When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I probably won't get to 5k miles on them between track days and fooling around... However, for the money, they do seem to grip well and run quiet for the time being. I'll have them out at HPR on the 17th and will be sure to take pics and take a few notes!
I think my cars average like 7-8k miles in the rear before the camber wear gets too bad. The only falken I've ever tried on the track was a RT615K and it gets greasy after about 15 minutes, but temperatures are probably lower in colorado, so might not be as bad.
Originally Posted by RudysSC
I ran into a strange issue on the SC with the vvti 2jzgte yesterday... It happened intermittently - suddenly my throttle response SUCKED. It felt as if the first quarter to third of my gas pedal travel made absolutely no input to the car and wouldn't accelerate until I put my foot more into it. If I were to push the pedal all the way down the car would accelerate and pull like normal. The car idles fine, feels ok under full throttle, but the part throttle response was almost non-existent. Drove the car back home and it acted totally normal after sitting for an hour.
I'm on my second throttle body, however, since it's so intermittent I don't think it could be a TPS adjustment, but perhaps a failing sensor all together? I've got an extra TPS I could try, but wanted to see if anyone had any better input before I go crazy swapping things.
Any input or advice is always appreciated!
If it's like the vvti GE motor, then the APPS/drive by wire sensor is going bad. A new one is about $200 or you can crack it open and resolder all the connections.
Took it out again last night - drove completely fine for a few minutes and then suddenly I had to press the throttle down 3/4 until I hit that last bit of resistance in order for the throttle body to open up and be able to limp the car around. I parked it at a buddy's, changed the oil and hung out for a couple hours, drove it home, and it was completely fine! I did tap the throttle body lightly in various areas to see if perhaps anything was "hanging up". I'm not sure if that helped, or simply having a nice cool drive home is what made the difference...
I think the APPS sensor is what may have gone bad on my last throttle body, so I hope it isn't that...
Ali - I've seen the mechanical conversion kits on Driftmotion. I've read you can't do them on a stock ECU, but haven't heard anything on manual vs auto with them. Wouldn't it being in limp mode still limit power and throttle response?
I have read the same and it seems like people just repeating what they think is limp mode, I remember reading one person who tried it with a manual and claimed it worked but I did not see it first hand or anything. I would make sure to test it and check for o2 feedback etc.. is enabled (I think alot of the bluetooth obd2 dongles can read the JOBD stuff with the right app), that is how I knew that I was still getting proper air fuel when I manual swapped the tacoma and did a bypass on that, although that was still drive by cable and regular obd2 I could see it was all still working.
It will likely be pretty obvious if it works or not, I honestly don't know for sure but I don't think people are right just assuming it wont work with a manual trans.
I can't gaurantee it will work, but you are in the unique, less talked about scenario, where it could work.. so seeing that it is a simple test/fix and vvti throttle bodies are expensive and getting rarer, and you have 2 of them, I would give it a try on the old one before dropping all that coin on a standalone. if it doesn't seem to work you are only out $20 and you need it for when you do go standalone anyways.
Now don't go and install it and then rip the car to 18 psi without checking stuff and say Ali told me it was alright lol, but from the stuff I have seen you do online so far I think this is well within your wheelhouse to do a test and check.... but if you were planning to go standalone anyays.. then now might be the time. good luck!!
Your input is always appreciated sir! Thanks for chiming in. I may go ahead and order up the part and give it a shot. Like you said, I'll be needing it one of these days to go standalone regardless! I'd love to avoid going standalone and enjoy this car the way it is for the time being. I've had cars on standalone, I love the freedom, but really don't want to spend the money at this time after completing this swap and starting to dive into another (albeit more budget friendly) one with the Cressida.
On a strange note - I check all of the connections, did a reset on the throttle body, and did find that the APPS connector felt a hair loose (it doesn't quite give the satisfying click that you hope for when connecting it). Knock on wood, but the car has driven normal and wonderful on errands today. I'm going to keep taking it out and tinkering before track day to be certain. The car also got another preemptive fresh oil change (between the track day and the motor having sat it doesn't hurt to go through a few oil changes before beating it down too hard lol).
The car has been running flawlessly and saw it's first open lapping day with the new upgrades at our local road course High Plains Raceway. New thar was the GTE swap, Parts Shop Max coilovers, and LS400 front brakes with slotted rotors and unknown pads.
Besides the now extra 100+ whp that the car has, the biggest improvement by far were the LS400 front brakes. Not only could I dive in harder and faster, but I experienced much less fade (also partially thanks to the high temp Motul brake fluid I put in). I could go out and make several hot laps before the brakes started smelling and feeling like a truck stop. They lasted three sessions without any fuss. These front brakes, the KAAZ-2 way, and the coil overs turn this into an incredibly enjoyable car at the track compared to one in stock form.
The only downside - in the heat of the afternoon the car did start to overheat on track. Once while I chased a Boxter around, and once without any traffic in front of me. As soon as I laid off, let the car get some air flow, it would cool right back down. Once the temperatures dropped for the afternoon/evening I was hot lapping the car with no overheating issues. I have a large aluminum radiator, oem shroud, and oem fan. I'm guessing the front mount is a major cause of this and I need to figure out a few cooling mods to help stay cool on hotter days. Short of building a sealed duct through the front of the car, does anyone have any recommendations on a few things I could vent or shroud to help this?
All in all another successful track day in this car. I couldn't have been more pleased with all of the upgrades from over the winter and look forward to dialing it in a little more next year. Next on the list is to fix the cooling, and it desperately needs some seats that aren't closely related to couches. Here's a few pics of the day and a short youtube clip. Hope you guys enjoy!
Just seeing this update. The car looks and sounds great on track!!
As for the overheating issue, do you happen to recall what the ambient temperature was at its hottest in that area on your trackday? I don't have any immediate suggestions since your A/C aux fan should have automatically kicked into override-on mode by that point with the coolant temp over 197F.
I think MKIV Supra owners would suggest keeping the big OEM mechanical fan and shroud as it blows so much CFM to begin with. The front mounts I have heard can get in the way of the main engine cooling efficiency... and few people will run a stock or re-cored side mount factory intercooler when they crank up the boost to higher than BPU levels.
I don't recall if you have an oil temperature gauge wired up as well but I think that should also be a must-have for track use.
My best suggestion is to take a look at what MKIV owners on SF have used on their track Supra setups. I'm not sure whether or not a change to a different style coolant is recommended in these situations or not. I think most MKIV owners continue to use Toyota Pink 50/50 or mix their own coolant from Toyota Red.
The other thing to note is that all 2JZ-GTE cars tend to have hot engine bays even in stock form. If the outside ambient temperature in a desert-like area gets to 100F and above it can further tax the cooling system under load as you saw firsthand. Once you backed off a bit even at the hot temperatures the cooling system was able to keep up again. I'm honestly not sure what the general consensus is from MKIV and turbo SC/Soarer owners is on what is "normal" expected cooling system behavior when at extremely high outside ambient temperatures with the cars being driven at 8-10/10ths.
With the 3 core aluminum radiator you should be fine. Focus on ducting. Seal off any gaps. You really shouldn't need much of a fan at speed. N/A on track you can get by without a fan at all, just builds heat when stopped or slow speed. I have a small fan I kick on when coming in the pits, otherwise no fan. Having run turbo cars before, I get it that the heat will be much more, but you have enough radiator to deal with it. I haven't looked at your fan arrangement but you could be limiting air flow with it in the way if it's not vented properly.
Thanks for the comments and input you guys! I had an absolutely killer time at the track and have been enjoying street driving it as well.
I believe you guys are right - the extra radiator, OEM style shroud, and fan should be plenty. I think Rodger and Ali nailed it - I do not have an undertray installed as my car never had once since the day I bought it. NA it never gave me any troubles, however, with the front mount causing disruption and the extra power I believe the lack of an undertray and additional shrouding is what's killing me.
I'm thinking about picking up the LRB lower trays and the upper tray as well in order to seal everything off. I'd be fine with a stock plastic piece, however, they seem to be nearly impossible to come by these days.
I appreciate your guys' input as always and couldn't be happier with this bad boy currently!
Although I've hit a few snags trying to fit a 10lb motor in a 5lb car, the Cressida swap is slowly moving forward! I've already put a fresh TB/WP in, distributor caps, rotors, wires, and plugs. I'm currently waiting on the correct motor mount for the driver side and will have to modify the stock exhaust manifolds in order to clear the steering box. These earlier Cressidas all had the boxes and I'm trying to avoid swapping a rack and different subframe in for various reasons.
Once we can get this thing sitting correctly the fun will start! A friend and I think we have the wiring figured out, from there fuel, radiator, coolant hoses, PS lines, etc etc. This car is going to have an entirely different look and vibe from the SC and I'm excited to share it's progress with you guys.
It looks like a perfect fit in there, Rudy! It's as if it were made for it A Cressida certainly has a different vibe from an SC but with Lexus V8 power it will be quite the fun and luxurious classic cruiser!
09-02-20, 05:22 PM
A Cressida certainly has a different vibe from an SC but with Lexus V8 power it will be quite the fun and luxurious classic cruiser!