Sc400 Conversion To 6 Speed + Turbo?

[BlurrySC300]

I used to drive a 95 SC300 5speed...loved it. But I heard some mechanics when I was at my dad's work (Lexus of Austin) saying something about converting the auto tranny to a manual 6 speed in the SC400. My question is..can it be done? Has anyone ever done it before? Seems like it would be ridiculously awesome idea.

Secondly, if it could be converted to manual...would it be possible to turbo/twin turbocharge the engine? Once again, has anyone ever done that?

Just was on my mind and thought i'd spit it out and see what you guys ( and gals) thought.

[Lexual]

Hey whats up, I know that the 1UZ can be twin turboed, David Phan of Lextreme did his LS400 and can be seen at http://www.lextreme.com/tt.html I also know there is a company out there that does bell house matching. You can buy a supra 6 speed and mount it up to the 1UZ i just cant remeber the link it may take some digging to find that again.

[BlurrySC300]

Thanks for the info. Any clue as to the horsepower gains from a decent TT setup? I just think it would be the coolest thing to have a Japanese V8 sports car thats turbo or TT.

[jzz30]

its not possible unless there is a manual trans computer for a 1uz but maybe a standalone will work....in other words big bucks

[AWJ]

You can use the second gear sensor to fool the auto tranny ecu somehow. There is a company in Australia that sells bellhousing conversion kits for all types of toyota powerplants. I posted the link a while ago. A search should bring it up.

Twin turboing the 1uz in the SC is hard without extensive modification to the engine bay because the physical layout puts the turbos too low for the conventional oil return to function correctly. Then a pump is needed to get the oil back from the turbo. Also, twins make ground clearance an issue. This is from what I understand. It is definitely possible to do, but hard in the zz chassis.

A single turbo is more possible. Still difficult. But potentially easier and more rewarding.

[Lexual]

The tt setup is rumored to be well nicely put a bitc*. And the power gains werent that great. A company in california did a custom setup a while back for a guy. They were only running something like 8-9 psi, so about 4 psi on each turbo. I think the guy pulled 375 ( dont qoute me on that one ) at the wheels, not really that impressive for the money, I have heard a lot of success stories with a S1 trim supercharger though. Rod Millen Motorsports did a similar setup on a GS. I think a supercharger would be your best bet.

[AWJ]

It would be the same gains. 375 at the wheels probably nets more than the basic sc set-up. But cost will determine that. Most cars don't put 375 to the wheels. But then again, there are a lot that exceed it. Not common.

[Lextreme]

Done Twin Turbo LS400

Done Supercharged LS400

Doing Single Turbo LS400

[Lexual]

AWJ like i said dont qoute me, sometimes my memory can fail me, =(, Lextreme should be able to help here though I know you had your LS twin turbo and now super if I remeber your site right, what did you find to work best?

[Lextreme]

I found Supercharger work best. Very reliable, and less problem. Great for street applications. Turbo would be great for higher and earlier power. I ran 15 psi with intercooling. The car pulls like crazy... raced few 944 turbo Porsches..

[Sadistic]

A few years ago HKS made a twin turbo 4 litre.. I'm not sure if they produced the kit or not, I would say no since no one has mentioned it. But, I know they did it. Paisley also had a TT 4 Litre in his truck, didn't he?

[UCF3]

Didn't someone Turbo their Tundra? Is that what you're referring to Sadistic?

[jzz30]

ahh if your going to spend all that money NA tune that uz puppy and bore and stroke it to like a 5.5 liter and make it rev to god knows how high if you think about it that might cost too much so just supercharge it.

[UCF3]

I believe the UZFE engine is designed to be supercharged, more than Turbo charged., although the guys in Japan would probably disagree. A few years back, I read somewhere that a tuner group in Australia supercharged the SC400, and made it clear the hood. When I asked them about the LS400, they wern't really sure if it would.

I think it's worth supercharging.

[SleepySC]

Do a 2jz gte swap into the SC400. It has the same engine cradle(crossmember) as the SC300. NO NEED to fabricate engine mounts. It has been done by CL members.

[Lexual]

Talk a bit** of a project going from the 8cyl to the 6cyl even fab shops say they can do it but why. You would be better off selling the 400 and buying a 300 then swap it would save you money in the long run