You will have to qualify some things here :

* Lighter rods and pistons are better cause you will have a lighter rotating mass which enables you to rev your motor in higher RPMs to get more power.

* There are pros and cons on lightweight flywheel and pulleys .. again it depends on the use of the car and how much power you need for that use .

a lighter flywheel on a 6speed v160 or even R154 gives you a lot of chatter / noise compaired to a dual mass flywheel. but having a lighter flywheel maybe necessary for some other benefits...

not all light pulleys are good... you can put a lighter undampened crank pulley like that of the unorthodox or boost logic but it will eventually hurt your engine...., but a lighter pulley in your alternator, camshafts, ps pump , AC compressor helps not rob the power from the engine since it is easier to get lighter wheels to turn.

* Using aftermarket pistons depend again on the use of the car. There is a trade off.. you use stock / oem pistons then you are limited to what they can handle. Piston slap is caused by looser clearance between pistons and cylinders. Forged pistons, because of the material .. can have such piston slap but that can all be adjusted by the way your engine builder work on those clearances...6 out of the 8 2jzgte cars I have all have aftermarket forged pistons and specifically CP Pistons which are well known for piston slaps. But none of them, I hear any piston slap even if I start a car after it had sat for a month. It all depends on your engine builder.

Depending on the use of the car and power , you should not be afraid of aftermarket pistons because they are your ONLY CHOICE when your setup demands their use. The only time you should be afraid is when your builder do not know what he is doing or is not well verse with the 2JZ engine for which I have seen a lot of well known shops try to build one and just to get an engine spin a bearing after a couple of hundred or a thousand mile from install.

 

Is there any engine shop that you recommend? I understand that the 2jz engine is not the same as any other engine. My dad seems to think otherwise. "All engines are the same," does not apply to this engine.
For example, the way you hone the cylinders on the 2jz has a big effect on it. Line honing the mains can destroy the engine if not done right. And so much more.
I live in Vegas but don't know of any shops that work on 2jz here. Willing to take it to California somewhere.
If you guys didn't read before, I plan on daily driving my car during the summer, maybe once a month take it to a drift event and go ***** out, and occasional quarter mile.
So does lightweight pulleys hurt or help these goals.
I've already driven my car on lightweight flywheel and it's nothing unbearable. Although that was with factory pressure plate and clutch. I love it, especially since I have the option to just replace the flywheel mating surface with a couple of bolts.

 

Yeah its the head gasket, it is thicker. That's all I imagine the piston heads are very slightly different but he GE and GTE are said to flow about the same so valve angle/piston angle should be roughly the same too.

 

Virtual Works Racing is in Las Vegas . A good engine builder is a good engine builder .. but one with a lot of experience with the engine you are playing with will be your best bet ! Light accessory pulleys helps.

 

Forrest ****'s GETNUTSLAB is in Las Vegas. He drifts 1jz and 2jz cars. I don't see any mention of engine builds on their website, but I'm sure he does them (or know someone who does). Pay them a visit too

 

I actually met Forrest **** at Vegas drift. Cool freaking dude. Super modest too. We exchanged numbers and he told me he knows a guy to tune ecus but I didn't get to ask about building them. Lol. Should've.

 

I won't harp on the lightweight rotating assembly issues too much since a few of the guys covered it already, just going to drop a little more info on you in regards to idle quality. When you see guys with performance builds and idle issues a lot of it has to due with running "bigger" cams and/or not properly degreeing them and pulling less vacuum as a result. There are many other issues that can affect your idle quality but I see this a lot.


Also, 5-600rwhp is a HELL of a lot of power for a daily driver. In your budget I didn't see any mention of what you plan to do about your transmission. I'd be ready to spend $4-$5k on that unless you come across some good deals on the used market.


Edit - Whoops, just noticed you have an R154 listed in your sig. Carry on...

 

Lol. Thanks txmag. my r154 is WAY better than my auto. But damn is it annoying. I have to keep my hand on the shifter, (beech performance short throw,) pulled down when driving or else it makes this annoying grinding noise. It's not the Trans that's the issue though cause when I used the factory shifter it sounded normal. I assume it's the shifter but I don't think rebuilding it will fix it. Little carp like that makes me wish I saved for v160.
Also the fact that I have to upgrade the internals of the r154 so it can handle 500-600hp. Not a problem on v160. But when I get there, I'll worry more about trans.
About the idle issue again, I do understand the concept of degree-ing, the motor and the importance of it. I was going to do that and had planned on it when I get there. Only problem is idk how. I'm sure I could find people who could. Especially since I want bc 264 cams and adjustable cam gears.

 

A stock R154 can easily handle 500-600rwhp for a daily driver . It doesn't technically need to have upgraded internals not unless you abuse it or you go to the drag strip where everything is pushed to their limits to break a speed number.

The only other problem of a stock R154 being pushed over 500rwhp is internal oil pressure tends to push oil out through the seals thus you get oil leaks.

You don't really need aftermarket cams and most especially adjustable cam gears to get into the 500-600rwhp level. Maybe nice to have at that level but those funds can be better used elsewhere in my opinion.