gerrb

iTrader: (34)

What do you want ? A brand new V160 that I paid for $5000 or a Brand New Built Tremec Magnum that can handle +1000ft.lbs which I paid for $5200 ,

Or I can install that brand new V160 on the SC and sell the used one for $6000 , lmaol, . That is how much they go on SF now and I sold one to an SF member for that price this year when I installed the other brand new V160 in one of my MKIVs .

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

^^ Jim, I know you got a good deal on that W58 swap but apart from keeping the pedal assembly and clutch master cylinder I think you should consider selling it and investing in any of the above options. 350whp from the start is the very limit of possible power holding for a while on one of those. 450whp will blow it up sooner rather than later. It's not designed for the shock loading that boost introduces. For NA 2JZ's and stock 1UZ-FE's they're fine to use for years.

Toyota used W58's against just one turbo engine: the 2.0L I-6 1G-GTE 210hp/203 ft-lbs parallel twin turbo engine. That wasn't enough power and torque to overwhelm the small 5-speed transmission. 2.5L 1JZ-GE's (yes, they made those too) replaced the 1G-GTE and also retained a W58 for some applications. Any other turbo application wasn't suitable for the W58 for long term use.

The Tremec Magnum is the next best (possibly better) thing to a V160 considering the parts for them are all new and in production. Second to that I don't think an R154 is a bad choice... except that to start at 450whp and go up from there the Magnum makes more sense. Later model tripod and JZX100/110 R154's handle internal pressure above 500whp better than the early ones since they have some better venting. I have seen an MKIII R154 modified with two extra vents to avoid this: one on the main casing and another on a JZX100 tripod shift housing after swapping over the entire JZX100-R154 tail housing. I imagine those two vents would actually do something to lessen the internal pressure issue above 500whp.

Personally I love my early R154 and it's a great fit for our cars (they were designed for them!) though but I'm also not shooting for anywhere near the power you want

That said, the threshold for power holding with a fully built R154 (early or late model) is around 700whp. Maybe 750whp. After that they cannot hold any more reliably. Maybe cryo treating the gears would offer more capacity but few will ever do that. 3rd gear in particular you have to be careful with at those power levels in a 154. At that point, similar to the W58 you are up against the duty cycle ceiling of the design.

With the V160, Tremec Magnum, possibly a CD009 or even a couple of the BMW-Getrag gearboxes you have a higher duty cycle design from the factory for very high levels of power. That's a big reason why they last so long, aided by their much larger gears, shafts and the metallurgy used in for their gears

A stock Tremec Magnum is rated to handle a constant 700whp from just 1 rpm all the way to its maximum rpm

Blkexcoupe

iTrader: (8)

I wouldn't use a company that won't tell me exactly what they were trying to sell me either.

He mentioned that the non vvt-i ge would be less wiring than the vvt-i ge? That makes me wonder if you were to use the proefi on a 98-00 with a vvt-i ge, would it be wired in parallel or as a true standalone unit?

jimmymac30

iTrader: (8)

I think it is because proefi already has complete swap harness kits for the 2jzge non-vvti. Introducing vvti and the difference in pin location from 1 ecu to the other makes for some minor wiring changes. I don’t believe proefi makes a plug and play harness for the 98-00 vvti. They do make a 2001 IS300 and 02-05 IS300 harness. I’d have to look at the pin diagrams to see the differences.

jimmymac30

iTrader: (8)

Craig, I’m checking on t56 kits now. I would prefer a v160 over anything. Everything you said is spot on accurate. Hell, driftmotion has some brand new r154’s right now. I strongly considered it. But people have said they feel clunky and I’ve seen a lot of them
broken. Haven’t seen too many broken t56 or v160. I’ll steer clear of the cd009 just because it isn’t as heavily documented yet.

jimmymac30

iTrader: (8)

gerry, lots of smiley faces and LOL’s in that post. I’m not afraid to spend the money if you really wanna let one go. I don’t have much of a choice. Maybe a built auto... or a th400. But I’d rather have a manual. So if you are going to post a tranny for sale, let me know. Might even take a drive down and pick it up. Could use a couple days off work.

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

Jim, the V160, V161 and Tremec Magnum are all superior to an R154 but within the power range it can handle it is not a bad transmission at all. It just has to fit comfortably within the power level you will want for your SC.

I don't find mine to be clunky. More of a "chunky" feel but it is still smooth to operate 90% of the time. It's closer to a factory Mustang V8 5-speed transmission from the late 80's and 90's. The R154 is a 1986 design after all which was then updated through 2005. I like how mine feels but there is a poor example I will describe below.

I have sat in an R154 SC 2JZGTE car with a LONG aftermarket extension housing and that was awful to shift! Night and day compared to mine. Tripod models are supposed to have better shift feel than mine does along with some other minor improvements. And supposedly better internal pressure management.

I have one from an '89 MKIII Supra Turbo with a factory Soarer extension housing and a SupraSport V3 billet short shifter. It had 111k miles on it when I bought it (I verified the odometer of car it came from) and I had it fully rebuilt with Marlin Crawler and Driftmotion parts before it went in. The biggest issues all but the very late models have is a weak 1st gear thrust washer which is replaced with a billet chromoly part from MC. Also the front bearing retainer plate is replaced with a billet steel part. Then the shift forks are ideally replaced with strong billet aluminum pieces vs the factory cast steel shift forks. That and some heavier duty bearings make it very strong until you approach 750whp.

One of those tripod R154's from Driftmotion would not be a bad choice at all since they are probably the newest design. Still, a V160 or Tremec Magnum (very different from a standard Tremec T56) are probably your best bet.

And Gerry has one of each he might let go of You have good options right now.

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

I have no complaints about the R154. I ran that in my SC for probably a good five years or so, first at just stock GE level and than a few years around the 350-400whp mark on the stock twins.

It's a good option if you have no plans of ever going above 500whp. No sense in any 6spd for just 400-450whp IMO.

gerrb

iTrader: (34)

Jim-you need to set your long term goal ... use of car and then final hp/ft.lbs goal in mind ... that should determine what transmission you need to go into everything else considered .. that is availability of different clutches , ease of install , reliability and power it can handle. Each one has its pros and cons.

If indeed you are decided on a V160 let me know. I know someone who has very slightly used V160 ..only for 500 miles and was bought brand new , a local guy I know. At this point , I have no intention selling any of the V160/Tremec I have . Going V160 would be your most expensive route considering all the other stuff you need to get to. And if your car purpose / power goal doesn't warrant it , as Demitry / Roman had said ... not worth it.

Blkexcoupe

iTrader: (8)

My plan was to buy the 01 IS300 harness and repin if necessary. The main engine components have the same pins, but the other stuff for the automatic and body plugs are different. My other option was to buy a boomslang patch harness and wire it up myself
I did a small price break down for all brand new parts from grannas here: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/per...ml#post9961046

I have to agree with everyone else that your plans might be overkill if you want to stay under 500whp.

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

Jim-- I agree with Gerry and Dmitry that you should consider where you imagine your car's power level going in the future when making this decision. Really, for 450whp an R154 will be fine. If you get into a newer one such as one of the tripods that DM is currently selling I think you would be fine to go a bit higher than that down the road. With high power in an R154 many owners consider twin plate clutch kits, some of which include a pull-to-push movement conversion.

Going V160 involves more than just the transmission. It's an entire conversion to the rear end if you go with the 220mm diff it was designed for. And there is the cost. For only 450whp it isn't necessary.

Gerry-- Sorry! I think I completely misunderstood the tone of your post from yesterday about your spare transmissions. We've talked about your plans for them before and I didn't mean to unnecessarily add to the idea you didn't want to keep one or both of them.

gerrb

iTrader: (34)

Craig - no worries .. I was teasing Jim to go and use a better transmission than a W58 or R154 if his final goal truly surpasses the capabilities of those trans.

It really boils down to what his final goal and use of the car would be. We all know we are never satisfied .. we always want to have more power after reaching a certain hp. So he might as well plan for the ultimate goal.

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

^^ Absolutely. That way he'd also under stress the appropriately chosen gearbox as the power level rises to the goal over time.

Jim, whichever transmission option you choose if you start at around 400-450whp I'm afraid that W58 is not going to last very long. It will be worth more to you to sell in good condition than it will be as an eventually broken transmission good only for parts or scrap.

jimmymac30

iTrader: (8)

Thanks guys. I guess I should specify that the reason for keeping the car at 400-450 was only because of my current transmission situation. 450 is by no means my end goal for this build. More of a starting point. And I don’t want to have to buy things twice. So an R154 is a great choice for my power levels but the guy I bought the majority of my components from Gernaded an r154 which ultimately caused him to part the car out. Mind you, this was after several trips to the drag strip on slicks. That being said, I’m tired of throwing good money away and then having to redo something.

So here: my initial goal WAS to keep the car at or around 400hp because I knew my trans will not hold any more power than that. But I know I’m not going to be happy knowing that the engine I’m building will be able to produce over 600. So the smart thing for me to do would be to buy a trans that can handle whatever can be thrown at it.

Craig, you’re right. A V160 truly isn’t a cost effective option. I’d LOVE to do it, but by the time I get all the necessary components to make it right, I’ll be well over $10k. Well over!

Gerry, you’re right too. I need to plan this build accordingly. And unfortunately I had a plan in place but then all of these go fast, high horsepower parts fell into my lap AFTER I bought the w58. So I need to re-evaluate a little bit as things have changed slightly.

So let’s say the new power goal is 600rwhp. Is the R154 capable of holding that power? If it is, then that will be my best route. If it isn’t, I’ll be contacting Grannas about the T56. Inreally think those are my two best options at this point. I guess a built a340e could be thrown into the mix but I’d rather keep it manual.



Thank you all for chiming in. I truly appreciate your feedback.

gerrb

iTrader: (34)

Let us say , that is your ultimate goal .. you are never going above 600rwhp .. which will be around 500ft.lbs of torque , next question is what will be the use of the car ? A daily driver and becomes only a weekend warrior or will be a drag car too ?

for that power , a new R154 from Driftmotion they are selling for $2700 right now (and they just have a few left so hurry if that is your choice) is your best choice as long as you stick to that power goal... that is your end goal.

I know a lot of people using R154 and made over 700rwhp . But you will have to put into the mix the use of the car. If it is always abused like that in the drag strip , you will be spitting seals and trans fluid from those seals because of too much pressure and eventually go out.

But if it will only be used occasionally at 500-600rwhp which on the streets you seldom will be there at that power , IMHO the new R154 tripod version which is their newest version of R154 will do the work. I got tired of the R154 because of the internal pressure pushing out that seal and consequently oil leaking. We had a number of forum members in that situation too. That is why the final goal and use of the car is really very important in making your decision. The problem is if your power goal and use of car changes , then what you collect now may ultimately be useless so stick to that power goal.

Might as well take your time, plan properly and collect all the parts needed for that ultimate goal of yours or you will be on the same boat of many who collect parts ...build , tear down, sell parts , buy new stuff , build , tear down , buy new stuff ... till they get fed up and abandon the project altogether.