jcat_350

Okay, so the necessity for a swap is coming up faster and faster for me as my 300 hits just about 132k. I know the engine will run far past this but I should have at least 1 maybe 2 good jobs within the next few weeks and will begin saving for my swap.

My question is, should I decide to go with a swap, due to the vast surplus of non-vvti GTEs available, how much extra wiring/money would swapping a non-vvti gte into my vvti 01 gs3?

go into detail please, I would more than likely be having a shop do the swap for me as I do not have the time/tools available to me.

or, if you can point me in the direction of somewhere who has VVTi gte's at a similar price/availability, i'd appreciate that too.

also, any pros/cons to going non-vvti or would vvti would be the better bet?

JeffTsai

iTrader: (1)

Dang, am I that famous? lol

Both Adam and I run standalones. Wiring is not really going to make a difference due to that. For my car, I modified the OEM GS300 2JZ-GE harness and mated it with both the AEM EMS and stock ecu. Most of the plugs from the stock harness will click right onto the GTE engine. The only big thing you have to do is extend or shorten some of the connectors. If you're planning to run the complete Aristo setup then you will want to find a VVTi motor. It's much more straight foward because most of it is just plug and play.

Also, the non-vvti motor has slightly different mounting points. I'm not sure if it will bolt onto the 2GS without some modification. I know for sure that the IS300 guys have to make a custom engine mount bracket for the non-vvti GTE. The VVTi GTE motor drops right in with no hassle for both the 2GS and IS300.

jcat_350

haha well you guys and i forgot macd are the first names that come to mind. Any idea where to find a good vvti gte? i've been searching fleabay but so far have only come up with non-vvti's with about 30-45k on them for around 2 grand.

Supraownzu

iTrader: (1)

something to keep in mind with going non-vvti, is that the motor itself hasnt been used in anything since like 98, so any motor you get has more than likely been sitting around for awhile. when i got my jdm, non-vvti motor, the oil was so sludged up, and nasty, it needed to be torn down and cleaned up before it could be used. so i would strongly suggest factoring in having the motor gone through if you go with the non-vvti. it also depends on power level you are looking to achieve. the non-vvti motors come with better internals right off the bat, but if you dont plan on pushing it to much past the factory power, that shouldnt matter.

mtparker18

heres my question, can you use a supra motor instead of an aristo motor? because I was thinking of doing a swap too.

JeffTsai

iTrader: (1)

If I'm not mistaken. The VVTi GTE has the same internals as the non-VVTi GTE. I don't think Toyota would be sptupid enough to put weak internals in a factory boosted engine. The weak one is the VVTi GE that comes stock in these cars.

Also, good tip about cleaning out the engine. I would clean out any engine regardless of mileage. Reason being that in Japan, cars are required to have a new engine installed every once in a while. I think it's like 30-40k miles or like 7-10 yrs for emission purposes. I'm not 100% sure on those numbers but it's somewhere in that range. Keep in mind, Japan isn't very big so it will take a while to hit that mileage. If you don't put a new engine within that period/mileage then you can't legally drive the car. That's a reason MANY people there neglect the oil changes. I mean whats the point if you're going to have a new engine in a few years right? lol

Anyways, just to sum it up clean out the engine no matter what. If you open the valve covers and it's extremely gunked up then you'll have a FUN time! For example the VVTi GTE head I bought.

Before and after pix of cleaning:

bluelex

From reading your sig it you own a 01 correct?. The only bonus I think you get really from going vvti gte to non vvti gte in your case is your can keep your triptronic feature like Jeff. I had a shop do the non vvt-i gte now my reasons were very different at the time as I pulled the trigger on the gte swap in 2004. Their was far less knowlwedge of the vvt-i clip plus the vvt-i clip was over $2k more at that time. I didn't have triptronic cuz my car is a 98 so the only things needed were new motor mounts to be fabbed up which is nothing and I had to get a yoke of a 1st gen gs to make the driveshaft work. I loss my cruise control and traction control but those are things you really need anyway if youe boosting. At the time I was being told that the vvt-i would be very hard to control when going for big power and that with the jdm non vvt-i clip not being maf air you could control easiliy with most piggy back ecu. My shop retapped the ecu so that the jdm ecu would go plug and play with my car. In your case It depends on if your willing to lose the triptronic feature.

Plus I wouldn't believe what everybody says about miles on these motors. It impossible that every 2jzgte motor that comes from japan only has 40-50k on them. Every place you go and read about they always say the same thing. Between 40-50k miles in this motor. Can't be that many aristos in japan that happen to get crashed from behind or the sides and all of them have 40-50k on them. I always laugh when people write that.

memphiss13

I'm actually in the middle of a non vvti gte swap in my 02 gs3. i'm going 5spd so its a little different, but i will tell you that the engine does not just "bolt in". I was hoping that it would, but the engine sits a little crooked. I'm actually going to work on the engine placement today or tomorrow so I'll probably start a build thread soon. The wiring is going to be a pain, but it doesn't look impossible or anything.

I went with the non vvti for the reason that I have more options for aftermarket computers this way. I really don't think there is muched gained from having the vvti anyway.

kit cat

iTrader: (6)

where do you guys keep on finding these information? NO such law exists in Japan.

kit cat

iTrader: (6)

definitly keep us updated. I could probably do the mechanical stuff, the electronics and tuning is what scares me.

RX469

iTrader: (1)

Nice. What did you use to clean these up? They turned out great.

memphiss13

lol i was thinking the same thing. just didn't want to step on any toes here since i don't post here much.

kit cat

iTrader: (6)

Jeff's always right about everything.
I take every chance when I can when I know he's wrong...and this was the first . Kinda like that nerdy guy from "National Treasure".

Supraownzu

iTrader: (1)

jeff, in my own research on the 2jz, i came up with a couple things. all the 2JZ motors have the same crank. Rod wise, the non-vvti 2jzgte (obd1) has the best rods/pistons out of all of them. the vvti-2jzgte, has similar pistons, but the rods were down graded, as toyota realized the rods in the non-vvti were pretty much overkill. the original 2jz was essentially a 900hp capable motor that was detuned to 320hp. the weakest engine combo is definetly the vvti-2jzge motor. there is a noticeable difference between the gte and ge internals, as everyone knows. i could post exact pics and info, but its been so long since i researched it all, that i doubt i have any of the info anymore.

on a side note, i wish i had waited for more info to become available on swaps before i did my own car. so much better info has become availabe since i began my build 3years ago, that i could have saved a ton of money in the long run. one thing i did learn early on, is to never buy an engine from venus-auto.com ever again.

oh, and i agree with coco

JeffTsai

iTrader: (1)

Interesting...lol. I guess it was just an urban myth spawned so all the engine pullers could sell the engine and have a reason why it came with 40k miles. Or is there a year limit on how long you can have that car before the tax rasies higher? Also if you think of it, how long does it take to get a car to 40k miles in Japan? It's not a very big place so I imagine that would take a bit of time. Then again, do people in Japan not take care of their engines? I have seen so many heavily sludged up "JDM" engines it's not even funny.