Sweatshop

iTrader: (11)

New to the forum. This is probably child's play But I DO NOT know the answer so be patient with me. Notice the Supra Motor and trans swap is incredibly popular for th plug-and-play ease. Is the 4.0 V8 Not a good platform for boost or supercharging? Why does the motor even have to be swapped since the SC300 has a six anyway? Searched but didn't get a definitive answer. If it's here post a link please. Thanks in advance.

ashtray

iTrader: (12)

The top end is different from the 2jz-GE to the 2jz-GTE. You can turbo and supercharge the 300 and 400, but some over others will require a lot more fabrication. Goodluck.

1JZPWRD

iTrader: (59)

I have to totally agree. It all depends on your deep pockets, time, place, and patience to trouble shoot if something goes wrong. I would say the 300 even though I own the 400 just because of the possibilities of the build. With the 6 cylinders its almost unlimited. With the 400, the most power is achieved with spraying NOS, supercharging, and twin turbo setups. Those require alot of fabrication work. Just check out Scotturnot threads. Also you can change the 400 transmission out with a 300 if if you have the correct driveshaft, and adapters. Just my opinion. Good luck and check out www.lextreme.com for all of your answers.

SChema

iTrader: (2)

GE and GTE heads are different, studs on the exhaust side are not the same limiting the choice of exhaust manifold; therefore limiting the size of a turbo you can run. The block is near identical with the exception of piston squirters on the GTE, something that doesn't make much of a difference. Those are a few of the differences between the six.

As far as for the 4.0, when you have two banks of cylinders to work with you typically double up on parts and labor when going forced induction, turbo to be specific. I'm not saying the 4.0 is a weak motor but the GTE has been proven over and over again. Yes, I have seen the 4.0 make around 1500 but I can only count on one hand the number of people who have done it. The GTE has reached 1500 and past the number, I know of at least five who have done it.

Is the 300 better than 400, I don't know, it depends what you want out of a car. If you don't plan on major mods the 400 is probably your best bet.

ShibbySC4

Isn't this a question based more on personal preference than fact? 1992Lexus made the excellent point of mentioning lextreme.com for the 400 models. But just because of the popularity of the 2jz motor doesn't make the 300 better than the 400. Both cars have amazing potential. Not to get completely philosophical or anything, but it's the potential of the car to make the man a better mechanic and driver. The 400 makes a lot of people step outta the normal "buying parts and just bolting them on" mentality and forces them to think outside of the box. That doesn't mean that I'm saying that 300 owners only swap out parts and doesn't think outside the box. I wouldn't say that, cause I'm not a ****. We're part of an SC community and there is no division in who has a better car. We're all just enthusiasts, so I say they're both cars are equal. The potential of either the 300 or the 400 is up to the owner.

Kira X

iTrader: (24)

I'd go with an SC430....

OaklandLex

iTrader: (1)

Lol ^ but yea IMO the sc3 is better because it's a little better on gas and it can still have a lotta ***** if you put a fat ol snail on it

aEO 37

iTrader: (2)

^^hmm... I was under the impression that the 400 got slightly better gas mileage. Thats how it is with the 2GS. Is it different with the SCxxx?

to me, I am bias, I love the torque of the V8s

Kira X

iTrader: (24)

The SC400 is actually supposed to have better mileage than the SC300 if it's an automatic. My SC300 gets worse gas mileage than most SC400's I've seen.

OaklandLex

iTrader: (1)

Dammit if only i knew that wen i was shoppin for an sc lol

Kira X

iTrader: (24)

About the gas mileage?

OaklandLex

iTrader: (1)

Yea I assumed that it was good on gas since its a 6 cylinder instead of 8. Plus my buddy has an ls400 and that thing gets 18 mpg wasnt really feelin that

Kira X

iTrader: (24)

I get 16 mpg in both the city and on the highway. I've got an SC300 in great shape so I don't know what's the deal.

5-speed and 1JZ SC's get good mileage too! The same goes for the ones with VVT-i engines.

wickedsc3

iTrader: (3)

There is no answer for this question. What is your goal? Do you want to do a motor swap, custom turbo fabrication, just a nice looking lexus, car shows, ect.... From your post it looks like your taking about power. If i had a choice between a 89,000 mile sc400 and a 170,000 sc300 and i only wanted about 300 whp. I would easily chose the sc400. Because to get that out of a 300 you would have to swap to the GTE as IMO 170k miles is not legitimate route for na-t. Now if i had the cash to do a motor swap i would pick up the high mileage sc300 for cheap and do the GTE swap, obviously depending on the shape of the car.
So imo it comes down to the specific vehicle and your power goals. Both are great cars and i love my sc300.

Sweatshop

iTrader: (11)

First, I didn't mean to stir the pot on what was almost certainly now a wrongly-phrased question. What I meant to/should have asked (I think) was why were there so many more members(engine) tuning the 300 instead of the 400. I am about to take delivery of a 97 (my first was a 92 SC400 and I love the sound and smoothness). But around other similar, newer, class-similar vehicles, from a start and a roll....I get spanked. I want to know what, (from the simplest bolt-on to the best, most appealing full builds) could even that up a bit. Take price and experience for the yungunn pleae. Thanks