kaizmauka

I am looking to supercharge my 01' LS430. Still deciding between the M112 and TVS1900...if I go with the latter I will have to fortify my internals, at least on the bottom end. Elate MFD recommended that I upgrade my conrods since I aim to make 400+HP...does anyone here have experience with the various aftermarket connecting rods?
I see there are a few manufacturers out there....Brian Crowler, Carrillo Lextreme.
Suggestions on who to go with? Obviously since it will be a big investment I want the best quality possible.

YODAONE

Early 1UZ-FE rods appear more durable for high performance use over 3UZ-FE The 2UZ-FE rods could not take forced induction so Toyota discontinued its supercharger program

See:

https://www.lextreme.com/comparing-l...d-h-beam-rods/

Excerpt:

"The old saying “No School Like the Old School” is pretty true. Lexus tried to make the rods thinner and lighter to reduce weight. However, scarifying strength and durability. I am lextremely disappointed when I open up the short block. I think the quality of engineering is not as good as the original introduction in the late 80s. I also did some mix and match with the UZFE parts. The pictures below are the 1UZFE stock rod on 3UZFE piston. Actually the 1UZ rods would be an upgrade for the 3UZFE Rods. They are perfect fit and bolt right on."

BigBoomer

Of course they made the rods thinner and lighter. They were building an engine that put out 280Bhp and the thinner rods are more than adequate for that. Lexus were not building an engine that would stand up to aftermarket boosting.
The LS430 & GS430 are luxo-barges, not dragsters or race cars. If anything the early LS400 rods were over-engineered for their purpose, or as stated engineered for the Lexus/Toyota supercharging program.
If you are going to substantially supercharge an engine, then you are going to have to uprate certain other engine components, as well as uprate the braking system and probably other components as well.
Personally if I were boosting an LS430 engine I'd want new rods and shells, and probably new pistons and all new gaskets and uprated bolts.
I've never boosted an engine, but I have fitted N2O to several motorcycles for drag racing. If you don't beef up the engine, you end up with shrapnel.

kaizmauka

I agree with you that i would feel better upgrading more than just the conrods, but this is just what the guy at Elate said...he didn't mention upgrading any other components, but maybe he isn't familiar with the LS430....obviously he knows a lot about the 3uzfe platform though.
But i figure bolts,pistons gaskets wont be too much more money anyways so why the fck not!?
I figure i will also make sure to add an external tranny cooler...i have had my share of tranny issues so im not gonna let that happen again!!!
Elate also offers a dry sump kit for the 3uzfe!!! It wouldnt be cheap, but that would be totally badass (and uncessary).

kaizmauka

Oh and forgot to mention, i talked to the Elate guy and asked him what conrods he recommends...he said most people go with the Eagle brand.
I replied saying that I was worried that Eagle is cheap Chinese junk, and should i not go with a better(more expensive lol) brand like Carrillo or Pauter....but he said that ALL the brands out there were made from parts sourced in China anyways. Not sure if that's true, anyone know about this?

Striker223

Most raw castings are made in China yes, QC and finishing is done here and that is the real critical step that sets things apart. The high end stuff is all made here though start to finish but it's up to you if you want to spend $5000 on rods

YODAONE

Interesting... Had a buyer of
Locomotives explain that she buys American made because the Chinese metallurgy is not as advanced as American.

You have to ask the hard questions about anything you buy today.

Both from a political and quality standpoint..

kaizmauka

5000 bucks on rods?!? Where are you getting these quotes? From my research it looks like the price range is between 800 and 2000 for rods, Eagle being the cheapest and Carrillo the most expensive at around 1900 for their X-rods...

Striker223

Fully US made rods are quite pricy and you asking for a one off set for a 3uz, do you already have every possible spec planed out? It's a massive pain to redesign an engine and you need to account for more than just the rod, you need to factor in the crank journals and how the rods will ride on them and if a radius will need to be added to prevent bearings from freezing if loads become uneven. You need to plan the overall rod length vs piston height for a given compression ratio target and stoke length so you have optimal rod ratio and also keep piston side loading low, don't forget oiling considerations as some rods have options for oil to the wrist pin.

There is a hell of a lot to consider and if you want to convert an NA engine to super and alter compression ratio you need to make sure you have all the data you need so when you order the rods/crank/pistons/rings they all work properly together. The ringland specs also play a huge part in a forced induction engine as do the rings themselves, I went with a Napier 2nd ring and stainless steel top ring and low tension oil rings with 8 oil drainback ports for my pistons in the project engine.

Reason for that is a forced induction engine will put a lot of pain on iron rings....and oil control is always an issue in a pressurized crankcase if the PCV is not heavily altered to allow both on and off boost vaccum and that's assuming you can get enough negative pressure from the compressor intake side alone. You may need an electric vacuum pump to assist the engine if you remain under boost for a few min.

YODAONE

The stock PCV will not work on a boosted or turbocharged engine..

This manufacturer offers an engineered PCV solution for supercharged or turbocharged applications ..but they are really, really paranoid (read weird birds). about being banged by EPA for selling for use on an EPA certified vehicle)

The guy was freaking out in that he thought I was gonna replicate his part.

http://mewagner.com/

Anther consideration is the harmonic balancer.. the stock unit is designed within certain parameters ...modifications often change those parameters

If going with a supercharger, be sure and use a one way clutch.

kaizmauka

Thank you for the replies, it's making my head explode though...all new information to me, regarding the PCV stuff and what Striker wrote!
I just got the supercharger idea after watching that 6k sport sedan challenge on youtube...have you guys watched it? I dont recall them mentioning anything about additional upgrades, sounded like a simple plug and play situation when installing the m112...but they didn't change the rods or internals so maybe thats why. Perhaps i'll just aim for lower numbers so i wont have to beef up the internals...i'll aim for max 350 whp...should i be ok with stock internals?

Striker223

They are really pushing the stock bottom end further than I would feel comfortable, I like my cars to be able to withstand complete stupidity of power application without risk of blowing up. Plus I would want more power than what they got for that much effort so 15 psi would be my target so I can at least beat all same year stock cars.

They have a good upper end foundation but they should have done something about PCV, and at minimum the ring pack clearance. The rings gap should have been opened .001 to make sure of you are in sustained WOT the heat doesn't cause them to touch and kill the pistons. It's normally that to blame when "weak" stock pistons die, if you regap rings you would be should how far stock units can take you.

However the logic is if you already have the them out......might as well put in stronger ones.