lilronnie9

I just bought an 2002 IS300. In perfect condition, got it from some old guy who just liked luxury......anywho....I want to put a turbo on it. From research, alot of people have talked about the SRT turbo kit. That it does really well and should go with that. Im just now getting into cars and just looking for some advice. In the end I want about 600-700 rwhp. If you have a parts list or a turbo kit you know of that can help me achieve that. That will be great. Im willing to put in hours and work into this build so all comments are welcomed. But really looking for a list of parts that I need. Everything from engine to tranny to exhaust...etc. Anything to get this dream a reality. O! and is 700 rwhp still good as far as the is300 still being a reliable car?

exist3nce

Hello there and welcome to the IS300 world.

How much experience do you have with performance modifications such as turbo systems? What kind of budget do you have? What sort of drive-ability compromises and downtime are you willing to tolerate? What is your idea of "reliable"?

I can tell you that 700 whp is achievable, but you better have some deep pockets, time and probably another car to drive as a backup.

I wouldn't suggest just going for 700whp straight off the bat if you are new to big power RWD, as you might just end up hurting yourself or someone else. You may want to consider boosting the stock motor at a lower power level and ride that out for a while until you get a feel for it and your wallet is ready for the next step.

Are you manual or auto? How many km/miles? Any other facts about the car?

lilronnie9

Well I had a turbo nissan 300zx in the past. I would say as much as experience i would consider myself still a beginner cause i had alot of help with that build and barely did any of it. Im willing to drop about 6 thousand in it right now. I have time on my hands but im in the military so it can vary lol. My idea of reliable is besides the minor maintainence i can drive it everyday with no problem. The idea is to start small and work my way up to 700 hp but i just wanted to know what i had to do to get it there. You are right though, i do need to calm down and start small.

It is a manaual with 101,000 miles on it. The car was kept by some old guy who just likes luxury. Garage kept and everything. So it drives and feels like new. I got lucky with this buy. All oil changes around 1000 miles and kept semi-premium gas in it.

Well what would be a good start for boosting the stock motor?

exist3nce

Sounds like you bought a good one! So your first step would be to start looking at what other people have done... like the types of builds and how far they've taken it.

Register over at my.is forums if you haven't already.... there are many more people on there doing builds and making big power. Check out the members builds section. My project is in there too. I also have the thread mirrored on this site as well which you can read here:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/per...-stock-ge.html

Assuming all major maintenance is done and the car is in perfect running order, then you would be ready to start looking at turbo stuff. I have no experience with the SRT turbo kit, no any other pre packaged kits offered for the IS. My stuff is all custom except for the manifold. Regardless you are going to have to find a shop that is comfortable with this platform, and **especially important** has competent tuning abilities. You could have a fully built $15k motor but with a bad tune it will blow up the first day.

Also check out this thread as a start for general info and whatnot about boosting the 2JZ-GE VVTi. Don't miss the IS300 FI flowchart as a very general guide... the transmission is definitely a weakpoint.

http://thejzforums.forumotion.com/t1...st-information

*** EDIT looks like most of the links don't work anymore on that page... but at least the FI flowchart is still there***

$6k should be enough to get you started.... perhaps a nice 350whp setup on stock motor and trans with a piggyback for timing and fuel control, which should still be reliable if you treat it nicely. A whole lot of the "reliability" factor depends on the tune, how well you maintain the car and how you drive it.

lilronnie9

THANK YOU!! You have given me info and some! I will check out the my.is for more info. Right now for what your telling me....I am in business. Just need to search around and find a good shop to help me out. Shouldn't be to hard. I am in Utah but cali and vegas aint to far away and i know of some shops out there that all they do is drool over 2jz and 1 jz engines. I will have to start slow and stop being in a rush for the 500 hp and dont worry. This car will be treated like a baby still. She hasn't came out the garage since I bought here and its been sunny alot lately hahaha.

exist3nce

You are welcome

Do you have any pics of the car ?

Any other questions just ask...

lilronnie9

I will get some pics done. I do have another question. What kind of suspension would you recommend? I read that coilovers were the best for this vehicle.

scmissle

Hey Lilronnie, welcome. I just picked up a bare is300 shell, I'm going a different route and getting an Aristo TT engine and an R154 transmission. The manual trans in the IS300 can break at 400HP. Being that is still a very quick car, your going to end up replacing it eventually. I would actually start there, R154 can be had for $1200 and will bolt right up, IF you get one from a JDM Soarer. Driftmotion makes and awesome budget friendly turbo kit, $1600 includes everything you need other than tuning and fuel. The wastegate itself is worth replacing with a name brand one, so only a set-back of $1,850 for total turbo kit. Next is look into an EMS, or a piggy back unit aem FIC with a jumper harness, or the $1800 AEM plug and play from dezod. Driftmotion also has good deals on injectors, about $550 for a set of 750CC injectors and then get a walboro pump and make sure to get a fuel regulator. Thats a couple hundred more for pump and fuel reg, although they can be found used in good condition if you look hard enough. About $4000 for a nicely boosted IS300, capable of 500WHP. lets not forget, a good tune so actually about $4500. Now for your next question, suspension. What do you want to do with this car? Do you want to build it for straight line acceleration or a nice fast road race car. what you say is true, coil-overs are good, but only for what you build the car for. IS300 have a true double wishbone suspension, they can be made to handle very well when built properly. If you slam it, do it right and get some roll center adjusters to actually make the lowness work in your favor. Improper suspension geometry might make your ride look cool, but binding steering racks, and bad handling are no fun. I'm doing my build from the bottom to top, since I'm starting with a shell. I'm getting expensive coils but very good ones, KW Variant 3's. Adding to that list are adjustable control arms, roll center adjusters, bushing set, better brakes and of course, wider wheels and tires for gripping the road. Basically i gave you and idea of what is possible, but power is nothing without control. Play it safe, take your time and most of all have fun with the build.

lilronnie9

Okay so r154 is the route that i need to go fo sho. This is all I am hearing from everyone so thats a done deal. Thank You for the parts list. Sounds like you have had experience with this setup. What is the full potential of this turbo build you stated?.....Just wondering if the max will be 500 or a little more than that. As far as suspension goes....mostly all I will be doing in the car is road races and maybe a little bit of drifting. I do plan on lowering it cause of the look and also handling wise. I had a nissan turbo 300zx lowered and loved it when people told me that I hugged the ground. Trust me when I say that this car will be treated like an angel. I have been wanting this car for 6 yrs 3 months and 6 days. Once I finally got it.....nothing is going to mess up this car if I can prevent it. hahah

exist3nce

Good to see someone else chimed in haha

Definitely coilovers... as to which ones I'll leave recommendations up to others who have more experience with the IS suspension wise. On my other car (boosted Chevy Optra/Suzuki Forenza) I have KW V3's and I love them too. Very good suspension but not cheap.

It is true about the transmission, R154 will handle alot more power than the stock W55. However this is not just as simple as a direct swap... if you are interested in this route, start researching it and look for build threads. See what parts are needed and what needs to be modified. Of course if you want to go all out and have big reliable power, go for the V160/V161 which is the 6spd from the MKIV Supra. But thats a whole different beast requiring the most modifications of all the tranny swaps and also the most expensive by far. The trans alone is is typically $3-4k.

scmissle

If you get the money for a Getrag V160 transmission, do it! The turbo kits vary from DM. They now have a kit that the turbo is a 72mm, supporting 750WHP. If you're going to lower then car, let me give you advice. geometry is optimized for the factory. lowering a car changes geometry, which actually hurts handling, when it is lowered too much. If you lower it more than an inch- get roll center adjusters. Before you buy any mods, read a good book from Carol smith, tune to win. this covers what you need to know about geometry, handling, and building a car. If yu're going to road race, pm me and we'll talk.

lilronnie9

I tried to pm you but the gov't computer wont let me from some reason hahah. If you could pm me instead maybe i can respond to it.

baadhabit

iTrader: (2)

start here.
http://swiftracing.com/SRT/item.aspx?id=10

lilronnie9

Thank you so much!!! Can't wait to build it!!

psyxho

How muxh for a kit like that