- Everyone's got that one car that they love,
that would be great if it just had more power.
You can try adding exhaust, cams, boost,
but at the end of the day some engines
just can't take the power without some serious work.
That is where engine swaps come in.
(upbeat music)
But which engine do you use?
Do you go with the JDM tank than can handle
more pressure than Michael Jordan?
Or do you go with the All-American featherweight
that can be found in anything from trucks to Corvettes.
We're talking JZ's and LS's.
For those who don't know these two engines,
let me paint you a word picture.
The JZ motors are an import tuner's dream.
They're designed to handle more boost
and more abuse than anything else.
They're a go to engine for drifters and drag racers alike.
There are half a dozen different variations,
but the 1JZ-GTE and the 2JZ-GTE
are the main ones we're looking at.
- 2JZ engine, no
(bloop)
- And what did I tell you?
- On the other hand, the LS has dozens of different versions
it's a good old American V8, it's got more aftermarket
and factory support than any other engine
and it can make good power straight out of the box.
Chevy released it in 1997 and they're still making it today.
If you've got a favorite out of one of these two engines,
stick around 'cause we might just change your mind.
And if you don't know a thing about JZ's and LS's,
we have done all the research for you
to take a look at as many pros and cons as we can.
We've got five rounds, Cost and Availability,
Swap Simplicity, Power, Reliability and Culture.
Let's get into round one, in round one we'll be looking
at the actual cost of these engines,
what it takes to get one and what you'll need
before dropping it in your car.
JZ engines are plentiful,
they're found inside cars like Supra,
but also the Soarer, Chaser, Aristo and Crown.
Most are JDM though, and I mean that literally.
They were mainly sold for the Japanese Domestic Market.
So if you're really lucky, you can find the USDM model
from the Supra Mark IV that actually made
more stock horsepower than the VVT-I one in Japan.
Hey, yeah to America,
we got a cool thing from Japan for once.
Demand means that there are plenty of importers,
but on your way down to that importer,
you're probably gonna trip over four LS blocks.
The LS is still on the hot streak
of over 20 years of production,
where GM has made and sold over
five million vehicles with LS engines.
They made them in 4.8 liter iron blocks,
they made them in seven liter Corvette form.
They even made them in a front wheel drive version.
A truck LS can be found for under $500
at a wrecker's yard and can make over 270 horsepower stock.
While you can technically find JZ's at that price,
they're the naturally aspirated ones
and they make less than 200 horsepower.
Looking a a mid range price, the 1JZ GTE VVT-I
can be found for a little over two grand.
You won't find one of these at a junk yard though,
it's gonna be a trip down to your local JDM importer.
For that price you'll get a checked over engine
with an auto trans all putting out that Japanese
calling card number of 276 horsepower.
If you start cranking up the boost,
you can kiss 400 horsepower
before really having to make any changes.
If you throw similar money at an LS,
you're likely to find a 5.7 liter LS1.
You'd be getting more stock power than the 1JZ,
anywhere from 300 to 350 horsepower.
When it comes to this price range on the LS,
there are so many combinations.
You can mix and match that GM small block to fit your budget
LS are so common that you can get
replacement parts down the street at Auto Zone.
For the JZ you're gonna be
waiting on import parts for weeks.
But what if you're not shopping at Auto Zone?
What if you're a big spender
and can afford the finer things in life?
For a 2JZ-GTE non VVT-I,
you can find one in good condition for under five grand.
This is the Supra MacDaddy,
the one that's ready to be boosted out of its mind.
It comes with a sequential twin-turbo setup,
but most people that are chasing big power
pull those out for one big turbo.
It might only have a little over 300 horsepower stock,
but you do not buy one of these for stock power.
But if we eliminate the cost of the swap itself,
you'll still need some cash set aside for the aftermarket
parts to get big power out of this engine.
Big turbo kits for the 2J can be found
as low two and a half grand,
but you've also got to spend a bit on fueling and cooling.
Once it's all said and done though,
you'll be making 700 horsepower easily to the wheels.
And you'll be something like 10 grand out of pocket.
If you wanna spend top dollar on an LS,
the process is a little bit different.
Chevrolet has a Crate Engine program
where you can buy almost any engine right from the factory.
Even small block 350's, like the carbureted ones.
There is a special LS in this catalog
that you won't find in any production car, the LSX.
The LSX 376 is an iron block designed for boost applications
and the 454 is a 7.4 liter behemoth,
ready to put out over 600 naturally aspirated horsepower.
So, what does it take to get one
of these into your project car?
Well, the LSX 454 is listed at over $12,000
and unlike the engines we've already mentioned,
it won't come with any useful extras.
No trans, no intake manifold,
no throttle body, no oil pan, no water pump,
no flywheel and no wiring harness.
So, now you know how to get your hands
on one of these engines and what it'll cost.
The LS can be found literally anywhere.
You can get them in running cars,
in junk yards and even new from the factory.
The JZ's though were decently mass produced.
Importers are making it easier to get your hands on them.
And the blocks in the NA ones are still useful.
But if you wanna learn more about LS engines,
check out this episode of Wheel House we did on them.
After you're done with that, check out more videos at Donut,
because we have new videos coming out everyday,
that's right everyday is a new episode.
Till the end of time, everyday, what's sleep?
Round two, Swap Simplicity.
You've been getting pretty confident in wrenching lately?
You just put an axle-back exhaust on your Datsun
and now you wanna do the next most logical move,
the next mod in the list of things to do, an engine swap.
Good for you, in this round we're gonna look
at just how hard it is to swap one
of these bad boys into your car.
Now not all swaps are the same,
so we looked at as many swaps as we could
to get a general idea of the pros and cons of each engine.
The first thing that you're gonna need
to get that engine into your car is to make sure it fits.
Side by side these two engines
are about the same height and depth.
This is one of the biggest benefits of the LS.
It's got double the displacement
of the JZ engines for similar dimensions.
Where the two engines start to really differ is in the width
you would think that the V configuration
of the LS would be wider than the I6
and in an NA setup you'd be right.
But you're not running an NA 2J, are you?
You want them boosty boys.
With stock turbos an assembled 2JZ
is over seven inches wider than the average LS.
Also with a turbo charged engine there's just more pieces
that are gonna go into the engine bay.
You'll need to consider if the turbos
need to get clocked for clearance
and how cooling is gonna mount up.
On top of that, you've got less oil pan options with a JZ,
so you better get one of them to fit.
But if your engine can fit, then you're one step closer.
The next thing you're gonna need is a transmission.
The LS is an evolution of the Chevy small block
and as such it has trans options dating back to the 60's.
If you're building a restomod
and you want a three speed, you can.
I'm not sure how well it would work, but it would fit.
For both engines the most common six speeds about the same,
both the T56 for the LS and the Toyota R154
can be bought new from the factory for about three grand
and hold about 700 foot pounds of torque.
The LS does have stronger offerings
if you wanna go five speed or automatic.
And cheaper prices too.
If you really wanna break the bank
and break a 1,000 horsepower though,
the six speed V160 Getrag fits natively to the 2JZ's,
but used it will cost you between six and ten grand.
That's way too much I hear you say?
Well, the CD009 out of the 350Z
can actually hold a 1,000 horsepower
and it will bolt to either engine with available kits.
Though it looks like the LS kits are a bit more expensive.
Also the Aisin Ar-5 out of the Pontiac Solstice
is a really good, cheap option
for both of these if you swap the bellhousing.
Motor mounts and swap kits are really common
for both of these engines as well but the LS has
a few more prefabbed options and chassis to fit.
Tuning wise the LS is definitely easier.
Most LS swaps are NA builds,
which take some complication out of tuning a stand alone ECU
and makes it easier to use a stock ECU if you want.
To add to that the variable valve timing in the JDM2J's
adds a bit of tuning to the workday,
not a lot, but not nothing.
And some LS's have VVT as well,
but you're a little more likely to not have to deal with it.
These engines have great support for swaps
and it's obvious why they're chosen for so many builds.
Round three, Power.
These two engines are known for their power.
And in this round we're gonna find out
exactly who makes the most power.
But before we start throwing a bunch
high horsepower numbers at you,
let's look at how these two engines
actually make their horsepower in the first place.
The LS at first glance shouldn't
be able to make much horsepower,
it has a single cam inside the block.
This is archaic technology that limits
the amount of valves you can have.
But Chevy combat this in two ways.
One, the heads on the LS are some
of the most efficient heads around.
And two, the cam core is so big,
that the cam loads themselves can be bigger
while still being gentle.
With no need for overhead cams,
this makes the engine relatively small.
And means more space is given to actual displacement,
like the LS7 at seven liters and 505 horsepower.
Most versions of the LS have an aluminum block,
which is lighter than the cast iron block
and also better at disbursing heat.
The trade off with aluminum is
usually that they aren't as rigid.
This is one of the main reasons 2JZ's are so popular.
The LS bottom ends can't quite match up with the JZ block.
But they are no slouches,
built LS iron blocks have seen 25 pounds of boost,
but a built 2JZ iron block can see double that.
So now that we're a little more educated
in the ways of the JZ and the LS,
how much power can these engines actually make?
Take a look around the internet
and you'll find all kinds of claims,
2,100 horsepower Supras, 3,000 horsepower Corvettes
and loose motors that say they'll make even more
if you give some guy on Ebay 100 grand.
But for our 100% accurate, super scientific comparison,
I'm looking for wheel horsepower numbers
in actual cars that have been proven on a dyno
and are running a built bottom end not a billet bottom end.
The highest horsepower run for an LS that we were able
to verify comes from LS Fest Las Vegas 2019.
If you watch car videos on the internet,
you've probably already seen Leroy the Savage.
He's a stripped down skeleton of a Corvette
running a twin turbo LS
that was originally a 5.3 liter block.
With 27 pounds of boost, it put down 1,352 horsepower
in less than ideal conditions.
It was head and shoulders over
anything else to hit the dyno that week.
For the 2JZ the highest verifiable numbers
come from Vijay Ramkissoon whose Supra
marked for putting down 1,636 horsepower
using 57 pounds of boost, E-98 fuel
and a 200 shot of nitrous.
Grannas Racing say they have a run at 1,741 horsepower,
but couldn't film it because they had to sit
on the backend of the Supra to kill the wheel spin.
Send us a dyno sheet dude, that's awesome.
Now you may see numbers that are way higher than these.
Especially in drag racing builds.
But they are on billet bottom ends
and that's just not the same engine anymore.
It's the same way that like a NASCAR is a Camry.
These are insane numbers and they're cool,
but for anyone that is looking for an easy project,
an NA LS isn't likely to exceed 650 horsepower.
And a 2JZ on the stock internals can handle more,
but if you put on the wrong parts, or a lean tune,
you can break stuff below 500 horsepower.
Got a favorite so far?
Well, we've still got two more rounds to go.
Round four, Reliability.
So now that you've seen these engines
make some face melting numbers,
can they actually sustain that?
In this round,
we're gonna look at how tough these engines really are
and what it takes to break 'em.
LS engines are so enjoyably simple.
Without any mods it's a viable way to make power.
And if your goal is 400 horsepower,
getting an LS motor that can just do that out of the box
is gonna have way less issues than a JZ.
Especially if you don't know much about what you're doing.
But LS engines aren't perfect.
They have a few flaws that can be made worse
if you don't do your research.
The LS has a notoriously short deck
and if you're gonna put a crank in from a larger engine,
or a stroker kit, there's a good chance
stroke will now be too long for the cylinder sleeves.
This can wear out the cylinder skirts
and cause oiling issues.
If you're gonna play with this engine like Lego,
you might want a tall deck block like the one from the LS7.
Also, GM had a different supplier
for the cylinder heads on the 5.3 liter engines.
A lot of those are prone to cracking.
And the oil pump has been known to cavitate
if you're over 6,000 rpm for a long time,
like you might be in a drift build.
This might sound like I'm being really picky,
and listing unique cases, but that's just because
this engine is so capable to begin with,
that the comparison point is really high.
But the 2JZ takes that comparison point
and punts it down the field.
The parts outside the engine,
like the turbo and the radiator,
are gonna fail long before the 2J.
The JZ's don't use rocker arms or push rods like the LS.
The cams push directly on bucket lifters
that are basically just like solid hunks of metal.
The JZ's also have amazing oil drain back,
which stops the oil from pulling anywhere
and helps keep that iron block cool.
It's a non interference engine,
so even if you snap a timing belt,
the valves and the pistons can't physically hit each other.
You can bounce the thing off rev limiter all day long
and as long as you don't have your rev limiter
set high enough to give you valve float,
you can beat the snot out of this thing.
The only way to really keel a 1JZ or 2JZ
is to run it too lean.
If you cheap out on your fueling system,
or get a clogged fuel injector,
you can heat up those cylinder walls real quick.
But 2JZ owners wanna run rich anyway
and blast big old fireballs, am I right?
JZ's are some of the engines that made Toyota the standard
of reliability and can live beyond 300,000 miles.
When it comes to standard maintenance JZ's do have
a tendency to let water get into the spark plugs
if you get too excited with the hose.
Also the VVT-I models can manifest
a rough idle with a stock ECU.
The biggest downside of the JZ
is that you have to get them used.
Even though 2JZs are pretty foolproof,
you should never underestimate
the ingenuity of complete fools, like me.
And you don't know who had that engine before you.
Maybe it was me, there have been rumblings
about Toyota selling 2JZ crate engines
through Gazoo Racing they're selling some brand new
Mark III and Mark IV supra parts
like door handles and break boosters.
But it's most likely just wishful thinking
into that they've ever build at 1J or 2J again.
I can't get over how straight forward an LS swap seems,
even though a 100 people have put them in 240Z's,
I wanna do that, I wanna leave this studio,
slash my house and go do that right now.
But the 2JZ make whooshy noises
and I've been a Toyota guy my whole life.
So sticking that in like a 70's Corolla
seems like a perfect restomod to me.
Round five, Culture.
One of the best things about being a car gal or guy
is meeting people that love the same thing that you do.
For the last round we are gonna look
at the culture that surrounds these two engines.
Straight away, these are very different cultures.
The LS is hot-rodding and American muscle,
but the JZ is JDM royalty blasting down a Tokyo expressway.
At meet ups JZ owners might oblige a crowd
with a tender serenade of two-step.
(car roars)
While an LS connoisseur might provide
the audience with a sample of donuts.
LS engines are so popular and easy to build,
that they kinda transcend any cliche owner.
You've got the boomer modernizing their family Chevelle,
but you've also got the JDM with their 240's,
the Euro guys with their BMW's,
LS swaps are practical and they're the sensible choice.
But if you shove it in a ridiculous chassis,
it can also be one of the most unique cars on the road.
But if the LS is like being part of a big family,
than the JZ engines are like being part of a secret club.
If a stranger tell you they have a 2J engine,
you immediately picture 3 AM drag races
and running from the cops.
JZ engines are a forbidden fruit.
For LS owners though, there is one meet up
that dwarfs just about every other kind of organized meet.
Holley LS Fest, with both an East and West event in the US,
LS Fest is an opportunity for all kinds of LS owners
to come together for a whole weekend
and take part in all kinds of events.
Whether your car came with an LS from the factory,
or had one swapped in, you can compete in autocross,
drifting, drag racing, dyno challenges, even off road races.
There's also burn out boxes and even a car show on site.
If you have ever been curious about the LS engine,
this is the place to go and ask questions.
In 2018 LS Fest East had over 1,000 cars registered
and over 20,000 people in attendance.
The JZ's have Supra and Toyota meet ups,
but it's not like there's a JZ jamboree or anything.
Again, the JZ and the LS are great platforms,
both communities are fun and make me wanna join.
But LS Fest is something so unique,
no other engine has anything like it.
Now normally I'm a JDM fan
and the 2JZ absolutely crushed it in power and reliability.
But with LS engines being so easy to find,
install and build decent power on,
it's no secret why they are the best engine swap option.
Plus, maybe getting one will help me make some friends.
So yeah, thanks for watching,
be sure to subscribe to Donut media.
Follow Donut media on Instagram and Twitter.
Do you have a dyno sheet that proves
that your car is faster than the ones we found?
Post it and tag us, I'm Joey Rassool,
and I'll see you guys next week.