Just trying to do my homework since it looks as though i'll be keeping the GS for at least another year or so, and want to plan out as far ahead as possible to start making steps toward my modding goals.

my homework on a swap is just about complete. I know what i'll need, where to get it, and which shop i'd have do it in the event i pull the trigger.


now my question is, as reliable as the 2jz is, would going NA-T on an 01 with 132k on it be realistic/possible without building the motor? and would this route be cheaper?

I think rather than going with a kit I'd probably piece together my own maybe outside of piping/IC (have the shop do that for fab integrity) to save cost, and I would probably stay with either a garrett or turbonetics unit.

any recommendations guys? I know many of you have gone with the swap which is my ideal way to go, but i also know quite a few that have gone NA-T. Basically I want to know if it can be done, more cost effectively than a swap, be reliable over at least the next year or two, and not require any building of the tranny/motor.

thanks again guys

 

tranny's gonna have to be built one way or another. more than likely, the motor will not hold up very well to any level of boost for a long time.

IMO, i would build your current motor, and skip the swap. after buying a swap motor, and having it freshened up, you would more than likely be about the same money as building the current motor. I priced mine out, and in the long run, should have just built the motor off the bat, instead of doing the swap. also, with the new cams from BC, now you can still use the same head, and get a good turbo cam to go with it. once again, thats my opinion.

 

thanks, and i do appreciate the opinion. Any figures to go along with it?

 

Building a motor isn't cheap.

Unless you're going for the custom angle, or maybe a NA build (Max power w/o FI) I'd just swap it.

 

if your going to do all of that, get the SRT turbo. it has everything you need and skips the hassle of trying to get evrything you need

 

yeah, the SRT is what i'd probably end up doing if i did go NA-T but my question is what kind of money would i be putting into building up the motor and would i be able to do it safely without building the motor or tranny with 132k on them. My instinct and common sense tell me no but i'm looking for some first hand input on it.

 

First of all the first thing you need to as yourself what is your HP goal?
Second is the how "fast" do you want to spend? More speed = more $.

If you're going to keep it mild around 300-350whp then nothing will need to be touched. If you have the itch to go over 400 then I would suggest a headgasket upgrade and a transmission valve body upgrade. Once you start to inch towards the 500 mark, you will want to tear down the motor and put new internals in. If your engine is in good shape and not smoking or eating excessive oil then you should be fine. Do a compression test on the engine just to make sure that its still in good shape. These 2JZ's last a LONG time. I have several friends with Supras that they beat to hell on every day for the last 5-6 years and those cars are still running flawlessly on the bone stock engine block till this day. One guy has 120k miles and still running 600whp thru it daily on pump and 850whp on race fuel.

 

yeah i'd definitely be keeping it in the 300-350 range, haha my plan if i swapped was to just change to USDM steel twins and injectors to keep her around 300. I figure if the car was meant for 225 at the crank, and i can get 300 to the wheels, it'll be enough for me to toy around with and still be economical.

so even with 132k you think going NA-T won't require anything but the kit? She doesn't burn any oil, i get about 21-22 mpg consistently every tank (60% city), and no slipping in the tranny at all. I would definitely only run enough boost to give me 300 maybe 325 at the wheels on pump gas (i have no problem paying for 91 or 93 octane) but would still want at least 20mpg when not pushing it. sound feasible? which kit would you recommend in that case or should i piece it together if that's cheaper?

 

and from my limited research into turbo kits so far this looks like the cheapest/best setup for the brands that i know of:

http://www.customcarscentral.com/trb...xus-gs300.html

unless jeff wants to put one together for me for less than that when i'm ready to do it

 

That link you posted is for the 1GS with the non-VVTi engine. Won't work for these cars. Turbonetics did make a turbo kit for the IS300 which has pretty much the same motor and ECU as us. They discontinued that kit shortly after because of reliability issues and such. I guess they didn't realize how hard it is to tune these cars for boost lol.

If you want a mild 300-350hp kit I can help you out and throw one together for a good bit less than what SRT would charge. Only problem is that you'll need to be local to me or dropped it off with me, just to make sure the kit will run perfectly. I don't send people out the door with a half assed install. No cel, passes inspection, everything in the car working, etc. Most shops that have no idea how tricky it is to tune these cars end up with half of the systems not working then calling it a day and send you on your way. Then the owner ends up hating the car and selling it shortly after...not how I roll. I make sure whoever gets the car has a blast lol. I just do this in my spare time for fun...I don't own a shop.

 

haha damn, that's what was attractive about the turbonetics kit, came with an EMU with preloaded tunes so you dont even have to bother with it unless you want it dyno'd.

you probably should open a shop dude haha you'd make a killing, i don't know of anyone with the kind of knowledge you have.

any possibility of PM'ing me a ballpark figure for a kit put together? i'd have to have it shipped out here (my expense of course) unfortunately because the drive from RI to TX doesn't exactly fit haha. I do however have a very reputable shop that has been doing this kind of stuff for years as well as i know one of the best tuners on the east coast (just unfortunately works at a ford dealer haha but they pay him well apparently) who works at the same place i have a dyno hookup. as well as a drag racing mechanic of idk how many years when he used to live in TX, so i doubt i'd have problems getting it installed. I understand your concern though, i won't hire anyone to help me detail, i'm too neurotic about the quality of work.

 

Jeff, I'd also like to know what kind of price I would be looking at

 

I'm gonna get in trouble if I try to sell right now lol. I'm designing a few parts right now and getting them into production. I'll become a vendor in the near future and then I can sell whatever.

I'm guessing for a rough ballpark figure I could put this kit together for around $4000 or so with the tuned engine management using AEM FIC, Precision Turbo, Tial wastegate, HKS BOV, and pre-bent intercooler piping/downpipe. I don't use knock off parts in critical areas EVER. That should get you to a spirited 250rwhp on the stock fuel system. If you want to go to 300-350rwhp then you will need to upgrade the fuel injectors and fuel pump(around $500). To get to 350-450hp range you will need to upgrade the headgasket/arp headstuds and do a valve body upgrade, and tranny cooler(around $600). More power than that, you'll have to get the internals upgraded($$$ lol). Keep in mind those are just parts costs and you will either have to install it yourself or take it to a shop.

Also, don't ask me about buying this stuff now since I'm not a vendor and I don't have anything ready right now. I will have all the stuff ready in time for next years tax return season....but I don't know how that's going to work out in this economy or ours by next year lol.

 

**** for that price I'll go for the 350-450 . It's still cheaper then srt's.

hah, I hate to do this but, what all exactly would I need to buy?

 

jeff has a good point, if all you are looking at is 300whp, i would go na-t also. unfortunately, having owned turbo cars before, the original goal never lasts long i was merely stating, that if you were gonna buy a swap motor, for about the same money (maybe a little more), you can build your current motor, and then the skys the limit. i built my motor for around 2k with the machine work. even if you went with a swap motor, i strongly recommend having it torn down and gone through, which would add more money to the swap. once again, just my opinion, but after getting burned on my first motor, i wont make the same mistake twice about having it gone through and freshened up.