Sc300 which is better, swap for a new engine or turbo existing engine?

Question

i got a 1992 lexus sc300 with 215k miles on it, still drives smooth and there are no problems with the engine. i need some help, should i turbo the stock engine (turbo kit $1000) or should i do an engine swap for a 2jz twin turbo (2jz $4k total).

Answer 1

just buy a new one

Answer 2

A sixteen year old, high mileage car? don't you have something better to waste your money on. Get a new one!!

Answer 3

First off, I dont know what you think you will get for $1000, but whatever it is, it will be a waste of money. Shoot, a good tune after a turbo install alone will run you that by a reputable shop.

The cheapest turbo kit for the 2jzge is probably the XS power tubo kit, which is decent for a kid, but why bother with c**p when you can have a good turbo like a T67 or a GT35 with quality parts? Bottom line, if you keep the factory motor, invest wisely in parts that will actually last, you will DEFINITELY need a new stronger transmission, that alone will be several thousand dollars, regardless of whether you swap to a GTE motor or not.

FIY, a 2JZGTE done right, will cost in access of $10K USD, and easily over 7-8k half assed. People think that all you need for the swap is the motor/trans/ecu set from ebay that costs $2k.....WRONG. You have no idea how many left over parts you will need on top of that. For starters, you will totallly need to redo the entire wiring harness if you still want everything to function, the list goes on and on.

Tell you what, sounds like you're ona a budget, the best thing for you to do is buy a 1JZGTE motor. That motor is also TT and came factory on SC300's in Japan. You can buy that for $1000-$1500 all day on ebay for an entire set. Best thing is that it will be like factory, no heavy mods required. The harness will work, the IC piping will all line up, piece of cake. Most guys doing this spend $2500 max, if they decide to replace some parts like water pump, seals and gaskets, etc. That for you is the way to go since you havea  high mileage motor.

With the 1jz, add a front mount intercooler, bigger downpipe, full exhaust, and a boost controller and you can be making 350-375rwp which is twice the power thhat you curently have. Go to CLUBLEXUS man, they got tons of information there, step by step whiteups, and LOTS of members to help you out.

Answer 4

I think you still have to use the same sc300 engine and just buy and fit a turbo kit to it. According to your explanation, if you go for engine swap it is very expensive. And also you have mentioned that the sc300 engine is working very smoothly...

Answer 5

new motor.  with that age and those miles you'd be lucky to get another K on the motor before you blew it with a new turbo on top.  at that age if you start playing now, you'll probably kill it.  either drive it till it dies or trade the entire car on something newer.  even a new motor is going to wear out suspension, trans, differentials fast with those kind of miles on it.

Answer 6

Don't know. Your SC300 has more miles on it than any of the SCs or Supras on ebay so idk how much longer it will last 2JZs are sturdy engines but if nobody has seen 300,000 miles with one I wouldn't be surprised if yours went from perfect to pile of c**p in no time.

On second thought, just swap it it would be less effort I'd think assuming the 2JZ-GTE you are buying comes with the original ECU and all related stuff.