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I am looking into buying a 1991 Aristo. First thing I want to know about is the suspension. I drove a 1994 GS300 a while ago and drive was sloppy. I researched about suspension upgrades and didn't find many options so i dropped the plan. Now having a chance to buy an Aristo. I would like to seek help from the forum.
1. How is the availability of the aftermarket suspension upgrades. I like the car to lowered (1-2 inches) a little be and handle better. What do you all suggest?
2. What are the suggested upgrades that I should be looking into considering my goal is to have a fun fast daily (Can this be a daily driver?).
3. Are all parts easily available for it or a pain to acquire them?
All these answers will help making a decision.
I am sorry my post was not thought through and my questions might be out of order. put them together while typing.
Thank you all for the help!
1994 gs300 and 1991 aristo are essentially the same car; aside from the steering wheel and brake booster being on the other side; the auto trans being a 4spd vs 5spd; and the availability of a 2jzgte instead of a 2jzge. So all of your suspension components are identical.
You have many options for coilovers from cheap (godspeed, HSD, BC racing, megan racing) to more expensive units like PBM, RS-R, TEIN.. etc.. I run PoweredByMax (PBM's) which are a stiff coilover that will give you excellent performance. You can also just get shocks and lowering springs but there is going to be quite the gap in performance.
I've also been daily driving my car for about 5 years now, with a 2jzgte single turbo 5-speed manual trans and LSD.. So yes, it can be a fun fast daily that is reliable.
Most of the parts you need for the motor are identical to the US made 2jzgte that toyota dealerships still offer parts for, and you will find a lot of parts are available from lexus or third party knockoffs like Moog; etc.
1994 gs300 and 1991 aristo are essentially the same car; aside from the steering wheel and brake booster being on the other side; the auto trans being a 4spd vs 5spd; and the availability of a 2jzgte instead of a 2jzge. So all of your suspension components are identical.
You have many options for coilovers from cheap (godspeed, HSD, BC racing, megan racing) to more expensive units like PBM, RS-R, TEIN.. etc.. I run PoweredByMax (PBM's) which are a stiff coilover that will give you excellent performance. You can also just get shocks and lowering springs but there is going to be quite the gap in performance.
I've also been daily driving my car for about 5 years now, with a 2jzgte single turbo 5-speed manual trans and LSD.. So yes, it can be a fun fast daily that is reliable.
Most of the parts you need for the motor are identical to the US made 2jzgte that toyota dealerships still offer parts for, and you will find a lot of parts are available from lexus or third party knockoffs like Moog; etc.
Last of all, welcome!
This is great info! Going with coilovers do you think there are other support suspension components that will need to be upgraded or need adjustability? If you were in my situation what will be your list of upgrades you would want to do assuming all the maintenance( timing belt, waterpump, accessory belt, valve cover) is take care of?
Lower ball joints are a must. I wouldn't just "trust" that they've been done with OEM parts from japan instead of a Taiwanese or Chinese knockoff which last 1/4 the life. Tie rod ends, check to see if any of your bushings seem sloppy but I would probably just do those things first. I installed aftermarket adjustable upper control arms on my car from SPC, but if your ball joints up top are still looking good then you could hold off... If you're doing everything at once before an alignment and you have the money, its a worthwhile upgrade going into the future. Make sure you get an alignment after!
Also depends on how low you want to go, if you're slamming the car then you can check out or wanting to see what is out there...
Lower ball joints are a must. I wouldn't just "trust" that they've been done with OEM parts from japan instead of a Taiwanese or Chinese knockoff which last 1/4 the life. Tie rod ends, check to see if any of your bushings seem sloppy but I would probably just do those things first. I installed aftermarket adjustable upper control arms on my car from SPC, but if your ball joints up top are still looking good then you could hold off... If you're doing everything at once before an alignment and you have the money, its a worthwhile upgrade going into the future. Make sure you get an alignment after!
Also depends on how low you want to go, if you're slamming the car then you can check out or wanting to see what is out there...
Definitely not trying to slam the car. Just lowered fir better handling and looks. I will check those out. And the car is out of California and not direct import from japan.
Now coming to performance upgrades what do u suggest? I was aiming for a 450-500whp streetable daily. What are ur thoughts about that?
It really isn't coming out of California though if its' an aristo.. I mean all of our GS300's and aristos were built in japan, but anywho; i still wouldn't assume any owner in california would do the correct thing and buy OEM quality parts when 99% of our crowd is kids that put costless auto parts all over their lexus and toyotas and wonder why maintenance is so high.
You're gonna have to contemplate whether you would be happy with just new shocks and lowering springs vs coilovers because its about twice the price, but if you rail your car or want a "performance daily driver" i would recommend finding coil overs. Installs are super easy.
For 450-500whp I would probably get rid of the twin turbo setup, and go with a single turbo setup, exhaust, upgraded fuel injectors, upgraded fuel pump, and some way to tune the car (piggy back tuner would probably be fine like an SAFC 2 or Ecumaster DET3) or standalone ecu management like aem infinity, motec, proefi, haltech elite, syvecs, etc.
OEM jdm twin turbos have ceramic turbines which wont do well at the boost levels required to get that rwhp; and the jdm motors also have 440cc injectors which limit you to like 350ish rwhp. For the cost I wouldn't even mess around with putting usdm twin turbos on the car and just go for a single setup to eliminate a lot of possible vacuum and boost leak areas.
So the car was actually imported by the previous owner into the states. According to him the mentioned maintenance was performed. And if i but it i will definitely go over everything and make sure they all are fine. I will be more happy with coil overs than just lowering springs. I currently have coilover setup on my 13 mustang and i love it. So for a 450 whp.i will need to
1. Go single turbo setup
2. Upgrade fuel setup
3. Upgrade Exhaust
4. Standalone Ecu/ tune
How much power can a stock non vvti engine can handle before have to upgrade the internals?
Cost wise what an i looking at ball Park estimate.
For a standalone, wiring harness, turbo, manifold, exhaust, injectors, fuel pump, tune, intercooler piping you're probably real close if not a little over 5k depending on what parts you choose.
Pretty much 5k right there exluding plumbing (intercooler piping, intercooler, oil lines, water lines)
Internals aren't different 2jzgte non vvt-i vs 2jzge non vvt-i vs 2jzgte vvt-i. The only "weak" motor is the vvt-i 2jzge which has smaller rods that shouldn't be used over 450hp. Compression ratio may change but strength of blocks, cranks, pistons and head are all able to withstand power. With the right turbo and tune you can expect a stock blocked 2jzgte to push 600-800rwhp reliably, and others have done more. When you start using super small turbos with a fast torque onset (aka anything smaller than a 67mm turbo) you can have issues bending rods in the 800hp range; but with a laggy turbo I have seen many many people push 1000rwhp on stock rods, because the torque onset is much later in the curve which essentially saves the motor. You run a 64.5mm turbo on 30 lbs of boost with a .88 a/r housing making 800hp, you might be bending rods because of how quick that turbo will start to spool in comparison.
For a standalone, wiring harness, turbo, manifold, exhaust, injectors, fuel pump, tune, intercooler piping you're probably real close if not a little over 5k depending on what parts you choose.
Pretty much 5k right there exluding plumbing (intercooler piping, intercooler, oil lines, water lines)
Internals aren't different 2jzgte non vvt-i vs 2jzge non vvt-i vs 2jzgte vvt-i. The only "weak" motor is the vvt-i 2jzge which has smaller rods that shouldn't be used over 450hp. Compression ratio may change but strength of blocks, cranks, pistons and head are all able to withstand power. With the right turbo and tune you can expect a stock blocked 2jzgte to push 600-800rwhp reliably, and others have done more. When you start using super small turbos with a fast torque onset (aka anything smaller than a 67mm turbo) you can have issues bending rods in the 800hp range; but with a laggy turbo I have seen many many people push 1000rwhp on stock rods, because the torque onset is much later in the curve which essentially saves the motor. You run a 64.5mm turbo on 30 lbs of boost with a .88 a/r housing making 800hp, you might be bending rods because of how quick that turbo will start to spool in comparison.
Wow you got all that right on top of the head! This is awesome. I totally forget to ask u about transmission. What do u think about that? Any suggestions there?
P.s definitely not looking to push the car beyond 500whp
I know you can have the auto transmission built to easily stand more than 500hp, so I would check out supraforums for more information; but off the top of my head there is...
And those trans are holding up to 8 or 9 second drag racing passes, so I bet they make packages for the average 500-600hp daily driver guy too. And yeah 500whp stock block/head is fine. The only reason people go into the head is to push the rev limit past 6800 with larger turbo's that are laggier, and it seems rather easy to have a head built to withstand 7800 with cams/springs/retainers.
I know you can have the auto transmission built to easily stand more than 500hp, so I would check out supraforums for more information; but off the top of my head there is...
And those trans are holding up to 8 or 9 second drag racing passes, so I bet they make packages for the average 500-600hp daily driver guy too. And yeah 500whp stock block/head is fine. The only reason people go into the head is to push the rev limit past 6800 with larger turbo's that are laggier, and it seems rather easy to have a head built to withstand 7800 with cams/springs/retainers.
Awesome. Your thoughts on a cd009 swap?
Looks like it will need atleast 15k to have it done right.
I have an R154 and definitely recommend a manual transmission. I've heard good things from supra owners about the cd009 swap. I don't really have an opinion myself yet, but if I ever blow my trans up it might be an option for me. T56 magnum might be a better option but more costly.
I have an R154 and definitely recommend a manual transmission. I've heard good things from supra owners about the cd009 swap. I don't really have an opinion myself yet, but if I ever blow my trans up it might be an option for me. T56 magnum might be a better option but more costly.
yeah 5k for a brand new t56 that can hold 700ft lbs to the wheels and then you just need a good twin disk clutch for about 1500-2000 more (thats about the same for both trans). I think brand new cd009's are in the 2k range, so replacements are probably much cheaper.
yeah 5k for a brand new t56 that can hold 700ft lbs to the wheels and then you just need a good twin disk clutch for about 1500-2000 more (thats about the same for both trans). I think brand new cd009's are in the 2k range, so replacements are probably much cheaper.
Oh ok.. Cd009 about 2k more in that case. Gotcha! I have started some research on cd009 transmission adapted to gen1 aristo platform.
09-24-19 | 02:52 PM
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