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P&P ECU Options for a 2JZGE VVTI

26K views 21 replies 7 participants last post by  Funkycheeze 
#1 ·
What are the options for a P&P stand alone ECU? All I can really find is for GE non VVTi or GTE VVTi.
Why does it seem no one carries anything for the GE VVTi, will the GTE VVTi wiring harness work for the GE VVTi?
Has anyone gotten the stock ECU to work completely, mine is from an '03 GS300 and yes I have the immobilizer brain to make it work? I have seen some running on youtube but very little details.
Thanks in advance.
 
#2 ·
Nobody carries those standalones or advertises them because they aren't in tuner cars people throw money at.

AEM lists VVTI on this plug and play one, but not sure this means it works with the harness you have...
https://www.realstreetperformance.com/aem-series-2-p-p-ems-toyota-93-97-supra-non-turbo-2jzge.html

What are your goals here? Spending $1000+ on a standalone is a big investment for barely more power than stock if you are staying NA.

If you are self tuning, get whatever ECU you want and make it work. If you have a tuner in mind, get one they recommend and are familiar with.

IMO ecumaster is on of the best bang for the buck units out there right now: https://ecumasterusa.com/collections/standalone-engine-management

Snip off the end that hits your factory ECU, crimp to the included connectors or whatever ECU you wanna run. Boom done. Then you just have to figure out how to tune it...
 
#3 ·
I just want to get it to run correctly, this mean VVTi working. The power increase would be from a 6M to 2J. Not that much but not insignificant. I have been looking at the ECU since they do seem to be the best bang for the buck and have all the functionality.
I am having a hell of a time finding someone who has the VVTi working with the stock ECU. I have even tried searching for NA-T conversions to see what they are using and I am coming up with very little. I am not looking to throw money at this car, well anymore than I have already. I am looking at what I can use as base information so I can do my own wiring harness, preferred, or buy one if I need to to get the base parameter set up in the ECU.

Anyone know if the GTE VVTi and the GE VVTi use the same triggering for the timing. Do both have a cam and crank trigger? Or just get the 36-2 from Driftmotion and go that way?
 
#4 ·
I believe they both do but no 100%. The VVTi GTE AND GEs are very similar. Same ecu bodies and plugs, and their drive by wire systems work the same. Getting the VVTi working is one thing, there are many ECUs that can do that, but getting the ethrottle to work is another matter. I'm not sure if the Driftmotion and other TB inserts that disable the drive by wire work ok the GE TB, I'm guessing not and unsure if anyone makes something similar for that TB. But using the drive by wire system has some advantages beyond saving money and being able to reuse the factory ECU (more on that in a sec). Toyotas TB integrated drive by wire system on this generation of jz motors allowed them to elimante the horrible TRAC traction control system, the intake idle valve and the cruise control actuator. That said, if the factory ecu doesn't work out, you may want to grab an earlier intake and TB as it will open up more aftermarket ecus and be easier to get working with the mk2s cruise control.

So I may have mislead you when it comes to getting the factory auto ecu working with the GE motors. The issues people have with the Aristo GTE ecus is they have trouble getting rid of the CELs without the traction control/stability/abs combo computer inplace and they feel like the ECU is pulling timing. The other reason people toss it out with the GTEs is to retune with bigger injectors and to eliminate the factory 180kmph speed limiter and immobilizer. So I would do some research and maybe someone here who has gotten their VVTi 2JZGE working on the factory auto ecu can chime in if it works nicely. That is certainly the most economical way to go and you aren't going to gain any real perf over the stock ecu on these motors.

As for the ECUs that can control the VVTi and the ethrottle, as for as I know it's only the AEM Infinity, the ECU Masters Black EMU and possibly the LInk ecu (it supports it for the Beams 3sge which has the same system but doesn't explicitly list the vvti 2jzgte explicitly for ethrottle). Those are all 1100 to 1400usd btw. If you only care about getting the vvti working, many more will work including various Megasquirt ecus (the MS3 Pro for sure, but it's also 1400).
 
#5 ·
Darrow,

You can buy a 2jzgte-vvti ECU on Supraforums for $50-200. That way you don't need the immobilizer system. I bought one for $50 there last year cause everyone is going big turbo and standalone. They should use the same timing setup. You just won't have the VSV's for the turbo system functional since you are GE.

I have my Aristo swap running with its ECU in my MKIV, but If you want to use bigger injectors you'd have to use a piggy or standalone. I'm using the VPC/SAFC NEO for my setup. I haven't gotten a test drive yet....need tires and master cylinder. But the VVTi
system should still work using the stock ECU.
 
#6 ·
It's going to be less work to just get it running on the factory ECU with the electronic throttle. You will lose cruise control unless you can figure out how to make it work with the factory control stalk etc.

Any ECU that will do a 2JZGTE VVTi will work for you, but getting the tune just right is going to take some work for sure. And it won't be plug and play.
 
#7 ·
The plan is to try the stock ECU and hope I don't run into anything strange.
Screwing around with MS makes me not want to go stand alone.
Thanks for all the input. I will let you know how it goes. I hope to get it done by the end of 2019.
 
#8 ·
I can tell you this, as of today.

I hit a brick wall with my build because I cannot, repeat cannot find a proper wiring diagram for my engine. SO we tried pioneering it, no good. SO what do I do next? ask the local speed shop.
There is a very reputable speed shop blocks from my house, how convenient, and they love JDM stuff. They are a dealer of various aftermarket ECUs and their suggestion was Haltech. They have models specifically for 6cyl that support variable cams. There were a lot of other good selling points.

End of the story was the pros that do this every single day told me to go Haltech.
 
#10 ·
This site might be of some use. These guys seem to love the AEM Infinity ecus. They will make you a custom harness or probably adapter harness if you decide to go that way, with full VVTi and eThrottle support. Obviously not cheap, but here's your easy button if you do want plug and play. They do sell other stuff that might be helpful too...

https://www.kaizenmotorsports.com/collections/wiring-and-connectors

9k, the problem with those ecus is they are all for autos though. You are probably going to have CEL and timing issues with your swap. Finding a VVTi manual ECU isn't easy. Only 99 to 02 Supra 6spds would have come with those, which no one is parting. Though I'm sure there are lots of Japanese tuners running standalone in such cars. Even up here in JDM import land, you almost never see a JDM Supra newer then 98. We can bring all the way up to 02s here, but you rarely see them.
 
#11 ·
I have actually considered shopping for a USDM ECU, it seems like a semi-viable option but I think in the end going standalone will wrangle the variable cam into some nifty power levels. I've seen evidence to support this when you can get in there and manipulate the powerband. Next best thing to turbo.
 
#12 ·
A USDM ECU for what, a manual is300 5spd? There may still is one on CL here locally, but they are all Immobilizer ecus. They are hard to find with all the bits you need (key, ecu, theft ecu, decoder ring, inbetween wiring). Anyways, this guy says he still has one...

https://vancouver.craigslist.org/rch/pts/d/richmond-2003-lexus-is300-parts-for-sale/6839311222.html

Which is odd because I've talked to this guy and he keeps saying to me that he's keeping the Manual ecu, as he's selling the motor too in another add seperatly. Maybe he's just trying to get maximum dollar for the ECU but he told me he aquired the write off 5spd car to swap his auto car, which would mean he would need all that so becareful dealing with him.

Here's an ECU by itself, but as far as I know its utterly useless without at the very least the matching key...
https://vancouver.craigslist.org/rds/pts/d/abbotsford-2jz-ge-ecu/6842449830.html

Good luck trying to get a lexus dealership to burn you a key that works with that ecu.
 
#13 ·
So Darrow has completed this swap and got the oem auto, immobilizer is300 ecu to work!

Darrow, could you share a link\info on the piggy back you used to fool the computer into thinking the auto was still attached? Also if that guy who modified your ecu has a site and is open for business that would be a useful link for many too.
 
#17 ·
Oh that's right, you had immobilizer.

When I hit him up, he told me it's very likely I can simply hard wire mine into neutral or drive and get full VVT-i. They have tons of my engine in Russia so he was pretty familiar. Even emailed me pinouts (yay!) in Russian (god damn it!)

edit - so, how's she driving?
 
#18 ·
Car is about perfect for me, given that it is an N/A engine. I have 3.58 gears so not roasting tires. It seems to me to be a great balance on dry pavement of full throttle with out spinning the tires. Has plenty of pulling power in 5th gear going up fairly steep hills like the Blue Mountains on I-84. I got about 25-26 MPG on a fairly lengthy trip.

Currently chasing an oil leak and the engine is out of the car. I don't think I sealed the flywheel bolts. I used ARP bolts and they don't come with any sealant. I couldn't spot any other leaks. nothing below the rear main seal, oil pan seal or front trans seal.

Not sure if the ATEMU module is needed or not. I could just unplug it to test. May do that when the car is back up and running. The ATEMU tells the ECU that the 'Transmission' shifts into '2' at about 800 rpm. There is a daughter board that gets spliced into the ECU wiring and a few resistors.
For the immobilizer bypass there is a daughter board installed inside the ECU. From the outside you would not be able to tell if it has the mod or not. The guy does write on the ECU but I think that is more for him to track the ECUs he is modifying, for instance it has my name and a date. He sells a kit to do the mod yourself. From the email communication about it the kit sounds like you would be doing an eeprom flash of one chip. The flash involved changing some hex values and resets the immobilizer allowing a new chip to be associated with the ECU. I could not see a chip installed so maybe that is what the daughter board is used for. It is a different set up than what you will find online about flashing the eeprom on web for this ECU.
He did mention there is a better ECU to use for the swap. I am just not sure if the pin out is the same or not. I may look into that more in the future after this set up is stable. In case any one is interested in the more modifiable ecus they are P/N 89666-30130 , -30131, -30132 , -30230 , -30231. They are earlier ECUs but maybe the -30230 or -30231 will work. Just takes time and money to figure out.

With the stock ECU I have an OBD2 reader hooked up and I am able to get all the readings from it. Lets me know I probably have a vacuum leak in bank 2 someplace.

I should do a swap post at some point. I am still working on routing the wiring better since the ECU will remain in the engine bay where the radiator reservoir was located.
 
#21 ·
Car is about perfect for me, given that it is an N/A engine. I have 3.58 gears so not roasting tires. It seems to me to be a great balance on dry pavement of full throttle with out spinning the tires. Has plenty of pulling power in 5th gear going up fairly steep hills like the Blue Mountains on I-84. I got about 25-26 MPG on a fairly lengthy trip.

Currently chasing an oil leak and the engine is out of the car. I don't think I sealed the flywheel bolts. I used ARP bolts and they don't come with any sealant. I couldn't spot any other leaks. nothing below the rear main seal, oil pan seal or front trans seal.

Not sure if the ATEMU module is needed or not.
Is the ATEMU module from the Russian guy? You probably need it, Mutant has a much earlier ecu. Though hard to say how much difference it makes on an NA engine. vvti 2jzgte swap peeps claim the engine is pulling timing, but not sure if they have any science to back that up.

Ah, you didn't mention the 3.58 gears! Would live to try your car with a 4.1 or 4.3.

Yeah, that will be your leak. You absolutely need sealant on the threads. Don't use regular thread sealant either. My factory manual actually specified Locktite 242 for the timing tensioner bolt, its the same deal with that thing (goes through the block). I would think a good oil resistant RTV would do it too. I used this stuff for the plug on my 6m's hex cap on the high pressure oil feed (under the water pump), and its started leaking within weeks both times!
!
 
#22 ·
I use FIPG black to seal threads that could leak oil. Works fantastic.
 
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