I have read on the web that a th sports 3.5 is only 147kw, whereas a tj is 163. However, The th sports I have is a lot quicker than any other 3.5 I have ever driven. Has someone played with my car and given it a bit extra before i got it, or is the inter web all wrong and the th and tj sports got the same engine output?

Anyone else driven a th sports and tj side by side?

What model TJ? Only Sports/VRX tj models had 163kw, non-sports/vrx model TJ Series 1's/MY02 3.5L's had 147kw, and non-sports/vrx model TJ Series II's had 155kw

If it is a sports model, then theoretically, looking at power-to-weight ratios [TH 3.5L Sports = 103.8kw/tonne, TJ S2 Sports = 110kw/tonne] the TJ should be marginally faster. However if its not a sports/vrx model then I'd say it'd be well on par with the TH. These are minor differences and this many years later, it would no longer be clearcut. Who knows how many magna's came out of the factory with even the quoted 163kw's of power (if any!).

Also, are these magna's you're buying for dirt cheap to use in a derby? If so, then it could eaisly be that the TJ's engine is old and tired (hard life) and the TH one is not so much, esp if they're both lined up for wreckers/metal scrapper's.

Was a tj series 2 3.5 exec. Very sweet runner, I could easily tell the difference between that and my te/f veradas.

All my cars weigh the same.....

Side note - my observations:

TL wagon = 155 Kw, TJ sedan = 143 Kw.
Both base models, both same km and gearbox.

TL feels much more powerful, despite the extra weight of the wagon. Just goes to show "seat of the pants" power measurement is a fairly good indication of engine performance comparison wise.

Edit, the th has a tippy, but I'm basing my observations on reverse gear.....

Th sedan will be I think at least 60-70 kg lighter than tj sedan.

Also there is a chance the th has an engine change and someone has put in the later series engine with the number 6 cams.