Originally Posted by LScowboyLS

the LS400 is not a good car to build into high performance - it is very ECU-dependent and the ECU programming has never been cracked, therefore you can't really "chip-it" and the piggybacks don't do much and so they are not much help either, the only one that works even somewhat decent is way over $1000 (MINES) - you want to choose something else, like a camaro or mustang or Nissan GT-R if you want performance.

Originally Posted by LScowboyLS

like I said, the factory ECU is locked up solid, you can adjust nothing, and the only piggyback that does much of anything is the MiNES and it is close to $2000 the last time I checked, and doesn't work miracles even then.

The LS400 is a LUXURY car - not a performance car! (and as long as the ECU encryption is never cracked, it will always stay a luxury car, and a NICE ONE!)

Originally Posted by LScowboyLS

if you want to performance build a 1UZ and put it into a race car, fine, just hire a computer engineering staff to design an ECU for your race car like the F1 teams do, I would think about $10 million should cover it

Originally Posted by LScowboyLS

MiNES is a Japanese piggyback, and the only one that works worth a flip! - and even it doesn't do miracles, as a matter of fact, it's a huge amount of money for a very modest return on horsepower and torque improvement - the LS400 is just not a car to "build" - it's just a very classy, very reliable, very luxurious, very refined ride, to take your gal to the beach in!

Originally Posted by LScowboyLS

Tuning is much more feasible on other brands of cars (like Honda, for example) where the original programming has been cracked and we can reprogram the original ECU and vary all sorts of stuff!

Originally Posted by LScowboyLS

if you are modifying an LS400 for off road use, for example the race track, then you can use a standalone ECU, but the standalones are not going to be a good plan if the car is going to be driven daily, because the ECU also controls the transmission, the A/C, interacts with at least 11 other sub-ECU's that I have listed out before, and over 50 microprocessors throughout the car.

So repeating one more time, if the car is being built as race car with a rollcage and as a rather crude vehicle such as a drag racer, short track car, etc., then fine, put a standalone on it, but without the Toyota programming cracked, you are going to lose many functions of the rest of the car wholly or partially with an aftermarket standalone ECU. Not to mention all semblance of fuel economy or emissions compliance!

On other cars where the stock ECU can be reprogrammed (such as a Honda or a Camaro), you can have the best of both worlds, but sadly on LS400, you cannot.

Originally Posted by usoff89

Just to add to this ^^^^

The piggy back systems are very limited like he said. Most systems don't allow you to have control over timing where most stand alones do. The fact of the matter is that there are multiple options out for tuning our cars. And honestly the prices are not going to vary much from any other car if you were to do a serious setup.

Cowboy, you are right. These are NOT Hondas but they could become a popular car to mod in the future if we had the proper support. We all already know how solid the motors are. And parts will slowly become more and more available as the interest becomes greater.