mu.zeitgeist
New Member
Hi, I am new to this forum. I'm an Electronic Engineering student from Japan, currently finishing up my community college courses to direct transfer into Oregon State University. I spend half the year in Japan, half in the U.S. prolonging my schooling days here which is fun! I am enjoying this country, meeting some great people, lots of car enthusiasts and lots of nice roads to drive! The nature in this country is beautiful, fishing is good too! And being able to drive for days makes me want a nice car! A little bit of culture shock with many people but getting used to it slowly. Anyway I've always loved motorbikes and cars since I was a little kid!
Past cars are:
19?? Corolla 2 SR
1990 Suzuki Alto Works Turbo RS
1992 Honda CR-X SiR
1994 Toyota Land cruiser Diesel Prado
1989 MBZ 190E Evolution
200? Honda Step wagon
199? Daihatsu Move turbo
2003 MBZ A190
1987 MBZ R107 560SL
1997 Chevy Caprice Police Interceptor (sold it after 2-3 weeks)
1988 CRX HF Modified.
Currently driving
in U.S:
1997 MBZ CL600
1997 Lexus LS400
1987 Ford Ranger <-- I got this for free. Burned clutch, broken suspension and fixed it. I rolled it in a corner because this was my first truck. I did not think it would do that. After installing an aluminium radiator, electric fan, lowered it, it still runs very straight and strong, American trucks are amazing!
in Japan:
1994 Porsche 993
2010 Honda Fit
Motorcycles;
1997 Harley Davidson FXDL customized
1994 Harley Davidson FXSTC full custom build *chopped frame
1996 Sundance XLR1200 (Sundance version HD Sportster XL1200)
1987 Honda Rebel 250cc with 2000km on it
I tend to go from very raw cars to luxury sedans with nothing in between. I realized that I do not like how FWD handles at all so most of my keeper cars have been RWD.
I am recently very seriously considering the LS400 to be one of the best cars I have ever driven! The MBZ 190E Evolution is a near perfect car in all around terms, maybe a twin turbo 500E Porsche-line would be fun too but the downfall is that all MBZ are very unreliable so I constantly doing mandatory repairs and look for expensive replacement parts on a rare car. I only hate working on cars when they are broken, funny how that is.
It is very hard to get that old Benz feel in a car! I think the 1995-1997 Celsior tried to be a cross between cadillac and mbz but very very far away from being a satisfactory competitor to the old MBZs. Those cars just feel too good!
However I cannot ignore the UCF20. It is a GREAT GREAT GREAT car. The high revving V8, ultimate reliability, and good looks make this car very special. I can't get enough of square headlights (I am one of those odd people that thought Jeep YJ is the best looking Wrangler.)
So I bought my LS400 car in Texas with 60k miles on it about 3 years ago. The first day it exploded the radiator (had the dealership fix it the same day) in the middle of going 110mph for 1 hour on my drive to Oregon. I thought oh no, another benz. After that it has not had any severe problems as a daily driver at all! It was a fluke.
I never thought the car was anything performance oriented so soon after I bought a CR-X, NA tuned it, then boosted it kind of like my SiR. After modifying on it for 2 years I got rid of it. Driving the CR-X in the U.S. is very scary because of the poor road conditions. Large tires are mandatory for pothole clearance and road roughness. You can lose a wheel in a manhole very easily. It is also unacceptably loud with polycarbonate windows. I insulate padded the entire car (which made it heavier) and still sounds like a jet at 50mph so after all that work I decided that CRX is not my car, got rid of it a month or so ago.
I need long wheelbase for freeways. Which led me to buy a supercharged police interceptor. This was also my first american car that I owned, and I was told great things about Caprice (powerful, handles, reliable.) and found one that was in great condition. My other choice was a C4 Corvette on craigslist. I drove C4 around the block, very raw car... I would not replace a CRX with another raw car. So bought the interceptor. I did not drive it until after I bought it. BAD BAD BAD BAD. I cannot say enough how much I hate Caprice.
I decided I would have to FULLY pump out the Celsior and unlock the maximum potential of this car to meet my needs.
I installed Buddy Club full coilovers for UCF20, put additional welds in the frame, CAI, cat removal, and the car feels good. Very stable around hairpin corners now and does not feel like a Sedan handling! So handling aspect is done! I will be working on all bushings very soon after I get my polyurethane epoxy. Which got shipped out today. I am very excited to see what the car would feel like with everything tight. Modified P/S today to get rid of speed sensitive P/S boost, which is major upgrade! I can now feel the road I am driving on.
I will be ditching the charcoal can stuff, to make engine bay easier to work on from now. It will also teach me more about the engine. This should be done by tonight as I will work on it when I finish posting. Would this make a EVAP check engine light stay on?
I need to boost the crap out of this car to make up for weight differences. Of course the Automatic transmission with no gear locker will not work for me. Going from boosted 400hp well tuned CR-X, Porsches, sports cars to the very old person tuned Celsior as a daily driver... is difficult to be happy with.
Right now:
Lowered 5in. on Buddy Club racing coilovers
19x10.5J OZ Racing Opera with Yokohama dbEuro tire
Racing harness to keep me in the seat during cornering. (I know I need cage, looking into this now)
P/S modification
NGK Iridium spark plug with NGK wires
Test pipe catalytic converter
Additional welding reinforcement to chassis.
All very easy stuff, because I want this car feeling to be done properly before I get into deep engine tuning. The feel part is getting there VERY QUICKLY! Not surprisingly it looks like Toyota intentionally left out on non-crucial frame welds to keep a very soft ride (for old people?)
It is unbelievable how the feel changed and the whole car changed personality with such minor modification. I chased down a Sentra SER Spec V in tight corners with a near stock engine. Gained him IN CORNERS! Which means impressive cornering! I want to triangulate the inner fender this weekend to make it a even more stiff chassis! Looking for someone with experience at a 6 point cage for cabin rigidity (also need better place to mount harness because it is too dangerous right now bolted to rear seatbelt mounting points.)
Please give me input! I am very new to modifying Lexus/Toyota cars and don't know much about them. I grew up modifying MBZ and Porsches, and an older Honda (although just CR-X) cars so I am not new to working on cars, and love to do custom works. But this car is very unfamiliar territory.
Despite my lack of knowledge want to Lextreme my UCF20!
I am learning very quickly about the LS400 and working on it with a goal is very exciting! Something I have not felt in a long time. So please do not be so hard on me, I am still new with Toyota's OBD2, crazy multilex computers hidden everywhere in the car, certain things I am not familiar with.
I hope to get to know many of you Lexus enthusiasts. There is so much good information here on LS400!
I have talked to Lextreme about building engine to hold 20PSI twin turbo. I am sorry David, but I am going to hold off on that engine until I figure something out the situation with my transmission, and making room for turbo headers. I NEED a decent manual swap before I put my hands on a super engine.
T56 swap sounds Lextremely good to me.
If the bellhousing in Norway is nearing completion I can get this project started. If it's nowhere near production yet, I need consider the Supra TT swap. I do not have any good thoughts about putting a Getrag in such a quiet, nice car but what has to be done, has to be done.:sad:
μZG
Past cars are:
19?? Corolla 2 SR
1990 Suzuki Alto Works Turbo RS
1992 Honda CR-X SiR
1994 Toyota Land cruiser Diesel Prado
1989 MBZ 190E Evolution
200? Honda Step wagon
199? Daihatsu Move turbo
2003 MBZ A190
1987 MBZ R107 560SL
1997 Chevy Caprice Police Interceptor (sold it after 2-3 weeks)
1988 CRX HF Modified.
Currently driving
in U.S:
1997 MBZ CL600
1997 Lexus LS400
1987 Ford Ranger <-- I got this for free. Burned clutch, broken suspension and fixed it. I rolled it in a corner because this was my first truck. I did not think it would do that. After installing an aluminium radiator, electric fan, lowered it, it still runs very straight and strong, American trucks are amazing!
in Japan:
1994 Porsche 993
2010 Honda Fit
Motorcycles;
1997 Harley Davidson FXDL customized
1994 Harley Davidson FXSTC full custom build *chopped frame
1996 Sundance XLR1200 (Sundance version HD Sportster XL1200)
1987 Honda Rebel 250cc with 2000km on it
I tend to go from very raw cars to luxury sedans with nothing in between. I realized that I do not like how FWD handles at all so most of my keeper cars have been RWD.
I am recently very seriously considering the LS400 to be one of the best cars I have ever driven! The MBZ 190E Evolution is a near perfect car in all around terms, maybe a twin turbo 500E Porsche-line would be fun too but the downfall is that all MBZ are very unreliable so I constantly doing mandatory repairs and look for expensive replacement parts on a rare car. I only hate working on cars when they are broken, funny how that is.
It is very hard to get that old Benz feel in a car! I think the 1995-1997 Celsior tried to be a cross between cadillac and mbz but very very far away from being a satisfactory competitor to the old MBZs. Those cars just feel too good!
However I cannot ignore the UCF20. It is a GREAT GREAT GREAT car. The high revving V8, ultimate reliability, and good looks make this car very special. I can't get enough of square headlights (I am one of those odd people that thought Jeep YJ is the best looking Wrangler.)
So I bought my LS400 car in Texas with 60k miles on it about 3 years ago. The first day it exploded the radiator (had the dealership fix it the same day) in the middle of going 110mph for 1 hour on my drive to Oregon. I thought oh no, another benz. After that it has not had any severe problems as a daily driver at all! It was a fluke.
I never thought the car was anything performance oriented so soon after I bought a CR-X, NA tuned it, then boosted it kind of like my SiR. After modifying on it for 2 years I got rid of it. Driving the CR-X in the U.S. is very scary because of the poor road conditions. Large tires are mandatory for pothole clearance and road roughness. You can lose a wheel in a manhole very easily. It is also unacceptably loud with polycarbonate windows. I insulate padded the entire car (which made it heavier) and still sounds like a jet at 50mph so after all that work I decided that CRX is not my car, got rid of it a month or so ago.
I need long wheelbase for freeways. Which led me to buy a supercharged police interceptor. This was also my first american car that I owned, and I was told great things about Caprice (powerful, handles, reliable.) and found one that was in great condition. My other choice was a C4 Corvette on craigslist. I drove C4 around the block, very raw car... I would not replace a CRX with another raw car. So bought the interceptor. I did not drive it until after I bought it. BAD BAD BAD BAD. I cannot say enough how much I hate Caprice.
I decided I would have to FULLY pump out the Celsior and unlock the maximum potential of this car to meet my needs.
I installed Buddy Club full coilovers for UCF20, put additional welds in the frame, CAI, cat removal, and the car feels good. Very stable around hairpin corners now and does not feel like a Sedan handling! So handling aspect is done! I will be working on all bushings very soon after I get my polyurethane epoxy. Which got shipped out today. I am very excited to see what the car would feel like with everything tight. Modified P/S today to get rid of speed sensitive P/S boost, which is major upgrade! I can now feel the road I am driving on.
I will be ditching the charcoal can stuff, to make engine bay easier to work on from now. It will also teach me more about the engine. This should be done by tonight as I will work on it when I finish posting. Would this make a EVAP check engine light stay on?
I need to boost the crap out of this car to make up for weight differences. Of course the Automatic transmission with no gear locker will not work for me. Going from boosted 400hp well tuned CR-X, Porsches, sports cars to the very old person tuned Celsior as a daily driver... is difficult to be happy with.
Right now:
Lowered 5in. on Buddy Club racing coilovers
19x10.5J OZ Racing Opera with Yokohama dbEuro tire
Racing harness to keep me in the seat during cornering. (I know I need cage, looking into this now)
P/S modification
NGK Iridium spark plug with NGK wires
Test pipe catalytic converter
Additional welding reinforcement to chassis.
All very easy stuff, because I want this car feeling to be done properly before I get into deep engine tuning. The feel part is getting there VERY QUICKLY! Not surprisingly it looks like Toyota intentionally left out on non-crucial frame welds to keep a very soft ride (for old people?)
It is unbelievable how the feel changed and the whole car changed personality with such minor modification. I chased down a Sentra SER Spec V in tight corners with a near stock engine. Gained him IN CORNERS! Which means impressive cornering! I want to triangulate the inner fender this weekend to make it a even more stiff chassis! Looking for someone with experience at a 6 point cage for cabin rigidity (also need better place to mount harness because it is too dangerous right now bolted to rear seatbelt mounting points.)
Please give me input! I am very new to modifying Lexus/Toyota cars and don't know much about them. I grew up modifying MBZ and Porsches, and an older Honda (although just CR-X) cars so I am not new to working on cars, and love to do custom works. But this car is very unfamiliar territory.
Despite my lack of knowledge want to Lextreme my UCF20!
I am learning very quickly about the LS400 and working on it with a goal is very exciting! Something I have not felt in a long time. So please do not be so hard on me, I am still new with Toyota's OBD2, crazy multilex computers hidden everywhere in the car, certain things I am not familiar with.
I hope to get to know many of you Lexus enthusiasts. There is so much good information here on LS400!
I have talked to Lextreme about building engine to hold 20PSI twin turbo. I am sorry David, but I am going to hold off on that engine until I figure something out the situation with my transmission, and making room for turbo headers. I NEED a decent manual swap before I put my hands on a super engine.
T56 swap sounds Lextremely good to me.
If the bellhousing in Norway is nearing completion I can get this project started. If it's nowhere near production yet, I need consider the Supra TT swap. I do not have any good thoughts about putting a Getrag in such a quiet, nice car but what has to be done, has to be done.:sad:μZG