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Hello everyone! This is my 1st time posting on the forum and figured I would introduce my GS 300. I bought a GS300 with 82k miles, gold with beige interior that I would like to eventually make a quick sleeper. I am cool with lowering the car a little but I would like to keep the wheels stock with really nice rubber. I have a pretty long timeline with the car and have a plan right now of having as much HP as possible for a fun and comfortable daily sleeper. Ive read the tranny is good for 350whp reliably - so for my 1st year of owning I am okay with pushing that to the limit - get a turbo kit, FMIC, piggy bank, and just enjoy the car and see how I like the platform. Then over the next few years slowly mod the car to be a 600+hp(build the engine, tranny upgrade, stand alone, whatever supporting mods needed) NA-T sleeper. I have read a bunch of builds and did a bunch of searching and was wondering if anyone has done a sleeper like this? I also noticed a lot of the builds were pretty old and was wondering if anything has really changed - is the Emanage Ultimate a good choice for piggybank? Have any new/better turbos came out? Any new tranny upgrades? Thanks a bunch!
I can't help you, but the term for a computer that supplements the factory ECU is "piggyback", not "piggybank."
The former is a process of riding on the back of something else, as the secondary computer does with the factory ECU.
The latter is something that you put loose change in and makes no sense whatsoever in this context.
Unfortunately the forum is full of useless and arrogant responses. Get use to it and dont even respond. They post to every thread they can to increase their "post number" I think and it makes them feel like they are in some kind of control of the forum.
I am going down a similar path. Just all engine though and that will be good for me on the street. (My reasons are for California smog). These cars a great for sleeper builds. Look like a grandpas car in stock form, but can be turboed out. Turbo is obviously the way to go. Go ahead with your plan despise the nay sayers that will talk your plan down. Just research what works and how to do it. Its been done many times. So far I just have full intake and exhaust and already the car is substantially quicker and more responsive. Will be doing mild BC 264 cams and pick a piggy-back tuning devise when the time comes. I'll be happy with a finely tuned all engine build and focus more on gears/converter/tires for my build.
Speaking with your tuner about what ECU software they like to use is the best start. Units that have been used in the pas still work, but you can also use something newer like the new Haltech Elite series, or AEM's products, for example. eManage is well-trodden ground, but there are people who can do wizardry with every major ECU. A reason people use the eManage is because it's a very thorough piggy-back, and GReddy makes a kit specifically for the 2JZ-GTE Aristo, so there's a closer starting point.
There are always improvements to turbochargers, generally in terms of efficiency and reliability. Choosing one is based on your build and power goals, as always. Your 350hp build and 600hp builds are basically going to require completely different setups, save for a few pieces that can be reused.
If you follow one of the many, many existing build NA-T threads and just substitute parts for their new and improved equivalents (or just follow it to a tee) you'll be fine.
I'm not aware of any new developments for the transmission, it's old and not performance oriented so there is an even more limited market than there was when it was in its prime.
PS: I like how that guy made a post with no useful information besides "research and do it" just because he's salty that nobody thought a 200hp NA build was a good idea.
Thanks for all of the info so far. I think I'm in a good position so far with everything. I need to find out what my tuner looks to work with. Pretty excited for this car. I nearly bought an e46 m3 but the lack of power upgrades was a real turn off.
The E46 M3 is by far a better platform, fundamentally, in every aspect. Stock, it's what you are aiming for with your car. There's a local one with 800whp that gets road-tripped cross-country for track days, so I'm not sure what lack of upgrades you are referring to. Nevertheless, that's in the past now.
Personally, never thought of making the GS a sleeper, except in the straight-line sense... just too heavy, imo. Hard on the brake, and have to work too hard on make it turn well. Not saying it can't be done, yet figure starting with something with less weight would be a better place to start. An LS Miata.. now, that's a sleeper...
Wouldn't worry about the stock tranny, if you're really looking for 600hp+... just go all-in,with a 2JZ-GTE swap, with the appropriate transmission.
The car is heavy for sure but I think it will make for a nice moderate sleeper. I am not looking for a 10 second sleeper - if I could someday be in the high 12s and low 13s I would be happy. I had a 240sx swapped sr20det with a gt28rs that ran those numbers and the lack of luxury was terrible. After a few years it really wore on me. I am okay with that kind of speed but I really want A/C, nice stereo, heated seats, and room for groceries, and just be comfortable. I am sure there are weight reductions that can be done but I am not super interested in it. I will upgrade the brakes but dont plan on doing much for handling - small upgrades more than likely. I still will own an e46 M3 someday but I bought this car for $1900 - saving more than $13k than buying an m3. I figured to put in $6-7k(doing majority of the work on my own) and still have fun with the GS300 until the right e46 comes around.
Do you think I Google greddy piggy bank and come up dumbfounded when nothing shows up? Maybe not a typeo but a brain fart? Sorry about my mistake lol
Clean GS!!! Good luck with the build! And you don't have to apologize for calling a piggyback something else. Who really gives a crap. There's always going to be a douchebag that ALWAYS want to correct EVERYBODY!!! Screw that! They should eat a **** and have a nice day. You might want to consider going with a real standalone, so many more tuning options!
The car is heavy for sure but I think it will make for a nice moderate sleeper. I am not looking for a 10 second sleeper - if I could someday be in the high 12s and low 13s I would be happy. I had a 240sx swapped sr20det with a gt28rs that ran those numbers and the lack of luxury was terrible. After a few years it really wore on me. I am okay with that kind of speed but I really want A/C, nice stereo, heated seats, and room for groceries, and just be comfortable. I am sure there are weight reductions that can be done but I am not super interested in it. I will upgrade the brakes but dont plan on doing much for handling - small upgrades more than likely. I still will own an e46 M3 someday but I bought this car for $1900 - saving more than $13k than buying an m3. I figured to put in $6-7k(doing majority of the work on my own) and still have fun with the GS300 until the right e46 comes around.
When comparing the GS4 to the Camrys/RAV4s/etc that we usually work on, our standard response is everything is twice the quantity, twice the weight, and twice the price. When we replaced the rotors on our GS4, they were laughably heavy, when compared to a V6 camry. The calipers are so heavy, that they're difficult to balance, to start the treads on the caliper bolts. Everthing is just bigger and heavier, keep that in mind when figuring how much hp/torque you want to end with.
Speaking with your tuner about what ECU software they like to use is the best start. Units that have been used in the pas still work, but you can also use something newer like the new Haltech Elite series, or AEM's products, for example. eManage is well-trodden ground, but there are people who can do wizardry with every major ECU. A reason people use the eManage is because it's a very thorough piggy-back, and GReddy makes a kit specifically for the 2JZ-GTE Aristo, so there's a closer starting point.
There are always improvements to turbochargers, generally in terms of efficiency and reliability. Choosing one is based on your build and power goals, as always. Your 350hp build and 600hp builds are basically going to require completely different setups, save for a few pieces that can be reused.
If you follow one of the many, many existing build NA-T threads and just substitute parts for their new and improved equivalents (or just follow it to a tee) you'll be fine.
I'm not aware of any new developments for the transmission, it's old and not performance oriented so there is an even more limited market than there was when it was in its prime.
PS: I like how that guy made a post with no useful information besides "research and do it" just because he's salty that nobody thought a 200hp NA build was a good idea.
^Solid advice.
I spent 6yrs and something like 71k miles with a na-t GS, so I'll add a few things I guess. Go standalone from the start, your tuner is probably going to say this anyway. Turbos have changed a lot, but what hasn't is the limited space you have under the throttle body. A650e trans is still crap. There used to be a business out of Texas that would build them, but more than likely they'd just take your money/parts and never do any work... If I had to do it all over again(and I almost did before I sold it) I would swap in a fresh serviced vvti gte and then started modding.
02-19-19, 02:28 PM
Sleeper GS300
