First Gen Turbo Lexus LS400

I just wanted to share a project that a friend of mine and I are working on.

Some belive that a Lexus is simply a Luxury vehical best suited on the highway. The LS is a wonderful highway runner but we just wanted a little more fun.

Both my friend David and i have First generation LS400s. These cars came from toyota with the 1UZ-FE V8. Some people never thought that a V8 out of a Luxo cruiser could be an awsome performer. Turns out, this V8 is quite strong. For starters, it is an all aluminum 32 Valve DOHC V8, pritty ordinary right? Well, the block is webbed for added strength and features a 6 Bolt Main with a forged steel crank. That is a seriously strong bottem end. As for the internals, Rumor has it that the very first LS400s on the road were treated with forged internals but we cannot confirm that. However, at the factory, each piston is weighed to make sure that all 8 weigh exactly the same. So this motor was a great candidate for some boost and so the work began. some pix and info on the motor (http://www.lextreme.com/Shortblock.htm)


Some time ago, my friend David started www.Lextreme.com and a Twin Turbo LS400 project (http://www.lextreme.com/tt.html). Turbos from the skyline were used. The only way 2 turbos could be used was to use the low mount strategy. In a low mount system, the turbos are placed under the car, sortly after the headers. This had its down falls. One, the turbos were under the car open to the elements and could easily be damaged. Two, and the bigger problem was getting oil to the turbo to keep it alive. The Max PSI hit on this system was 15 on a 1UZ-FE that had compleatly stock internals. Throughout the Twin Turbo project, 5 turbos were burned up. Yes maybe we could have worked harder on the oiling system but the turbos needed to be protected somehow.

The second Forced induction method used was a supercharger (http://www.lextreme.com/sc.html). A vortec supercharger was used and a supercharger bracket was first made by hand. This system is great for motor with stock comprestion however the motor in davids car was decompressed. Also, the supercharger wasnt quite as fun and free as a turbo, so it was taken out and the Single turbo project began.

This is where we are at right now. The turbo that is going to be used in davids car is a Power Master T70. I will probibly use the same one. The turbo is going to be placed in the area where the battery sits. It was relocated into the trunk,(http://www.lextreme.com/battery.htm) easy enough. I had bought a second 1UZ-FE some time ago so its being used to fabricate a set of custom turbo headers. We just got the header flanges last friday so fabrication should begin soon. The project was slowed significantly because the flanges took so long to make but there here now. The attached pictures are of the single turbo project.

First is pix of the 11" x 36" x 3.5" intercooler that was custom made.
Pix of the T70 turbo that is being used, a pic of the first step in header fabrication and the cross pipe in its raw form. For more pix and info go to www.Lextreme.com/st.html
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The problem is that people talk and say they want a set of headers but when it comes time to buy them, very few people want to go for it. Not many Lexus owners want tire melting performance. Lextreme was also offered a header deal but there were not enough people willing to go for it,
so we just started to make the headers our selves. Then again, these are turbo headers, not NA.

My friend Pete (retrodrive on CL) has a Turbo LS but he has a 2JZ-GTE supra turbo motor in his car but he pulled out the stock turbos and used one big one. I too was looking to do that but i stuck to the V8. Are there any Turbo SC400s on this board? Id love to see there setups Pete and David are the only other Boosted LS owners i know of. Turbo and GTE swaped SC3s are always nice to see. I actully might go for a GTE SC3 but it would mean having to give up or at least slow my LS project down by a number of years.

 

Its weird how first gen LS onwers come together. Both my next door neighbors have LSs and there is another 2 houses down from me. They are all the same color too! Pearl white was the color to get in the early 90s i guess.

 

The IS430 Rodmillen did was nice. The 6 speed was a very nice touch, however that IS was not turbocharged, just NA.

I was going to drop a 6 speed into my LS however it is now totaled, David's project is still on though and he wants to mate a R154 Turbo MKIII 5 speed to his motor. The 6 is high priced, but WELL worth it IMO, however the R154 is still plenty strong and rather cheep. I did not have any money to build my project as i wanted to anyway, and money is everything so in the end i would probibly have to settle for the 5 speed. Now my LS is going to be hauled away by the end of this week. Ever scince i was practicly 12 i always dreamed of a 700 HP LS400 backed by the supra 6 speed tranny, but now that dream is gone from me. It sucks that i have to give up on such a big dream. Many many people laughed at me for even dreaming about a performance LS and thought it would be a waste of time and money, not me. In the end i just didnt have the funds or any sponsors to back me up. The LS would have been top notch, it would have been the first 6 speed LS400 Turbo. Ah well, time goes on i suppose....

Ok, rant over.