1uz or 2uz?

[tylerdrogers3]

I have a 97 ls400 with original motor (215k ish miles) and was thinking about rebuilding, is it a better budget/smarter investment to get aftermarket cams, headers etc. for the 4.0 or swap it for the 4.7? I’ve heard that getting parts for the 4.7 is a lot easier but I love the 4.0 million mile motor just wondering if I should keep or swap, thanks

 

[P Bateman]

Engine swaps, even seemingly straightforward and "bolt in" swaps, always come with complications and added costs. Will the extra cubes really deliver what you're after... and given the improvements that can be found in headers and some tuning, are the cubes necessary? The 1UZ is a strong motor with good tuning potential.

Something I'm becoming more conscious of through my build though is that a ZF 8HP swap would have to be one of the best all round modifications you could make. Even with a bone stock engine, you'd have significantly quicker acceleration (at any speed), it can be launched like a manual, much lower cruising RPM, better fuel economy. Once my A340 pops, I will be heading down this path.

 

[tylerdrogers3]

Thanks for the advice I’ve just been looking around and a lot of the OEM parts are discontinued so I don’t know if going after market with the 4.0 would be better cause I love the motor