The Don - Just another Turbo Lexus
03-12-13, 12:59 PM
#1
The Don - Just another Turbo Lexus
(Originally posted on Clubroadster.net on February 15, 2013)
Some people may have heard of my Miata. His name is Rooster. This is not his build thread.
Rooster was a complete car in my head before I even started him. I had a plan and I've been executing against it since I pulled him in my driveway and took a wrench to him, literally, within 30 seconds after arriving in Dallas from Tampa, Florida.
The Don is not that.
The Don is my daily driver. A 2003 Lexus GS 300 Sport Design edition. I bought him in January of 2009 - just after we had our first child and just before I took my old black NB in for a brand new paint job. The need for a more child-friendly car and not to be daily driving my freshly painted NB drove the purchase decision. He has every option available from Lexus in 2003. The window sticker read in excess of $45,000 when the car was new. He's a nice ride. And I have no idea what he's going to turn into.
I've already dropped him on Tanabe springs with the addition of 18mm roll center adjusters at the front. The result is a raked stance with the front wheels tucked nicely into their wells.
He also wears 19" wheels front and rear. 8.5" width in the front and 9.5" width in the rear. 245 and 275mm wide rubber, respectively. It's a nice, aggressive-looking setup that fits without rolling or shaving fenders.
Well, a week from now I'll be dropping him off with Jeff Tsai at Performance Dynamix for a little bit of serious surgery.
Two weeks from now I'll be picking up my car from Jeff with a NA-T setup making as near 400whp as is safely possible for a reliable daily driver. Compared to the roughly 180whp it makes stock, that will be a nice improvement.
So...I guess I'll keep notes on the project here. Like I said, I've got no idea where this is going but I have a feeling that the NA-T setup isn't going to be the end of it.
In the parking garage at work
The Don with Rooster - both heading out to Cars & Coffee in Dallas
http://www.flickr.com/photos/durmans/7789245852/
Some people may have heard of my Miata. His name is Rooster. This is not his build thread.
Rooster was a complete car in my head before I even started him. I had a plan and I've been executing against it since I pulled him in my driveway and took a wrench to him, literally, within 30 seconds after arriving in Dallas from Tampa, Florida.
The Don is not that.
The Don is my daily driver. A 2003 Lexus GS 300 Sport Design edition. I bought him in January of 2009 - just after we had our first child and just before I took my old black NB in for a brand new paint job. The need for a more child-friendly car and not to be daily driving my freshly painted NB drove the purchase decision. He has every option available from Lexus in 2003. The window sticker read in excess of $45,000 when the car was new. He's a nice ride. And I have no idea what he's going to turn into.
I've already dropped him on Tanabe springs with the addition of 18mm roll center adjusters at the front. The result is a raked stance with the front wheels tucked nicely into their wells.
He also wears 19" wheels front and rear. 8.5" width in the front and 9.5" width in the rear. 245 and 275mm wide rubber, respectively. It's a nice, aggressive-looking setup that fits without rolling or shaving fenders.
Well, a week from now I'll be dropping him off with Jeff Tsai at Performance Dynamix for a little bit of serious surgery.
Two weeks from now I'll be picking up my car from Jeff with a NA-T setup making as near 400whp as is safely possible for a reliable daily driver. Compared to the roughly 180whp it makes stock, that will be a nice improvement.
So...I guess I'll keep notes on the project here. Like I said, I've got no idea where this is going but I have a feeling that the NA-T setup isn't going to be the end of it.
In the parking garage at work
The Don with Rooster - both heading out to Cars & Coffee in Dallas
http://www.flickr.com/photos/durmans/7789245852/
Last edited by mk2tmr2; 10-28-14 at 11:12 AM.
03-12-13, 01:00 PM
#2
(Originally posted on Clubroadster.net on February 25, 2013)
Well...yesterday I took The Don over to the local turbo GS300 guru. I pulled up to his house to find two IS300's, three GS300's (not including mine), one SC300 and one GX all in various states of repair. Most of them were running and not being worked on but some of them were dismantled and getting similar turbo work to mine.
The 2GS in front of mine in that picture made 800+whp on the dyno.
About 4 hours later I was texted this photo with a request to contact Lexus and find out if the water pump was replaced when the timing belt was done at around 90k miles.
Apparently they don't replace the water pump unless you specifically ask them to because if they leave the original one on you'll be back in at around 150k miles to get the leaky water pump replaced.
While it's apart I'm getting new cam seals, front main seal, water pump (probably), GTE head gasket and ARP head studs. Then he'll mount up the turbo, fab the intercooler piping, bolt up the exhaust, wire in the WBO2 sensor and eManage Ultimate and get it tuned. It's a lot of work...and he thinks he'll be done by next weekend.
Can't wait!
Well...yesterday I took The Don over to the local turbo GS300 guru. I pulled up to his house to find two IS300's, three GS300's (not including mine), one SC300 and one GX all in various states of repair. Most of them were running and not being worked on but some of them were dismantled and getting similar turbo work to mine.
The 2GS in front of mine in that picture made 800+whp on the dyno.
About 4 hours later I was texted this photo with a request to contact Lexus and find out if the water pump was replaced when the timing belt was done at around 90k miles.
Apparently they don't replace the water pump unless you specifically ask them to because if they leave the original one on you'll be back in at around 150k miles to get the leaky water pump replaced.
While it's apart I'm getting new cam seals, front main seal, water pump (probably), GTE head gasket and ARP head studs. Then he'll mount up the turbo, fab the intercooler piping, bolt up the exhaust, wire in the WBO2 sensor and eManage Ultimate and get it tuned. It's a lot of work...and he thinks he'll be done by next weekend.
Can't wait!
03-12-13, 01:02 PM
#3
(Originally posted on Clubroadster.net on February 26, 2013)
More progress. Took the head to the machine shop for vacuum testing and to make sure it's true. It needed just a hair of machining to get it perfectly flat. Took about .0004" off.
Before
After
Now there won't be any worry about a perfect seal on the new head gasket.
I'm not sure what he's planning to accomplish today but I'm guessing the head will be back on the block along with timing belt, etc. Maybe he'll even mount the turbo. This weekend can't come soon enough!
Meanwhile, I'm driving Rooster to work all week and loving it
More progress. Took the head to the machine shop for vacuum testing and to make sure it's true. It needed just a hair of machining to get it perfectly flat. Took about .0004" off.
Before
After
Now there won't be any worry about a perfect seal on the new head gasket.
I'm not sure what he's planning to accomplish today but I'm guessing the head will be back on the block along with timing belt, etc. Maybe he'll even mount the turbo. This weekend can't come soon enough!
Meanwhile, I'm driving Rooster to work all week and loving it
03-12-13, 01:03 PM
#4
(Originally posted on Clubroadster.net on March 3, 2013)
Here's the latest pic I have of the car. What's been done so far:
• Removed head, decked and vacuum-tested valves
• Replaced cam seals
• Replaced front main seal
• Rebuilt VVT-i cam gear
• Replaced head gasket with thicker one (I think it's just a GTE gasket)
• ARP head studs
• Mounted the turbo (obviously)
What's left: mounting intercooler, fabbing charge piping, mounting the exhaust, wiring the wideband and EMU, tuning.
Here's the latest pic I have of the car. What's been done so far:
• Removed head, decked and vacuum-tested valves
• Replaced cam seals
• Replaced front main seal
• Rebuilt VVT-i cam gear
• Replaced head gasket with thicker one (I think it's just a GTE gasket)
• ARP head studs
• Mounted the turbo (obviously)
What's left: mounting intercooler, fabbing charge piping, mounting the exhaust, wiring the wideband and EMU, tuning.
03-12-13, 01:04 PM
#5
(Originally posted on Clubroadster.net on March 3, 2013)
Crap. I just found a bunch of pictures I forgot I took of this car! haha. Anyway...to keep page 1 of this thread appropriate. Here's a more proper introduction:
The main physical blemish on this car is the dent someone decided to leave in the rear quarter panel without leaving a note. I really don't care that much about it. If I started fixing stuff like this then I'd be paranoid about driving the car every day.
And the luscious Sport Design interior. Love it.
Crap. I just found a bunch of pictures I forgot I took of this car! haha. Anyway...to keep page 1 of this thread appropriate. Here's a more proper introduction:
The main physical blemish on this car is the dent someone decided to leave in the rear quarter panel without leaving a note. I really don't care that much about it. If I started fixing stuff like this then I'd be paranoid about driving the car every day.
And the luscious Sport Design interior. Love it.
03-12-13, 01:06 PM
#6
(Originally posted on Clubroadster.net on March 11, 2013)
The recent rain here in TX has put a damper (literally) on The Don's progress. Jeff got called out of town last week to tune another NA-T GS300 in California. But since I wasn't available to pick up the car last week that didn't really impact my build. He would have had it finished by Saturday evening if it didn't rain all Friday/Saturday.
Sunday (yesterday) was a nice day so I thought it might be done and ready for pick up around dinnertime. But instead I got this email:
So I'm planning on going out to pick it up tomorrow evening. It's taken a little longer than originally planned based on my schedule and the weather, but I think the wait will be worth it.
(Not originally posted to CR.net:)
Major props go out to Jeff for this build. My CL.com brethren know that Jeff is well respected in our circles and I've learned, first hand, why. This guy's attention to detail is unparalleled. If you know anything about my Roadsters you'd know that I like to pay attention to detail when building a car myself. Jeff is an inspiration to me in this regard. I can learn a thing or two from him.
The recent rain here in TX has put a damper (literally) on The Don's progress. Jeff got called out of town last week to tune another NA-T GS300 in California. But since I wasn't available to pick up the car last week that didn't really impact my build. He would have had it finished by Saturday evening if it didn't rain all Friday/Saturday.
Sunday (yesterday) was a nice day so I thought it might be done and ready for pick up around dinnertime. But instead I got this email:
Hey sorry. Hit a snag after putting your car together. The bumper didn't want to go on properly. So I had to remake the entire left section of piping. Was working your car all day. Finally got it all done about an hour ago. Now I'm just down to tuning it. I'm getting it emissions compliant so you can pass state inspection. I just need the car for about one more day just to verify that it will pass the emissions testing. I have to build a custom simulator circuit. After that you can pick up.
(Not originally posted to CR.net:)
Major props go out to Jeff for this build. My CL.com brethren know that Jeff is well respected in our circles and I've learned, first hand, why. This guy's attention to detail is unparalleled. If you know anything about my Roadsters you'd know that I like to pay attention to detail when building a car myself. Jeff is an inspiration to me in this regard. I can learn a thing or two from him.
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03-12-13, 01:30 PM
#8
Looks good Steve. Boosting is my plan for next year. Gonna have Jeff do it also just as you are. He replaced all those seals also for me around this time last year, haha. He's a great dude and does exquisite work. Can't wait to see it done. 
(This is Daniel from NTL with the Q45 retro btw)
(This is Daniel from NTL with the Q45 retro btw)
03-12-13, 01:33 PM
#9
I'm doing "Stage 2 Intermediate" with the addition of a full exhaust and all that maintenance stuff.
Looks good Steve. Boosting is my plan for next year. Gonna have Jeff do it also just as you are. He replaced all those seals also for me around this time last year, haha. He's a great dude and does exquisite work. Can't wait to see it done.
(This is Daniel from NTL with the Q45 retro btw)
(This is Daniel from NTL with the Q45 retro btw)
Can't wait to see it in person!
03-12-13, 07:32 PM
#11
What a car!
This thing is a completely different experience. Words will fail me so videos will come in the future. BUT....after some wrinkles get ironed out.
My 120k-mile coil packs are not up to the task of forced induction, it seems. So we're ordering 3 new packs and will swap them on in a week or two. In the meantime, I'm running low boost (about 8-9psi) and the car still breaks up under heavy load or high RPM.
Even with low boost and hesitation about half of the time....the car absolutely flies. And the noise it makes is ridiculously fun. I can't believe it's been 8 years since I've owned a turbo car. Forget about the rush of acceleration as the turbo spools up...just the noises the car makes are worth it.
Anyway - I'm super happy to have the car back. I will thoroughly enjoy the next week and a half to two weeks as Jeff and I try to sync our schedules up for the coil pack install. At the same time he'll turn the boost up to 14-15lbs. I don't think I'll be able to wipe this stupid grin off my face after that.
This thing is a completely different experience. Words will fail me so videos will come in the future. BUT....after some wrinkles get ironed out.
My 120k-mile coil packs are not up to the task of forced induction, it seems. So we're ordering 3 new packs and will swap them on in a week or two. In the meantime, I'm running low boost (about 8-9psi) and the car still breaks up under heavy load or high RPM.
Even with low boost and hesitation about half of the time....the car absolutely flies. And the noise it makes is ridiculously fun. I can't believe it's been 8 years since I've owned a turbo car. Forget about the rush of acceleration as the turbo spools up...just the noises the car makes are worth it.
Anyway - I'm super happy to have the car back. I will thoroughly enjoy the next week and a half to two weeks as Jeff and I try to sync our schedules up for the coil pack install. At the same time he'll turn the boost up to 14-15lbs. I don't think I'll be able to wipe this stupid grin off my face after that.
03-12-13, 08:38 PM
#12
What a car!
This thing is a completely different experience. Words will fail me so videos will come in the future. BUT....after some wrinkles get ironed out.
My 120k-mile coil packs are not up to the task of forced induction, it seems. So we're ordering 3 new packs and will swap them on in a week or two. In the meantime, I'm running low boost (about 8-9psi) and the car still breaks up under heavy load or high RPM.
Even with low boost and hesitation about half of the time....the car absolutely flies. And the noise it makes is ridiculously fun. I can't believe it's been 8 years since I've owned a turbo car. Forget about the rush of acceleration as the turbo spools up...just the noises the car makes are worth it.
Anyway - I'm super happy to have the car back. I will thoroughly enjoy the next week and a half to two weeks as Jeff and I try to sync our schedules up for the coil pack install. At the same time he'll turn the boost up to 14-15lbs. I don't think I'll be able to wipe this stupid grin off my face after that.
This thing is a completely different experience. Words will fail me so videos will come in the future. BUT....after some wrinkles get ironed out.
My 120k-mile coil packs are not up to the task of forced induction, it seems. So we're ordering 3 new packs and will swap them on in a week or two. In the meantime, I'm running low boost (about 8-9psi) and the car still breaks up under heavy load or high RPM.
Even with low boost and hesitation about half of the time....the car absolutely flies. And the noise it makes is ridiculously fun. I can't believe it's been 8 years since I've owned a turbo car. Forget about the rush of acceleration as the turbo spools up...just the noises the car makes are worth it.
Anyway - I'm super happy to have the car back. I will thoroughly enjoy the next week and a half to two weeks as Jeff and I try to sync our schedules up for the coil pack install. At the same time he'll turn the boost up to 14-15lbs. I don't think I'll be able to wipe this stupid grin off my face after that.
I'm doing Stage 1 Starter probably. I'm not looking to street race or anything like that. I just want to have a nice amount for city cruising and if I want to blow off on a couple of average built cars, then I can, but nothing major.
