bodiby

I know from reading the posts that the HP figures for the 92-95 SC400 are over-rated and the 96-97 are rated correctly. I definately want to spend less than $11K. Also the less I spend, the more I have for mods. I am not really hung up on having a show car. I want a go-car.

Any advice?

Jewcano

iTrader: (4)

92-95 easier to mod, and OBD 1. 96-2000 OBD 2 and ...look better, personal opinion.

bodiby

As far as mods go, I will not be going forced induction. I don't have any "hook-ups" to pass the smog-test. So I don't think ODBI vs ODBII makes a big differencr. But of course I am probably missing something.

0l33l

iTrader: (3)

I got a 95 for a few reasons:
Its cheaper
Its got OBDI... so when you get it smogged, they don't hook up to the computer
Wider transmission tunnel on 95+ cars

bodiby

The wider tunnel is for a manual conversion??

What is the advantage of not having the car hooked to the smog computer? If your not throwing codes does it matter?

I am not familiar with CA smog rules yet because I moved here from NY less than a year ago. My wife's 04 Subaru passed easily. My 93 accord is still registered in NY since it would fail visual and sniffer.

MongooseGA

iTrader: (6)

For a go-car, get a 300.


Even with out FI, as you said you didn't want it, there are a plethora of pre-made mods availiable for the 2JZ while the parts for the 1UZ are minimal.

Also, it's being debated that the '95 cars recieved the new engine used in the 96+ cars, but still retained the crappy old manifolds that restrict lots of power. I'm not sure if anyone found this to be fact or not yet.

0l33l

iTrader: (3)

Yeh... wider tunner for the V160.

Well.... lets just say that its better not to get hooked to up to the computer. If there is anything wrong, say a temp sensor is out, you will not pass. In my car, the check engine light is out... and one guy did not want to pass my car because it failed the "visual inspection" because the light was out, even thought it passed smog w/o problems
So I go to another guy, and tell him that my CEL is out, but the car passes. So he's like whatever, and I passed. Now if my car WAS throwing codes and the CEL out on a 96+, I would've been *****ed.

Nerpie

Check this site out. It explains all the differences in years.

http://www.intellexual.net/

For a quick answer tho, get a SC3 if you plan on doing a swap or if you want a manual. Get a SC4 (97+) if you want relatively good stock power with looks to match.

92-94 SC400 have about 220-230 hp at the crank. The 250hp is over-estimated.
95+ SC400 should get the stated horsepower. (260hp for 95-96, 290hp for 97+)

1992 SC300 4-speed auto 7.2 sec 15.8 sec at 89 mph
1992 SC300 5-speed manual 6.8 sec 15.4 sec at 90 mph
1993 SC400 4-speed auto 6.9 sec 15.3 sec
1995 SC400 4-speed auto 6.7 sec 15.2 sec at 93 mph
1998 SC400 5-speed auto 6.3 sec 14.7 sec at 97 mph

But then of course there are people with 1JZ swaps on their SC3, that run high 13's in the quarter "stock"... Chino comes to mind...

People have also put FI on their 1UZ motors. Emerald put TT on her SC4, and Lextreme has also done it to a LS400. But mind you, this is a very expensive process and will require a lot of custom fabrication.

You should be able to find a SC3, do a 1JZ swap (do it yourself) and still have money left over for some coilovers, exhaust, and misc. stuff that might break.

Good luck and hope this helps.

blacksc400

iTrader: (4)

For 11k, you can get a desent 97+ Sc4... go for it...

bodiby

Thanks for all of your input.

@Mongoose- why an SC300? My thoughts are to start with a higher HP car (as budget allows) and then increase. If I get an SC300, wouldn't I be starting out with a disadvantage? I thought so and Nerpies post indicates that . I was not aware that the 1995 year was closer to the stated power

@0l33l - That makes sense.

@Nerpie - I have been to intellexual.net, lextreme.com and planetsoarer many times, reading up. I can't do a swap for many few reasons, which I won't bore people with. The times you posted prove what Mongoose said about the 1995 power ratings.

0l33l

iTrader: (3)

As previously stated, there isn't much you can do in terms of power for the SC400s. That's why people who want power prefer the SC300s, which they either turbo (NA-T), drop in a 1JZ-GTE (2.5l from Soarer) or a 2JZ-GTE.

Hai_Nguyen

I've got a 95 =)

jibbby

Get a 1998 with the VVt-i motor if possible.....

0l33l

iTrader: (3)

I thought it was hard to tune the VVT-i motors

MongooseGA

iTrader: (6)

That's what I'd always been lead to believe. I don't know why excatly, but that's the common idea.


Forget about beginning with a higher horsepower car. That's all completely irrelevent when you're going to be modifying. It's the potential that matters.

You can buy premade exhausts, engine pieces, bolt ons, etc... for the 2JZ all day. I can find about every bolt on piece for the 1UZ in about an hour. The 1UZ is expensive to modify and when you do modify it, you often have to custom fabricate parts.

Both are good engines, but the 1UZ just hasn't been really tapped into yet for normal consumers. The 2JZ or 1JZ will blow a 1UZ away after modding.

I kick myself everytime I see a thread about 1/2JZ boost for buying a 400. I would have loved to have been able to modify as easily as those guys.