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B58 Racing

Buying guide · Gleb Blekher

B58 vs 2JZ: How BMW's Six Compares to the Toyota Legend

Short answer: The 2JZ-GTE in the Mk4 Supra is a cast-iron, belt-driven, sequential twin-turbo six with low 8.5:1 compression. It's famous for holding big power on stock internals once you fit a big single turbo. The B58 in the A90/A91 GR Supra is a closed-deck aluminium six with one twin-scroll turbo, direct injection and a water-to-air intercooler. It makes more power and torque from the factory and gains more from a tune and bolt-ons. For a modern car you can drive every day and build in steps, pick the B58. For an all-out build on a classic, the 2JZ still earns its name.

Parts and tunes in this guide are for off-road / competition use only. Not legal for use on public roads in the United States, including California.

I'm Gleb Blekher. I run B58 Racing out of Dallas, TX, and I've spent 15+ years around motorsports. My own builds are B58 BMWs, an M240i and a 540i, so I'll be clear about where my bias sits. Both engines are great in different ways.

B58 vs 2JZ-GTE at a glance

Toyota 2JZ-GTE (Mk4 Supra Turbo)BMW B58 (A90/A91 GR Supra 3.0)
Displacement2,997 cc2,998 cc
Bore × stroke86 × 86 mm (square)82 × 94.6 mm (undersquare)
Compression8.5:110.2:1 to 11.0:1, depending on version
BlockCast iron, closed deckAluminium, closed deck
HeadAluminium, DOHCAluminium, DOHC
Cam driveTiming beltTiming chain
TurbosSequential twinsSingle twin-scroll
IntercoolerAir-to-air, side-mountedWater-to-air, in the intake plenum
Fuel injectionPort injectionDirect injection
US factory output320 hp, 315 lb-ft335 hp, 365 lb-ft (2020); 382 hp, 368 lb-ft (2021+)
Years1991–2005 (Japan); Mk4 Supra sold in the US through 19982015 on (BMW); GR Supra from 2020
Commonly reported stock-internals rangeRoughly 600–700 whp, some higherRoughly 600–700 whp, some higher

The last row is a range reported by tuning shops and owners, not a factory rating and not our dyno data. More on that below.

Design: two ways to build a turbo six

The 2JZ-GTE is early-1990s Toyota. It has a square 86 × 86 mm bore and stroke, a timing belt and port fuel injection. Toyota fed it with two turbos that work in sequence: one at low rpm, then both higher up. The intercooler is an air-to-air unit mounted at the side. Export cars got stainless turbos, different cams and bigger 550 cc injectors than Japanese cars, per Wikipedia. Toyota added variable intake cam timing (VVT-i) in September 1997.

The B58 is 2010s BMW. It has a longer stroke (94.6 mm) and a smaller bore (82 mm), which helps low-rpm torque. It uses direct injection, a timing chain and one twin-scroll turbo. The intercooler is water-to-air and built into the intake plenum, so the path from turbo to cylinder is very short. Toyota rates the Supra's peak torque from 1,800 rpm.

Every A90/A91 GR Supra 3.0 uses the Gen 2 B58 (B58TU). If you're shopping B58 parts across forums, read B58 Gen 1 vs Gen 2 first. Many parts are generation-specific.

The block: iron vs aluminium

This is where the 2JZ's reputation comes from.

The 2JZ block is cast iron and closed deck. That means the cylinders are surrounded by metal at the top instead of standing free in a water jacket. In a well-known teardown with Jalopnik, engine builder Stephan Papadakis pointed to that, plus a heavy girdle under the block, a forged crank, wide main bearings and factory triple-layer steel head gaskets. The low 8.5:1 compression also leaves room for a lot of boost.

The B58 block is aluminium, but it's closed deck too. BMW moved to a closed deck on the B58 after the open-deck N54 and N55. The crank is forged steel.

So the real difference isn't "strong vs weak." It's material and age. The 2JZ uses heavier iron and was overbuilt for its factory power. The B58 is a lighter modern design with higher compression and a stronger factory tune.

Strength: what fails first

Both engines have a weak link, and it's the same kind of part.

  • 2JZ-GTE: The crank and rods are forged. Shops most often name the cast pistons as the limit, with ring-land failures reported as power climbs past about 700 hp. Fuel and the factory turbos usually run out well before the bottom end does.
  • B58: BMWTuning.co names the rods, rod bearings and cast pistons as the first limits. It puts them around 550–600 wtq and 600–650 whp on the stock block and internals. The 11.0:1 compression adds strain at very high power.

Owners on both sides report more than that on stock internals. Those are forum reports, not tests, and they depend on the tune, the fuel and luck. For the 1,000 hp B58 Supra engine that Papadakis Racing built, the team replaced the rods and pistons, per Engine Builder magazine. That's the normal plan for either engine at four-figure power.

Honest take: treat roughly 600–700 whp as the commonly reported zone where both engines start asking for forged internals. Neither is a magic number.

Power with bolt-ons

This is where the B58 pulls ahead.

2JZ-GTE bolt-ons

8020 Automotive puts basic bolt-ons on the stock twin turbos at around 350–400 whp. That means downpipe, exhaust, intake and a front-mount intercooler. It also notes that pushing past about 400 whp starts to outrun the stock fuel system, and that the original turbos on these cars may not have much life left. Most big-power 2JZ builds swap the sequential twins for one large single turbo, with the fuel system and engine management to support it.

B58 bolt-ons

The B58 starts higher: 382 hp from the factory on 2021+ Supras. A tune is the biggest single step. Then come a downpipe, a better heat exchanger and ethanol. Build guides and Supra owners commonly report around 500 whp on the stock turbo on pump gas. They report a bit more on E85 once the low-pressure fuel pump is upgraded. Past that, you're into an upgrade turbo.

Typical B58 Supra steps:

The short version: a 2JZ needs a turbo swap to reach power a tuned B58 makes on its stock turbo. The 2JZ's strength is what happens after that swap.

Cost to build: the car matters more than the engine

I won't quote prices here. They move too fast, and Mk4 prices most of all. But the cost picture is clear.

Starting point. A clean Mk4 Supra Turbo is now a collector car, and the price of the car is often the biggest line in a 2JZ build. A GR Supra is a newer car with more cars to pick from.

Refresh before power. A Mk4 is 25+ years old. Before you add boost, plan for age-related work: timing belt service, turbos, rubber, wiring and cooling. 8020 Automotive lists the timing belt tensioner bracket, oil pump seal, crank pulley and the stock sequential turbos as known issues. The B58 has its own list. Read our B58 common problems guide. But a newer car usually starts in better shape.

Power per step. On a B58, a tune and a few bolt-ons get you most of the way to the stock-turbo limit. On a 2JZ, big gains usually mean the single-turbo conversion, fueling and engine management all at once. That's a bigger first jump.

Supporting parts. Either way, budget for the parts that keep the power alive: clutch or transmission work, cooling, brakes and tires. On the Supra, see drivetrain and cooling.

Which should you choose?

Choose the 2JZ (Mk4 Supra) if:

  • You want the classic car and the history that comes with it.
  • Your goal is a big single-turbo build, and you're fine doing it all at once.
  • You like an older car's simpler, more analog feel.
  • You want a huge, mature parts and tuning world built over 30 years.

Choose the B58 (A90/A91 GR Supra) if:

  • You want more power from the factory and the most gain per mod.
  • You want to build in steps: tune, then bolt-ons, then fuel, then turbo.
  • You want modern safety, an 8-speed auto or the 6-speed manual (from 2023), and a car you can drive every day.
  • You want parts that also share a platform with BMW B58 cars, so the parts world keeps growing.

If you've already got a GR Supra, start with the best B58 mods, in order. Shop by car: A90 Supra, or send us your VIN and we'll help you check fitment.

FAQ

Is the B58 stronger than the 2JZ?

Not in a simple way. The 2JZ has a cast-iron block and very low factory compression. The B58 has a closed-deck aluminium block and a forged crank. Shops commonly report both bottom ends start needing forged internals at roughly 600–700 whp. The B58 makes more power stock and with bolt-ons.

How much horsepower can a stock 2JZ-GTE handle?

Shops commonly report about 600–700 whp on a stock bottom end with a single-turbo conversion and proper fuel. Some owners report more. The cast pistons are usually named as the weak point.

How much horsepower can a stock B58 handle?

BMWTuning.co puts it at about 600–650 whp and 550–600 wtq on stock internals. The rods, rod bearings and pistons are the usual limits. Some owners report more, but that's not a guarantee.

Is the new Supra engine a 2JZ?

No. The A90/A91 GR Supra 3.0 uses BMW's B58, a Gen 2 B58 (B58TU) shared with cars like the M340i and Z4 M40i. The 2JZ-GTE was in the Mk4 (A80) Supra.

Can you put a 2JZ in an A90 Supra?

It's been done, mostly by Japanese drift teams like HKS. Those are full custom builds, not a bolt-in swap. For most owners, building the B58 is the faster and simpler way to big power.

Sources