2ZZ swappers and Turboers: are you happy?

[bluesmoke]

Just thought I would canvas some opinions. Why did you choose to turbo or 2ZZ over the other option, and are you glad you did?

I don't want a "which is better" argument, just an honest discussion about peoples' experiences since doing their swap or turbo conversion. I want to make sure I make the right choice, in the long run.

[shnazzle]

Excellent topic. Very curious myself as either option is very tempting. Possibly even a 3s-gte swap, as I heard that may be a potent combo

[Anonymous]

I think it's probably personal preference. I've thought about both, but my personal conclusion was 2zz.

SteveB very kindly took me out in his car and that sealed my decision. For a track car the high revving and peak power is perfect and it is of course very reliable.

Turbo would be good fun and you can undoubtedly get more power, but at what expense I wonder. Also the mid range torque an aftermarket turbo kit offers doesn't attract me for track work.

Circa 200bhp seems to be a sweet spot for the roadster without going to town on everything else.

[Lee H]

I did a fair bit of research on all this before deciding on my swap. Also bought and sold a 2ZZ as I changed my mind as I knew it would be similar but inferior to the Honda K20's i'm used to.

Given sufficient funds I would actually fit a Honda K20 and sort of wish thats what i'd started doing now instead of the 3S.

[Anonymous]

Turbo for me due to the quick pick up and go ability, but also for the demented squirral. But then im just road and not track.

[parker455]

k20 would be ideal I'd imagine, or turbo.. Haven't been in a 2zz but may do on saturday so fingers crossed!

[Anonymous]

K20 would be great but a different league in terms of fitting and therefore cost. The beauty of 2zz is ease of fitment and plug and play ecu etc

[parker455]

K20 would be great but a different league in terms of fitting and therefore cost. The beauty of 2zz is ease of fitment and plug and play ecu etc

Yeah that's true, I like the idea of a turbo'd 2zz but I still don't 100% trust these engines. I'd only turbo my 1zz if I'd had it rebuilt

[Star_69]

Had a factory supercharged 2zz.. that was fun. Very linear and predictable. Even supercharged, you needed to keep it north of 6k to hit peak power, which is easy with the c64 box and all part of the 2zz experience. Ultimately I craved more torque without having to rev it so much (and the power fc was a pig) and swapped it for a 3.5l v6 (2gr-fe), which is also great fun. All the torque you could ever want. A min of 245 ft-lbs @ 1500rpm on the dyno, but it redlines at 6250rpm and now I'd give anything for another 1k rpm ..  Grass is always greener, right?   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:  

Wouldn't rule the range of Toyota V6's out... they are also quite a unique delivery. All solutions boil down to driving style, how much you want to change or spend and what you want at the end of it..

[Alex Knight]

Great question!

Personally, I have been brought up with a lot of Honda VTECs, which means I naturally lean towards the 2ZZ.

I did spend about 5 years with a 360BHP ST205 GT-Four, which was a lot of fun, but I was always worried about oil temps, pressures, water temps, EGTs etc, which meant that I was never 100% immersed in the driving experience.

I personally chose to fit a 2ZZ because nothing beats the immediacy and throttle response of a high-revving, high-compression engine. It simply suits the character of the roadster better in my opinion.

Sure, a turbo 1ZZ produces more horses and torques, but the 2ZZ is a pretty much bulletproof, fit and forget solution.

[shnazzle]

Hmm...I'm definitely swaying towards a 2zz now instead of turbo.
Guess the problem will always be finding a good 2zz. Or finding a decent one and spending a lot to have it rebuilt.

[parker455]

To be fair my 1zz kept up with a celica t sport last night and a cooper S.. quite impressed by it

[shnazzle]

I did alright against our 265hp Leon CupraR. So stock it's definitely not a slow car.

[s12vea]

Stock is faster than it feels if driven well correctly, It's a big shame more power wasn't available direct from the factory from new.

[parker455]

Definitely agree. When it hits 4k revs it absolutely opens up, but getting to that isn't a 'hit you in the back' experience. Shame you're selling the turbo s12vea! how come?

[nimrod]

I do miss that, pin you to your seat sort of power, my son had a mk2 turbo import, that had been modified, and it use to fly, saying that, I used to keep up in a standard Roadster, most of the time.

[parker455]

That's the power I'd be after, but power comes at a price.. (insurance, fuel etc)

[bluesmoke]

It's tough because the thing that initially drew me back to MR2's was the memory of how Damn good my turbo mk2 was to drive. That feeling when you floored it and it hit you with the power.....

I might not like having to work it so hard with the 2ZZ, I don't know.

On the other hand, if the engine I have is using oil, it wouldn't be worth turbo'ing anyway. I haven't had any opportunity to find that out yet.

[roger]

I turbo'd mine when it was only about 4 years old, so not really in the market to "throw" a good engine away.

My PE turbo (might be hard to find nowadays) spools up quickly, very little lag. Its manually fixed at 5 psi, managed 200bhp at "standard", and 220 with the charge cooler connected. More than enough for me.

No change to engine internals (except bigger injectors), they have coped very well. Clutch starting slipping on occasion, so rather than waiting, changed it for a slightly tougher one.

Hope the info helps.

[s12vea]

Definitely agree. When it hits 4k revs it absolutely opens up, but getting to that isn't a 'hit you in the back' experience. Shame you're selling the turbo s12vea! how come?

Just a change of direction for my project! Still say can't get better the than the thump in the back from a well set up turbo!

[steve b]

I went 2ZZ as the car gets loads of track use. I wanted fit and forget reliability, throttle response and revs coupled with no more weight.

A K20 would be better but it's another jump in cost.  

I had a  Mk2 turbo with owns hybrid etc, then a very sorted  MX5 turbo GT2860RS then a VX220.  After leaving the MX5 behind for the VX220 it really made me realise big power isn't the be all and end all, my MX5 had 265bhp/220lbs torque and weighed 920kg it could slay some off the shelf very fast stuff on tracks down the straights and was fun in the bends, the vx220 only had 150bhp but was so much more fun in the bends and more rewarding.  Tuned turbos you always struggle to dissipate the heat and have gear boxes in the back of your mind when the torque goes up, you start worrying about the car and not being able to just thrash it.

Saying all that if I never took my car on track I'd have put a small turbo on it as low down lazy torque but not going silly makes for a nice road car.

[1979scotte]

Let you know on Tuesday when I get s12vea's turbo kitted fitted   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

[s12vea]

Let you know on Tuesday when I get s12vea's turbo kitted fitted   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

You will be smiling ear to ear   s:bounce: :bounce: s:bounce:    s:bounce: :bounce: s:bounce:

[1979scotte]

Let you know on Tuesday when I get s12vea's turbo kitted fitted   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

You will be smiling ear to ear   s:bounce: :bounce: s:bounce:    s:bounce: :bounce: s:bounce:

Until the fuzz click the cuffs on

[s12vea]

Let you know on Tuesday when I get s12vea's turbo kitted fitted   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

You will be smiling ear to ear   s:bounce: :bounce: s:bounce:    s:bounce: :bounce: s:bounce:

Until the fuzz click the cuffs on

Have a safe journey in the morning.

Remember your car will feel very different on Tuesday   s8) s8)    s8) s8)