KCADR

Whats up guys,

I just joined this forum today! I currently drive a 2000 es300 (175k and going strong), and was looking at selling it to add to my savings and pick up either a sc300 or is300 and turbo it. I've been around 2jz's all my life, (uncle owns three mk4 supras TT) I talked to him regarding this matter, he suggests going the is300 turbo route. I wanted to ask you guys what you all suggest. I will have about 3,500$ by December, by July 2015, im looking at around 8k saved up. Should i go NA-T, or 1jz or 2jz swap? On which car(is300 or sc300)? My goal is around 450-500whp, however, i am willing to build up to that goal, its not a necessity to have it day one. Pretty long post, but I will appreciate any answers! Sorry if im repeating a thread already up here, still trying to fiure out how to navigate around this site! Thanks in advance!

crenfro

iTrader: (2)

Well I'm going to guess you're going to get quite a few biased answers considering you're in the SC forum. But to be 100% honest, it would probably be a lot better going NA-T in an SC. The IS series are all VVTi platforms and I don't know if you've done your research but it's basically a PITA and much more complicated.

My suggestion would be to find a nice, clean SC300, pre-vvti, and with 8k you could easily make 400-500whp.

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

^^ The 92-97 SC300 has the stronger block to go NA-T. Not sure if $8k all in will get you a 500whp Auto car though. The transmission will need to be swapped to a stronger 4-speed auto or R154 to handle that power.

The IS300 or a 98-00 SC300 would also be a good candidate for a 1JZ VVT-i auto swap which you can get to 450whp-500whp with a Tomei turbo upgrade kit, updated fuel system and engine management/tune. The turbo upgrade and tuning would come after your initial $8k budget.

98-00 SC300 and IS300 rods and pistons are known to be weak so you'd want to either do a full NA-T engine build from the rotating assembly up or swap in a GTE engine.

On the small budget, honestly, you'll probably better afford an early SC300 (to keep the price down) and 1JZGTE swap be it the non-VVT-i or VVT-i. If you want a manual transmission you will eventually need an R154 no matter what. The W58 in the SC doesn't last for long with boost and the W55 in IS300's is even weaker.

Between the two cars it really comes down to what you like more: the compact sport sedan or the GT coupe.

HiPSI

iTrader: (2)

The IS300 is a totally different car. More lightweight feeling, nimble. The sc300 is a big car that definitely has a more solid feel, but it is heavier. I loved my IS300, I used to own a GGP 5spd 2002 is300. However where the IS300 lacks is the w55 tranny is even less power capable than the w58 in the sc300, the rear fender wells don't allow much more than a 245 tire, the rods / engines aren't as robust, and engine management wise tuning is more complicated given the VVTi timing and it being OBDII. The interior dash rubber peels off and looks horrible over time it happens to everyone and pulling the dash, stripping the rubber and repainting it is needed.

However the IS300's are great because you get 4 doors, an overall lightweight platform, and they have plenty of suspension and aftermarket support, plus there are some sweet Engine Swap kits now for the LSx motor. If I could get one again I'd get a IS300 sportcross and LS3 swap it! I enjoyed my IS300 for what it was, a smooth quiet Lexus that had tein street dampeners and eibach sway bars so it cornered well. It's a sporty 4 door with Lexus reliability, it wasn't designed to make 500whp as is. Back in the 90's Toyota was OVER engineering the supra / sc300, the 6spd getrag is ridiculously robust and the rods/ stock pistons can handle 800-900whp! I still have the window sticker of my 1994 and it was $41,800! That's alot of coin in 1994 for a car like this.

An SC300 would have a less complicated mod path NA-T but finding a clean one now is very difficult without spending 6-10k.

KCADR

Thank you guys so much for the replies! I have found a '98 sc300 with 66k miles, one owner, really clean car. Im still looking at is300s, but am feeling as if i might go the sc route, cause the coupe attracts me more. So to set it straight, if i do decide to go NA-T, for my power goals, a internal build is almost necessary, alongside a Turbo kit. If i go the 1jz route, I need to find a clean engine and just swap it in, then look for additional accessories (turbo upgrade as KahnBB6 mentioned)? Which route would be more reliable for a DD? I am a full time Pre-Med student, and do not want to get caught up in daily shop visits. Since i plan to keep it as a DD, should i lower my power goals?

HiPSI

iTrader: (2)

Daily driver and a project that involves adding a turbo to a non turbo vehicle don't mix. I know your excited to get into a turbo lexus platform but expect delays and issues!

The 1998 will be VVTi, and will have the same drawbacks that the IS300 engine has. However the 97+ body style is the most appealing exterior and interior wise. The auto drivetrain will be limited to 300whp or so, the block is probably good till 400whp.

If you want to do things in stages, putting a small NA-T kit on and progressively building the car will be easier versus outright pulling the motor / engine swap would be. I would urge against trying to daily and build the car but I understand being in school doesn't allow for having a daily and project.

A 1JZ engine swap, or any engine swap for that matter will have downtime unless you truely know these cars and what your doing.

Treadstone makes a really nice cast turbo manifold. Clearance is good and you won't have any issues with fiment.

http://www.treadstoneperformance.com...C+Supra+2JZ-GE

Mount whatever turbo you'd like on it, add your wastegate and front mount / piping.

The real concern with NA-T and these platforms is how are you going to tune it? The turbo kit is easy, how are you going to control fuel and compensate for boost conditions?

Read over this thread:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sc-...t-ecu-mod.html

I chose to setup the JDM ecu first, get it running 100% without any issues being NA. Then I added the turbo etc etc.

Just some thoughts...

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

KCADR, specifically I was referring to a turbo upgrade path for the 1JZ-GTE VVT-i engine which involves either uprating the stock CT15B turbocharger or installing a Tomei turbo upgrade kit (designed for THAT engine specifically) which, combined with tuning, will do about 450-500whp or so. This does not apply to the older 1JZ twin turbo engine which doesn't have as easy a turbo upgrade path other than ripping out the twins and going with a single.

I have to agree with HiPSI. It gets tricky to daily drive one of these cars while making it an ongoing turbo project, especially NA-T. Once you have it sorted it'll be fine but this is why the maintenanced 1JZ stock swap route is considered one of the easier ways to do this unless you know exactly what you're doing.

That said, the route you take should be based on the goals you want to achieve after weighing pros and cons. Thankfully with the SC and IS there are these options to choose from and each has their advantages and disadvantages.

2jznosht

Choose the car you like more...you're going to go over budget, run into problems and wanna tear your hair out no matter the platform when it comes to projects like this...

Jrlewis05

iTrader: (1)

I'd go with a pre 96 car so you can run standalone in the future and still get a sticker for it, so my vote would be sc300 na turbo it's the cheapest and would work better with your budget.