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Hello good people. It has been years since I have been on this forum. I am close to Daytona Beach. I have a 2000 SC300 with about 80K miles. It is basically stock. I put a cold air Injen intake on with no results. They did not remove the factory airbox. Will a cone be better? A cat back Tanabe exhaust which changed the sound. (yawn) I have run into one roadblock after another when asking how to get more hp from the local shops that want nothing to do with imports. I don't want a rocket, but I feel like my car is towing a freight train and I'm tired of it. Yes I have 19's and I know that does not help. Will a larger mid pipe help a stock 6 inline vvti? I am old school thinking the more airflow the better. Getting a tune up in a few days. Did the sea foam thing white smoke poured out burning off years of carbon build up, it did help. I have heard so much I don't know what to believe anymore. Thanks in advance. Superflow air filter. It helps somewhat.
Either sell it and buy a 98+ SC400 or go turbo. Your only two options. Throwing money into an NA GE motor is not gonna get you anywhere (as you have already learned).
97-SC300 is correct. Doing things like swapping the stock airbox for a cone, or swapping out your midpipe for a larger one, will only add at most 5hp each. To make the car feel like it's a more powerful car, you need a 50hp+ gain. Which just isn't possible with the VVTI GE motor as it is. You would need to boost it, add nitrous, or have it rebuilt with higher compression. The best power-to-$ ratio is boost via turbocharger
MRSUPRA, your car is in such great shape why not consider swapping in a 1JZ-GTE VVT-i or 2JZ-GTE? Or, as also suggested... build up your stock GE block or another GE block for NA-T? In any of the three cases you do not need tremendous turbo power to cure the sluggish feeling you describe and have a good, reliable ride.
Locating a good condition 1998-2000 SC400 can be a challenge considering how few of them were made but that is also a good option.
A manual transmission makes an NA 2JZ tolerable and enjoyable in its own right and does make the driving experience much more fun with slightly better acceleration but ultimately to cure what you describe the best answer still comes down to investing in a JZ engine setup with a turbo.
If you want to stay under 500hp, get a decent turbo kit and go from there, I’m building my 97 2j nat for a reliable 450ish hp with 2jzgte ecu. There is nothing wrong with a 2jzge engine block, it can hold over 600hp, but you have to spend some cash when it comes to going turbo, it’s not like n/a intake, exhaust and that’s it.
there are a lots of components and you have to know what you’re doing to make it all work!
there is a lots of info out there for you to start with gathering parts.
^^ For the OP going NA-T he's got to keep in mind the less stout factory rods in his 98-00 engine as zazzn pointed out. But a mild 300hp turbo build build ought to hold very reliably. Of course he could always find a 92-97 GE block in good shape or upgrade in a rebuild to 92-97 GE rods, pistons and rings. And ARP rod bolts (with the help of a machinist to get the installation of these right with new OEM bearings).
I'm not as up on the ECU options for going NA-T VVT-i. Since he has a GE VVT-i engine can he use the common JDM Aristo 2JZ-GTE ECU swap/mod for his engine management or must it be the Aristo 2JZ-GTE VVT-i ECU?
MRSUPRA (OP), you'll find that once you go turbo in any form 300-400hp is a very easy figure to start with using one of these engines. You just want good engine management. A factory 2JZGTE ECU with modified wiring to support it is a very affordable path if your power goals are not high.
Also, you'll want the 2JZGTE OEM multi-layer metal head gasket and ARP head bolts.
It's more work initially to set up an NA-T engine right but the payoff is worth it.
Alternatively you could also purchase a used good 98-00 2JZ-GE engine or a 92-97 short block and a 98-00 VVT-i head and build a replacement motor separately to have ready to drop in when it's ready. Or you could do the same with a JDM 2JZ-GTE VVT-i or 1JZ-GTE VVT-i with harness conversion to either one.
Increase HP? SC300
