Supra 1JZ-GTE Conversion VVTi or Non-VVTi? Advice appreciated!

Hi everyone!

 

I’ll try to keep it short. I have NA Manual Supra. It needs to go turbo. I have two complete Soarers which I can use as a donor car. One is a 1jz non-VVTi auto and the other is a 1jz VVTi r154 manual. I’ll be keeping the r154 regardless of which engine I use. My aim is to have the car around 600bhp in the not too distant future.

 

My question is quite simply; which engine should I use?

 

Reliability, aftermarket support for big power, ease of conversion, ECU options and VVTi mapping and cost are all factors which I'm having to consider.

 

Things to note:

 

• I’ll be putting in the engine with a friend but will be looking to get the wiring done elsewhere.

• I don’t know where I can take the car to get the VVTi wiring sorted.

• I’ll be keeping the R154 and A02b diff, which means if I use the non VVTi engine I’ll have to get rid of 2 non-running cars.

• Mileage is considerably lower on the non VVTi.

• Initial cost of putting in the VVTi would be bit lower overall (I think) as the non-VVTi Soarer can be sold as a full running car.

 

I really love the way the VVTi drives at stock power levels and this was my engine of choice. This only changed as I found out the wiring is more difficult to do and there’s not much information available on that. Also, it seems people get big power more easily with the non-VVTi and big power VVTi builds are significantly less common and less well documented.

 

I’d really appreciate any help, especially from those who have experienced the associated problems with these conversions before. I’ve been looking for information online for quite some time now however I can’t find anything that is solid or recent.

 

Many thanks!

Hi everyone!

 

I’ll try to keep it short. I have NA Manual Supra. It needs to go turbo. I have two complete Soarers which I can use as a donor car. One is a 1jz non-VVTi auto and the other is a 1jz VVTi r154 manual. I’ll be keeping the r154 regardless of which engine I use. My aim is to have the car around 600bhp in the not too distant future.

 

My question is quite simply; which engine should I use?

 

Reliability, aftermarket support for big power, ease of conversion, ECU options and VVTi mapping and cost are all factors which I'm having to consider.

 

Things to note:

 

•I’ll be putting in the engine with a friend but will be looking to get the wiring done elsewhere.

•I don’t know where I can take the car to get the VVTi wiring sorted.

•I’ll be keeping the R154 and A02b diff, which means if I use the non VVTi engine I’ll have to get rid of 2 non-running cars.

•Mileage is considerably lower on the non VVTi.

•Initial cost of putting in the VVTi would be bit lower overall (I think) as the non-VVTi Soarer can be sold as a full running car.

 

I really love the way the VVTi drives at stock power levels and this was my engine of choice. This only changed as I found out the wiring is more difficult to do and there’s not much information available on that. Also, it seems people get big power more easily with the non-VVTi and big power VVTi builds are significantly less common and less well documented.

 

I’d really appreciate any help, especially from those who have experienced the associated problems with these conversions before. I’ve been looking for information online for quite some time now however I can’t find anything that is solid or recent.

 

Many thanks!

James little num has a 1jz supra running over 600bhp plus has his own work place so best to ask him he should be able to give you all the info you need.

 

 

Littlenum knows a thing or two about 1jz’s

Easiest solution is to sell the NA sell both soarers and buy a 600 hp single turbo supra ready to drive , if forced to undertake the large amount of work and expenditure to swap engines and convert ,then the vvti is slightly more difficult and expensive due fewer options aftermarket , the first consideration is what ecu you will use and everything else revolves around that .

its always better to buy someone elses moneypit than create your own

Couldn’t disagree more about the VVT-i. If you went back 10 years then aftermarket parts, support and mapping would have been more difficult, however technology has progressed and that isn’t the case anymore.

 

Finding info might be a little harder for the 1JZ VVT-i but I wouldn’t be put off by it. The VVT-i is a great engine.

 

Lots of people are running the 2JZ VVT-i engines mapped on aftermarket ECU’s without a problem. Camshafts are readily available as are internals should you want to go the whole hog.

 

As mentioned above, drop James (http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?347614-Performance-Hart) a pm. He will know more than most.

VVTI is the way forwards boys.

Take a look at the amazing build going on here - http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?314161-Mike-s-White-Widearch-N-A-Supra-Project&p=4208174&viewfull=1#post4208174

 

E2A

 

Or just chat with the owner above ^

Guess im wrong then on the vvti , strange since ive had one for years , yes cams are available , crower etc , but tuning the vvti requires an ecu that can do it , here its more tricky ,hence ECU comment , there was an APEXI PFC but these are no longer available and were made on such a limited run that ive spent 8 years looking for one without success ,they are also soarer specific and the chaser one wont work -ive tried , yes there are ECU S available but you also need someone who is used to tuning them and altering the vvti .

Things like the throttle control ecu can give problems ,again soarer specific and linked to the trac system -try find one of those boys !!!

yes you can get round it ,just spend more money .

the guy has already expressed concerns about ECU and mapping and cost ,let alone the re wire of looms , you do know there is only one wiring diagram available and that is not holeshot correct .

600hp is close to the MAF sensor limits , just add money ,solved ,its a great engine sure but you MUST have the budget available , there are far more used parts available for the non vvti ,injectors and so on ,to help reduce costs .

Soarer vvti spares from breakers -forget it ,i think there is one car in the whole uk breaking and there are not that many chasers ,there are usually a few complete engines available (chaser)

Its simply easier to buy the car you want completed that someone else has overcome any and all issues and drive it next month just in time for spring .

ive also got a single turbo 1jz over 600 hp ,and you dont think ive gone past 20k pounds on that -lol

Thanks for all the responses guys, really appreciate the input. I have to say though, this thread is just making me even more nervous! If it was easier for me to put in the non-vvti, I would have without question but the hassle of having to get rid of two incomplete cars instead of one is just a pain.

 

The VVTi soarer is a complete running car and has all the bits I require as well as some nice modifications I would have liked to do anyway. Going non-VVTi is still feasible, it's just gonna be a huge headache - in the short term at least.

 

As for management, I've been looking around and found that Haltech do the Elite 2000 and can be bought with the appropriate harness to make it plug and play I think. It's not cheap but I've not seen many other options unless someone would like to share some with me. http://www.haltech.com/toyota-soarer-jzz30/

 

I've spoken to James Hart and he's a top guy. It's just unfortunate for me that he's never done a 1JZ VVTi conversion before so he's unfamiliar with the wiring.

 

It may just be the case that I'll have to stick with BPU power for now.

I've installed 1JZ VVTI into MK4 + wiring before, its not that bad. Think you are worrying for nothing

 

I know its going off subject and not necessarily helping with your question but have you not considered selling all 3 and buying a TT6?

Two 1JZ soarers and a NA5 mk4 would probably see you 16k+