Collection of JB4 Experiences

[Rta95]

Hey all. So I wanted to make this post to hear people's experiences with JB4. There's a lot of posts out there and I see a wide range of personal experiences and opinions on it. I have a unit I bought second hand and have been holding off installing it as I wanted to get a DP at least. I'm not trying to milk the JB4 or the car for maximum power possible, but just looking for a bump that's feelable. I wanted to be able to use it on the track, but I also saw posts saying that doesn't go that well. So if people can chime in with some of the following that'd be great. Hopefully this can be a place for reference for others too.

1) how long/how many miles have you had the JB4 on for?
2) what map are you running?
3) what kind of driving do you do with the car, set to your desired map, and how has your experience been? The good, the bad?
4) any supporting mods you think actually made a difference to the usability?
5) what gains have you made?
6) any other best practices you implemented for the best and smoothest experience?

Also, I know this thread exists (https://www.supramkv.com/threads/gr-supra-101-routes-to-big-power.17670/) but looking for more anecdotal experiences.

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[Delta1Seven]

Only had my JB4 for like 1000 miles. Currently running Map 2. I have a Flex Sensor but waiting to pull the trigger on a Jesse Map 6 when I have more funds put aside.

The car feels a little peppier with the JB4 over stock, but not much. I do live in Florida and it's been HOT the last few months (like real feel of 110F+) so that could also be part of the problem. I would assume a custom Map 6 E30 would be night and day over Map 2.

Mods: Catless DP, Armaspeed Intake, Exhaust. No track driving, just spirited grocery getter.

 

[Rta95]

Only had my JB4 for like 1000 miles. Currently running Map 2. I have a Flex Sensor but waiting to pull the trigger on a Jesse Map 6 when I have more funds put aside.

The car feels a little peppier with the JB4 over stock, but not much. I do live in Florida and it's been HOT the last few months (like real feel of 110F+) so that could also be part of the problem. I would assume a custom Map 6 E30 would be night and day over Map 2.

Mods: Catless DP, Armaspeed Intake, Exhaust. No track driving, just spirited grocery getter.

You ever feel like the car is overheating?

 

[Delta1Seven]

You ever feel like the car is overheating?

No, probably just heat soaking because of the ambient temp, but that's just a turbo car thing. I notice that even stock.

@FLtrackdays will be able to answer your question better! He's JB4 and tracks

 

[Rta95]

No, probably just heat soaking because of the ambient temp, but that's just a turbo car thing. I notice that even stock.

Gotchya. Ya that makes sense.

@FLtrackdays will be able to answer your question better! He's JB4 and tracks

Yeah I'm really just trying to see how usable it is on track. But any experience would be good to hear too.

 

[Evolution]

1) 2 years / 10k miles
2) Map 6 tuned by @Jesse DaBears
3) Map 6 is only for around town stuff. At the track it goes back to stock. Although I have forgot to turn it off at the track and it did just fine. Map 6 works fine for auto-x since the runs are short.
4) Down pipe
5) Unknown but butt dyno is happy
6) On any map you use, log it to make sure the car is happy

 

[Rta95]

1) 2 years / 10k miles
2) Map 6 tuned by @Jesse DaBears
3) Map 6 is only for around town stuff. At the track it goes back to stock. Although I have forgot to turn it off at the track and it did just fine. Map 6 works fine for auto-x since the runs are short.
4) Down pipe
5) Unknown but butt dyno is happy
6) On any map you use, log it to make sure the car is happy

The days you forgot to go back to stock for the track, was it able to get through the whole day with no issues? Or did you notice after a session or two and then set it to stock?

 

[Evolution]

The days you forgot to go back to stock for the track, was it able to get through the whole day with no issues? Or did you notice after a session or two and then set it to stock?

When I forget, its typically the first session of the day so its nice and cool out which is key. I had Jesse do a pretty conservative tune on 91 yet I run it on a E25 mix to be extra safe. My only concerns would be once the weather starts warming up, the IATs might get too high. Once my new intake manifold shows up, I plan on running it on map 6 on the track and will be logging for results.

 

[Rta95]

When I forget, its typically the first session of the day so its nice and cool out which is key. I had Jesse do a pretty conservative tune on 91 yet I run it on a E25 mix to be extra safe. My only concerns would be once the weather starts warming up, the IATs might get too high. Once my new intake manifold shows up, I plan on running it on map 6 on the track and will be logging for results.

Yeah the IATs is my main concern too. Rather avoid going in to limp mode.

 

[NitroYellowMKV]

I just checked out of curiosity. In my time selling parts, I've sold about 90 Jb4s to supra, and honestly, I would say 90% of those people are more than satisfied with the results they gain, especially after some custom tuning sauce by @Jesse DaBears which really does make a difference in one of the largest complaints I hear about JB4's which is the overall smoothness of power delivery. Now is it ever going to be safer, smoother, or even really faster than a flash tune? no, it will not. Is it a great start for an easy 75-90hp bump without having to send out an ECU or do anything too complicated? yes. Is it worth the money to do it now? debatable, a Jb4 with BT new is close to $700 ( you can always save money buying used OFC) and a custom tune will run you about $600-700. so call it $1400 to get a nice custom tune on JB4. An unlock from Femto runs about $1000 USD if you arrange everything yourself with Femto, a BM3 License with one ots map is $595, 645 with the map bundle, and that gives you a full flash. Just something to keep in mind. overall it is a still great option and I have driven plenty of Jb4 cars that feel fast, smooth, and been solid. I plan to install one on my Braptor asap for an easy power gain, because just like supra's the ECU's are locked.

 

[Rta95]

I just checked out of curiosity. In my time selling parts, I've sold about 90 Jb4s to supra, and honestly, I would say 90% of those people are more than satisfied with the results they gain, especially after some custom tuning sauce by @Jesse DaBears which really does make a difference in one of the largest complaints I hear about JB4's which is the overall smoothness of power delivery. Now is it ever going to be safer, smoother, or even really faster than a flash tune? no, it will not. Is it a great start for an easy 75-90hp bump without having to send out an ECU or do anything too complicated? yes. Is it worth the money to do it now? debatable, a Jb4 with BT new is close to $700 ( you can always save money buying used OFC) and a custom tune will run you about $600-700. so call it $1400 to get a nice custom tune on JB4. An unlock from Femto runs about $1000 USD if you arrange everything yourself with Femto, a BM3 License with one ots map is $595, 645 with the map bundle, and that gives you a full flash. Just something to keep in mind. overall it is a still great option and I have driven plenty of Jb4 cars that feel fast, smooth, and been solid. I plan to install one on my Braptor asap for an easy power gain, because just like supra's the ECU's are locked.

Thanks for this insight. Honestly even cost aside it's just a lot more convenient rn to pop in the JB4 than send my ECU out.

 

[NitroYellowMKV]

Thanks for this insight. Honestly even cost aside it's just a lot more convenient rn to pop in the JB4 than send my ECU out.

That was my mindset for my A91 MT as well, I have a Lotus Emira coming next year that will probably replace the supra. For that reason alone, I plan to just run a piggyback for a little power increase and just the ease of doing it, purely simplicity and time, putting cost aside as well. I have a JB4 for the supra, but I also want to try the new @Dinan_Engineering Piggyback as well, they have been killing it lately with parts, and would love to see how their solution feels on my car, as it is even simpler than the JB4 as there is no custom tuning, but they claim they have got it right from the get go! JB4 will still obviously be superior in every day if you are trying to maximize power out of a locked car. I personally don't recommend it but there are people out there running upgraded hybrid turbo's on JB4 only supra's. This was more common before the Femto Evo unlock of course.

 

[Rta95]

That was my mindset for my A91 MT as well, I have a Lotus Emira coming next year that will probably replace the supra. For that reason alone, I plan to just run a piggyback for a little power increase and just the ease of doing it, purely simplicity and time, putting cost aside as well. I have a JB4 for the supra, but I also want to try the new @Dinan_Engineering Piggyback as well, they have been killing it lately with parts, and would love to see how their solution feels on my car, as it is even simpler than the JB4 as there is no custom tuning, but they claim they have got it right from the get go! JB4 will still obviously be superior in every day if you are trying to maximize power out of a locked car. I personally don't recommend it but there are people out there running upgraded hybrid turbo's on JB4 only supra's. This was more common before the Femto Evo unlock of course.

Ya idk if I'd trust the JB4 to manage upgrades to that scale ? like you said, just want a little more pep. Congrats on the Emira though! Beautiful car.

Do you have a link to the Dinan piggy back? Curious to just read up on it

 

[Evolution]

Part of the reason I havent pulled the trigger on BM3 is because California..... I will eventually do it but want to do a cloned ECU so I can just swap back the stock one when its time. The power I make with the JB4 is just fine with me since I am not looking to be the fastest one out there.

 

[jchadwell]

Not a big difference but I’m at $900 by picking up a used jb4 and hitting up Jesse during one of his periodic sales. Perfect for my use case. Noticeable performance bump that I can turn off in 30 seconds when just cruising down the interstate. I only have an AA catted DP and MST intake (for the sound). Car pulls very nicely especially from around 2500/3000 to 6000. Works very well for AX too as someone else said.

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