tmf2004

iTrader: (15)

just thought it was a easier application to deal with. plus over the years everyone has done S/C over turbo. there's a company in VA that can do a S/C kit with a Rotrex blower. there's a good thread about.

I went to that Mahavi website where your car was and didn't know other members have gone there as well. just want a reliable DD that I can drive short trips or take a 2 hr drive with no issues etc. plus I just want like 6 to 7 psi.

still can't believe you have over 200k and are boosted. that is some really good news and proves reliability .

jmecbr900

Well, they both have their pros and cons. I wanted to hit certain numbers, mostly to justify the expense....lol. I couldn't do that with the S/C because in order to up the boost to hit those numbers, the pulleys had to be custom made. We did that. I even had a buddy who did a cog setup so that the belt wouldn't slip. Still didn't hit the numbers we wanted. S/C are very reliable though. Can't go wrong w them. I had some local folks here with the Rotrex S/C, although they were on the IS300's. They liked them a lot when they had them.

Sam is a very good friend of mine. To be honest, he literally came up with the idea to turbo our cars while we were all sitting at the shop drinking a beer after closing. Another OG from here also did his work there. Morris had a 62-1 Turbo and he technically was the first to have it done. I chose a different location and size turbo, but the same shop did both. It had been done before, but not like this on a DD. It had mostly been done on all out track cars and mostly IS's with the Supra drivetrains....1UZ wasn't as popular a platform, so it was all new.

Reliability is directly proportional to the combination of components, install, and how you take care of it all. If you pound on it day after day w/o taking care of it, it stands to reason it's going to break a lot. Also keep in mind that most "pioneers/guinea pigs" will also reasonably break parts until they find the combo that works best, especially if you're really pushing the envelope.

I boosted mine the first time at like 80k, and that was with the S/C kit. I had that for a while and put a ton of miles as my car has always been a DD. I went straight from there to Turbo and that's where it's been ever since. Like I said, and knocking on wood just in case, I would not hesitate jumping in my car and driving it anytime to anywhere. It didn't get over 220k sitting. And many members here can attest, and I think there were videos at some point around here, that I don't baby it when I do decide to flog it.

But be aware that this is not a project for everyone. It's expensive and time consuming. Down time will drive you nuts with anticipation. Is it worth it? Ummm, hell yeah it is!

tmf2004

iTrader: (15)

Sam emailed me back earlier today and the price starts at 10k . no where near my budget lol.

I thought it was 9k on the website. but yea the turbo does look good in the engine bay. He said it would be reliable as hell to.

jmecbr900

What kind of budget are you working with? Maybe I can point you in the right direction.

Rock-a-Lex

iTrader: (4)

One thing I don't believe I ever came across...has anyone ever used the 3.73 LSD in a supercharged or turbo'd GS? I always see people putting the 3.26 gearing back in with an LSD. Has anyone tried the 3.73 gearing though? I have it in my car now and want to see the drivability but want to see others thoughts on this.

clos430

iTrader: (21)

If you were to do it all over again, which route would you go ? I know you said with the turbo you can reach higher numbers, but which is funner/ more enjoyable to drive ?

HI98GS

What exactly did you want to know about the Vipec? I used to have an Autronic SM4, but there wasn't software to truly control the vvt-i on the 1UZ. It could do it well on the 2JZ motor, but because of the way the pick up of signal was on the 1UZ motor, it couldn't read it right. To be more precise, the cam angle position sensor tab was not symmetrical, it was an eccentric type of setup.

PM me more if you have specific questions.

Yeah, I thought of going 6 speed, but the price alone on just parts was nearing 8K, assuming you get good deals on parts. I'm sure I have a buddy that was gonna install it because he loves challenges and he thinks that I'm nuts, but never went that route. Was thinking about it hard, but didn't .

You can ask TTurbopimp how much his setup cost for the 1UZ motor. I know he has a 2JZ now, so he didn't need all the adapter plates, bell housing adapter and special clutch setup.

jmecbr900

Well good question.

I went with the 3.26 TRD setup because at the time the readily available choices were either the TRD or the Torsen LSD. I went with the TRD because it was said that it would hold more overall power than the Torsen, which initially I had aspirations to hit a million HP of course.....lol. That never happened of course, so I could've used either.

Now with that said, I would suspect that lowering the ratio more than 3.26 will likely cause even more rev limiter bouncing issues, but I'm not sure. I'm sure it works well on N/A cars, but FI cars are a bear of a different color.

jmecbr900

The short answer is Turbo.

The long answer is: Both have it's pros and cons as previously mentioned. I loved the clean install of the S/C kit because it was made for our cars and our cars only. The reality is that Vortech S/C are nothing more than a belt driven turbo really with gears at the end of the day. It's very dependable. Low maintenance. It does have it's really distinct limits though. When you start fudging with it, it gets finicky. It's designed to install and leave it alone. If you're happy with 400HP, which 99% of people should be, then it's right there on tap ready to rock and roll. The down side is also is that they don't make them as much as they once did. Millen used to have our kits on the shelf, mostly due to the fact that it was uber expensive back then to get them in the first place. Now, the likelihood of finding a true brand new one is not very good. There are other makers, like Rotrex, but again I doubt that you could just call up and say I want a GS400 S/C kit please. You'd likely have to piece it together yourself and do the leg work.

Turbo? Well, it's far more of a PITA to install and get tuned, BUT when you do...... Parts are more readily available, for example I CAN call Turbonetics if I blow my unit up and order the exact same one from stock. BOV, waste gate, are all "standard" turbo pieces that are available if necessary. The install as I said you have to be more creative and relocate things, delete things, and all around fabricate most of the piping cause no one has that on the shelf. If you don't go nuts with the boost levels, you don't need a crazy controller, but this will definitely limit your output as well. BOV sound is pimptastic. Spool up time, if you choose the right turbo, is super quick.

To be honest, you can't go wrong with either, but my choice if I did it all over again would be Turbo.

Hope this answers your question.....

jmecbr900

Where to get it?


I bought some parts from him back in the day. He is one crazy cat when it comes to being first at something with the Lex. I'll reach out to him.

armanitran

iTrader: (-1)

how much did you drop on the fabrication/installation on your turbo alone.. 8 years ago?

jmecbr900

A good bit......

HI98GS

[QUOTE=jmecbr900;8637960]Where to get it?



[QUOTE]

I have a friend here that is the dealer for Vipec. If you're really interested, shoot me a PM.