Hey everyone. I decided to jump on the "turbod gs bandwagon"
With me being still in high school and not making a lot of money, this will be a budget build (I know what your going to say ).
I'm going to get my car as close too 400whp as I can.


UPDATE: 4/18/09



Already bought:

-XSpower T57 turbo
-XSpower t4 undivided turbo manifold with 4bolt rect. wastegate flange
-HKS Style Wastegate with dump tube (direct match for manifold)
-Greddy Type S style BOV
-Generic FMIC (measures appx. 11"h x 36" w x 3" d)
-Walbro 255 lph fuel pump.
-headgasket
-oil line kit/fittings
-Boost controller
-Trans cooler


Now to hit my mark with this kit, I figure I'll need:
Haltech 10x
440cc or 550cc injectors
gauges, fittings other misc.
wideband
VB upgrade



Now for new questions.

1). What are pros and cons to electronic boost controllers vs. manual.
2). What all gauges would I need to get?
3). What fittings would I need and how much oil line?



Sorry for asking so many questions, I want to get it done right the first time

 

a good tranny swap is going to cost a lot...probably more than the whole build you have listed. Idk about injectors size anything 440 or bigger probably, fuel pump just get the walbro 255. ok this is my opinion, kill the cam gear, put that money towards a haltech (really, dont screw around with the FIC, just get the f10x and be done with it) also if you get the haltech (f10x=about $800 with sensors) go ahead and get the boost solenoid if your trying to get 400whp. what camshaft are you going to get for $450? lol anyways, i would ditch that as well (you really dont need that unless your going crazy hp and really high rpms) put that money towards maintenance or something (if your running 400hp you need to make sure everything works at 110% also if you have alot of miles on your car, and have not changed the trans fluid, your looking at a complete rebuild + the upgraded parts, and while your in there you might as well do a high stall TC ($1000) oh and personally i wouldnt try to run 400hp on a turbonetics compressor...but thats just me. oh and you need more gauges, (oil temp, oil press, exh. temp, trans temp... unless your planning on viewing everything through a multi gauge type thing. seriously, my best advice would be to start with quality products, (i.e. turbonetics or garret turbo, and haltech) and do it right, so then later when you have more $$ you can "grow into" your turbo/ecu. as opposed to having to upgrade constantly. i would aim for 300 whp (7-9 psi) with quality parts...and then build from there....thats my 2.25 cents

 

Thanks man. I've talked to a few people including Mark at Clubna-t and they said that I can run 400 on the turbo. I wasn't too worried about the tranny swap right now, just an option. Alot of people on here seem to be running FI/C just fine, so I'll stick with that. Also the Things like the cam and all that, I'd rather get now and get my motor semi-built.


EDIT: on second thought, I'll let the cam go until I start upping the power

 

ok ill take your word on the turbo (even tho mark is the one profiting from it..lol) but trust me...the "just fine" with the fic....there are a ton a headaches behind that statement....im just telling you from 1st hand experience how much of a pain it really is, but i ignored what most ppl told me, and stuck with the fic 2 save a buck...and it ended up being a major pain, and never worked right for me. also...even if it does work..the haltech is just a better unit...you cant beat a standalone...really, when you try to alter a signal...too many things have to be just right, and the smallest thing can screw it up. im not trying to get you to spend more or anything...im just telling you what my experience was with it. (and i talked to MANY ppl on club na-t and on here, and at AEM and did what everyone said to do to make it work, and it never did)

 

Alright. I'll check into the haltech

 

Are you going to be doing the install and tuning yourself or will a shop be doing the labor and tuning?

 

I'm going to install. I'm not sure about the tuning. I'm hoping to find a shop who can do the tuning for me

 

As far as engine management choice, if a shop is going to do the tuning, go with whatever they are most knowledgeable with. For instance, if you get AEM standalone but they have no experience with that box but they are experts with Haltechs, then the logical choice is Haltech. Engine management ECUs are only as good as the tuner. All the good reviews, fancy and advanced features aren't squat if the tuner does not know how to use it. So go with what your tuner likes. However, you first have to decide if you need a standalone or piggyback, primarily because of emissions.

Cam gear, camshafts, and exhaust cutout are not essential yet. They are nice, but focus on having a reliable kit and a build first and foremost. You can put that money for now towards making sure you have quality parts, maintenance, tuning costs, etc.

Don't forget about a quality wastegate and even blow off valve. You don't want to skimp out on those for a couple hundred $ and end up blowing your motor because you went with the cheaper alternative.

That is good that you are considering the tranny upgrades, you will certainly need those. Based on the price, it am assuming you will be shipping it out to PFS or SRT to do the upgrades. I wouldn't go with anything less than vb and sprag upgrade, don't just settle with vb. That is it for now, I am tired and sleepy lol.

 

1. Who is doing the work?

2. What do you plan on connecting the fuel pressure regulator to?

3. You don't need a sprag upgrade if you don't rag on the car, it's the shift from 1st to 2nd that breaks sprag gears. If you drive responsibly and don't smash it every time you get to a stoplight you will be just fine with a valve body upgrade and a tranny cooler. A higher stall converter will make your car faster off the line but it's going to burn up your trans much quicker than a stock stall.

4. That turbo will do just fine, I ran one of those for a couple years and when I finally took it off it had almost no shaft play. It is an older design however so you won't be as efficient as say a "gt" series turbo but it will get the job done, you will EASILY be able to hit 300hp with that turbo and supporting mods.

5. Ngk Plugs = $10 Did you mean $100? The only plugs you will be able to get for around $10 would be V-Power's 3330's etc...You don't want those if you daily drive the car as you are going to burn through them ever 1000miles or so. Get Iridiums, one or two steps colder than stock, should run about $75.

6. Get rid of the exhaust cutout, a catback is more than enough for the power level you are looking at.

7. Ditto on the cam gear, not needed, won't gain enough to be worthwhile in your case.

8. You need to get the necessities first, get started on installing it and keep a good chunk of change in reserve for little pieces here and there. I saw on your list there was no mention of oil lines, flanges or fittings. Those will be needed also, another $150 or so for that stuff.

 

check with ROPADOPA bout the manual 5 speed swap or ant i think has one....search the older posts

 

1. Me, my friend, and possibly my mechanic.
2. I don't know, Where should I put it?
3. Yeah, I don't have enough for a converter yet
4. Thanks for the info
5. I ment 100, Thanks
6. Alright. I didn't know if I would get more gains with it or not.
7. Alright.
8. Ahhhh. Forgot about that hha. what would I need as far as oil lines, flanges and fittings?



Thanks man!

 

Thanks. Will do

 

If you and your friend are doing it you will need to have a good assortment of tools available. If you are doing a headgasket and have never done one before you AT LEAST need a factory service manual. If none of you have done it before I would advise that you take it to a pro to get done as there are multiple things that you can mess up that will be either expensive to fix and/or permanently damage the motor.

More what I was getting at with the location of the fpr was that you can't install one on a stock Gs fuel system. A fuel pressure works by providing "resistance" to flow on the return fuel line. Lexus uses a non-return fuel system so there is no way to install a fpr without adding a return line. So...either scratch off the fpr or plan on purchasing and installing the parts for a return fuel setup.

The rest of the stuff I went over in my other post. You need to know that what you are planning to do is not a trivial install. This isn't like throwing an exhaust on or installing springs. First and foremost you need to have the tools to do it, second you need to know what you are doing or else you can seriously damage your engine before you ever get the install done. Thirdly, you should really have a considerable amount of experience working on cars before attempting this install.

Not everything is going to just "bolt up". By no means take this as an insult but the installation of a fpr and understanding how it works is quite straightforward and easy, from the answer you gave me you seem to not have much experience with working on engines and if no one had said something you would have wasted $200 on a useless part for your application. Again, this is no way an insult but I know when I was in high school and getting into cars everything seemed straightforward when I planned it out in my head but in actuality things RARELY go as planned.

Things to consider:

Do you have another car?
How much time do you have for this install?
Do you have the extra cash for unexpected things?
Do you have a place to keep the car for an extended amount of time while your working on it?
What is your backup plan if you get to a point where you don't know what to do or need to tow the car to someone to fix it?

As an example, here is a sample issue you are going to run into:

You need to install a oil drain line from the turbo to the oil pan but the pan has no fittings for a return line. How would you go about doing that?

 

Things to consider:

Do you have another car? Yep, my daily.
How much time do you have for this install? Like to get everything installed in a week. no more than 3.
Do you have the extra cash for unexpected things? Not right this moment. I'm saving up and I'm adding 1 or 2k extra just incase
Do you have a place to keep the car for an extended amount of time while your working on it? Yep.
What is your backup plan if you get to a point where you don't know what to do or need to tow the car to someone to fix it? Theres a few shops around pittsburgh where I can go and they can do it.



As far as a headgasket goes, I'd probably have a shop do it. I don't want to mess anything up by far on this car.

Now I also was wondering if worst case, if I could take my car to SRT and have them install it. Think they could do it?

 

props for being in HS and having a daily driver and doing a turbo build, obviously you are doing something right