Things to read at Autospeed
The first Lexus was the LS400, built in 1989 and released in Australia in 1990. In the US market, September 1989 was the vital date. Powered by a quad cam, 32-valve 4-litre V8, the car - and its engine - made an immediate impact. And it's the engine which has featured mostly in the fast car circles since. The darling of modifiers wanting a relatively light, powerful and durable mill, the 1UZ-FE has appeared in low-volume cars as diverse as heavily modified Mazda Miata MX5s to kit car replicas. It's common in these circles to refer to the V8 as one of the best ever made - with its forged pistons, forged crank, 190kW and eerie smoothness.
http://www.autospeed.com/A_0978/page1.html
The first model Soarer (the Z1) was released in Japan in 1981 and the same basic design carried through until 1991 with the Z2. These cars were very closely related to the Supras of that era and shared many components, including engine design. However, during this time Toyota had formed their luxury car brand, Lexus. Their first flagship model was the LS400 sedan which came with a Toyota-engineered V8 powerplant. A few years later, the 2-door luxury/sports car was released. This car is known as either the Lexus SC400 or the Soarer V8.
http://www.autospeed.com/A_0062/page1.html
Lexus has launched a new flagship sedan with improved performance, active and passive safety, comfort and convenience, and lower noise levels. The new Lexus LS430 is claimed to be the world's quietest luxury sedan. It also employs breakthrough technology to increase driveability, cabin comfort, driver vision and environmental friendliness.
http://www.autospeed.com/A_0758/page1.html
Nope, this isn't Julian's new car. It might park under his house, but it's not his. Instead, it belongs - name on the loan papers and all - to Georgina, his fiancé. And why has a 161.5cm, 50kg woman ended up acquiring a 10-year-old big-arse Lexus?
http://www.autospeed.com/A_0990/page1.html
Georgina's New Car - Part 2 - Nearly buying a Volvo!
... other clients who were supposed to also be interested in the Lexus? This was the strangest used car yard I'd ever been in... I almost couldn't meet Georgina's eyes. So much for my advice on how to buy cars from yards.... So that was that: goodbye Mr SB. Next week: A white LS400, complete with seventeen ... I wanted the Lexus LS400 that we had dubbed Mr SB; Georgina remained doubtful. And, since she was paying for it, her concerns were paramount. My argument went like this: sure, it's bigger than we need. But if it has a superb engine, excellent safety, great standard equipment and it drives well, does ...
We sat in the Saab 900 turbo, glumly silent. About now we were supposed to be wafting off in the distance in Mr SB, a '91 Lexus LS400. But instead here we were back in the street outside the car dealer, trade-in rejected and negotiation apparently not an option. "Well", I said brightly, "Let's go and
...Aero Testing - Part 1 - Welcome to our wool tuft extravaganza!
... results, while next week we launch into action with the first of five cars. Over the next weeks we'll test a 1997 Porsche 993 twin turbo 4WD, a 1991 Lexus LS400, a 1996 Mazda RX7 twin turbo, a 2001New Beetle, and a 1999 Impreza WRX. We hope that you'll be as fascinated as we are by the story writ in ...
I’m thinking of doing this to the Soarer
Aero Testing - Part 2 - Wool tufting the Impreza WRX and Lexus LS400.
... of the MY99 WRX gave a quite poor drag co-efficient (Cd) of 0.36, which isn't all that surprising when the rear flow is examined.... 1991 Lexus LS400 The Lexus is also a three-box sedan, but it's one that's much bigger than the WRX. That makes the achieving of a low drag coefficient a much easier task ...
Aero Testing - Part 3 - Flowing the Porsche 993 twin turbo 4WD and the New Beetle.
Last week we covered the Impreza WRX and Lexus LS400 sedans - they were grouped together because of their similar three-box shapes. And, while it may cause 993 owners to choke on their cornflakes (thanks for the car, Q), their shape similarity is also why this week we've put the Beetle and the Porsche ...
Edward the Elephant's New Exhaust - Part 1 - The story of one elephant and his muffler hunt.
... hadn't been driving the car for more than few hours when he realised that something was very wrong. That piece of pipe lying on the driveway back at Georgina's house must have come from his car! The exhaust wasn't loud because this was a turbo car; the exhaust was bellowing because it stopped halfway ...
I used this method in the exhaust pressure page – I used metric EU units though.
The Road to Change - Part 1 - I had loved it - but then along came an extraordinarily competent outsider...
... sampling of an even wider diversity of cars. Both are partial causes, but I think the biggest factor was my fiancé Georgina buying that damn' Lexus. I liked the car from the first moment that I drove it out of the caryard to sample its performance. It was smooth, quiet, well built and well designed ...
Road to Change - Part 2 - Recounting the development - then abandonment - of a whole personal automotive philosophy.
... a standstill, but only with the loss of throttle response that comes with running a relatively high stall torque converter. The twin turbo 2.5-litre Soarer that I recently drove had this approach down pat - quick off the line, but in normal driving, the engine was flaring nearly 1000 rpm before it would ...
Electronic Handling - New factory control systems that make your car corner better!
... pivot around to the right. That's where you want the car to go when you're going around a right-hand bend, so the understeer has been reduced. The Lexus system brakes both rear wheels to control understeer. Other systems brake just the inside rear wheel, creating a correcting turning motion of the car ...
Tweet Tweet - Road testing a very cheap pair of tweeters.
... housings are supplied. Mounting Them We decided to install the tweeters in place of the factory Pioneer tweeters fitted to the sail panels of a '91 Lexus LS400. This would serve two functions - it would allow for a good comparison, and it would show one example of an installation process. The Lexus ...
John Wan sent us some info on his UZZ32 Soarer, which he recently traded his boosted MR2 turbo on. Apparently the production of 10,000 UZZ32s was only ever designed for the Japanese market, as the 'basic' models were exported to the US as the Lexus SC400. They were produced in such limited numbers because of their high cost of manufacture. (Actually only 872 were made)
http://www.autospeed.com/A_0049/P_2/article.html
Siting Cold Air Intakes - Simple testing to find the best place to put the mouth of the cold air intake.
... example, take the flows occurring along the centreline of a sedan that has a very good drag coefficient (ie it's slippery) like the pictured early Lexus LS400. Some of the air is deflected over the top of the bonnet, passing along the bonnet, flowing up the windscreen, along the roof, down the rear ...
This is what I based "Siting cold air intakes on a Soarer"on. I preferred the manometer method because it is cheaper, easier, don’t have to speed, and I can relate it better to pressure in the airbox. .
http://www.autospeed.com/A_0107/P_2/article.html
The other week I was fortunate enough
to be driving about in a Soarer/Lexus LS400 for our Pre-Owned Performance feature. Packed with every conceivable gadget and gizmo, the car was a virtual playhouse with leather padded walls (and no, I don't live in a room with padded walls). Designed to take on the BMW 840CSi and other top-line vehicles, the Soarer is undoubtedly one of the most opulent vehicles I've ever been in. And amazingly the owner's asking price was only A$40,000, despite the new price of a Lexus being approximately A$100,000!Grey Imports - Incredibly Cheap Fun or One Huge Disaster?
... second hand value of cars nosedives dramatically once a car is more than 4 years old, and a 10 year old car is next to worthless. A Toyota Soarer (Lexus SC400) worth A$65,000 three years ago, will fetch only A$30,000 today. If you are buying an import, consider the consequences when the time comes for ...
Soarer 3-litre - The forgotten naturally aspirated 3-litre Soarer.
... ' imports - none was ever officially sold in Australia by Toyota. AutoSpeed has already driven the 4-litre V8-powered car ("Pre-Owned Performance - Lexus SC400/Soarer V8"), while the next hotty on the list is the turbo 1JZ-GTE 2.5-litre six. These cars have respectively 194kW and 208kW - with the latter ...
Michael's Speed Zone - 7 March 2000
... in the wrecker-come-importer was stickered at mere A$16,500. Boy, was I feeling tempted to say goodbye Subaru and hello to many kilograms of Toyota/Lexus's finest sporting coupe! I have to admit though, I often approach import cars with some skepticism, as many have been damaged and repaired, flood ...
Toyota Soarer Twin-Turbo - Evaluating the 206kW Soarer twin-turbo - in both auto and rare 5-speed manual form...
... , while the twin-turbo generally came with less equipment as more a 'sports machine'. We've already tested a V8 Soarer ["Pre-Owned Performance - Lexus SC400/Soarer V8"], as well as the later-model 3.0-litre atmo version ["Soarer 3-litre"] - this time we'll take a look at the go-fast JZZ30 twin-turbo ...
Performance News - 9 November 1999 - Quickies
... $56,000 while the Mercedes ML320 won the Best Recreational 4WD trophy. The E320 won out over tough competition including the BMW 528i and 740iL, Lexus LS400, Volvo S80 and Jaguar S-Type V8. Look for a test of the E320 in an upcoming AutoSpeed. * Ford enthusiasts from around Australia will converge on ...
Forg's Dark Corner - 30th October 2001
... . The S cars are all pretty droolworthy, and are all here ... but most importantly, they handed-out jelly beans! Mmm, jelly beans ... Next stop, Lexus. Lexus are releasing their SC430 coupé, and isn't it seriously ugly? I kid you not, what a pig; maybe they accidentally tried to style a car themselves ...
Intelligent Performance, Part 8 - Reading Performance - Making the right performance decisions....
... take a long, careful second look. I'll give you a few examples. Here's a graph showing the flow gains achieved by porting the inlet valves on a Lexus 1UZFE V8. (These are the actual results - not made up ones.) Pretty impressive isn't it - just look at that flow improvement - wow! And here's the results ...
You want to not be lost in the figures?
Intelligent Performance, Part 1 - Starting Points
kick butt it's quite possible to spend $10 - $20,000 on the engine alone. When you consider that this sort of money would get you a twin turbo Lexus V8 with a silken 600hp, you need to consider whether it's worth pursuing this path with an old design engine. And consider it before you start! These big
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to it. It needn't even be from the same manufacturer, and it needn't even by of the same type. For example, if you have a Mazda MX5, you can put a Lexus V8 into it - it's been done. Or a V8 into the back of a Porsche 911, or a turbo rotary into a Morris Minor Ute. However, since this series is about
...
Engine Simulation Software: Dyno2000 - Putting a new engine simulation program through its paces.
... inputted the data for a number of naturally aspirated engines. These were all four valves per cylinder engines, with most being V8s. The Jaguar and Lexus V8s were modelled extensively, but also tried was the five valves per cylinder Toyota 4A-E 1600. (Note that the program will not directly accept 3 ...
Japanese Import Hot-Picks - Part 1 - Part 1 of the hottest Japanese-import vehicles available...
... flyers must be amongst the best value RWD guns in the land. Like the SR20DET-powered Pulsar GTi-R, tuning potential is also immense. Toyota Soarer/Lexus SC400 Moving up a class, Toyota's Soarer is the perfect machine to deliver silken high performance. The same Soarer shape (released in 1991) comes ...
Injector Flows - The best guide to the flows of different injectors that we can find.
... 250 violet 13.8 24.5 50.0 290 Toyota 4AGE Nippon Denso 250 brown 13.8 24.5 50.0 255 Toyota 3SGE Nippon Denso 251 violet 13.8 24.5 50.2 290 Toyota 1UZFE Bosch 0 280 150 001 265 26.0 53.0 300 Bosch 0 280 150 002 265 26.0 53.0 300 Bosch 0 280 150 009 265 26.0 53.0 300 Nippon Denso ...
Response - Some of this week's Letters to the Editor, discussion group posts and other feedback!
... mufflers; magnetic fuel treatments (etc, etc) are a waste of time and money. Resonant Chambers When I was changing my sparkplugs on my (Toyota) 1UZ-FE I noticed that large empty compartment of sealed air connected to the intake pipe between the AFM and throttle. Then I started noticing them everywhere ...
Engine Epic Part 2 - Toyotas - Here's the second installment of our series on modern hi-po engines. This week, we've focussed on Toyota motors ranging from 1.3 to 4.5-litres capacity. That covers engines from 67kW to a conservatively rated 209kW power output.
... 're a strong motor with plenty of potential if you can find one in good condition. Toyota's modern performance motors at a glance: Toyota V8s Power 1UZ-FE 194kW 1VZ-FE 125kW Toyota Sixes 2JZ-GTE 208kW 2JZ-GE 168kW 1JZ-GTE 208kW 1JZ-GE 134kW 7M-GE 142kW 7M-GTE 179kW 1G-GE 150ps 1G-GZE 127kW 1G-GTE 149kW ...
Supra RZ-ing the 2001 Targa Taz - We talk to this year's Targa Tasmania third place getter - Craig Dean - and spend time driving his twin-turbo Supra RZ monster!
... 's Sports and Luxury Cars - is no stranger to Targa Tasmania. His first attack on the Apple Isle was behind the wheel of a twin-turbo 5-speed Toyota Soarer. Craig says the unlikely-racer Soarer was a fantastic vehicle. With increased boost, a better intercooler, HKS springs and the (standard) Torsen ...
Grey Imports - Incredibly Cheap Fun or One Huge Disaster?
... , clutches and even things like headlight globes are available locally, or that a locally-available equivalent will fit (eg Camry V6 oil filter on a Soarer V8). But for other kinds of parts, unless a local outfit has stock of the special parts you need, you will have to get them air-freighted from Japan ...
Performance News - 31 July 2001 - Audi Museum and Origins, Quickies.
... Irish Times has significance to Australia's grey import market. The paper reports that a customer sued a dealer for allegedly selling him a Toyota Soarer coupé in the guise of a Lexus. The company had denied the claim. But one of its mechanics told the Circuit Civil Court that he routinely changed badges ...
Michael's Speed Zone - 26 September 2000
... only 2-seaters. So, overall, I figured it was a good one for me to steer clear of. Then came the ultimate Japanese fast cruiser - the big twin turbo Soarer. Mmm, what a fine bit of gear they are - especially for the money. They look tough (in a kind of pimp-gansta sort of way) and they come loaded with ...
Cooler Flows - Comparing the flow capabilities of secondhand Japanese import intercoolers.
... in both aspects. Expect to pay around $150 for an intercooler such as this, but don't get too enthusiastic about buying it when you find one. Toyota Soarer Twin-Turbo (1JZ-GTE) Performance Ranking Flow: 6th Mass: =4th The intercooler fitted to the 206kW 2.5 litre twin-turbo Soarer is an interesting ...
Melting It Together - Plastic Welding - We introduce you to the art of plastic welding - using an intercooler end-tank as a demo...
... thank for this is plastic welding. Our plastic welding demo item is a second-hand air-to-air intercooler pulled from a 2.5-litre twin-turbo Toyota Soarer. This 'cooler sported a hole in one of its plastic end-tanks (damage that probably occurred during freight) and we'd scooped it from Adelaide's Japanese ...
Response - Some of this week's Letters to the Editor, discussion group posts and other feedback!
... through a car radio. Jaycar Electronics sell kit versions. Making Wheels Gold I would like to have the original alloy wheels on my UZZ32 Toyota Soarer made to look like gold metal. Hardware stores have spray paint cans with lids the right colour, but the contents are certainly are not! Gold passivation ...
Twenty Tech Tips - More tips in pix.
... is near-new. Japanese import cars are extraordinarily cheap - and get cheaper at an extraordinary rate, too! It's not too long ago that a twin turbo Soarer like this would be selling for sixty or seventy thousand dollars - here it is now for $16,500. Expect only appalling retained value on any Japanese ...
Heavy Breather - Cost-effective EFI intake mods
... some really good news for you. It'll take an afternoon, cost you under thirty bucks, and you'll get extra real horsepower happening at the wheels. Intakes When the car manufacturer designed the air intake to an engine, they knew what they were doing - it's just that their priorities weren't necessarily ...
Performance Testing - How to test your performance mods on the road.
... its short runner position, resulting in a slow 9.9 second 0-100. Stopwatch testing will clearly show performance gains (or otherwise) from cold air intakes, extractors, exhausts, and chips. Accelerometer Testing Performance measuring accelerometers are available in two types - electronic and mechanical ...
Breathing Deeply - Modifying the inlet manifold system on EFI engines
... drop if intake runners are overly long, and individual engine-to-engine variations, the equations are only a rough guide. If making prototype intakes, use mild steel tube and MIG welding - so much the better for mocking-up a trial intake than TIG'd alloy! As mentioned, many manufacturers use variable ...
Two Dozen Tech Tips - Simple and effective tricks and tips.
... , replace it will a large multi-use fuel filter. It will work just as well and cost perhaps only 1/5 th as much as the genuine item. Cold air engine intakes work! This bike has them as standard, and they're easily fabricated for a car using plastic hardware store pipe and fittings. Big is good, too. ...
More Tech Tips - Things to do.
... taken with a small amplifier module, microphone and earphones. For more: "DIY Detonation Detection - Part 2" Cool Breaths While the use of cold air intakes has now become widespread (hell, people now even just abbreviate them to CAI!), the same can't be said for using manifold insulators. So what are
One of AutoSpeed's most popular features is our tech story
Heavy Breather. In it we describe the excellent gains that can often be had by adding a new intake duct to the standard airbox. But while doing that is all well and good, what if the standard airbox isn't up to much? If the box design is restrictive and the airfilter small, the new intake duct may not improve things!http://www.autospeed.com/A_0073/page1.html
Notice that the snorkel on the VS (like the Soarer) is bad for flow.
Mark's Monster, Part 2 - The Exhaust System - How professional exhaust fabricator - Mark Marchesan - made and fitted a killer 3½ inch mandrel exhaust system to his R33 Skyline.
A few issues ago we met Mark Marchesan and his feature car R33 Skyline 2.5 Turbo (Mark's Monster). As the owner/manager of Adelaide exhaust shop Exhaust Technology, Mark's in a good position to install a killer 3½ inch system on his car, something he recently completed. Here's the full story on it ...
Pure Pipe Perfection - Part 1 - More than an 80 per cent reduction in exhaust backpressure, effective noise suppression - and an all-up cost of !
We've seen plenty of magazine articles over the years on the fitting of exhausts. Brand name mufflers, heaps of hours of custom work, loads of polish - and lots and lots and lots of money. This story is different. The reduction in exhaust backpressure is measured; the performance gains on the road ...
Pure Pipe Perfection 2 - Introducing the Secret Weapon... - It's time for an exhaust system revolution... A variable back-pressure exhaust valve that makes your car quiet at light loads, and yet still lets it breathe when the hammer's down!
Last issue we covered the building and fitting of a high performance exhaust to a Commodore VL Turbo. It was an exhaust system fairly conventional in nature - 3-inch after the first flange, high-flow cat, mandrel bends and a single straight-through muffler - although it has to be said that it was far ...
Pure Pipe Perfection 3 - Calibrating and Testing the Secret Weapon... - Calibrating the VariFlow exhaust system.
The VariFlow exhaust valve has the capability of allowing a quiet-as-a-mouse legal exhaust to flow copious amounts of exhaust gases when required. It can even maintain the same noise-reducing backpressure across a range of engine loads, giving you the best of both worlds in noise suppression and flow ...
Exhausted Performance - The way a high performance exhaust should and shouldn't be built...
Are all aftermarket exhausts the same? We all know how mufflers can cause differences in flow, but what about the workmanship of the exhaust and the quality of the components that are selected? Here's one car that had a power variation of 10 per cent, depending on which aftermarket exhaust was on it ...
MY01 WRX Power Up - Part 1 - Dyno testing the effects of a high-flow exhaust and aftermarket filter insert...
... readers are new to the flat-four turbo engine of the MY01 WRX, it's a familiar friend to many Australians into high-performance. Just bolt on a big exhaust, slap on a pod filter, wind the boost up and let 'er rip, mate. Well, that's how easy it used to be to make a Rex haul arse... To find out how the ...
Note the K&N filter made no difference on the dyno.
MY01 WRX Power Up - Part 2 - Adding the intercooler and Unichip.
In Part One we discovered that the MY01 Impreza WRX (this particular example, at least) wasn't very responsive to just exhaust and air filter changes. In fact, with only these two components of the APS '210kW' kit installed, peak power did not move at all from the car's 103kW (at all four wheels) Dyno ...
Performance News - 22 December 1998 - Motorvated Buying Club, VT Commodore exhaust, Topless Alfa, ContiSportContact tyre, Alterpower.
... , Valvoline, and Speedwerx - and about sixty others! Discounts are typically 10 per cent. Go to www.motorvated.com.au for more details. VT Commodore Exhaust Crow Cams has just released stainless steel extractors and a twin cat exhaust for the VT V8 Commodore. Dyno testing by the company has shown a 6 ...
Good to see actual %improvement figures for the car – this sort of data is lacking for the Soarer.
A Shot in the Integra's 'R's - No financial pain to a small Integra gain!
... it is difficult - in fact many other owners of Honda Integra TypeR's have previously told me of their woes in trying to find more horsepower through exhaust and intake mods. Importantly, it's not uncommon for some cars to actually lose power from what appear to be fairly well thought-out changes! Many ...
The Patent Files: Turning Vanes - Improving head and intake manifold flows by using tiny vanes to help the gases turn the corners.
... turning vane to the intake valve will reduce the flow loss caused by the valve on its upstream side. Similarly, turning vanes improve flow on the exhaust side of the engine. On the exhaust stroke, cylinder movement and residual combustion pressure forces the exhaust gases around the exhaust valve. The ...
Some interesting bits here.
S15 Silvia Power! - Mind-boggling power gains from the latest Nissan!
... Silvias, with both workshops performing similar mods. At Rigolis there was a bolt-on happening to the white car - huge Apexi GT-series stainless exhaust, Apexi AVC-R electronic boost controller, and K filter. At ChipTorque, a locally made Lambros exhaust, new custom chip and TurboSmart boost control ...
S15 Silvia Power! - Mind-boggling power gains from the latest Nissan!
... Silvias, with both workshops performing similar mods. At Rigolis there was a bolt-on happening to the white car - huge Apexi GT-series stainless exhaust, Apexi AVC-R electronic boost controller, and K filter. At ChipTorque, a locally made Lambros exhaust, new custom chip and TurboSmart boost control ...
Note the owner couldn’t feel any difference with a K&N filter (but they are easy to fit and make profit) and also note AutoSpeeds recommendation on the last page – no K&N filter here either.
The Technology of Oxygen Sensors - Using them is not as simple as it first appears...
... - buried as they previously were in obscure patent applications. This article backgrounds some of the technical aspects of common oxygen sensors. Exhaust Gas Oxygen Sensors Exhaust gas oxygen sensors (sometimes called Lambda sensors) are mounted in the exhaust manifold of all cars produced over the ...
Cheaply Monitoring Air/Fuel Ratios - Building your own LED Mixture Meter
... , or to use when modifying a mega-dollar engine, but it is far better than tuning by "feel" alone. It is also much cheaper than having professional exhaust gas analysis carried out on a chassis dyno every time you make a tuning change. So how do you do it? All unleaded petrol cars use an exhaust gas ...
Very hard to change timing or Air/Fuel ratios on a Soarer – you need a piggy back ECU at least to do this. You can’t "tune-up" a Soarer – just change the plugs and that’s it.
Michael's Speed Zone - 14th August 2001
... tuners. While putting together a recent step-by-step power-up story on the MY01, it became obvious that the days of assured top-end gains from exhaust and intake bolt-ons are indeed slipping by. We've had it easy up 'til now. But it concerns me that some people overlook this massive change and are still ...
Again a story about the ECU locking in power levels. The Soarer responds well to an exhaust (up to 18KW at the wheels – I will try to confirm this myself). Note also that a K&N made no difference.
Holden V6s with Leon Vincenzi - We tap into the mind of one of Australia's best Holden tuners to give you the ins-and-outs of the local 3.8-litre V6...
... crash repair and spray-painting business, then about 5-6 years later he took yet another turn. Having already branched out into installing exhaust systems, he happened to build an engine for a bloke - and that turned out a "real winner." The next thing he knew, he was building engine after engine.. ...
From the Editor - 18 April 2000
... it? After all, when you're being advised by a good workshop, it'll all be sure to work, won't it? Well, no. Last week's AutoSpeed story on the Astra exhaust is a good example. Two aftermarket exhausts were made and fitted to the same car - one worked and the other, well, didn't. A 10 per cent power ...
Autospeed's Myth Meltdown - Ten of the Most Common Loads of Wallop Ever...
... effective results for very little cost. Then we can spend the money we save on some of those "fashionable" moo-cow seat covers... A 3-inch Exhaust on a Small Engine Is a Wank... Not so long ago here in Australia, a "big bore" 2½ inch system was regarded as THE choice of exhaust. ...
Giant Muffler Comparison - Detailed Test Results - What we found when we put the mufflers to the test.
... (A) 95 dB(A) 109 dB(A) Genie Tornado centre in 362 cfm 91.5 dB(A) 90 dB(A) 91 dB(A) 108 dB(A) offset in 359 cfm 91 dB(A) 90 dB(A) 89 dB(A) 107 dB(A) Exhaust Technology (M) 14614 - 382 cfm 93 dB(A) 94 dB(A) 94 dB(A) 109 dB(A) Exhaust Technology "tube" - 347 cfm 100 dB(A) 98.5 dB(A) 98.5 dB(A) 112 dB(A ...
I got a Lukey Muffler - the Genie Tornado wasn’t available - I love the Lukey.
S2000 Power Explosion! - Achieving a massive 27 per cent power increase from a Honda S2000.
... achieved the incredible triple - the world's best power per litre of any naturally aspirated engine, excellent economy, and the LEV cleanliness of exhaust emissions for which Honda is fast becoming famous. And with the shapely coupe capable of a 0-100 time of 6.6 seconds and a 14.8 standing quarter ...
What a great car these are.
Silent Power - Mufflers.
Muffler Types Once, a typical performance muffler used multiple baffles inside it. The exhaust gas was forced to meet blank walls inside the muffler, making its way out through holes punched in the tube. Often it would then have to squeeze through even more holes before it could continue on its way ...
Another reason to get a Lukey.
From the Editor - 6 March 2001
... still-in-development AutoSpeed air/fuel ratio meter, yes? But where to stick in the extra oxy sensor? First of all I spied a threaded plug in the exhaust manifold, located in front of the turbo. Some grunts and heaving later, it was unscrewed - but no, the threaded hole that was exposed was too small ...
I was going to try this but I went the Edward the Elephant method instead.
Giant Muffler Comparison - Testing Procedures
... that many people overlook when they consider doing a test like this. But AutoSpeed contributor Graham Pring got his hands dirty and with the help of Exhaust Technology, an adaptor capable of taking 2 inch, 2.5 inch and 3-inch mufflers and cat converters was manufactured. On-Car Testing All of the mufflers ...
AutoSpeed Interview: John Sidney of John Sidney Racing - Intake trumpet designs, rod lengths, heads, engine computer simulation programs - a mass of interesting stuff!
... : You put the airbox on in the dyno room and it'll probably knock one percent out of it, but if the air in the dyno room is contaminated by the exhaust and (high) temperature, of course it really knocks things around badly. If the air duct is coming in the top and the fresh air is reaching those ram ...
You have to read this…..
Giant Muffler Comparison - The Mufflers! - Designs and descriptions of the tested mufflers.
... defined a straight-thru design as having a single perforated pipe connecting the inlet to the inlet in a straight line. Note that in the case of the Exhaust Technology "tube", an expansion chamber is also positioned mid-way through the muffler. Genie Resonator Straight-through stainless steel absorption ...
A good quality large chamber straight through muffler is quiet, has a deep mellow sound and has minimal back pressure for high horsepower (that’s why I got a Lukey).
Pipe Dreams - Playing with intake pipe lengths can give staggering variations in power!
When we were approached by Mark Marchesan of Adelaide's Exhaust Technology to do some testing of his Daihatsu Charade we weren't wildly excited. This is 'cos Mark didn't have in mind the dyno'ing of a blower or turbo package or even a new exhaust; no, he wanted us to test different lengths of pipe ...
Interesting stuff this – I reckon changing the intake between the Aif Flow Meter (AFM) and the throttle has to be done very carefully. I have tried fitting 33% larger intake pipe here and the noise hurt my ears and the car went slower!
From the Editor - 4 April 2000
... least, they are now. They weren't five and ten years ago! But here's a definite Year 2000 statement: unless you have a chassis dyno and 4 or 5-gas exhaust analysis equipment, the claims that you make about the emissions of your customers' modified cars are absolute codswallop, utter rubbish, the stuff ...
Holden V8s with Leon Vincenzi - We tap into the mind of one of Australia's best Holden tuners to give you the ins-and-outs of the local Holden 5.0/5.7 V8...
... and people feel there's more power. Modifying A Holden 5.0 Or 5.7 V8 What mods would you recommend with a budget of around $1000? Headers and a good exhaust - but probably headers first. The standard ones used between VN and VR are just a cast iron manifold, but with a good set of aftermarket headers ...
I have made a bunch of comments about this story and how it relates to the Soarer. I will put link up soon.
Mark's Monster - One man and his newly-acquired Skyline. Part 1 of a series that looks at the joys and woes of modified car ownership.
... paces. But first, let's find out about Mark and hear what he has to say. Mark Who? Mark Marchesan is the owner/manager of Adelaide's high profile Exhaust Technology workshop. The car he's best known for is a purple Datto 1600 crammed with an SR20 turbo engine, Wilwood brakes and racing suspension - ...
Mark is in Adelaide with me – I have talked to him a lot – he is a straight shooter, if you live in Adelaide and want a top exhaust this is where you go.
Fuelish Savings - Six easy steps to reducing your fuel consumption without having to drive like a snail. (Irrelevant question - so how fast do snails drive, then?)
... car won't roll on a very slight slope, maybe you should take a look at these aspects. One real killer of fuel consumption is a partially blocked exhaust. As cars fitted with cat converters get on a bit in age, it's becoming more and more common to find cars with internally collapsed cats. The best way ...
The standard 10 year cats on my car that had done a genuine 77 000 km flowed very well and were in good order. If you want more horsepower then be careful to replace them with high flow cats that will actually flow higher than standard – this is hard to do in the standard position – you will probably have to move them down next to the trans to get big high flow ones in (that’s what I did). If you car was complied in Australia chances are they put real small cheap cats or an extra single cat in place of the resonator – either way your car is an asthmatic and needs work. Don’t gut the cuts – they will flow worse, don’t’ remove the cats, the exhaust fumes will then give you cancer and you will die a slow painful death.
Stage-by-Stage S15 - A Nissan S15 Silvia build-up that's backed with dyno figures and a no-crap quarter mile time.
It's the sad truth that many car mod enthusiasts get taken for suckers every now and then. A louder exhaust, for example, is a mod that always gives you the feeling of more speed - but often it's not matched by the reality. New cams might give more power up top, but through the gears often the car ...
Dirty Stuff - Part 1 - Getting the low-down on emissions testing - it's lot's more fun than you'd first think!
... the bowels of the engine. And even if you do try to go the next step and get some kind of handle on what these weird names refer to, you're still stuffed because you can't measure them. Oh, sure, you can stick a gas analyser probe up the tailpipe and get some figures. But what do those figures signify ...
Dirty Stuff - Part 2 - Emissions testing one of Australia's cleanest cars.
... : Bell's Auto Service bellauto@senet.com.au 08 8231 6211 0411 840 167 Bell Auto is happy to do one-off emissions tests for a quite low charge. Dirty Stuff - Part 1 Dirty Stuff - Part 3 Dirty Stuff - Part 4 Dirty Stuff - Part 5
Dirty Stuff - Part 3 - Emissions testing a modified V8.
... test equipment works, and the extraordinarily good results obtained when testing a Honda Odyssey V6. But now its time to get down and get real dirty with a modified car.... AutoSpeed contributor Graham Pring's Cobra replica runs a modified 5-litre Holden V8 under the control of a GM-Delco ECU. The management ...
Hotted up Holden gets 152 kW at the wheels – what can we get out of the V8 Soarer?
Dirty Stuff - Part 4 - Emissions testing a range of cat converters.
We all know that cats clean up the exhaust. Punch a hole through a cat using a sharpened piece of exhaust tubing and you're not only being illegal, you're also being environmentally irresponsible. And with 3-inch (and larger) hi-flow cats around, there's no excuse for deleting a cat converter from ...
Dirty Stuff - Part 5 - The emissions changes from simple tuning alterations.
... bellauto@senet.com.au 08 8231 6211 0411 840 167 Bell's Auto Service is happy to do one-off emissions testing and tuning for a quite low charge. Dirty Stuff - Part 1 Dirty Stuff - Part 2 Dirty Stuff - Part 3 Dirty Stuff - Part 4
So there you go – I think it’s important to get the cats right – I’ll let you know how my car goes at Bell’s soon.
Spend Wisely - What to pay for when your car is serviced
... example of this is where, during a routine service, a dealer-trained mechanic thought that he should check out the car's engine computer because the exhaust note of my car 'sounded funny'. Given that the car ran a modified 3-inch diameter exhaust with free-flow mufflers, it wasn't surprising that the ...
Free-Flowing a Miata MX5 - Another disciple of the pressure testing mysticism achieves success...
... but noticeable torque improvement (seat-of-the-pants testing only). A 2¼-inch cat-back system and a set of 4-2-1 extractors was helping dump the exhaust gases better than the stock system, opening up the top-end above 6000 rpm. Still, more power could hopefully be gained by allowing the engine to breathe ...
Good Stuff in Bottles - Three cheap, simple and effective solutions.
... or wiping or pouring, and the problem's still there. Well, it won't be after you've used these products! Yep this small but eclectic collection of stuff in bottles will guarantee your virility (girlity for the female gender?), make your car seconds faster, reduce pollution, improve world relations ...
Another good one is "dissolve-it" orange citrus based sticky label dissolving stuff – great for hand cleaning,removing tar, silicone sealent, sticky stuff etc – I think it’s great stuff.
The following are one of my favourite series. I think it is easier to use a u-tube manometer for the lot – get negative and positive pressure on the one instrument.
Eliminating Negative Boost - Part 1 - The hairy, horrible nakedness of power-robbing negative pressures.
If boost means power, what's negative boost then? A power loss, that's what. And hunting down and eliminating those negative boosts is a very cheap and effective way of gaining power. In this series we'll take you step-by-step through completely sorting the intake system - what negative boosts are ...
Eliminating Negative Boost - Part 2 - Finding negative boosts lets you see exactly which parts of your intake system require improvement - and without spending more than the price of a pizza to do it!
Last week I introduced you to those sexually deviant, loud-mouthed yokels called negative boosts. Sometimes referred to as pressure drops - and by the uncouth as vacuums - these ugly little critters can cost you heaps of power. They can be loud and domineering - or subtle and sly. But whatever shape ...
Eliminating Negative Boost - Part 3 - Finding negative boosts on a real car - just where are those ugly little critters that are taking away my power?
So you've read Parts 1 and 2 and you're indignant about the presence of negative boosts (ie pressure drops) in your intake system. Why? Cos you know that every one of them harms flow - and that means that your engine develops less power than it should. In fact, you were so excited about them that you ...
Eliminating Negative Boost - Part 4 - Modifying the intake to reduce pressure drops - and release power!
Last week we discovered that hiding inside the Audi's intake system were some heinous, hairy negative boosts. These critters are masters of disguise, masquerading as semi-normal shapes and features when in fact they're depraved mutants that deserve only to be exterminated in an utterly horrible way ...
Eliminating Negative Boost - Part 5 - Making a new intake snorkel.
Sure, the intake to the airbox wasn't causing all that much of a flow restriction on the Audi. You could say that the negative boost lurking in the airbox intake snorkel was only a medium size critter - nothin' as big as the bugger discovered in the airflow meter, for example..... In fact, of the flow ...
From the Editor - 29 May 2001
... like dickheads. Now where was I, oh yeah, your editorial was a real eye opener. The articles I have enjoyed most recently have been: * Eliminating negative boost. The way it was written was easy to understand and humorous, and applicable to just about any vehicle. * The second hand muffler comparison ...
Response - Some of this week's Letters to the Editor, discussion group posts and other feedback!
... will like what I have written. But if I have any facts wrong, I'm happy to hear of them. Julian Edgar RS Liberty Intake Your excellent article on Negative Pressure [starts "Eliminating Negative Boost - Part 1"] mentioned the bad intake airflow characteristics of the RS turbo Liberty. Before I spend ...
Response - Some of this week's Letters to the Editor, discussion group posts and other feedback!
Modifying the VL Turbo Intake - Measuring and eliminating the nasties in the intake system of my VL turbo...
... deadly accurate device (despite its looks!) (The pressure drop measuring techniques used in this article were extensively covered in our Eliminating Negative Boost series - Part 1.) However, there's one additional important factor to consider when you're looking at the intake system: intake air temperature ...
Knock, Knock - Part 1 - Knock destroys engines. But what is it, how can it be best measured, and how does it affect power?
In this exclusive 3-part series we'll cover the anatomy of knock (often called 'detonation') - looking at what it is, how it occurs, and what negative affects it has on engine performance. We'll explore the use of in-cylinder fibre optic pressure sensors, and later we'll prove the point by torturing ...
