First Gen. Single Turbo Lexus LS400 | FerrariChat

First Gen. Single Turbo Lexus LS400

Discussion in 'General Automotive Discussion' started by Sniper, Jun 4, 2005.

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  1. Sniper

    Sniper Karting

    Jul 7, 2004
    87
    Hemet CA, 909
    Full Name:
    Madhav
    Some of you may remember a Single Turbo LS400 project I posted a few months ago as it was in the fabrication stage. Well, the car was finished and running for a few weeks. First, here are a few pictures of the finished LS400


    http://www.lextreme.com/st/IMG_1004.JPG

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    http://www.lextreme.com/st/IMG_1012.JPG

    http://www.lextreme.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1325&stc=1



    Here is a dyno result

    http://www.lextreme.com/dyno/LS400hp.jpg

    http://www.lextreme.com/dyno/LS400psi.jpg

    Those are only flywheel #s. The car was running very rich and it was later found out that it probably had 3 bad pistons. It was also not tuned. After finding a loss in compression in a cylinder or two, probably due to the copper head gaskets, the motor was pulled out of the car. It is currently being overhauled and stuffed with forged internals.


    The 1UZ-FE is an incredibly strong engine. The car had spiked at 22.3 PSI on the street but it never blew up. The one weakness that was found during the tear down was in the pistons. The engine builder had mentioned that the ring area of the piston was weak and they would not beable to hold high levels of boost, around 18-20psi would probibly be there limit. Anyhow, forged pistons are on their way into this 1UZFE.

    As I am on the topic of the 1UZ-FE, if any of you are thinking, "Wow, if the 1UZ is so great, the 3UZ must be better!" I do not believe that to be the case. Take a look at these comparison articles.

    Pistons http://www.lextreme.com/3uzpiston.html

    Rods http://www.lextreme.com/rods.html

    Block http://www.lextreme.com/3uzblock.html

    6 Bolt Main Hardware http://www.lextreme.com/mainbolts.html

    Both of these motors though are still great pieces of work developed by Toyota.

    For anyone out there who would like to turbo charge a First gen LS400, I have a header system that will bolt right into the LS400. It is nothing special but it is still one of a kind. It is made from mild steel which some believe is not the proper material to make an exhaust manifold from. I agree however, mild steel was much cheaper and easier to work with. David Phan's turbo LS400 ran with no exhaust issues. The system consists of one log style header and one cross over pipe. The flange of the header was laser cut and is 3/8” thick. The primary tubes off that are 1.5” and they lead into a 3” collector tube. That intern leads to a T4 Turbo flange and there is also a 1.5-inch tube for the waste gate. The cross over pipe is 2.25” in the center section and the ends are 3”. At each end there are laser cut flanges that bolt up just like the stock catalytic converters. All the pipes were TIG welded by an exhaust shop. Here are a few photos of the system.

    http://www.clublexus.com/gallery/data/500/18257LS400_Turbo_Header0001.jpg

    http://www.clublexus.com/gallery/data/500/18257LS400_Turbo_Header0002.jpg

    http://www.clublexus.com/gallery/data/500/18257LS400_Turbo_Header0003.jpg

    http://www.clublexus.com/gallery/data/500/18257LS400_Turbo_Header0007.jpg

    This system is still in a somewhat, raw form as it was just blasted. It needs to be ported, and coated in a high temp coating. He has not had any issues with this system cracking or failing and it too is made from the same mild steal as my setup is. Here is what my friend David Phan’s setup looked like after it was all coated.

    http://www.lextreme.com/pics/IMG_0923.JPG

    http://www.lextreme.com/pics/IMG_0922.JPG

    They look much cleaner. That was the very first turbo system he did. The one I have is the second and last setup he made.

    Here are some photos of how the system fits into the car.

    This is the cross over pipe. It allows you to bolt the pipe to the end of the factory exhaust manifold and bring the exhaust flow over to the driver side.

    http://www.lextreme.com/st/IMG_0981.JPG

    http://www.lextreme.com/st/IMG_0977.JPG

    This is the driver side leading to the back of the header and to the turbo.

    http://www.lextreme.com/st/IMG_0978.JPG

    Here you can see the T4 flange poping up. The Turbo would sit on top of that.

    http://www.lextreme.com/st/IMG_0974.JPG


    That’s pretty much how the system would fit into the car. I do not have any tight shots of the header. If one were to be happy with 12-15 pounds of boost, the engine would not have to be fully built. It is a very strong piece. If anyone is interested in the exhaust setup that I have let me know. I no longer have my LS400 so I have no use for it. I would like to sell the setup for $550. If you are interested, please feel free to ask any questions you may have. For all the pictures are more detail about the Turbo LS400 Project, visit, - http://www.lextreme.com/st.html

    So, any thoughts on the whole idea of turbo charging Toyota's first Luxury automobile?
     
  2. Dino Martini

    Dino Martini F1 Rookie

    Dec 21, 2004
    4,619
    Calgary Alberta
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    Martin
    The car, looks great on paper. The turbo def did some good to the car.
     
  3. judge4re

    judge4re F1 World Champ

    Apr 26, 2003
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    Actually, the LS400/Celsior (sp?) was the third Toyota luxury sedan. You're forgetting the Century and the Crown.
     
  4. Sniper

    Sniper Karting

    Jul 7, 2004
    87
    Hemet CA, 909
    Full Name:
    Madhav

    Ah, very true. I guess what I meant was their first Lexus Luxury sedan.


    The car was driven for a few months as a daily commuter and it never had any issues. The turbo did not affect the legendary reliability of the LS400. It was boosting at about 13PSI
     
  5. JaguarXJ6

    JaguarXJ6 F1 Veteran

    Feb 12, 2003
    5,459
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    Sunny
    Awesome project! And good post, thank you for the info.

    Sunny
     
  6. BlueBiturbo

    BlueBiturbo F1 Rookie

    May 19, 2004
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    TS
    Nice project!

    A little bit OT here: anyone know where to get info on Toyota's V-12 engine? Is that the engine they use in Century? Thanks.
     
  7. judge4re

    judge4re F1 World Champ

    Apr 26, 2003
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    Yep, its in the Century, but I don't have much info on it.
     
  8. Sniper

    Sniper Karting

    Jul 7, 2004
    87
    Hemet CA, 909
    Full Name:
    Madhav
    It sure was. I personaly have never seen the V12 nor have i ever found any information on it.
     
  9. Edo

    Edo Rookie

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  10. Sniper

    Sniper Karting

    Jul 7, 2004
    87
    Hemet CA, 909
    Full Name:
    Madhav
    Oh yes, i remember seeing that chart once before. But i still have yet to see the 1GZ in person or see someone tear it down and do a detailed artical on the guts of the motor. I dont know what car id drop that V12 into though.....
     
  11. BlueBiturbo

    BlueBiturbo F1 Rookie

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  12. Edo

    Edo Rookie

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    #12 Edo, Jun 7, 2005
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  13. JaguarXJ6

    JaguarXJ6 F1 Veteran

    Feb 12, 2003
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    From the looks of it, thats a very smooth torquey motor. Though, the power for its displacement leaves a bit to be desired considering the source.
     
  14. MAHOOL

    MAHOOL Formula Junior

    May 24, 2004
    749
    O-town, Florida
    Full Name:
    Mel
    there is a japanese tuning company that has an engine kit for the LS430 that pumps it to a 5.5 litre supercharged engine, titanium headers and the like....forgot the name of the company....some help please
     
  15. Edo

    Edo Rookie

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    #15 Edo, Jun 8, 2005
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  16. BlueBiturbo

    BlueBiturbo F1 Rookie

    May 19, 2004
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    Most of the Japanese manufacturer limit their output to 280ps In the real world the motor probably produces more than that.
     
  17. BlueBiturbo

    BlueBiturbo F1 Rookie

    May 19, 2004
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    Wow, an AMG E55 rival? I would love to see the car
     
  18. Sniper

    Sniper Karting

    Jul 7, 2004
    87
    Hemet CA, 909
    Full Name:
    Madhav
    It would be great to see a E55 rival. When I first started my LS400 project, I wanted it to be built to contend with M5s, then the new AMG cars came out and that was my new target. I guess ill have to wait a few years before I buy another LS and start my project again.

    If no one is interested in the turbo system I have, im going to try and put it on ebay. Ill sell it for say,….just $450. Its been sitting for almost 7 months. Thanks for the interest.
     
  19. BlueBiturbo

    BlueBiturbo F1 Rookie

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  20. Sniper

    Sniper Karting

    Jul 7, 2004
    87
    Hemet CA, 909
    Full Name:
    Madhav
    Oh yes yes, thanks for that link, i have seen that before. Very nice setup in that car :D
     
  21. BlueBiturbo

    BlueBiturbo F1 Rookie

    May 19, 2004
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    Sniper,

    The F40 replica motor claimed 800bhp @ 7,000rpm, is it daydream Dyno?
    I don't doubt today's motor & Turbo tech capbility of 200bhp/liter, but it will definitely tax the reliabilty. IMHO 550-600bhp for a 4.0 liter motor should be fast enough, faster than a standard, real F40.
     
  22. vraa

    vraa F1 Rookie
    Rossa Subscribed

    Oct 31, 2003
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    You know what.

    You just made me cry. I had tears coming down because you reminded me of my old LS400. Sold it December last year and got a LS430 to replace it :(

    I always knew and for sure I know now, that my LS400 with it's 1UZ was better than the 3UZ! :)

    :')
     
  23. Sniper

    Sniper Karting

    Jul 7, 2004
    87
    Hemet CA, 909
    Full Name:
    Madhav
    BlueBiturbo,

    Im not sure of the exact #s that car put down but this is one hell of a motor. Im not entirely sure what the F40 replica had done to its motor how ever, it is currently possible to built a 1UZ to take 800+ hp. Just thinK, you have a webbed aluminum block with a 6 bolt main with all ARP hardware, forged steel crank (factory), forged H beam rods from eagle said to be able to take 1000 HP, forged pistons, rated also to take 900-1000 HP. Id say that would be one stout short block. But yes, 200HP per cyl would be hard to drive everyday. At the same time you can not ignore all the high HP supras that are driving on the street either. an 800 HP street supra or any other 2JZGTE powered car is common.

    Vraa,

    You can always buy another 1st gen or a SC400 to play with and have the LS430 for daily driving :) Only thing better then owning a Lexus would be to own 2 :D
     
  24. vraa

    vraa F1 Rookie
    Rossa Subscribed

    Oct 31, 2003
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    Sorry buddy, that's a road I've left, and I cry everytime I think about it.

    At 17, I have no money either, right now I'm playing with an X5. :eek:

    Oh how I wish I had the SC400 and it's 1uz or the SC300 and it's 2jz! :'(
    Stop, I can't stand it anymore!
     

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