06 Lexus IS250 LS1 Build
06-17-2013, 05:13 PM
#21
Very nice work, should be fun when it's done and I bet most people won't even look twice at it with how clean all the work is. I'm studying mechanical engineering as well, two years left. My thermo professor is obsessed with turbine engines, swear 95% of the examples in class use a turbine in someway.
06-19-2013, 01:06 AM
#23
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You are a very skilled mechanical engineer. Your work is very clean. I am most interested in the wiring. I have an 07 E90 BMW that I plan to put an LS in. I always liked the styling on the IS, 1st and 2nd gen, not so much the latest. The swap will definitely perfect this car.
06-19-2013, 12:36 PM
#26
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You are a very skilled mechanical engineer. Your work is very clean. I am most interested in the wiring. I have an 07 E90 BMW that I plan to put an LS in. I always liked the styling on the IS, 1st and 2nd gen, not so much the latest. The swap will definitely perfect this car.
Most importantly It looks like the A/C will work properly and so far I am re-using the starter and fan relays. That's all I have done so far. I am still very skeptical about the gauges but worst case scenario I retrofit the gauge cluster with some Autometers.
06-20-2013, 03:36 AM
#27
I suspect the OEM gauges run off of the serial bus. One way to keep everything functioning is to retain the OEM ECU and just "trick" it into thinking the stock engine is still there. You would need to replicate the crank signal but that's not too difficult. Once it reads the RPMs, the VSS from the trans, the engine temp, etc., it will then send all that info to the cluster. It should also make the ABS happy.
06-26-2013, 07:02 AM
#32
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Nice fabrication! It always feels great when your done to say you did it all yourself.
Edit:You going to use the stock rear end? If not i would think that the ISF rear end would be strong enough no?
Edit:You going to use the stock rear end? If not i would think that the ISF rear end would be strong enough no?
06-27-2013, 11:43 AM
#34
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I'm hoping the IS250 rear end will work out. The stock rear end seems to be working well on the handfull of IS300 swaps out there with the exception of replacing the rubber diff mounts with solid aluminum ones. I guess I'll find out soon. The ISF rear diff is always an option but would cost me about $1500.
06-27-2013, 11:49 AM
#35
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Plans are to keep the outside pretty clean. I already have a set of BC coilovers and I'll eventually get some 19" or 20" wheels once my wallet recovers from the swap. Some other consideration include a subtle front lip or rear spoiler. With the exception of the wheels I want to keep it a sleeper, even with the wheels I don't think anyone would expect an LS1 under the hood.
06-27-2013, 12:05 PM
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Plans are to keep the outside pretty clean. I already have a set of BC coilovers and I'll eventually get some 19" or 20" wheels once my wallet recovers from the swap. Some other consideration include a subtle front lip or rear spoiler. With the exception of the wheels I want to keep it a sleeper, even with the wheels I don't think anyone would expect an LS1 under the hood.
06-27-2013, 09:27 PM
#38
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I did some more work yesterday and received a few shipments.
I got my drive shaft delivered today. I am in no way plugging Performance Shaft Technologies (PST) yet, especially since I don't know if it fits. But as far as customer service goes they are top notch. I sent out the rear flange yoke which arrived at PST on Tuesday and I received my custom length, assembled, and balanced drive shaft today. That is some ridiculously quick turn around time. I should know tomorrow night how it fits.
I also received most of my exhaust components today. I ordered the Flowmaster stainless steel 2.5" U-fit kit so right now it's a bunch of tubes but I have looked at some of the true dual exhausts out there on IS250s and it looks like the kit should give me everything I need to piece together a system.
On the engine side I opted for the Hooker LS Cast Iron Manifolds. I know I won't get the performance of long tube headers but they are still a really nice product and it's really tight on the drivers side due to the steering shaft so this was the next best option to spending $1000+ on custom headers. Maybe I'll upgrade in the future. I also ordered a 2.5" Magnaflow x-pipe. I have not decided on a muffler yet, still doing my research and I am open to suggestions.
Now on to the work. I did a lot of work that doesn't show much in the pictures. I installed 2 firewall gaskets, 1 on the passenger side for the main harness and 1 on the drivers side for the gauges and factory wiring connection.
If you look on the drivers side near the front of the car, you can see where I tied into the factory ECU harness for the starter, fans, and alternator connections. I made a little plastic plate to seal the hole where the engine harness egressed the ECU box and ran my braided loom through the plate.
I also connected almost the entire Holley EFI harness. I was amazed at how well it was laid out. I know I sound like an infomercial but I just really appreciate a well made product. Again, I guess I'll hold out on my full endorsement until I run the engine for a while.
Last thing I did for the night was cut my throttle cable. It was a little long when I first installed it so I cut about 9" off the 36" cable. The cable is pretty abrasive so I also added 2 short sections of heat shrink to the cable where it could possible scrape the intake manifold or fuel rail. I though it came out pretty nice.
There are a lot of parts in my garage, this weekend should be fun.
I got my drive shaft delivered today. I am in no way plugging Performance Shaft Technologies (PST) yet, especially since I don't know if it fits. But as far as customer service goes they are top notch. I sent out the rear flange yoke which arrived at PST on Tuesday and I received my custom length, assembled, and balanced drive shaft today. That is some ridiculously quick turn around time. I should know tomorrow night how it fits.
I also received most of my exhaust components today. I ordered the Flowmaster stainless steel 2.5" U-fit kit so right now it's a bunch of tubes but I have looked at some of the true dual exhausts out there on IS250s and it looks like the kit should give me everything I need to piece together a system.
On the engine side I opted for the Hooker LS Cast Iron Manifolds. I know I won't get the performance of long tube headers but they are still a really nice product and it's really tight on the drivers side due to the steering shaft so this was the next best option to spending $1000+ on custom headers. Maybe I'll upgrade in the future. I also ordered a 2.5" Magnaflow x-pipe. I have not decided on a muffler yet, still doing my research and I am open to suggestions.
Now on to the work. I did a lot of work that doesn't show much in the pictures. I installed 2 firewall gaskets, 1 on the passenger side for the main harness and 1 on the drivers side for the gauges and factory wiring connection.
If you look on the drivers side near the front of the car, you can see where I tied into the factory ECU harness for the starter, fans, and alternator connections. I made a little plastic plate to seal the hole where the engine harness egressed the ECU box and ran my braided loom through the plate.
I also connected almost the entire Holley EFI harness. I was amazed at how well it was laid out. I know I sound like an infomercial but I just really appreciate a well made product. Again, I guess I'll hold out on my full endorsement until I run the engine for a while.
Last thing I did for the night was cut my throttle cable. It was a little long when I first installed it so I cut about 9" off the 36" cable. The cable is pretty abrasive so I also added 2 short sections of heat shrink to the cable where it could possible scrape the intake manifold or fuel rail. I though it came out pretty nice.
There are a lot of parts in my garage, this weekend should be fun.
