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I'm looking for a motor now and the 3sfe doesn't look too bad compared to the 5sfe. Given the choice of a square 2 liter and an otherwise identical 2.2 stroker, I would lean towards the 2.0. Add the price difference into the equation and the 3sfe is hard to ignore.
I'd say that both the 3sfe and 5sfe were built for torque and not horsepower. The extra stroke (and bore too) of the 5sfe does not seem to be complemented with changes that would allow it to make more power. The head, cams, manifolds and all appear to be almost identical the smaller 3sfe. The extra displacement can get the intake and exhaust ports flowing at an earlier rpm leading to more torque at low rpm, and ultimately ingest more air per cycle thus making more peak torque. At higher engine speeds, the 2.0 sized manifolds and cams constrain the 5sfe, and it doesn't make much more (if any) power than the 3sfe.
To me, it appears that the a 5sfe is a 3sfe that is massaged to be more appropriate for automatic transmissions and heavier cars. And maybe fatter people. The better torque at low speeds equals lower rpm take off and thus less noise from both the engine and transmission.
QUOTE (Syaoran @ Dec 9, 2013 - 7:47 PM) 
>5S-FE was built for torque, not horsepower. The 3S-FE most likely has the same power due to it being able to rev a little higher with no issues. Perhaps the cams are different in both the 5S and 3S, or there's a difference in the intake manifold, or some minor detail.
As you see, it does have similar power, but don't just look at the power, look at the RPM it makes that power. The 5SFE makes its peak at 5400RPM while the 3SFE makes it at 6000RPM which means it likes revving higher than the 5S, which is better for turbocharged applications, in terms of power.
However the 5S-FE will spool the same turbo faster and make more torque.
I've always wanted to compare the 5S head to a 3S head, as well as the 3S block from an FE engine to a GE engine.... I'm willing to bet you can slap a GE head easier on your block than we 5S-FE guys can on ours. I almost bought a 3S-FE back when I bought my new 5S-FE. In retrospect I probably should've.
As you see, it does have similar power, but don't just look at the power, look at the RPM it makes that power. The 5SFE makes its peak at 5400RPM while the 3SFE makes it at 6000RPM which means it likes revving higher than the 5S, which is better for turbocharged applications, in terms of power.
However the 5S-FE will spool the same turbo faster and make more torque.
I've always wanted to compare the 5S head to a 3S head, as well as the 3S block from an FE engine to a GE engine.... I'm willing to bet you can slap a GE head easier on your block than we 5S-FE guys can on ours. I almost bought a 3S-FE back when I bought my new 5S-FE. In retrospect I probably should've.
I'm looking for a motor now and the 3sfe doesn't look too bad compared to the 5sfe. Given the choice of a square 2 liter and an otherwise identical 2.2 stroker, I would lean towards the 2.0. Add the price difference into the equation and the 3sfe is hard to ignore.
I'd say that both the 3sfe and 5sfe were built for torque and not horsepower. The extra stroke (and bore too) of the 5sfe does not seem to be complemented with changes that would allow it to make more power. The head, cams, manifolds and all appear to be almost identical the smaller 3sfe. The extra displacement can get the intake and exhaust ports flowing at an earlier rpm leading to more torque at low rpm, and ultimately ingest more air per cycle thus making more peak torque. At higher engine speeds, the 2.0 sized manifolds and cams constrain the 5sfe, and it doesn't make much more (if any) power than the 3sfe.
To me, it appears that the a 5sfe is a 3sfe that is massaged to be more appropriate for automatic transmissions and heavier cars. And maybe fatter people. The better torque at low speeds equals lower rpm take off and thus less noise from both the engine and transmission.
