Questions on the Caldina 3SGTE

[alltracman78]

Hey guys, I've got some questions about the ST215 engine. I've spent a lot of time reading online, this is stuff I couldn't find much of an answer on. I would appreciate answers from people with firsthand experience, or if someone could point me in the direction of any answers. Thanks in advance for any help.

1- I read about the exhaust manifold warping issue with the early 215 engines. Is there any way to distinguish the ones that have already been "improved"? Other than looking at the manifold itself? Are there any other distinguishing features? I'm not interested in a 246 engine, I want the manual ECU.

2- How does the 215 engine compare to the 205 engine? I've read comparisons to the 185 engine, and to non turbo engines, but of course it's going to feel more powerful than those. It [should?] also be an improvement over the 205 engine. Is it? I know power is basically the same. Is it more responsive? Does it feel more powerful? How good are the diagnostics? Other than the coil on plug and the sidefeed manifold, are there any real improvements?

3- How responsive to bolt on mods is the 215 vs the 185/205? The same? Is the engine as reliable once power is boosted? I've seen some people say it's a weaker engine, but I've seen other posts saying it's very strong.

4- How reliable is the turbo? Roughly how much boost can it safely handle? Is it an improvement over the 205 turbo? Or basically the same thing?

That's all I can think of for now, I'm sure I'll have more later.
Thanks for any help.

[jonathan yee]

i believe the block it self is "stronger", but the rods are definitely weaker than gen2/3.

have a look at the mr2oc forums. there is a right up about differences in the caldina motor, there's also a thread from guy that replaced the stock turbo with a st205 one, but he also swapped boost controllers and all sorts of other stuff which makes the comparison all but useless

[RONA]

Turbo is reliable but it only really good for stock power and a little more. They are very responsive because of the ceramic wheel but as a result don't like too mcuh boost. Mine made 149awkw with a dump and exhaust on stock boost, with a front mount and ecu it went to 165awkw @15psi & 169awkw@ 18psi, but the turbo couldn't hold the boost at higher rpm and is bleeding back to 12psi. I think my actuator/wastegate is the main culprit as others seem to be holding boost alright. The ST205 turbo (CT20b) will make more power the the ST215 CT15b.

I'd budget for an aftermarket manifold & turbo which would cure both problem 1 & 4. The other thing to consider is that because the Caldina in COP you don't have any Plug and Play options for ecus or intake cams.

[schulzie]

in regards to the manifold warping, its still not resolved in the series 2. Mine had the lovey problem about 6 months ago.

[MWP]

2- How does the 215 engine compare to the 205 engine? I've read comparisons to the 185 engine, and to non turbo engines, but of course it's going to feel more powerful than those. It [should?] also be an improvement over the 205 engine. Is it? I know power is basically the same. Is it more responsive? Does it feel more powerful? How good are the diagnostics? Other than the coil on plug and the sidefeed manifold, are there any real improvements?

The 205 engine was designed to be powerful and take some abuse.
The 215 engine was designed to be better as a daily... more reliable, and nicer to drive.

3- How responsive to bolt on mods is the 215 vs the 185/205? The same? Is the engine as reliable once power is boosted? I've seen some people say it's a weaker engine, but I've seen other posts saying it's very strong.

Rods are its weak point. IIRC the rods are the same as used in the BEAMS 3S engines.
You can only push it so far before they break. How far, is very hard to say.
The 205/185 rods on the other hand are very difficult to break (factory pistons normally go first).

There are very limited bolt on mods for 215 engines.
Its difficult to even get bigger cams for them.

4- How reliable is the turbo? Roughly how much boost can it safely handle? Is it an improvement over the 205 turbo? Or basically the same thing?

Its nothing like the 205 turbo really.
Its designed to spool up very early and give the stock engine a good torque curve.