Tuning the Which is better, the 1JZ or the 2JZ

"More specifically we are looking at the turbo varients the 1JZ GTE and 2JZ GTE blocks."

Both are very capable engines from Toyota with quite a following in the world of tuning.

The 2JZ makes more power, is newer has a larger capacity and on paper is clearly the better engine of the two.

But in the real world we need to look at what the engines are being used for before we state which is better.

A look at the 1JZ GTE block

The 1JZ engine is a 6 cylinder 2.5 liter engine with a variable valve timing system introduced in 1996 along with a revised cylinder head. suffix and this makes an interesting proposition for the enthusastic tuner.

17psi seems to be the safe boost limit on this block,

Adding a bigger turbo and good quality boost controller will take you to around 365bhp for 1.2 bars, around this point the air flow sensor starts to struggle and needs to be uprated.

Most 1JZ GTE owners upgrade to a map sensor at this point.

A favourite turbo to upgrade to is the HKS2835 giving a little over 400bhp with the right setup and very little lag.

The GT35R and 255 liters per hour pump, 650cc injectors will be good for 550bhp with the right engine management setup.

The 1JZ is higher revving and lighter, so would be good for situations where lots of high revs are used and frequent changes of speed and direction.

This pretty much sums up drifting, and as the engine is generally cheaper to buy it rates pretty highly on our list of engines to play with.

It is also well suited to track days where tight twisty tracks are in play.

Read our 1jz Tuning article for more tips on how to tune this awesome block.

A look at the 2JZ GTE block

The 2JZ is more expensive to buy and tuning parts generally cost more, but you will extract more power from a 2JZ than the 1JZ.

The 2JZ is a 3 liter 6 cylinder block, designed for 600bhp from the factory, it has a twin turbo setup.

The first turbo delivers power at 1650rpm and the second turbo gives additional boost by 4000rpm, although a common mod is to switch in a large single turbo for high hp gains.

2JZ-GTE introduced in 91 but wasn't put in a Supra until 1993 and production lasted 5 years. The engine was designed to be a 600bhp unit but that was scaled back leaving us with an insanely strong block to work on.

2JZ-GTE amazing can handle around 600bhp of reliable power on stock internals. The stock fuel and turbo can run around 1.2 bar of boost so fit a boost controller and adjust this to suit your car and you'll see around 400bhp which is a pretty low cost high power modification.

With a large turbo, 1300cc injectors and motorsport cams and forged internals you could approach 1000bhp on the 2JZ block.

Read our 2jz Tuning article for more tips on how to tune this awesome block.

Conclusions

The 2JZ would be the engine I choose for my project as horsepower is always a winner, and with a balance and blueprint it should be able to hang on to some pretty high revs.

Thankfully though both engines are stunning blocks and both have their loyal followings, so could we pick a winner from these two?

It wouldn't really be fair, an engine is only as good as what you are wanting to get from it.

If you blew all of your budget on a 2JZ you wouldn't be disappointed but I can't help but feel if you went for the cheaper 1JZ you would have some spare cash for some serious mods and upgrades.

This article was written by Waynne Smith on TorqueCars, and I appreciate your feedback and suggestions. This entry was filed under Articles, Toyota. You can leave a response below or join TorqueCars forum to discuss this article and car modification in detail with our members.

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