What mod would be the best for gaining lower end power/torque?

I have a 2004 gs300, I know I won't be able to gain much power with staying NA but while my car is in the beginning phase I'd like to gain some lower end power to make driving it a bit more exciting.

Thanks.

 

If you had a 400, I'd say get a higher-geared differential, but you already have one in the 300. Probably not the answer you want to hear, but you should look at a 400 or 430. That'll probably get you where you want to be.

I've owned a 300 and a 400, and kow exactly what you mean. Get a 4.

 

The rear diff is a must on the V8, however on a stock I6, the 3.92 gearing is pretty optimal, in fact I had a 3.92 rear in my 430 but because it was open, I was constantly spinning one tire, so I pulled it and am looking for a LSD insert. As far as engine modifications go, I'm in the other boat, I have a 430, and soon to have a turbocharged LS400. If I had to do it all over again, I'd go with the 2J, or GS300. With the amount of money that you will put in to make a 400 somewhat faster, you could have easily turbocharged your 2JZGE. If your really gun ho about it, then I would swap the whole motor instead of just doing the pistons and head. I am not sure why, but I am a sucker for the GTE motor, and I don't really care to see the GE NA-T piping, but if were talking about a budget here, I'd go get a cheap NA-T kit. If you look in the Turbo Q&A by JeffTsai, he gives you a clear breakdown of what is needed to be able to accomplish this, and he even outlines a budget, however someone doing the work for you will start to add up, fast. I would def so a little more research, but if you look around no one is really running a NA 2J as you can't really recieve much torqure/displacement around lower RPMS because it is such a small motor, 181 cubic inches vs. a 454 cubic inch chevy, who is going to be able to produce more torque, however with FI and the fact that the 2J can spin up to 9k, allow is to far surpass the 454 in horsepower, depending on the build. I hope you don't get lost, or simply think I am turning you away from NA options, I just it's safe to say the 2JZ should be a boosted beast, but correct me if I'm wrong. P.S. IF you buy the V8 be prepared to drop x2 or x3 as much to be able to modify the engine, as NO ONE makes anything unless it's special. 2J FTW.

 

Thanks for the responses, I wasn't planning on staying NA forever. I just recently purchased my car so I think it's too soon to add a turbo since I've done little to nothing to my car so far. It has a long way to go before going turbo.

 

Why wait (unless your saving the cash)? You're not going to notice much after installing an air intake, new mufflers, etc. With a 300, go turbo or go home!!

 

There is a saying, there is no replacement for displacement. I know that we have reached a consensus that turbocharging the 2JZ is a must. We all understand about the budget thing, I am putting together a turbo LS400 build and it is coming out to be more then I expected, and I don't even pay labor. I think my budget comes out to $1,800, which is what JeffTsai priced out what it cost to turbo a 2J and your looking at 100+hp, because nothing is off the shelf for the V8. I mean for the same price as I'm spending for 300hp,your looking at easily 400hp, of course thats when stuff breaks... and then it gets really fun. From reading his build, it seem that the trick is to buy an expensive turbo and cheap out on other things. Anyways, if you really want, you can ask some questions, but I have yet to do anything along the 2J lines. An intake, exhaust, your looking at easily $1,000. I would just save the money from the get go, do your homework, plan accordingly, and cut the chatter and have at er'.

 

Yea, i'm saving cash and i'd rather do suspension/wheels before performance. I drove a 240sx before and it handled like a dream and I need something that handles decently before going turbo.

 

That's a little extreme don't you think!? Sure he can easily spend that and more if he were to buy a new SRT intake and new JIC exhaust. However; if he looked around for deals, you can pick up those items and more for far less.

OP, if you are serious about going turbo, then buy parts you can use now (na) and later when you go turbo. I know how you're feeling, my 97 SC felt like a slug all stock, but just and intake and exhaust made it a little more fun to drive. Offcourse it does not compared to my 1UZ or my 1JZ, but it's more fun to drive now with simple mods that I got for far less than 1k. Now, if I were to add headers and tune it, I can easily add an additional 30whp. Like I said no comparision to my other cars, but just a little more HP makes it more fun to drive.

 

Yeah, $1,000 is a bit high, but I was actually talking about including the header, and back.. I think that would be about that range, bit high for just axle back and intake. Then again, I would almost think if your going through the work to buy all that, why not just deal with the sluggish feeling for a while cause once you go NA-T, that feeling will go bye-bye and there wont be many people that can keep up with you on the road. I would just start your build that way you like. No doubt you could buy some NA parts and turn around and flip them only loosing a few bucks, but for almost the same amount of money, you can be hands down faster than any stock GS4 with a few bucks more than what it would cost to make your NA I6 faster. IMO

 

i got a injen cold air intake and some muffler mods
and i b givin the 400's problems

 

 

That's what I was thinking