LS430 simplification build

[Macskyver]

The engine showed up today. I ordered it from Benz Injection out of El Paso, TX. I must say, I am really happy with how good of condition the engine is in. It's super clean. It also came with the accessories, which is nice. I was originally thinking of replacing the easy to get to gaskets/seals. But now, I don't really see the point. I think I'll just leave it alone as much as possible.



The paint on the block is immaculate and there doesn't appear to be a leak in sight.


Here's the magical brain of the engine in all its mechanical glory:

[Macskyver]

The teardown continues... Look at all these wires that are getting deleted.



Here's the dash area with basically everything removed. I just have a little bit left and the entire cabin area will be clear.



While the brake pedal was removed it was easy to get the brake booster, master cylinder and ABS module out.

Here's before:


Here's after:


I've been going back and forth on whether or not I want to go with manual brakes and get an aftermarket pedal box. Therefore, I might be putting the original brake booster back in. I need it out regardless to fit a clutch master cylinder, which will require firewall modification. There's a hole in the firewall where the wire harness is going through, which is very near where the clutch master cylinder would have to go to clear the brake booster. I'll also need to figure out a new throttle pedal as the LS430 is a drive by wire and I will need a cable.

[ECO-AKJ]

Maybe look at a Ford Escort or some other 'econobox' that had the hydraulic clutch and brake with cable driven trottle.

[Macskyver]

Originally Posted by ECO-AKJ

Maybe look at a Ford Escort or some other 'econobox' that had the hydraulic clutch and brake with cable driven trottle.

That's a good idea. The only caveat is that I would ideally want a pedal assembly from a car that has roughly the same size brakes so the factory master cylinder has enough volume and pressure to actuate the LS430 calipers properly. Either that or I need to make sure it will accept an aftermarket master cylinder.

[Macskyver]

Today I basically got the engine ready to pull out. That involved removing the exhaust, heat shields and driveline. Here's the exhaust pulled out of the car:



It is in pretty bad shape, especially toward the front. I do like how it splits into the rear duals. I think I'll keep that basic design. I would like to use what's there but I'm concerned it's a bit small though. The larger size where it comes together is under 2.5" and the duals going to the rear are 2". My plan is to come off the turbo with 3" exhaust. The 2" duals would be a restriction to that.

[Ecky]

I must say, I'm skeptical of a 4000lb (or 3500lb) car with manual steering, especially if you'll be keeping the factory ratio. However, it isn't my project, and I'm following with keen interest.

[freebeard]

This link confirms my theorizing:

/low-offset.com/workshop/what-is-casterangle/

Caster angle determines steering effort and self-centering.

[Macskyver]

Originally Posted by Ecky

I must say, I'm skeptical of a 4000lb (or 3500lb) car with manual steering, especially if you'll be keeping the factory ratio. However, it isn't my project, and I'm following with keen interest.

If I go manual steering it will be with a Flaming River manual rack with a 20:1 ratio. I don't think I would go with the power steering delete where you loop the hydraulic lines. Flaming river has manual racks for late model Dodge Challengers which weigh upwards of 4400 lbs., so I think I'll be okay if I go that route.

[Macskyver]

I got the engine out today. I was so glad that the Lexus engineers decided to make the upper core support removable. That made my job so much easier. I also got all the engine compartment wiring removed. Here's the mess of wires that were removed:



I think I underestimated how much weight there is in the wiring harness and various computers/sensors. The wiring just from the engine compartment probably weighs a good 50 lbs.

Here's the engine compartment with the engine out and harness removed:

[Logic]

Originally Posted by Macskyver

Today I basically got the engine ready to pull out. That involved removing the exhaust, heat shields and driveline. Here's the exhaust pulled out of the car:



It is in pretty bad shape, especially toward the front. I do like how it splits into the rear duals. I think I'll keep that basic design. I would like to use what's there but I'm concerned it's a bit small though. The larger size where it comes together is under 2.5" and the duals going to the rear are 2". My plan is to come off the turbo with 3" exhaust. The 2" duals would be a restriction to that.

I assume we are talking 1 pipe back from 1 turbo, not 2 as in the pic?

Area of 3" circle = 7.07 square inches.
Area of 2" circle = 3.14 square inches X 2 = 6.28 square inches.
So somewhat of a restriction in the pipes yes, and turbos like backpressure even less than normally aspirated cars do.

But more important is the restriction in the mufflers.
Apparently mufflers worth the name come with a CFM rating.
For power, you want to divide that CFM # by the engine power (desired) and get a number above 2.2 (David Vizard)
Should be similar for economy unless you plan to dawdle around at nothing over 2000 rpm!

Also NB that a turbo does a pretty good job of silencing exhaust, so you can probably get away with one muffler per pipe.
IMHO two or three very free flow mufflers per pipe flow and sound better than one restrictive muffler. This is what BMW does.

I also NB that turbos send the exhaust down the pipe in a spiral.
Now a piece of string spiraled around the exhaust is much longer than the exhaust when straightened out.
That means that the spiral flow after a turbo is to be avoided and should be engineered out.


As you are not averse to swinging spanners at a car/engine, pgfpro's posts on running super high compression and super lean to get 50mpg (IIRC) without an aero mod in sight are well worth the read.
NB that in town driving: 68% of energy is used accelerating weight vs 14% overcoming aero drag.