rebuild W58 or R154 ?? to go behind 1UZ

[chosen1]

hey guys... as a newby to the toyota scene, im a little lost as to the power handling and reputation of toyota gearbox's... im tossing up over which box to get for my manual conversion.. a stocko W58 wont handle the power or abuse im planning, nor do i believe will an R154 . . . or will it???

what ever i go for, will be behind a 1UZ.. (yes i've searched and read other threads) it'll start its life NA and if i decide i need a bit more poke, i'll chuck a blower on.. but to be honest, probably wont need it.. my power aims are quite conservative, its the torque im after.. the box will cop a fair flogging, no 2 ways about it.. the occasional drags but as many drift and track days as i can get to... so... should i just get a W58 and rebuild it (PPG or what ever) or will be R154 stand up to what i plan?

and if u have 2c to share regarding a clutch setup, that would be appreciated too..

cheers
greg

[thechuckster]

R154 would easily cope with a 1UZ, as would a W58 unless you have a particularly fierce driving style.

You could probably buy 2 used R154s for the price of a PPG gearset?

W58 stands up to 1JZGTE abuse - requires 2JZ-inspired abuse to kill these - what kind of mods were you going to do to the engine and what torque are you aiming for?

[chosen1]

power aims are around the 160rwkw mark NA - 230rwkw with blower - but to be honest, the blower is a long way off.. going to convert to gas first... and torque will be around the 500Nm mark..

yes my driving style will be pretty harsh.. altho, a 180sx only weighs 1000kgs (minus engine) so i guess its not really pushing around too much weight - by comparison to say an LS400..

hmm, so an R154 should do the trick.. any suggestions for clutch set up?? i've read about the kits etc that u can buy (manual conversion kits) but will any of them stand up to what i want - drags, drift, track...... and of course daily driving. i know i can have my cake and eat it too, so my preference would be for power handling over driveability.. im usually the only one in the car so i dont care too much if it's a pig in trafic.. but, what i don't want is a crazy button clutch

[ed]

w58 ppg gearset is $6700 for 4sp, $8100 for 5sp

[Norbie]

LOL you could have a V160 + clutch installed for less than that!

[The Real Roadrunner]

or a tremec TKO600.



R154 should be strong enough atmo (or blown) and if you do manage to blow one up i suggest changing your driving style.

[chosen1]

holy crap.. $8100 is crazy money... so R154 it definitely is.. my appologies for those of you who read this and scream noob, but for me, toyota's are a little foreign.. i've spent the last 7 odd years working on silvias and 180's (coz thats what my mates and i all have). and now i've decided to branch out, im a little lost.. i toyed with and fitted a nissan V8, thinking id keep it in the family, but the vh41 and 45 have the shittest plenum man ever created and by fark does it sit high.. the 1U will sit nicely under my bonnet, where as the VH's are a good 6-9 inches higher than..

anyway, from here, what clutch options do i have.. i've seen a lot of single plate and button setups, but im not a huge fan of the "on or off".. i know if i want clamping pressure i'll have to give up slippage and daily driveability, but what about twin plate setups?? the 1J i had in my last 180 had an OS Giken twin and it was really nice to drive in traffic and by fark im sure it was calling me a pussy during 5000rpm launches cause it never slipped once... but i guess my issue is the flywheel... is it possible/cheaper (dare i use that word) to find an R154 clutch - twin plate or what ever and then get a flywheel made?? i can only imagine it'd be easier to make a flywheel, than a full clutch - altho am i dreaming with a twin cause the housing is part of the actual flywheel??..

opinions???

cheers
Greg