1999 lexus is200 V8 turbo (508BHP!!!!) For sale!!

So an update. And would it be an update from me without problems.. I think not... I've got good news and bad news.. so if I average that out. That's medium news right?? 

So I got a phone call from john at John sleath race cars earlier. Like an expectant parent. What would he have to say. How many millions of bhp has it made. How many rods have exited stage left. How much do I owe him for cleaning up the oil haha. 

Well the good news. It's "mapped" it starts runs and drives. And is now in a safe useable state..well almost.  It's getting hot. But I can remedy that easily enough. Could be thermostat stuck, could be thermostat missing altoghter (these need the stat in place or the water doesn't flow properly) tbh I've not had it out to check. Could just need the bigger ally rad I planned on fitting anyways...  but I can work round that.  

The bad news.. it won't boost  .. now there's been a few ideas banded round already. Could be simply that the huge hx50 is too big. But other people have used them with no issue. More likely is that the Cheap special wastegate isn't sealing and it's all escaping before the turbo. 

Now on a normal car with an unsilenced screamer pipe you would hear it. But the exhaust is that loud you cant hear anything.... So I need to start looking into why.

I'm planning on bypassing the gate altogether. Either welding the screamer pipe shut. Or making a blanking plate and removing the gate altogether and trying it without to see if it boosts. But atleast were going in right direction.. I've now summat to work with..

The good news as it was, is that even making an almighty 3psi of boost it's making 253bhp at the back tyres. Which John estimates to be somewere around low 300s at the crank. Using basic man maths that should be around 350 at 7psi which is what I hoped for. I just need to figure out why now




So yeah. Mixed emotions. Can't be happier that it "works" but likewise it's still now we're near...

I'm working in that there fancy London town tomorrow but if I'm back in time il be collecting it tomorrow evening and then I can start on the investigation in Ernest...

And just incase anyone needs proof.. here it is. In all its glory... On his Dyno. With no puddles under it haha







More soon hopefully.. were going right direction atleast.

Cheers

Even got the red carpet out for it on the dyno by the looks of it

Got the red carpet out and made less than 300bhp at the back tyres.. id have rolled the red carpet away for the photo haha

Should be fairly easy to pressure test a wastegate and check it's sealing.

That's the plan. Well. Need to get it back off and see what's going on.. I know it works in the sense that it opens and closes if I pressurise the inlet that opens it. But I've not tested it to make sure it seels shut.. should know more when I've got it back so I can move forward with it

Loving this thread, good work so far and hopefully you'll get to the bottom of the small issues soon. What a mix of things, ticks loads of box's for me, V8 (big want for something v8) Turbo (who doesn't love a turbo?) and RWD J (miss all my 200sx's) just a pure blend of awesome well done














(now starts adding lexus soarers and IS's to my ebay watch list)

Oh it should all get very exciting very quickly when it starts boosting haha. And that may be sooner than we thought....

As for the turbo.. is it big enough... Haha

Definitely. A step if you like. It's making 40 ish bhp more than standard. All rods are still in all holes.. and I've got a working driving project now. Rather than an expensive ornament

Progress I think

So sadly not much of an update.. just an update to say there will be an update, once I've done the update..  following  ...... Good. 


Took the wastegate into work with me yesterday, to try and remody the fire ring issue. Was going to go and see my master fabricator mate to get him to Tig it in place for me. But he's busy and I'm impatient.. plus how hard can it be (it turns out it's made of finest Cheap so quite hard)

So stripped down, and then assessed what I was going to do.



Turns out the valve and the seat aren't perfectly perpendicular to each other. Not the end of the world I can fix the seat on the wonk so it matches the valve.. guess that's the cheapo aspect of it.. but 1/6 of the price of a real one it's worth trying to sort.

So badly welded the fire ring in place (did I mention it's made of something odd that welds like your trying to weld chocolate)...




Then dressed back with a file trying my best to keep the mating surface flat (who am I kidding, it won't be flat )




I then spent far far longer than I'd like to admit trying to lap the valve back in.. I've got blisters on my hands and I nearly wore my new valve lapping stick out haha. But it seals just about and only gradually slowly seeps brake cleaner out the valve now (were as before ep2 would have run through the gap haha)..

Hopefully that should sort that issue. Obviously technically the gate is now scrap if I need to replace the fire ring. But all I want to do is prove the concept and if it works il replace it with a "real one"..

Onto the running hot issue. I don't think the original rad is particularly well.. I'm fairly sure the old engine had rad weld in. It was minging inside, was full of crust and rust and death.. and although I've flushed it I don't know how good the flow is internally. So the shiny lovely ally jobby should help (massively I hope).. say what you want about the Chinese, but 10/15 year ago that would have been a £1000 rad. So it's a win from me..








I also got a new thermostat a few degrees cooler than the original.. before I get shot down and told "a cooler stat won't stop it overheating". "it's a bandaid for another problem".... I know it won't magically cure it.. but I'm undercooled as it is and hopefully if the stats open a few degrees sooner, the cooling system will be doing its job properly sooner.. so should help (well it does in my head and that's the voice I'm listening to) haha.

Unfortunately now armed with all these bits to put job right my Mrs is working tonight and the kids have decided sleep is for the weak, tbf it's precisely 63852 degrees in the house so I'm not surprised they wouldn't settle..

Hopefully tomorrow il get an hour or two spare and can wang all bits on and try it.. cooling issue sorted would be brilliant, boost issue sorted would be really brilliant.. likelihood of either being sorted. Slim to none

I also need to do something with the exhaust... It's brilliant how loud it is, if I didn't have kids or neighbours I don't particularly want to fall out with, or a licence I didn't particularly want to keep. I'd leave it as is... But I do so need to do summat..

Anyone more knowledgeable chirp up by all means.. I'm currently 3.5 inch off the turbo, stepped up to a 4 inch downpipe.. to get under car I need to reduce the size, 3 inch is very cheap, easily available, and will be easier to keep some ground clearance.. 3.5 inch is loads more expensive, harder to work with, and harder still to keep any ground clearance.. I don't want to hold it back deliberately but likewise I like cheap, I like easy, I like off the shelf. What's the general consensus on running 3 inch pipe.. will have 1 maybe 2 straight through boxes. With a long term power goal of 500bhp.. answers on a postcard..


Anyways. Enough of this update. Stay tuned for the update this update is referring to haha

Cheers