Hello, i recently obtained a Lexus rx300 year 2002 from my mom. Im 17 as of now. I have a good job and i've been saving for about 2 years and have about 30,000 of my own to spend and thats after i worked on the exterior. I have 20' inch rims, lowered suspenision, body kit the whole 9 yards. I need some help to rack on some horsepower and top speed. I race with my honda civic. Its tricked out and is how i won over 20,000 of my 30g. I want to know what works well with the rx300 and actually does its job. Thanks

 

intake, catback exhaust and with that kind of money make the trd 3.0L camry supercharger fit.

post some pics!

 

Welcome to CL.

It will be hard to change the RX300 into speed deamon. Sure you can eek a bit more, but you can do lot better (more) with other cars.

RX was introduced as an elevated car like suv. Profile just produces too much drag. Handling was tweaked towards comfort and the powerplant towards economy.

You can potentially tweak the intake and fo for more free flowing exhaust. As far as I know there are no mod chips to change the engine performance.

That said, RX is wonderful people mover and the trunk space is enough for utility use.

Salim

 

For crank HP gain, you can do a custom Turbo or strap on a SC.
Beside intake + hight flow exhaust, you can custom-make manifold exhaust header, install Hyper Ground and Hyper Voltage System, custom made thermoblok intake manifold spacer, ceramic coat all exhaust surface.

To achieve higher effeciency for delivering crank power to the wheels, go for light weight crank pulley, forged rims, forged lug nuts, carbon fiber light weight tires, decrease diameter of the wheel+tire.

Better utilization of whp, reduces static weight, improves aero-dynamic by removing roof rack and mud flaps, reduce unspun weight by using forged brake calipers.

 

Btw TunedRx and Lexmex are excelent resource.

They can give you cost (investment) for gain in speed. With this information you can decide to pursue or not.

Last unsubstantiated posted numbers were less than 100hp at wheels for stock RX. I could not refute it (no dyno numbers to back my claim), but it feels more like 120hp~150

Salim

 

Your top speed will be limited my either aerodynamics, rev limiter, and gearing. If you have a fixed gear ratio, you're probably not going to gain any top speed unless you still have lots of revs to go (with power being the limiter). It's not even worth it on an RX.

 

thats true. if i had 30,000 to spend ill get a used sti and keep the rx for cargo or minor off roading.

 

Get rid of the heavy 20" rims and reduce the rolling mass of the vehicle. You could always use the 30K + Sell the RX and buy a more performance oriented vehicle and start with a more easily adaptable platform with a larger aftermarket.

So any pics of your RX or Honda? I'd like to see what you've done to both.

 

Keep in mind everyone of us has a budget, some more than others.

The best way to move up in terms of power is step-by-step. This doesn't mean this has to be extended out over years, though generally this is the way it turns out.

With every modification I put on a vehicle, I try to give at least one week whenever possible to see the effects of a particular piece. Running up and down at my track helps to some effect, but given the fighting nature of our Toyota ECMs, the battle is not won easily. Still, if you have a 1/4 mile track near you, give it a shot, as this is a very good measuring stick of not only what your vehicle can do, but what you as a pilot can, which I believe is the most important modification with any vehicle.

Exhaust is a good place to start, and you can take a look at my homepage below to get some ideas. Feel free to ask me in forum or via PM on anything.

And welcome to ClubLexus

 

Many mod because the unique factor, it is not unusual for to see a boosted Civic but who has a boosted RX?
Another reason is surprise, ask how many sedan owners laugh at Lexmex but turned around and got beat at the track. Now that is sweet.

 

I'm not saying it can't be done, actually I'd love to see what the potential is for the RX. I'd also love to see a turbo or SC setup on the RX. As for the rims I have some friends that do SCCA racing and the first thing to change is light weight rims and remove all the extra weight items, so if you are going for performance that's usually the first thing to go when you can't do alot to the motor, which the RX seems limited on motor upgrades. Plus removing extra junk is a free mod.

I guess I'm spoiled with my Mustang and the aftermarket parts I get to enjoy, It's just a shame more cars don't have the same kind of support.

 

Turbos and SCs (that very expensive TTE Compressor for the RX300) can be done without a doubt and the current transmission can support it in terms of the SC, but if you start talking turbo and going above 300 hp, you may be in for a rude awakening without tranny upgrades such as those from IPT Transmissions. When I do get a chance to get the turbo I want in I can tell you my boost will go no more than 5 to 6 psi max, even though psi isn't necessarily the best measure nor hp, but rather torque.

Also keep in mind (unfortunatley, some people at the track don't heed my advice) is that it is quite wise before boosting anything to build up support, trannies, exhaust, cooling, etc. so that your vehicle can support this. I can count enough times at my track where we get rookie boosters and something in their engine or tranny blows to bits (and I have to go clean up off the track).

As I have mentioned before, a direct-flow exhaust is a good place to start in terms of value for the money. Intakes have to be carefully constructed as I have discovered over the years.

Most important, keep in mind modification is not just $$$, but also a matter of will...carefully thinking and looking over what you want to do, examining what options exist aftermarket (sadly for the RX300 there aren't many) and looking at custom ideas.

I have had a good chance over the course of my ownership with my RX300 to look at some competitor boards related to the MDX, Murano, for example, and they are also in a similar boat in terms of performance modifications, so we aren't alone.

 

We are all hashing the same subject....

You want peak out of RX: You have simple options (intake, exhaust, shed weight). More complex options need lot of infrastructure support and be mindful of the fact that very little is readily available.

You want speed and power: You are better off looking at other platform.

As a bye stander, keep safety in mind and please no racing on public streets. [I tried hard to hold this back, but could not resist ... I am getting too old ... heck my younger son is the of the age of the thread starter]

Salim