Originally Posted by
Strokd_GE
if you include cost of the engine, sure..
Gen3 offers more than just bolt ons, after you do all the bolt on mods to the gen2 you're STILL on a MAF based ECU which sucks and the only way around it while retaining worthy drivability is 1300$ worth of EMS parts vs the already map based gen3 which can be ran from the very affordable PowerFC
if you plan on replacing every part in the motor, I'd run gen2 also.. Only because parts are readily available at any dealer and since it was a usdm engine many American parts suppliers have it on their engine parts list.. But if I wanted a 350whp 3S I'd go gen3 all day and for more reasons than I've put
my entire megasquirt 2 setup including wideband, materials for the harness, 4bar map sensor, etc.. ran me about $800. with 245/50/16 nitto drag radials and a 3.73 rear end i can smoke them from a roll in 3rd gear. based on that and some cars ive run i should be ~400rwhp on my 57 trim ct26 at 18psi(highest it goes cause the actuator spring is worn out). i cant wait to see what my gt4082 does at 20-25psi. and this is all on stock internals.
if it were me id go get a 2nd gen 3sgte clip for the swap. then get the standalone and install it and learn to tune. after that is when id start installing larger injectors, ported head, larger turbo, etc... i can speak from experience a standalone makes ALL the difference. i prolly gained ~100hp when i installed my standalone over the stock ecu with maft etc.. on my 7m