whats the best 7m-gte build up
- Thread starter josh88supra
- Start date
josh88supra;897198 said:
400 horse, from 3-6krpm, 5k budget. It will be tight on that budget but not hard to accomplish.
i would buy the following for a 400WHP reliable build with usable powerband.
First find a good machine shop and bring them the engine disassembled and have them measure everything to find out what you have. Have the crank cut/polished if within spec and everything cleaned up.
Buy Oversize forged pistons, New bearings all around, New TOYOTA FACTORY oil pump and timing belt tensioner, Metal head gasket, ARP head studs, Larger Intercooler, Hardpipes, Good clutch if manual, Tranny rebuild kit if auto, Garrett GT3582R, CT-T3 adaptor, Maft either Gen2 or pro, 550 injectors & walbro, Wideband with datalogging capability. (highly recommend Zeitronix kit), AFPR for good measure.
I would have the stock rods reconditioned, Full head rebuild including valve job, Block Bored to each individual piston, EVERYTHING BOILED IN THE MACHINE SHOPS CLEANER/DEGREASER, let the machine shop order your bearings to fit your crank/rods, let the machine shop file Ring end gap if you dont know how and assemble the engine if you dont know how.
At this point you should have a 7m rebuilt to factory clearances (unless your forged pistons, piston to wall clearance is different from factory) with forged pistons and new factory oil pump and timing belt tensioner.
Add gt3582R, big intercooler with hardpipes, 3 inch turbo back exhaust 550cc injectors and walbro, get a tune and your good to go.
This is prolly over your budget but is what it will take for reliable 400 whp.
Cartech builds manifolds for T3 and T4 on the 7M. And the GT35R can be had with a T4 flange. Drjonez had a link. I think it was APT though.
Adjuster
Supramania Contributor
400 at the wheels is not hard to achieve on a stock lower end, with a metal head gasket.
Sure you can pay the bucks, and have forged pistons put in, and a full lower rebuild, but if your engine is tight, I would use the money for suspension improvements.
Start with a compression check.
Make sure all your sensors are good. (TPS, Knock, CPS etc.)
Repair any frayed or cracked wires. (This is getting to be an older car.)
Now comes your power goal.
Trust me, when you have 400, you will want 450. When you have 450, you will want 600.
If you really want to buy pistons, do it right the "only" time, and buy forged ones. Wiesco seems to have the longest skirt design, and a lighter weight than the ROSS or JE ones. I have ROSS ones because they are insanely stout, but they slap like crazy when they are cold.
If you replace your pistons, I reccomend that you have them at minimum, thermal barrier coated on the crown. The skirt moly coating is a good idea too, and thermal dispersant on the underside if you can swing the money. Heat is the #1 enemy of a piston in a turbo charged vehicle. The crown coating reflects much of that heat away from the piston, and spreads it out across the crown so you are less likely to have hot spots. The moly allows the skirts to slip in the bore, and it retains oil very well, enhancing the effect. The dispersant does just that. It improves the ability of the underside of the piston to shed heat into the oil, where your oil cooler can dissapate that into the airflow.
Ok, speaking of oil. There are some simple tips that will improve your system, but not cost a billion dollars.
1) Buy the Turbo oil pump. They are made by Asin, and you DO NOT NEED to buy the OEM Toyota pump and get raped. Just make sure it is marked Asin, and it's a OEM Toyota pump. (They might grind off the Toyota logo, but who cares?) Asin makes them for Toyota.
2) Dis-assemble and clean up the pump. I've never found one clean on the inside, and that debris will go right into your bearings when you first start the car.
3) If you have the ability, you can improve oil flow through the pump by porting the sharp edges where the oil goes OUT. (There is a 90 turn with a sharp corner that can be smoothed pretty easy with a die grinder and a cutter carbide.)
4) Arz sells a larger crossover pipe that deletes the restrictive banjo bolt. It's a good upgrade for the money.
5) Shim the oil pump bypass with one 10mm nut (5mm thick/high) This will raise your oil pressure, but not too much.
6) Decide now to upgrade your oil filter and cooler. It's an easy decision. I just made it for you!
** It removes another "leak" of pressure from your stock system. It also makes oil filter changes much less work/hassle. It cools all your oil when you need it.
** You will no longer have the stock oil filter/cooler attachment, so there is more room down there.
There are two ways to do this.
a) Threading the block. (More work, but it's cleaner in my opinion.)
b) Buying an adapter that spins onto the oil filter boss on the block.
AN 8 sized lines are fine. AN 10 is overkill. (And it's larger than the stock pump output, so why bother unless you mod the pump and other stuff.)
c) Oil cooler of your choice. You can use the stock oil cooler for your Power Steering pump now.
d) Oil thermostat. (Must have this, your oil has to be warm enough to work right, but cool enough to last, and the thermostat does this the right way.)
If you have room for it, a used RX7 Turbo II oil cooler is a good upgrade. It has a built in thermostat, and it has plenty of ability to cool your oil. (This is what I use.) Besides, they are like 30.00 on eBay. So a great deal.
The RX7 can be fitted straight up with AN8 lines/fittings, so I reccomend the AN8 stuff. For your hoses, you can use braided stainless, but there are lower cost alternatives that work just fine, and will not abrade everything they touch. Again, check eBay.
I reccomend Canton/Mecca filters. They filter all the oil, all the time, and they are easy to plumb, and do not need to be changed as much. (You can run one for 25k easy, and it will filter your oil to 8 microns or better all that time. There are other filter options out there, but not many that will work better than a depth type filter.)
There are some kicked out, and modified oil pans. I reccomend getting one if you have the money. More oil capacity is not a bad thing. Improved oil pickup baffles are also good.
The trick is, even if you keep the stock pan, run your oil level to the wire on the dipstick. NOT to the "Full" point, but higher up, where the blade is attached to the wire. This is about one, to 1.5 extra quarts of oil, and it's WAY below where the crank will ever whip up the oil in the pan. Cheap insurance from rock knock.
Alright, oil system is done.
Pistons are done.
Rods can be stock. Just have them checked for being straight, and round. Done. They are shot peened from the factory, and doing it again is a waste of money in my opinion. Beam polished if you must, and shot peened again, but why? They don't fail at 400hp...
Make sure you upgrade the rod bolts to ARP ones. That part IS key.
Bearings of your choice. If your stock crank is fine, I would not have it polished and ground. Just clean it up, check the specs, and use the same size bearings Toyota did when they assembled it. (TSRM has the way to decode it all.)
Metal head gasket of your choice. They are all fine. Get one that is the right thickness for the machine work done to your block and head. Make sure the shop knows the must prep for a metal head gasket, so they put the very smooth RA of 15 or better finish on the gasket surfaces. Also make sure they cut the block with the front cover in place so they are the same height...
Head work.
1) Stock valves are fine for 400hp.
2) I would clean up the head if you have the ability, or see how much your shop will do the work for. By cleaning up, I mean smoothing out the sharp edges and metal casting flash in the ports. Especially around the valves. This is "free" power when your engine is back running again. Flow work here, pays off everywhere.
3) Do NOT port match your exhaust. You need that slight lip where the ports dump into the exhaust manifold. You will loose low end power if you port match the exhaust to the manifold. Also you will waste money to have your intake manifold ported IMNSHO.
4) Replace your valve seals. (Sure you would do that anyway.)
5) Replace your valve springs with Comp Cams ones. (Search is your friend, but they are less than 70.00, and they are better springs than the stock ones, but not so radical they will cause problems.) I run them, and they work great.
6) EGR is up to you. There are very sound reasons for keeping the system. I have mine plugged off, but would reccomend you keep it if you can, and yours works. (Helps with part throttle running under boost.)
7) ARP Head studs. Just buy the studs. The bolts are fine, but the studs are only a few bucks more, and they are better for the money. Tourqe them to 90lbs, and your done. Do not tourqe them past 105lbs however. No need. (Stock bolts are tourqed to 52lbs, and that was too little, thus the head gasket problems on this car.)
8) I reccomend sealing up your cam cover rubber gaskets with "the right stuff" so you have no cam cover gasket leaks, and your oil pan will not leak either if you use it. (The cork gasket should be shredded and thrown away! Do not use it unless you want to leak oil.) For the cam covers, put the rubber formed ones into place, then run a bead of sealant around the INSIDE of the rubber to cover junction, and put them into place. Upgrade your cam cover bolts to stainless allen head ones, and make sure you get lock washers and new washers to protect the the alloy cover. They will not back off if you use the lock washers.
9) One last thing. Helicoil your exhaust studs, and upgrade them to SAE sized threads! Yes, it makes buying the stainless, locking studs and nuts that much less work and money, and since your going to drill and thread for each stud, why not go to easy to source studs? 7/16 IIRC is the right size. Check before you buy them. Summit and eBay sell V8 kits in this size in stainless with locking nuts that will be an improvement over the stock 10x1.25mm ones that next to nobody carries except Toyota. (And they want the bucks for these, trust me.)
Next your turbo and fuel upgrades.
Sure you can pay the bucks, and have forged pistons put in, and a full lower rebuild, but if your engine is tight, I would use the money for suspension improvements.
Start with a compression check.
Make sure all your sensors are good. (TPS, Knock, CPS etc.)
Repair any frayed or cracked wires. (This is getting to be an older car.)
Now comes your power goal.
Trust me, when you have 400, you will want 450. When you have 450, you will want 600.
If you really want to buy pistons, do it right the "only" time, and buy forged ones. Wiesco seems to have the longest skirt design, and a lighter weight than the ROSS or JE ones. I have ROSS ones because they are insanely stout, but they slap like crazy when they are cold.
If you replace your pistons, I reccomend that you have them at minimum, thermal barrier coated on the crown. The skirt moly coating is a good idea too, and thermal dispersant on the underside if you can swing the money. Heat is the #1 enemy of a piston in a turbo charged vehicle. The crown coating reflects much of that heat away from the piston, and spreads it out across the crown so you are less likely to have hot spots. The moly allows the skirts to slip in the bore, and it retains oil very well, enhancing the effect. The dispersant does just that. It improves the ability of the underside of the piston to shed heat into the oil, where your oil cooler can dissapate that into the airflow.
Ok, speaking of oil. There are some simple tips that will improve your system, but not cost a billion dollars.
1) Buy the Turbo oil pump. They are made by Asin, and you DO NOT NEED to buy the OEM Toyota pump and get raped. Just make sure it is marked Asin, and it's a OEM Toyota pump. (They might grind off the Toyota logo, but who cares?) Asin makes them for Toyota.
2) Dis-assemble and clean up the pump. I've never found one clean on the inside, and that debris will go right into your bearings when you first start the car.
3) If you have the ability, you can improve oil flow through the pump by porting the sharp edges where the oil goes OUT. (There is a 90 turn with a sharp corner that can be smoothed pretty easy with a die grinder and a cutter carbide.)
4) Arz sells a larger crossover pipe that deletes the restrictive banjo bolt. It's a good upgrade for the money.
5) Shim the oil pump bypass with one 10mm nut (5mm thick/high) This will raise your oil pressure, but not too much.
6) Decide now to upgrade your oil filter and cooler. It's an easy decision. I just made it for you!
** It removes another "leak" of pressure from your stock system. It also makes oil filter changes much less work/hassle. It cools all your oil when you need it.
** You will no longer have the stock oil filter/cooler attachment, so there is more room down there.
There are two ways to do this.
a) Threading the block. (More work, but it's cleaner in my opinion.)
b) Buying an adapter that spins onto the oil filter boss on the block.
AN 8 sized lines are fine. AN 10 is overkill. (And it's larger than the stock pump output, so why bother unless you mod the pump and other stuff.)
c) Oil cooler of your choice. You can use the stock oil cooler for your Power Steering pump now.
d) Oil thermostat. (Must have this, your oil has to be warm enough to work right, but cool enough to last, and the thermostat does this the right way.)
If you have room for it, a used RX7 Turbo II oil cooler is a good upgrade. It has a built in thermostat, and it has plenty of ability to cool your oil. (This is what I use.) Besides, they are like 30.00 on eBay. So a great deal.
The RX7 can be fitted straight up with AN8 lines/fittings, so I reccomend the AN8 stuff. For your hoses, you can use braided stainless, but there are lower cost alternatives that work just fine, and will not abrade everything they touch. Again, check eBay.
I reccomend Canton/Mecca filters. They filter all the oil, all the time, and they are easy to plumb, and do not need to be changed as much. (You can run one for 25k easy, and it will filter your oil to 8 microns or better all that time. There are other filter options out there, but not many that will work better than a depth type filter.)
There are some kicked out, and modified oil pans. I reccomend getting one if you have the money. More oil capacity is not a bad thing. Improved oil pickup baffles are also good.
The trick is, even if you keep the stock pan, run your oil level to the wire on the dipstick. NOT to the "Full" point, but higher up, where the blade is attached to the wire. This is about one, to 1.5 extra quarts of oil, and it's WAY below where the crank will ever whip up the oil in the pan. Cheap insurance from rock knock.
Alright, oil system is done.
Pistons are done.
Rods can be stock. Just have them checked for being straight, and round. Done. They are shot peened from the factory, and doing it again is a waste of money in my opinion. Beam polished if you must, and shot peened again, but why? They don't fail at 400hp...
Make sure you upgrade the rod bolts to ARP ones. That part IS key.
Bearings of your choice. If your stock crank is fine, I would not have it polished and ground. Just clean it up, check the specs, and use the same size bearings Toyota did when they assembled it. (TSRM has the way to decode it all.)
Metal head gasket of your choice. They are all fine. Get one that is the right thickness for the machine work done to your block and head. Make sure the shop knows the must prep for a metal head gasket, so they put the very smooth RA of 15 or better finish on the gasket surfaces. Also make sure they cut the block with the front cover in place so they are the same height...
Head work.
1) Stock valves are fine for 400hp.
2) I would clean up the head if you have the ability, or see how much your shop will do the work for. By cleaning up, I mean smoothing out the sharp edges and metal casting flash in the ports. Especially around the valves. This is "free" power when your engine is back running again. Flow work here, pays off everywhere.
3) Do NOT port match your exhaust. You need that slight lip where the ports dump into the exhaust manifold. You will loose low end power if you port match the exhaust to the manifold. Also you will waste money to have your intake manifold ported IMNSHO.
4) Replace your valve seals. (Sure you would do that anyway.)
5) Replace your valve springs with Comp Cams ones. (Search is your friend, but they are less than 70.00, and they are better springs than the stock ones, but not so radical they will cause problems.) I run them, and they work great.
6) EGR is up to you. There are very sound reasons for keeping the system. I have mine plugged off, but would reccomend you keep it if you can, and yours works. (Helps with part throttle running under boost.)
7) ARP Head studs. Just buy the studs. The bolts are fine, but the studs are only a few bucks more, and they are better for the money. Tourqe them to 90lbs, and your done. Do not tourqe them past 105lbs however. No need. (Stock bolts are tourqed to 52lbs, and that was too little, thus the head gasket problems on this car.)
8) I reccomend sealing up your cam cover rubber gaskets with "the right stuff" so you have no cam cover gasket leaks, and your oil pan will not leak either if you use it. (The cork gasket should be shredded and thrown away! Do not use it unless you want to leak oil.) For the cam covers, put the rubber formed ones into place, then run a bead of sealant around the INSIDE of the rubber to cover junction, and put them into place. Upgrade your cam cover bolts to stainless allen head ones, and make sure you get lock washers and new washers to protect the the alloy cover. They will not back off if you use the lock washers.
9) One last thing. Helicoil your exhaust studs, and upgrade them to SAE sized threads! Yes, it makes buying the stainless, locking studs and nuts that much less work and money, and since your going to drill and thread for each stud, why not go to easy to source studs? 7/16 IIRC is the right size. Check before you buy them.
Summit and eBay sell V8 kits in this size in stainless with locking nuts that will be an improvement over the stock 10x1.25mm ones that next to nobody carries except Toyota. (And they want the bucks for these, trust me.)Next your turbo and fuel upgrades.
Adjuster
Supramania Contributor
You can upgrade your CT26 stock turbo and get 400rwhp easy.
Advantages are it's all bolt on, and it's pretty easy.
Downside is your limited to how much the stock exhaust manifold can flow. There have been a few 500hp cars on stock ported manifolds however. (Been close myself.)
Other option is to bite the bullet, and buy a china tubular manifold, and a completely new turbo setup. (Best if your goals really are going to go over 450.. be true to yourself here, and save 800 to a 1000.00 now, or more.)
I did the bolt on T4, and it was 420rwhp at 18psi, and more at 21 to 25 on the street, but it was pretty much topped out there.
BOSS has a exhaust housing that will flow more, and allow the 500hp engines on bolt on stuff, but going for more has been elusive from what I've seen.
The flow pattern of the stock v/s tubular exhaust manifolds is no contest. The tube type flows much better. Same with the exhaust housings on the turbo's. The options for a T4 flanged turbo are nearly endless compared to the bolt on options. (Basicly three that I know of. Stock, Turbonetics and BOSS.) There are some really old HKS ones out there, but the Turbonetics casting is a copy of that. The Turbo A also is larger, but IIRC, the HKS is a copy of that for the most part...
You need to decide if you want an internal, or external waste gate. Most T4 stuff requires external. All the bolt on stuff is internal. BOSS has a good system.
Downpipe. There are many bolt on setups. You will have to customize one if you go with the T4/China manifold.
Catback exhausts are up to your taste. Pick one that you like that has 3" or larger ID pipe, and your good to go. Personally, I like a quiet system.
Fuel needs to be 550cc injectors minumum. I reccomend you buy 680cc injectors now, and just get it over with.
Fuel manangement is key to your engine's health.
Do not screw around, just get the Translator Pro now. (Maft Pro.) It is the best piggyback out there, and has more support, and options than anyone else for this car/engine.
Besides, you get to loose the AFM, and you gain wideband tracking ability.
Buy a good Wide band setup. PLX, AEM, Zietronix whatever, but get one. You can't go down this road without one for very long. (Unless you want to dump 5k again into your motor.)
Buy a good clutch while you have the motor out. There are threads galore on this subject.
Check out your transmission while you have it out. A rebuild is a good idea if yours is worn out. It's a must if your going auto to have it upgraded to hold more power.
Get an aluminum drive shaft.
Upgrade to ST sway bars.
You will need new, stronger trailing arms in the rear. The stock ones will bend with this much power Supersport has great ones, and there are others around.
New struts and springs are not a bad idea. Coil overs are nice, and there are many options. (I would not lower the car too much, it actually takes away from the handling ability if you go too low.)
Check your bushings. There are some bushing options out there to replace them with better stuff. This is money well spent.
Think about upgrading your brakes. Arz has a few great options for this. Search it. I can't say enough how any Supra with 400hp + should have upgraded brakes.
While your motor is out, check your power steering rack bushings, and the rack for slop. Replace the dust boots if they are torn, or have the rack remanufactured if it's worn out.
Route your power steering cooler to the stock oil cooler using the stock metal pipe under the core support. This works really well, and moves the stock pipe cooler from where you need to be putting your new larger intercooler and oil coolers.
Intercooler of your choice, but eBay has the best deals along with some vendors here.
Do not go with E-fans. Make sure your stock fan shroud is in good shape, your stock fan clutch is good, and upgrade your radiator to a larger unit like Fluidyne or the others with more capacity. (There are some for under 200.00 now that work great. CSF and others...)
Upgrade your fuel pump to a Walbro 255lph High Pressure pump. Get an adjustable fuel pressure regulator from Areomotive. Upgrade your lines/fittings on the rails to AN6. Remove your J tube. Just dump straight back from the AFPR to the return line to the tank.
Enjoy.
Oh, and to get it tuned? You are going to need to read, and then try out what you read on how to tune the car with the Translator Pro. It's very well supported, and you will be very safe as long as you do not just go out and crank up the boost without making sure the Air Fuel ratios are right first. (Easy with the Maft as it can be set to automaticaly use your wideband to keep safe ratios while at WOT.)
Advantages are it's all bolt on, and it's pretty easy.
Downside is your limited to how much the stock exhaust manifold can flow. There have been a few 500hp cars on stock ported manifolds however. (Been close myself.)
Other option is to bite the bullet, and buy a china tubular manifold, and a completely new turbo setup. (Best if your goals really are going to go over 450.. be true to yourself here, and save 800 to a 1000.00 now, or more.)
I did the bolt on T4, and it was 420rwhp at 18psi, and more at 21 to 25 on the street, but it was pretty much topped out there.
BOSS has a exhaust housing that will flow more, and allow the 500hp engines on bolt on stuff, but going for more has been elusive from what I've seen.
The flow pattern of the stock v/s tubular exhaust manifolds is no contest. The tube type flows much better. Same with the exhaust housings on the turbo's. The options for a T4 flanged turbo are nearly endless compared to the bolt on options. (Basicly three that I know of. Stock, Turbonetics and BOSS.) There are some really old HKS ones out there, but the Turbonetics casting is a copy of that. The Turbo A also is larger, but IIRC, the HKS is a copy of that for the most part...
You need to decide if you want an internal, or external waste gate. Most T4 stuff requires external. All the bolt on stuff is internal. BOSS has a good system.
Downpipe. There are many bolt on setups. You will have to customize one if you go with the T4/China manifold.
Catback exhausts are up to your taste. Pick one that you like that has 3" or larger ID pipe, and your good to go. Personally, I like a quiet system.
Fuel needs to be 550cc injectors minumum. I reccomend you buy 680cc injectors now, and just get it over with.
Fuel manangement is key to your engine's health.
Do not screw around, just get the Translator Pro now. (Maft Pro.) It is the best piggyback out there, and has more support, and options than anyone else for this car/engine.
Besides, you get to loose the AFM, and you gain wideband tracking ability.
Buy a good Wide band setup. PLX, AEM, Zietronix whatever, but get one. You can't go down this road without one for very long. (Unless you want to dump 5k again into your motor.)
Buy a good clutch while you have the motor out. There are threads galore on this subject.
Check out your transmission while you have it out. A rebuild is a good idea if yours is worn out. It's a must if your going auto to have it upgraded to hold more power.
Get an aluminum drive shaft.
Upgrade to ST sway bars.
You will need new, stronger trailing arms in the rear. The stock ones will bend with this much power Supersport has great ones, and there are others around.
New struts and springs are not a bad idea. Coil overs are nice, and there are many options. (I would not lower the car too much, it actually takes away from the handling ability if you go too low.)
Check your bushings. There are some bushing options out there to replace them with better stuff. This is money well spent.
Think about upgrading your brakes. Arz has a few great options for this. Search it. I can't say enough how any Supra with 400hp + should have upgraded brakes.
While your motor is out, check your power steering rack bushings, and the rack for slop. Replace the dust boots if they are torn, or have the rack remanufactured if it's worn out.
Route your power steering cooler to the stock oil cooler using the stock metal pipe under the core support. This works really well, and moves the stock pipe cooler from where you need to be putting your new larger intercooler and oil coolers.
Intercooler of your choice, but eBay has the best deals along with some vendors here.
Do not go with E-fans. Make sure your stock fan shroud is in good shape, your stock fan clutch is good, and upgrade your radiator to a larger unit like Fluidyne or the others with more capacity. (There are some for under 200.00 now that work great. CSF and others...)
Upgrade your fuel pump to a Walbro 255lph High Pressure pump. Get an adjustable fuel pressure regulator from Areomotive. Upgrade your lines/fittings on the rails to AN6. Remove your J tube. Just dump straight back from the AFPR to the return line to the tank.
Enjoy.
Oh, and to get it tuned? You are going to need to read, and then try out what you read on how to tune the car with the Translator Pro. It's very well supported, and you will be very safe as long as you do not just go out and crank up the boost without making sure the Air Fuel ratios are right first. (Easy with the Maft as it can be set to automaticaly use your wideband to keep safe ratios while at WOT.)
wow i can't tell you how much i appreciate you taking all the time you did to help me out with my build and explain everything to me. its going to make it much easier for me to do now just have to wait on the money!!!! as i start buying all the parts for the car i will be sure to let everyone know what i am going to buy before i buy it to make sure i am making the correct decision. thanks alot again