I have been doing tons of research since I got my 1998 SC300 and it seems like building a good car on a budget is nearly impossible.

I looked into getting some coilovers, and the overwhelming response was "cheap ones are garbage and a waste of money and if you don't buy $2,500+ KWs don't bother." Then I look into getting wheels and same thing. The general consensus seems to be that if you don't buy a $4,000 set of Volks you're going to be cracking and bending rims left and right. I understand that you get what you pay for, but with most things there is a good bang for buck option. I don't want to drop a grand on a set of coilovers if they're bad quality, but I also can't spend $2,500 on a set of KWs...

 

It all depends on your goals, what exactly are you trying to do with your car. If it's going to be a track car, you wouldn't want to go cheap since you'll need things that can handle a high amount of load, if you want to just do it for shows and perhaps some dailying you won't need to spend a **** load. I wouldn't advise getting crappy wheels but you don't need to get super expensive ones if you aren't going to be going fast. Another option for you to buy is used, get low mileage coilovers/wheels if you want to save some. From your post it seems like you're doing research on what the majority is saying, which in most cases people don't know what they are talking about, unless they specify their experiences in depth. Learn about how these things work in depth and make your purchase based on things that you will need or may need in the future.

 

If you listen to what people online say you'll never get anything done.

BC Coilovers are good, and less than half of that price. Varrstoen makes good wheels for a fourth of your mentioned price. For $2500 you can have new wheels, and coilovers... Less if you buy used.

 

You have a choice of many coilovers new reputable brands less than $2500 .High end wheels in classifieds for good prices all about searching.

 

I did my fair share of research when I was looking for budget coilovers. At the end of the day it boils down to "how can I make my dollar stretch the furthest?"

I was skeptical about BC Racing at first, then I came across a post on NSX forum with a good breakdown on why they aren't so bad. That post sold me on it, and I made an order through FIGS Engineering (16/12kg/mm). Installed it with help from my buddy, got the ride height adjusted (I'm running the OEM 430/Soarer rims) and aligned. Super happy with the results, no more scraping of the front lips (that used to bug the *beep* out of me when driving on bumpy Hwys)

Well, that's my 2cent on the matter...

 

There are a few other options in the market for them. BC, KW are great on them. If you need a quote on any one of them, please let us know.
'
Regards,

Elliot @ Circuit Motorsports

 

I've got Tein fully adjustable coilovers and they are great and only cost 800 dollars. I've got them on the softest setting and bumps are not bad and the car handles twice as good as stock.

I've also got some rims off an is350 and i think they look really nice and are 18 inches instead of 16 stock, I got them for 500 with tires that had good tread on them.

I don't know who your talking to who thinks you need to spend a few grand on rims or suspension... i spent a few grand and got a turbo setup plus rims and suspension.

 

I'm fairly new to the car modding world and I think I'm just getting a case of sticker shock. I come from the gun world, where a grand will buy you some of the best pistols made. I just want to make sure that I do everything right the first time, or as close as possible at least. Like with the coilovers; I've read that the cheaper ones will work fine, but come track time they're vastly inferior to KWs, Ohlins, or other top tier ones. If that's the case than maybe I should bite the bullet, save up, and buy the KWs from the get go.

Is it true that I'm better off just getting oem Supra shocks and springs if I have no desire to lower the car? I was thinking about doing that but even that's expensive. I might want to lower the car a couple inches eventually, but for now I could care less. I just want better performance.

As far as wheels, I like the 350z option. They look pretty good to me and I see 18" sets as cheap as $200 without tires. Unfortunately they weigh 23-26lbs and I would still have to spend around $600 for a set of tires that aren't garbage. If tires are included I could just use those, but most of them are too far off of our stock size and I don't trust them. I am also worried that I might get burned and buy a set that is bent, repaired/welded, or not good for whatever reason. Most of the wheels for sale have tires mounted on them and I am worried that the tires could hide things.

I think part of my problem is that I have caviar taste with a dollar menu budget. I don't want 26lb 350z wheels, I want 18lb TE37s. I don't want $90 no name tires, I want $190 Michelin Pilot Sport tires. Etc, etc. I guess the real question is when do you start getting diminishing returns. Are KWs really $1,300 better than Stance, BC, Tein, etc? With anything I've ever bought in the past there has been a clear cut line where it's diminishing returns, but with cars that doesn't seem to be the case.

 

oSUPRAo,

The brands mentioned above are very good but you will pay a price for them and as good as they can be... no you don't *need* them to build a good car on a budget.

​^^ I agree with both of these guys. Don't always listen to everything people say on the internet when it comes to buying the most expensive parts mentioned or nothing at all. Some things like that apply (such as 2JZ NA power mods) while others have a lot of actual choices available... such as with your suspension.

I have yet to shell out the high price for expensive coilovers for my car. I am sure the best brands really are worth it but I cannot say from direct experience. I was in your shoes and wanted a reasonably priced suspension upgrade without spending thousands. I also didn't care about lowering and I wanted near OEM longevity from whatever went into the car.

I spent about $1k on the Gixxer_Drew suspension setup. I went with 600/325 springs but I'd recommend 500/250 for most street cars. It's affordable if you're willing to do your own work to install them, uses high quality components and gives you handling on par with the starting line of truly good coilovers that cost quite a bit more. You just can't really lower the car with a Gixxer setup.

Read about it here:
http://www.supraforums.com/forum/sho...pension-thread..

Second to that, Supra TT shocks (or the Bilstein AK1242's and AK1243's used for the Gixxer suspension) and OEM TT springs are a very good option. Not sure if the springs are all available new any longer but those go up for sale used every so often.

Converting to a 93-96 Supra TT rear swaybar setup and switching to a Supra Turbo "Lance" alignment is also a great way to improve how the car handles.

......

All of those things together will not be cheap... but they will be affordable and reasonable handling upgrade solutions when building up an SC in the basic sense. Don't forget your steering rack bushings (aftermarket replacements) and front lower control arms as well (OEM Supra MKIV).

Wheels were mentioned in another of your threads and I still say find a set of used staggered Supra TT rims or a set of used 350Z rims. I like the former on SC's but both look good and are affordable and highly durable OEM castings that allow for wider tire widths than stock. And both will clear a set of used LS400 brake calipers (seriously, find a set used). I bought a set of used Supra TT rims (17x8 front, 17x9.5 rear) when I got my car. They weren't cosmetically perfect and one needed to be trued but after that they went on and they've been solid ever since.

Those things all get you started and will make your car a good all-rounder. As DrAtomica mentioned, it really does come down to your intended use of the car but believe me, the above mentioned things will change the car in the handling and braking department when you're on a budget. Yes, it is possible within reason. I do not feel a good SC absolutely needs expensive coilovers-- they're just a very good upgrade if you can afford the quality examples and they do apply much more in a high horsepower and/or competition environment.

Now we haven't addressed horsepower, transmissions or limited slip diffs which are all good topics as well but again... it depends on what you want from the car and how you intend to use it. Being in Florida with no emissions testing does mean you have a lot of freedom with your engine configuration.

However having a car set up properly for more power with sharper handling and stronger braking are good things to do before getting into anything engine related. I know you didn't bring that up yet but I think it's a fair point to make. We're not talking "fast" here but you would be surprised at how responsive and fun a stock engined NA SC300 can be with the rest of the chassis upgraded around it.

Now if "fast" is also your goal on top of the rest, then you'd additionally have to get into a different engine setup with a turbo. And there are tiers of affordability to that as well.

I would focus on the other things related to your suspension, brakes and wheels first.

 

I saw the Gixxer Drew setup, and I was planning on going that route, but then I found out that it won't work anymore as described. Apparently the aforementioned Bilstein AK1242's and AK1243's have been lengthened by 1" since he created the setup and now require custom modifications from Bilstein to work with the rest of his setup properly. I was thinking about ditching the coilover aspect entirely and just using the Bilstein shocks and Hyperco 600/325 springs. However, I have yet to determine if the AK shocks will even fit our cars still due to Bilstein lengthening them.

As far as performance mods, I am so far away financially that I'm trying to not even dwell on it lol. The plan right now is to eventually find another 2JZ engine for cheap, and at the very least, rebuild it with ARP everything and oem turbo pistons and rods. For the transmission my plan is to use a built TH400. As much as I would love to have manual a V160 is absurdly expensive and it just seems like a huge PITA to do an auto>R154 swap. Then the fun with trying to find a clutch other than a $3,000 Tilton that can handle big power.

I'd rather just get a TH400, crank up the boost, and not worry about it. Not only that but the traffic here is insane so an auto just makes more sense. Maintaining full boost through the shifts and sheer straight line acceleration is also a nice bonus. I'll just have to see how plausible it is, both financially and with fabrication. I'd rather not beat the beezesus out of my transmission tunnel.

EDIT: apparently you posted in the thread that discussed the Bilstein shock woes lol: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sus...te-2014-a.html

 

I am, pretty sure I have in my SC300 the first generation of the slightly lengthened Bilstein AK shocks from 2011. The issues described with not being able to lower and needing helper springs on even the milder spring combinations of 500/250 and 600/325 fit with symptoms I had early on with my car's Gixxer setup. I'm at a very "stock" ride height and it all works. I have since bought helpers for the rear springs which I plan to install whenever I get around to swapping my 600/325's for the 500/250's I have on standby (mostly due to the poorly maintained roads I encounter in many parts of Los Angeles).

To the best of my knowledge the system still works with the revised Bilstein shocks because I and others have been using those versions for several years now. It's just not a setup designed for lowering and never was. I'll shoot you pictures if you like. My SC does not have a "4x4" ride height. It has a "showroom" ride height.

I re-read the thread you posted and indeed in 2014 I was still experiencing some occasional spring settling noises (the "PONG" you heard mentioned). Funny thing is that in the midst of other car service and my general business I have not really encountered those noises since that time. The reason for the noises is the lack of the helper springs in the rear because in the original design Andrew Brilliant (Gixxer_Drew) never specified them unless you went to a Hypercoil spring rate above 600/325.

Today with this setup the consensus is that the helper springs and perches are required in the rear for all Gixxer spring combinations including 500/250 in order to dial in correct preload. This is not a bad thing to do anyway. I do not feel they are explicitly required for the front but that can be done as well.

...

As for power, I can totally understand not being ready to tackle that one in any way shape or form yet no matter what.

However... just how much power do you want to make with this car? You can easily hold a lot of power with a built Toyota 1JZ/2JZ-GTE A340 4-speed automatic transmission and still keep overdrive. You don't need a TH400 3-speed unless you're building power to a ridiculous level.

With manuals the consensus now is that V160's are really for original MKIV's or specialty builds. They are expensive to find used since they have officially been discontinued by Toyota and certain rebuild parts are getting hard to find. The new alternative to the V160 is the Grannas Racing Tremec T56 Magnum 6-speed swap which is actually rated for more power holding than the V160/161 ever was. While it is not a cheap conversion it is far more affordable than a V160 swap has become today.

R154's are, as I understand, getting hard to find now as well. I converted to one from my W58 and it's a very good legacy original transmission setup that is totally bulletproof to 500whp and good for 700whp built but they are best used up to 500whp. Some of the shift housing parts needed to convert an MKIII R154 are discontinued but you can always have the housing extended professionally. Alternative to that is converting an Aisin AR5 5-speed which is a very close relation to the R154 and more obtainable. It just requires a bit more work to convert.

A Tilton clutch isn't needed unless you're making a metric crapload of power. For the R-series transmissions there are also OS Giken twin-plates if you are making a lot of power. I'm going with the clutch options from SouthBend (DXD Racing Clutches) personally for slightly lower power holding.

With the Tremec Magnum transmissions you have a plethora of high power clutch options available that need not be made by Tilton unless you really want one.

I feel your transmission choice should reflect what you actually want to use. If you like automatics more than manuals then I'd suggest seeking out a GTE-spec Toyota A340 4-speed which will bolt right into your car since the automatic tunnel was designed for it.

Finding another engine to build is a good idea. I've done this recently myself. Do note however that if you are saying you want to use all OEM rods and pistons.... the OEM rods are good until 500whp and the OEM pistons are good to about 700whp. Reaching much higher horsepower goals in the 700whp+ range with complete reliability means you'd need to build with stronger aftermarket H-beam rods and forged pistons. Just decide on how much power you actually want to make with your car. Everything gets much more expensive with ANY turbocharged JZ engine once you go past 500whp.

The engine I am building is a 2JZ-GTE block and head with OEM TT rods and OEM TT pistons. Good for plenty of power but keep in mind I am not planning to go to the 500whp OEM rod threshold with my approach. You can just as easily build a 2JZ-GE engine with these type of rods and pistons.

As with the suspension discussion you do not need to buy the most expensive engine or transmission setup to have a reasonably fast and fun SC300.

 

I was going to go with the 600/325 rates but if it's stiff enough that you're switching then maybe I'll just stick with the 500/250 with front and rear perches. I still don't know much about suspension components, so I have no idea how significant perches are, but I definitely don't want any weird noises. Just like you, I basically want the car to have have oem reliability and quality with better performance. I'll do more research on this stuff... A picture would be cool if you get a chance. Does it lower the car around 1" like I've heard the Supra setup will? I would like a slight drop, but "slammed" isn't my style at all.

As far as power goals, I am planning on shooting for 700whp. If it's true that 500hp is the point where it gets very costly then I may just stop there. My goal is to walk the fastest currently produced corvette when the car is completed. Since the 2016 C7 Z06 has 650hp I figure 700whp will suffice. Honestly, though, I want as much power as I can get while still having street manners. If I already spent 15 grand for a 500hp car what's another 5 grand lol.

That's a lot of the reason why I am looking at the TH400s; I've heard that the built A340s are hit and miss. I'd rather just go for the gusto right off the bat and not have to do a TH400 swap later like I see some people doing. Plus I would like to drag race the car eventually, and from what I've read the TH400 is way stronger and better suited for that. I would definitely much rather just use a built A340 though. It's a shame that they can't be completely bulletproof like the 4L80Es and TH400s.

There is one definite constant in my build though, and that's overbuilding. I want to build a car that's made for 1,000hp and then turn the boost down to 700hp. I want the engine, tranny, rear end, suspension, every aspect of this car to handle more than I will ever throw at it. For the sake of reliability and peace of mind. I want to be the guy driving a 700hp car built for 1,000hp, not the guy driving the 700hp car built for 600. I want to build it once and build it right the first time.

On an unrelated note, is $200 for a set of 18" 6 spoke 350z wheels with no tires a good deal? It seems like it but I just want another opinion. I also see some 18" 5 spoke wheels for $350. The 5 spokes look nicer to me but they're almost twice as much...

 

As the saying goes, "How fast do you want to spend"? If you're really looking to build a 700WHP+ capable SC300 you're gonna have to pay to play. Especially if you want to RELIABLY put that power to the ground.

What are your plans for the car? Is it going to be a daily driver that sees some track time, a 50/50 driver/track machine, or an all out track toy? For the track are you interested in 1/8 or 1/4 miles or an actual Auto-X/HPDE machine? You should determine exactly what it is you want before you start spending money or else you'll wind up spending it twice. Not to sound like a **** but you talk about spending 15K-20K for a build but question $150 over a set of used wheels that you like more.

If you're interested in some good quality, less expensive components to start with I'd go for the BC Coilovers or a Gixxer_Drew setup. I'd bet money the Gixxer_Drew setup provides a better ride, but it won't get low like the BCs. Decide which is more important. For wheels, I'd look for a good set of used OEM wheels that you like the look of. You'll get great quality for a low price. I like the 5-spoke 350Z wheels you mentioned. Another great set that should bolt up would be the 19" factory forged Rays off the 03-07 G35 coupe. Good style and about as light as factory wheels get (19lb F / 21lb R) although tires will be pricier for a 19" wheel. If you don't like the used option for OEM or aftermarket, go for a reputable "knockoff" brand. I really like the offerings from Varrstoen in this category, especially their ES1 or ES2 models.

 

Not to sound like a **** but you talk about spending 15K-20K for a build but question $150 over a set of used wheels that you like more. I haven't been shy about saying that I'm currently in college and have a limited budget. Hopefully I'll land a good job when I graduate and move things along. For now I'm just trying make the best choices I can with a part time salary. Even though it's only $200, if you do another $200 here and $200 there it quickly becomes thousands. Just like weight reduction; grams turn into ounces and ounces turn into pounds.

 

I haven't been shy about saying that I'm currently in college and have a limited budget. Hopefully I'll land a good job when I graduate and move things along. For now I'm just trying make the best choices I can with a part time salary. Even though it's only $200, if you do another $200 here and $200 there it quickly becomes thousands. Just like weight reduction; grams turn into ounces and ounces turn into pounds.