Gran Turismo 7 Engine Swap Compatibility

[TBR 427]

@Greycap is probably right. Just a quick check on Wikipedia on the 3.0L Ferrari V10 F1 engines and you get this:
"Torque output approx. 241.5–305 lb⋅ft (327–414 N⋅m)[3]"
Yes, I know that's Ferrari not Renault. Yes, I know that's the 3.0L engine not the 3.5L Engine. No, that doesn't make an argument against this any more valid.

That era of engines was still fairly free in terms of fuel use and engine consumption and their only concern was making it rev more freely and thus turn torque into power. And without those restrictions, you're still looking at (rounding up) 140 Nm/L at the end of 2005, and only 110 in 1996.

How they would have gone from 200+ Nm/L in the Renault 3.5 to 100 the year after, in the same family of engines, is very odd.
Here's the wikipedia page on that engine family btw:

Renault RS engine - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Nothing shows anything like 700Nm anywhere, max of 461...


Another weird example of this, and with only Gran Turismo as the source as far as I can tell, is the 2008 Honda NSX SuperGT Engine. 3.5L NA V6 and it makes over 600Nm? As if. ~500Nm is more believable.


For anyone interested in trying out the numbers to see if anything makes sense, have a look at this website:

Power Torque Speed Conversion Calculator - Binsfeld

Use these free calculators to convert torque to power or power to torque. Calculate the torque of a motor using engine horsepower and engine RPM.

binsfeld.com

 

[EaztZide_84]

What's the meaning of the exclamation marks in the list? Sorry if this was asked before, i couldn't find it.

 

[Famine]

What's the meaning of the exclamation marks in the list? Sorry if this was asked before, i couldn't find it.

It's at the end of the post:

Number of exclamation marks in parentheses denotes my own comparative level of "what the actual" ness

I was going to remove it at some point, but it's another one of those useful indicators of someone just copying and pasting the list for their own content.

 

[EaztZide_84]

It's at the end of the post:

I was going to remove it at some point, but it's another one of those useful indicators of someone just copying and pasting the list for their own content.

THX 👍

 

[Voodoovaj]

How they would have gone from 200+ Nm/L in the Renault 3.5 to 100 the year after, in the same family of engines, is very odd.
Here's the wikipedia page on that engine family btw:

Renault RS engine - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Nothing shows anything like 700Nm anywhere, max of 461...

One thing that hasn't been brought up yet is the engine availability limit.

There was no limit initially. An engine could be built to last 1 race. When they went to 3 liters, they limited the teams to 8 engines, requiring a degree of de-tuning so that you didn't burn through all the engines before the season was over.

 

[Greycap]

I don't know why people keep coming up with theories that somehow explain an NA engine with 200 Nm per litre. None of the preceding or the succeeding Renault engines, or any other F1 engine in the history of the sport for that matter, has had that much torque. Or in any other racing series. For one simple reason - it's not physically possible. The only proof is the figure on Renault's website and nobody seems to have thought about the chance of it being simply a mistake.

I'll be happy to be proven wrong if someone comes up with evidence that such a torque is possible from a naturally aspirated engine running on something even distantly related to pump fuel, but even 150 Nm is an extremely long shot and 200 would be another 33% on top of that. If it could be done every F1 team would have had it in those years but nobody else did and that alone tells enough.

 

[MidnightRun85]

Hey all, happy 2026! Quick question. I've got both of the F3500-A and B engines and in the first post it says they're compatible with the Espace F1. I've hopped into the Espace and neither shows as compatible. Am I missing something??

 

[MidnightRun85]

Hey all, happy 2026! Quick question. I've got both of the F3500-A and B engines and in the first post it says they're compatible with the Espace F1. I've hopped into the Espace and neither shows as compatible. Am I missing something??

Scratch that. I've just re-read the post through the second part of the list (by car) and it makes way more sense. I've got the engines for the F3500's, not the Espace engine... 🤦‍♂️

 

[Voodoovaj]

I don't know why people keep coming up with theories that somehow explain an NA engine with 200 Nm per litre. None of the preceding or the succeeding Renault engines, or any other F1 engine in the history of the sport for that matter, has had that much torque. Or in any other racing series. For one simple reason - it's not physically possible. The only proof is the figure on Renault's website and nobody seems to have thought about the chance of it being simply a mistake.

I'll be happy to be proven wrong if someone comes up with evidence that such a torque is possible from a naturally aspirated engine running on something even distantly related to pump fuel, but even 150 Nm is an extremely long shot and 200 would be another 33% on top of that. If it could be done every F1 team would have had it in those years but nobody else did and that alone tells enough.

So everything that I've found is simply quotes from Renault on the concept, but nothing from independent sources. It could very well be "concept" numbers rather than real world numbers.


BTW, mated to the race gearbox (sold separately ) it makes one heck of a car. Here I swapped it into the F3500B to simulate the Ferrari V10 of Schumacher's F1-2000

 

[Greycap]

So everything that I've found is simply quotes from Renault on the concept, but nothing from independent sources. It could very well be "concept" numbers rather than real world numbers.

BTW, mated to the race gearbox (sold separately ) it makes one heck of a car. Here I swapped it into the F3500B to simulate the Ferrari V10 of Schumacher's F1-2000

Either concept numbers, or a simple unit mistake. If it was 520 Nm it would still be a stretch at 148 Nm per litre, perhaps somehow doable, but it probably can't be ruled out that whoever made the description had a massive brain fart and wrote lb·ft since it's a British website. What's certain is that when installed in the car and Prost driving, it didn't have that much.

I may have to do one of those combinations myself. 800 bhp, 700 Nm and ~500 kg sounds like a recipe for an X2019 killer.

 

[Voodoovaj]

I may have to do one of those combinations myself. 800 bhp, 700 Nm and ~500 kg sounds like a recipe for an X2019 killer.

Make sure you add that race gearbox. That combination drives like a dream.

 

[TBR 427]

One thing that hasn't been brought up yet is the engine availability limit.

There was no limit initially. An engine could be built to last 1 race. When they went to 3 liters, they limited the teams to 8 engines, requiring a degree of de-tuning so that you didn't burn through all the engines before the season was over.

That likely wouldn't affect torque however. The way these engines work is that you spin them faster to make that extra power. If you only have to last 1 race instead of an entire race weekend (8 engines in an early '90s season is still only 1-2 races/engine?) you just make it rev higher and accept it'll blow up sooner. You generally don't focus on peak torque rpm, you sit on peak power.

Looking at the other engine specs, they're showing about ~420Nm peak which is far far more reasonable. 120Nm/L, perfect! Converted (roughly) torque to Nm because I'm not a filthy animal.

Engine 1:
799hp @ 14,000rpm
720Nm @ 8,000rpm (?!?)

Engine 2:
773hp @ 14,000rpm
~415Nm @ 12,000rpm

Engine 3:
719hp @ 13,500rpm
~415Nm @ 11,000rpm

Some more math that could be interesting!
If you assume a constant power and a constant final road speed (so after different gearing), 420Nm @ 11,500rpm is the same as 600Nm @ 8,000rpm. So their value suggests that engine is 20% more powerful in the ~8,000rpm range?

 

[Voodoovaj]

That likely wouldn't affect torque however. The way these engines work is that you spin them faster to make that extra power. If you only have to last 1 race instead of an entire race weekend (8 engines in an early '90s season is still only 1-2 races/engine?) you just make it rev higher and accept it'll blow up sooner. You generally don't focus on peak torque rpm, you sit on peak power.

Looking at the other engine specs, they're showing about ~420Nm peak which is far far more reasonable. 120Nm/L, perfect! Converted (roughly) torque to Nm because I'm not a filthy animal.

Engine 1:
799hp @ 14,000rpm
720Nm @ 8,000rpm (?!?)

Engine 2:
773hp @ 14,000rpm
~415Nm @ 12,000rpm

Engine 3:
719hp @ 13,500rpm
~415Nm @ 11,000rpm

Some more math that could be interesting!
If you assume a constant power and a constant final road speed (so after different gearing), 420Nm @ 11,500rpm is the same as 600Nm @ 8,000rpm. So their value suggests that engine is 20% more powerful in the ~8,000rpm range?

Ya, as I said later in the thread, the numbers are likely "concept" numbers rather than real numbers. Even when Ferrari put their F1 based engine in the F50, they couldn't achieve that big torque number that Renault claims.

 

[CommanderBond]

Renault Megane Trophy Espace swap ????

Looks like I know what I'm buying tomorrow

 

[jrbabbitt]

Renault Megane Trophy Espace swap ????

Looks like I know what I'm buying tomorrow

I'm right behind you in the engine store....

 

[OldandSlow]

I'm right behind you in the engine store....

Great swap.

 

[rlx]

If you're curious what the fastest current engine swaps are – I have compiled a list here:

Thread 'The fastest engine swaps and donor cars as of January 2026'

Jan 7, 2026

Top speeds measured with the telemetry interface, using auto-drive in a private lobby with equal conditions mode (no wind), on the back straight of Special Stage Route X.

All cars equipped, if available, with wide body, wide rims, wide offset, aero parts, a generic custom wing – or, in case of the donor cars, a car-specific wing – and racing softs. Tuned to maximize performance points and to reach top speed at the end of the last gear. In some cases, the suspension was adjusted to keep the car drivable around SSRX. (Note that this setup was chosen for consistency and isn't necessarily...

• rlx
• Replies: 3
• Forum: Gran Turismo 7

 

[CommanderBond]

Earlier this morning I bought the Renault Clio from the Used Car Dealer - I was a little disappointed to find out it DID NOT have the Espace swap

 

[johnson_57]

Earlier this morning I bought the Renault Clio from the Used Car Dealer - I was a little disappointed to find out it DID NOT have the Espace swap

You need the Megane Trophy '11 Gr.4 for the Espace engine swap.
You can only buy it new in Brand Central.
BTW, It's freaking awesome !

 

[CommanderBond]

You need the Megane Trophy '11 Gr.4 for the Espace engine swap.
You can only buy it new in Brand Central.
BTW, It's freaking awesome !

I know. I got it a few days ago and did the swap. I was just hoping that this was another candidate for the swap

 

[Famine]

I was just hoping that this was another candidate for the swap

You don't need to hope... we've got a resource that tells you:

 

[Voodoovaj]

Oh, quick reminder for those doing the F3500 swaps, I highly recommend doing the correct transmission as well. For instance, early 90's F1 cars had an H pattern manual (1992 and earlier). It makes a difference in how the car feels. I put the full race transmission into the cars representing the top teams, Like the FW14 or FW16.

EDIT - Sorry, FYI, the Semi-racing transmission is the most like the H pattern manual

 

[hrr_t]

what about a honda fit with a k24 swap? some of those around in rl.

 

[VXR]

what about a honda fit with a k24 swap? some of those around in rl.

Well that sort of swap would make logical sense, but they've veered into pure fantasy all too often and real world swaps that make physical sense get overlooked.

 

[Highlandor]

Well that sort of swap would make logical sense, but they've veered into pure fantasy all too often and real world swaps that make physical sense get overlooked.

100% this.

I've only recently got GT7, the engine swaps was one of the things I was looking forward to the most.

Finding out you need to get to whatever level it was (50?) before you could even do this wasn't a great start, then finding out about the 'grind' to get there just made it less appealing and a relief, rather than a sense of achievement/satisfaction to finally do it.

Then actually starting to do some swaps, things like 'resto modding' Merc 190e, M3, CSL, Volvo etc and keeping them as 'road/street' cars i.e. sports tyres............yeh, right, ok.

So many usual swaps in real life that are fairly common within certain scenes - Ford guys putting Cossie in older cars, 1.8t into old VWs, BMW straight 6s and the V8 into older cars, Honda K24 going into all sorts (including Toyota MR2s), American LS swaps, the JDM 2JZs, RBs, this list just goes on and on...

The final straw was having to wait to 'buy another' from the UCD / legends dealer because not being able to return to normal engine as the engine swaps are permanent changes, that was it, gave up.

I now have a few cars that have engine swaps 'done' but have literally never drove them at all, not once even got in and did half a lap, or even a few hundred metres.

I understand crazy engine swaps do happen in real life, the Lambo engine in Fiat 500, John Dodds beast and the Rover SD1 with aircraft engines. Even manufacturers can do crazy stuff - Espace, Ford's supervans etc etc. Fair enough, having something like that (for a laugh) in the game would be quite cool and funny, but not at the expense of what is generally the norm, which is what this feels like.

Oh well, welcome back to GT

 

[Famine]

Finding out you need to get to whatever level it was (50?) before you could even do this wasn't a great start

That only applies to buying specific engines. You can perform free engine swaps at any level, as it only requires you to win an engine in a ticket.

That is, of course, a pretty random affair.

 

[Highlandor]

That only applies to buying specific engines. You can perform free engine swaps at any level, as it only requires you to win an engine in a ticket.

That is, of course, a pretty random affair.

Yeh, I got a few, but none from my most wanted list (Merc 190e, BMW M3 E30 & 73 CSL, Volvo 240 and the 70s Skyline).

I got the Evo, NSX and the Mazda rotary (which goes in the Cappuccino), out of desperation for Credits I used the rotary in the Cappuccino as a substitute to the Honda Beat to try and rubber band, but that was a waste of a few hundred thousand credits and a couple of hours

The Evo is still going strong, still on it's comfort softs and using that as a test mule, which has turned out to be quite a cool car , never used the NSX one, sitting there with loads of others, and tuning parts like stage 5 weight reduction for a safety car, oh well

 

[jonoholland29]

I dislike that most of the cars… the engine isn’t actually swapped. Not important for a lot of the cars as the bonnet is never open. But for a lot of the rear engined, glass covered cars… it’s still the original engine - just making the new engine sounds and performance.