Alexus_300

iTrader: (4)

Hi all, I'm in the process of building a setup for boost and was wondering if anyone has ever confirm that the 5 speed automatic transmission(A650E) would bolt up to a 2000 SC300 engine or not. The reason I ask is because the SC300 comes with a 4 speed automatic(A340E) which is the same as the ones on the supra. And I just need confirmation that the 5 speed bell housing would mate up to the engine or not of the the SC300. All help is appreciated.

JeffTsai

iTrader: (1)

Any transmission that was ever offered on any 2JZ is interchangeable. The bolt pattern never changed. I believe 1JZ tranny bolt pattern is also the same as 2JZ...so 1JZ trannies "should" work with the 2JZ as well.

Basically the A340/E, A650E, W55, W58, R154, V160, V161 transmissions will all bolt right up to the engine block. Now, getting it to sit correctly/mount/line up correctly into the car is the tougher part. I assume you're buying an old SC300 2JZ-GE shortblock for the stronger factory pistons/rods as a cheaper alternative to a GTE shortblock. And you're just gona swap that block into your car while keeping the stock head and trans. If so, yes it will work.

Oh yeah, let me know how close I was on my guess

morris

iTrader: (2)

a 340 will connect to a GS400 which comes stock with the A650 so it should go the other way as well.

But keep in mind if you are planning on boosting the A650 is not what I would call a stellar choice. The 650 wont hold much past 400-450rwhp.

I am actuall considering pulling the 650 from my GS and putting in a A340 from boostlogic.

Alexus_300

iTrader: (4)

Thanks for the info jeff. The engine that I'll be using is a 2000 SC300 motor which is pretty much the same motor as the one in my 2001 GS300 besides the tranny. What I'll be doing is pulling the motor apart and rebuild it from the bottom up with new aftermarket rods and pistons along with a complete new valve train. PM me your number jeff so that I can talk to you about a few things that I'm planning on doing.

Alexus_300

iTrader: (4)

thanks for the heads up morris. If I remember correctly, the stock A650E transmission is good for around 450 rwhp with an external transmission cooler and a VB upgrade. My roomate drove around with a setup like this on his IS300 for over three years without any problems. Oh, I have a spare A340 tranny with 58k miles on the setup if you want it. I might not use that transmission because I hate to loose my E-shift and the extra gear.

JeffTsai

iTrader: (1)

I have a PFS Race Built A650E tranny. It's supposed to be able to hold 700-750rwhp at the most. PFS told me that the biggest thing that kills the tranny is the RPM. So if you manage to get a 2JZ to make 700whp with about 7000rpm then the transmission will hold up much longer vs a engine that needs 8500rpm to do so. With power levels at a more tame 500-600whp it should last quite a while. Morris keep in mind this is on a 2JZ where the torque delivery is not as sudden and powerful as a V8. I'm sure a boosted v8 will tear the tranny apart with 500whp. Auto transmissions failure limits are usually rated by torque instead of HP.

morris

iTrader: (2)

Thanks for the clarification. I like my tiptronic and overdrive as well and if I could find anyone that has run a A650 on a V8 with 700hp or so I would have some hope. But thus far all I have heard was that it isnt gonna happen.

So I have been thinking A340 with a PCS tranny controller.

JeffTsai

iTrader: (1)

Morris, if you have the money. You can send your tranny off to IPT or LevelTen. It's either one of them can't remember which, but I talked to someone that sent their tranny off to get built by them. Anyways, they charge about $3500 but the transmission gets BUILT. They cryo treat all the weak points in the trans, I think they put in a stronger set of sun and planetary gears as well. As well as the standard upgrades everyone else does such as valvebody, add stronger and more clutchpacks, and upgrade sprags. But the craziest part is that they also garuantee that transmission to hold 800whp all day long. Even if you're drag racing it at a track! If you manage to snap it...they will fix it. If I had an extra 2g's laying around I woulda send my trans to get built by them but unfortunately I didn't lol.

So, if you have the money to spend to bulletproof your transmission then you should talk to them. Heard lots of good things about them.

Alexus_300

iTrader: (4)

Jeff, you're right about the PFS built transmission being able to hold that much power. That is what peter was claiming back in the days when Aldo had his high hp IS300 but he was only driving it daily at around 550rwhp or so. His car did make around 670rwhp if iirc on C16 but that was pretty much only at the track. Aldo only had his car for roughly a year or so, so there was very little data to back up all of the hp. If you make around 700rwhp and used it daily with a good 30k miles on the built tranny, then we'll have hard fact data to back it up.

Alexus_300

iTrader: (4)

Level 10 does build some crazy transmission to handle the huge amount of hp and tq. that american V8's make but I'm not sure that they ever built a A650E transmission. The last transmission (A650E) that I tore apart with my friend, I notice that with a simple VB upgrade, the 3rd gear sprag had alot of wear on it along with a few worn clutch packs. Remember, this was with a NA car that was driven hard daily with a external transmission cooler. I'm not sure how much extra stress a turbo car will deliver but I'm up to see later on when I boost. But I plan to run around 400rwhp daily that's all.

JeffTsai

iTrader: (1)

Alexus keep in mind that in the 650E trans, the 3rd gear sprag is one of the weakest links in the whole tranny. It's usually the first part to fail on a boosted motor. The PFS trans build includes upgrading all the sprags and clutchpacks. I think someone posted a picture comparing the stock sprag to an aftermarkket sprag. Let's just say the stock one looked like a toothpick compared to the monster sized aftermarket one. The guy I talked to was thinking of sending his trans off to Level 10 to get built and apparently the do work on the A650E units. He got the quote for $3500.

Anyways, I'm planning to run my car at around 550-600whp daily. With the occasional sprints up to 700whp. I'll see how long it lasts

morris

iTrader: (2)

level 10 was doing the tranny builds for the Lexus racing teams GS and if I remember correctly they found all the weak links through track testing and even replaced some "plastic like" parts in the tranny with metallic ones because they found that the plastic like components were failing. Now with that said I dont know if they were running north of 500hp either, the car was NA.
From what I have been told the a650 doesnt have 4 full gears, it has 3 and then uses some sort of multiple over drives for fourth and fifth. This is supposed to be one of the reasons that it is hard to bulletproof.

To tell you the truth, I dont beleive anyones claims about anything any more, I refuse to be the guinea pig any more, it costs too much and breaks your heart to often.

Quite frankly I would feel a lot better about any tranny builders claims if there were others that could give a testament to the claims. The only tranny that people have succesfully used that I am aware of at the high HP levels is the TH400 and that has its downsides as well. But at least it is known to last.

JeffTsai

iTrader: (1)

Well, Level 10 warranties their trannies up to 800rwhp. If it snaps then send it back and they will fix it. But, yes I guess it does get old after a while if it keeps breaking on you. But if they're willing to warranty it then it must be able to hold that kinda power since I doubt it's cheap for them to tear down a trans and rebuild it from both a parts and labor perspective.

The A650E is a bit of an oddball. I think this is correct but I might be wrong. It has 3 gears and 1 overdrive. The way it works, I can see why it would be a beeotch to bulletproff it.
Drives like this:
1st gear= 1st gear
2nd gear= 1st gear + overdrive
3rd gear= 2nd gear
4th gear= 3rd gear
5th gear= 3rd gear + overdrive

SUPRA OWNER

full build on it. They did the PTS system, Hydro system and a 3200 stall. I think I paid around $3000 for this service 7 or 8 years ago. I never had any problems with the tranny once they build it. Although, the power that I had in my maxima is no where near the power level that I have in my GS. Level 10 did a awsome job on my 97 Super Charged maxima. In my GS, PFS did a Valve Body, Sprag gear and a Tranny Cooler. I daily drive at 450rwhp and race at 550rwhp. So far no problems.However,I don't feel as confident with my GS tranny as I did with my maxima tranny.
Later, Jose

GSoup

Jose how much did it run you from PFS to do the VB/Sprag upgrade? if you don't mind me asking.