good kit (your opinion would be greatly appricated, esp since you've driven one!), but it is also quite expensive ($2500 w/o install) and that's too much money for me, plus I'm worried about the reliablity of the engine with the turbo.
It's my understanding that the 3S-GTE shares the same block as the 5SFE, but the 3SGTE has more oil pathways in the block(?) to help cooling, and some other differences (including smaller displacement) to cope with the stress of a turbo. The 5SFE, not being designed to handle a turbo does not have these features, and that makes me seriously doubt its ability to handle the stress of a turbo for long periods of time (25,000mi).
In addition to that, I have heard very mixed ratings of the 5SFE overall as an engine to be tuned. In stock form it is bullet proof, but once you begin to go past basic tuning it doesn't hold up very well, and some say heavy tuning equals a blown 5SFE...no matter how you do it. Can you confirm/refute that?
I took a look at the cams & pistons sites you gave links to, and thanks .
Those are some pricey cams...$632, or maybe I am just delusional about the cost of parts . About how much would it cost/how difficult would it be to change the cams on the 5SFE? Would there be that much of a difference in feel after changing the cams? "
the burien kit is great, and you only need to go get small minor parts from the dealer ( a few non re-usable o rings and whatnot) and isnt that hard to install, and i had no issues running it at the stock boost level at all
the 3SGTE block and the 5sfe block are alot alike, the head diiference is donated by the "G" in the 3sgte meaning performance, and the "f" in the 5sfe denoting drivability/economy
theoretically it is possible to transplant the 3S series head on a 5S but i have never seen it done, and yes you are right, there are extra cooling passages. one day i will get around to seeing if they are important, i have alot of 3SGTE and 5SFE parts laying around.
the 5SFE is a great engine for low boost situations (no more than 8-9 psi) but thats at least an extra 80hp at that boost, which does make a huge difference, especially in rolling start acceleration. but anything more than that and you do have to replace the internals, unless you tune the engine to a knife edge, which is never good (one gallon of bad gas...) however if you want to be different, build a 5SFE turbo, with full internals...the torque is much better than on a similiar output 3sgte. the biggest problem with turboing the 5sfe to 16-25lbs boost is that the 5sfe doesnt have the oil squirters, and it runs hotter than the 3sgte at the same output, to counter this i used the intercooler from an audi S4, and later a Saab 9000 and an oil cooler, and converted to waterless NPG coolant and i didnt have any troubles besides lots of tirespin lol, and the stock clutch...yeah it goes pretty fast above 6psi if you drive the piss outta it
the price on the cams isnt that bad seeming they are low volume cams
i was very very happy with the performance of the stage two cams, the engine had a angry lope to it, and i could tell there was alot more power on top end, and the cams are not hard to install, if you have never done it, do it on a weekend or when you dont need the car for a day or two, there is nothing wrong with taking your time, especially when it comes to this kinda of money
i was just bored, and wanted someting other than a "run of the mill" 3sgte swap so i built a 5sfe, but given the cost, the 3sgte is more economical, but its really cool to pop the hood and see toyota knowledgable people gasp in amazment of your 300+ hp 5sfe
i ran the car for a while (45k miles) with the built engine, and had no problems running 14-16 psi boost most of the time, it was reliable, but i took lots of precautions too
now i am conteplating a rwd 1994 celica....i have a few untried ideas....but ill have to try it to see if it works, cause no one has ever done it, but the 6th gen 1994-1999 celica has a longer, wider wheelbase, and would be awesome RWD drift car, i figure the longer and more uderhood space would allow me to mount the 3sgte in a longwise posotion using custom mounts, and then using the transmission from a jap spec is300 (they use the beams 3s motor) a custom driveshaft, and the rear end outta a GT four it could work
lol
anyhows i could go on all day, i love toyotas, and celicas, and have owned 3 or 4 of them and they all were awesome
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. About how much would it cost/how difficult would it be to change the cams on the 5SFE? Would there be that much of a difference in feel after changing the cams? 
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