My name is Nick Andes. I am the owner of www.turboforum.net

After searching for a Supra Twin Turbo Project car for quite some time, I found love for the Lexus SC300. Then, after a bit of time searching for a Lexus, I was able to make a purchase on Wednesday, so here I am.

I bought a '93 Lexus SC300. It is white w/ tan leather, 5 spd transmission, 85,000 miles, all options, and 100% stock.

Today (2 days after purchase), I am in love with my Lexus, and I am ready to modify. Here is a list of the parts that I have already ordered, they will be here next week:

6x 72lb Injectors
2x Walbro 255 Fuel Pumps with Install kits and all fuel lines, etc
Aeromotive Fuel Pressure Regulator with 1:1 boost reference
Fittings to mod fuel rail for larger injectors
HKS HeadGasket
ARP Head Studs
ClutchNet Clutch-Single disc, double diaphram pressure plate & 6 puck metallic disc w/sprung hub
Blue GReddy Profec B Boost Controller
GReddy white EGT guage w/ memory & warning light
MSD BTM
SP63 w/ .81 jet hotted housing, compressor housing is polished
SP jet hotted header
HKS gt wastegate
Greddy 3 row intercooler
Custom intercooler piping, all silver powder coated
Blitz BOV w/ flange welded on intercooler piping
3" ceramic coated down pipe

The project will begin on October 19, 2002, as that is my first time available to have the garage for use. I am interested to hear if anyone else has similar mods, and what I can expect to have as a dyno and quarter mile time as the result.

The car should be finished close to 2 months from now, but I will keep updating as progress happens, if anyone would like.

I am planning on running 15-18psi on pump gas, and 25-28psi on race gas.

Anyways, just wanted to introduce myself, hoping that I am as welcome and happy here as I am on the MR2 Owners Club message board. Some of you may have seen me on other message boards, I use "Angel" and "SoAngel" as my login names.

Thanks, and wish me luck!

p.s. if any of you decide to join my website, please keep the modifications that I am doing quiet, because only a select few of them have any idea whatsoever. This is a "surprise" TurboForum.net project car. Thanks again!

 

Hello and welcome. You got moving quick on the na-t didn't you? Drop some $$$$. I just picked up the manifold, dp and wastegate myself - but need to save more to get the rest of the equipment. Or I'll wait till I'm settled in the house and send it out to SP for the job. Anyways, good luck - keep us posted on any difficulties encountered. Are you planning on using a piggy back or standalone management?

 

Welcome to the family, Nick.
It's nice to have another Lexus nut joining
our little Lexus mental institution.
It looks like you've started out in the
right direction: got a nice car, two days later
you are modding it already.
Good luck with your car and definately keep
us posted.
Regards.

 

Thanks for the quick responses!

Yes, the turbo kit (as well as the car itself) cost a small fortune, quite a bit more than I was planning on, but I think I have just about all the bases covered. Not listed in the things that I bought are the boost guage, turbo timer, and Apexi S-AFC, that I am taking off of one of my other cars.

Piggyback or Standalone ? As of right now, we are keeping the factory ECU. While that may seem bad to some of you, honestly, after buying everything that I did, I am out of money. We figure that tuning the fuel with the S-AFC and adjusting the ignition with the MSD BTM will be basically the major functions that we would use from an aftermarket ECU anyway. In the future, I am hoping to get a Speed Pro computer, but that will definitely be quite awhile.

Thanks for the "good luck" wishes. I wish we could get the project started sooner, but I don't really want to work on it in the backyard

 

That is what I was referring to as far as piggy back. The S-AFC. You're right on. I'd say set up well enough. Things can always get better, bigger, and badder.

 

Ok, when you said piggyback, I was thinking that you meant like the new AEM plug&play computers.

I am pretty sure that they don't replace the entire ECU, that they hardwire into it ? I could be wrong though.

Anyways, glad to hear that I am set up well. I wish that Oct 19 was here sooner!

 

Ooops. I forgot to mention that you may want to look into a vpc to replace the karmen air meter. It will cause problems for high flow and create lean conditions, if I understand this correctly. The other guys know better than I do.

 

Welcome Angel, my kind of first post! You get right down to business on your goals . There are a few other turbo guys in here, I'll let them introduce themselves, but I'm sure you guys could go on for pages and pages on your turbo talk (makes me wish I had an SC300 5-speed with $7000 sitting around). Anyway, keep us posted on the project!

 

$7,000 ? Wow, I wish I could've gotten everything for that price! The turbo kit and the intercooler alone would be about that much.

Then the fuel system, electronics, clutch, head gasket, studs, it just kept on adding up!

Anyway, the only reason(s) I didn't buy a VPC, is because I couldn't afford it right now even if I wanted to, and, the guy I bought everything from had the exact setup on a Toyota Supra NA, and he didn't use a VPC and didn't have any trouble (except for the head gasket). The only difference between my setup and his was that he had the standalone computer, and I have the S-AFC and MSD BTM in place of that.

He was also running 30psi on race gas and I don't think I am going quite that high.

Thanks again for the responses, I appreciate all input.

 

Hmmm. Sounds like you got the fmic, upper/lower pipes, and bov that I was trying to buy from Tony at Perfdesign.com. I thought you were all right for a minute. He nailed you for 7g's? Damn. He was asking 5,500$ for the set-up at the other board. Of course, I think you have a couple more items that were not mentioned. So, he lost his head gasket. That would be a good inidication that either:
1. boost was too high - I doubt it
2. running too lean (no vpc?)

Get the vpc or something that will replace the stock maf if you plan on doing some real boost.

 

Yes, I bought the stuff from Tony, actually.

I was stating the price as if it were new. He ended up giving me the Turbo Kit and Intercooler kit for $5,300 including shipping, but after I bought the rest of the stuff, it came to well over $7,000.

He was running 30psi on race gas and 15psi on pump gas. I am pretty sure that if I stay with the 15psi on pump gas that I should be fine. I will only run race gas once or twice to crank up the boost at the dyno and the track, but I am pretty sure I am not going to 30psi, that seems a little too much.

 

That is the same setup as my old setup, but I had the speed pro as well and a 120 shot. Tony might not have had the VPC on his car, but I assure you when the car was running it had Speed Pro which is why you don't need the VPC...

You will HAVE to have one or the other if you want your car to run for any length of time.

Trust me, you have the Setup SP designed on my car. Dave Stika got that done right after they finished mine, then sold the car, and Tony ended up with it somehow. Between now and when you start you need one of three things IMHO.

1. VPC
2. Speed Pro
3. AEM

If you don't get these your car will not make nearly the power it could, and honestly without one of them you will be running on borrowed time...

Have fun, and be safe! Take it from the guy who has blown up tons of motors even going the safe route, I would have blown up 2 times as many running stock MAF and expecting an AFC to correct enough!

Additionally, when you have the ARP head studs put in, try to use OEM washers instead of the ones supplied by ARP. The ARP ones are a smaller diameter, which does not give them near as much area to apply clamping force as the OEM washers, which can (and has) led to head lifting situations.. My block is actually modified to accomodate larger studs, and washers now, but I think that is overkill with the 63.

I will stop rambling now, just trying to help! Good luck with the project!

-Ethan

 

Thanks for the help.

If I get a VPC, then I have a few questions ..
1) where is best place to get one & what is price ?
2) do I need anything else ?

Oh my, the fiance will kill me if I say I need to buy something else!

 

Also, since you had the same setup, what can I expect to dyno and if possible, what would a guess at 1/4 mile time be ?

Thanks again

 

I had my heart set on that intercooler set-up too. Now I have to wait for another to come up or save up enough to drop the car at SP for months. Was trying to piece a set-up together. Oh well, props to you. Money talks, and I can't blame old boy for getting rid of it as a total package.

Ebanks, your a wealth of knowledge. So I've got that big *** fuel rail from Brian and now I'm wondering if I really need the set-up for 720's. I still haven't decided on a turbo, I've got that pf header,dp, wg. Will that fuel rail fit 550's also?

Angel: you could expect upwards of 600+hp with proper tuning and all the right equipment. But that would be at high end of the boost scale. I have no idea about 1/4 times. By the way, I went by your site and a lot of the pages come up blank. Is it still new and under developement? About the vpc, if you were resourcefull enough to find that turbo set-up then surely you can find a vpc. They are listed in abundance at site about mkiv's in the for sale section. But the speedpro or aem might be a better route to take in the long run for the amount of features available and overall cost comparison in terms of the amount of electronic items needed to duplicate those features without. I really can't recall exact asking prices on used vpc's but I think they are around
250$. Never checked on a new one.