Turbo Charging The Is200

[andyk134]

Hi and thanks for your post. Simon who developed the kit and does all the work himself works in the family garage, so he has to work around whatever work comes into the garage. He has a stage 2 sportcross with the piggyback ECU and about 300bhp in his. Not sure I would want to go that far with the standard motor. I think mine was the 16th or 17th conversion he has done and has developed the kit over the last 18 months or so. Mine was actually the first polybush kit he has fitted, he hasn't even put one on his own yet, mainly because it is such a pain to do and took a full day to complete. Costwise it is about as much to buy as it is to fit, so around £900 all done. for me together with the LSD from the sport model, it has transformed the car. it is a bit more firm but in a secure reassuring way and not uncomfortable as you would expect, especially as I have coilovers and roll bars too. But I chose the Meister R coilovers as they have softer spring rates than BC or any of the Japanese ones that are made for their ultra smooth surfaces and not the collection of potholes and patchwork repairs we call roads!

Personally I would go manual if you are going to fit the turbo so you can make sure it is the right gear when you need it, you might find it lags a bit more on auto, but talk to Simon, he will go through the pro's and cons with you. Yes he knows his stuff and loves doing it and just wants the customer to be happy, which so far I certainly am. If you want to know anything please just ask.

[andyk134]

Hi John,

Yes there are loads of performance cars around 10 grand, but its about individuality for me. I have had 3 Golf GTI's and 2 Audi Quattro's in the past and enjoyed them at the time, but I just love the way the IS looks, especially lowered and bigger wheels. And most of the other cars are 10 a penny, how many turbo 200;s are there out there? Strangely talking to the guys who look after my car where I live at Performance Autoworks who prepare and race Japanese cars, mainly Honda's, they say that bigger turbo;s are cheaper because that's what people usually want. To put together a custom turbo and manifold and all the bits for mine would have been well over twice what I paid, so it was about bang for your buck. The lag isn't that bad not like the old days where it all came in at once and you had to be ready for it, the car does pull considerably better from about 2000 but really kicks in around 4. If you are in the right gear and pull out to overtake, you are just gone! I haven't really had the chance to have it dyno'd as yet but will when I get the chance. As I said before it isn't really about bhp or 0 to 60 or top speed, its about everyday driving and for that it is excellent. In normal driving it is smooth and picks up that bit quicker, but when you want some fun on a clear road then it takes a while for the smile to subside. And on a separate note, I went to Adrian Flux to insure it with all the modifications and pay about the same as I did with Direct Line for the standard car with the same cover! But then that is also one of the few benefits of getting older!!!!!

[noby76]

how many bushes did you had to replace?

[Stew-R]

Well I definitely decided to stay Lexus instead of a Celica T Sport. I owned a 2001 IS200 Sport a few years ago, and changed it for a 2001 GS430 sport. The GS was lovely, but just too wallowy and spongy (no offence to anyone who has one!) on tighter roads. Superb cruiser though, but I wanted something more sporty, so bought an E55 AMG Kompressor. Fantastically quick car, but God it was unreliable. So I sold that and bought another IS200 :) So now I just weigh up and Turbo kit from Squint or source a used (hmmm) TTE Supercharger.

How's yours running Andy? Still going strong?

Is it recommended to upgrade the brakes and suspension? I only ask as Lexus did offer the TTE Charger as an option at one time, so presumably the chassis, brakes and suspension can already handle that sort of power??

Thanks

Stew

[noby76]

yeh the GS is a bit on the softer side 90% of the time its good but when taking tight corners you can actually tell its a heavy car. i dont intend to lower it maybe sharpen it up a little with harder performance tyres, upgraded bushes and possibly stiffer sway bars.

[andyk134]

Hi to both,

John, I went for the Superpro Bush kit that does them all front and back. I think if you just did some that might make it feel a bit weird. But seriously it feels so much better and has quickened up the steering too and made it more direct when you turn the wheel. And with all 200's now over 10 years old it will benefit all of them.

Stew, yes car is going great. Not sure I would feel so secure on standard suspension and brakes though. Ok so its only half the power of the M3's and RS4's but it is still a lot quicker than the standard car, around 230bhp in a car built to take 156. yes they made TTE models, but I would imagine they would have tweaked them somehow, even the sport has lower springs and the LSD. Also for me I would always do suspension and brakes and if I could only do one thing the suspension would always be first. Mine has coilovers, roll bars, front strut brace, poly bushes, lsd and big sticky tyres on 8.5 X 18 wheels as well as 4 pot brakes. I do have my old set up of Eibach springs done about 30k, front and rear Eibach wheel spacers, (6k) and standard shocks that have only done 65k if you are interested. Speak to Simon and see what he thinks. the turbo and lightened flywheel together fitted is around £3k and he suggests a new clutch which makes sense too. I wouldnt have done it it I hadn't been able to do it all properly to be honest with you

[r3dd3v1l]

Hi Stew. in answer to your first question, I don't really know what difference the flywheel is making as it was all done at the same time so have nothing to compare it against. in theory it should help to spool up quicker and take a little stress of the engine, so something I would always suggest doing and a new clutch goes without saying. I see you have the sport model so will have the lsd which was something I had done on mine.

it has only been two weeks since it was done. the drive home was appalling but this was because the ecu hadn't been reset, once I did that, it was smooth as anything off boost and progressive on. I then took it to my own tuner to look over and he was concerned that the fuel pressure had been reduced down to 2 1/4 bar from the standard 3 as he found it running very lean at the top end, so he altered it back. with the "thinking" ecu it is the only thing you can alter as it controls everything else. Simon at MJS advised me to put it back to 2 1/4 as his experience with the kit was that it ran better that way and would get a misfire at 3. it did start to get bit lumpy after a few days but again resetting the ecu cured that and it has been fine ever since. for me running lean at the top end on full boost is not something I would want so would rather have it a bit lumpy lower down than risk it at the top end.

as I said above, it is a fairly big turbo and too big really for the stage 1 which is why it does take a while to come on boost. That said for the price, you do get a lot of smiles for your buck so it is a compromise. a custom smaller turbo and manifold fitted by TDI is £5k ex vat without the flywheel and clutch so for £2300 fitted for the turbo and another grand for the flywheel and clutch and oil change it is good value for sure. I also went for the big brake kit which works really well and again makes sense when pushing bhp from 155 to around 230. I also did super pro poly bushes. it wasn't cheap, about a grand fitted as it takes so long but has tightened up the handling and made you feel more secure and also quickened up the steering which really is nice. I have also had the mid cat taken out (as it was chewing itself to bits) which has given it a bit more responsiveness, the engine light is on but that's a small price to pay.

I am 61 years old, so boost gauges, 0 to 60's and top speed don't really interest me. what I was looking for was a "driveable" Lexus and the way it should always have been. I did change the wheels and tyres and tried to get as close to standard looking ones as possible to not get noticed too much and keep the car looking as "normal" as possible, but with the wheels and intercooler that hasn't happened! the lower front grill is removed to fit the intercooler, which is a shame but Simon has painted his black which I will be looking to do.

Overall yes I am very pleased so far, but is till very early days. I have been running my car on vpower (optimax) since I bought it which will also help if you aren't already. Give Simon at MJS a call and talk through the options with him. All my work took a week that he did in Ipswich. Good luck

fair play, love what you have done to your car

[ThebigC]

Andy! Thank you for posting this! I to have seen his kits and toyed with the idea alot recently.. have the same skepticism and you did with past work and his reliability but I think your post lay that to rest. Would you recommend chucking a couple a grand at my IS200?

Iv toyed with supercharger but couldn't find one anywhere!

I toyed with the idea of finding an RS200 3sge beams engine which I can find but not sure if all the hassle is worth it.. nor really enough detailed posts about it without people saying "just get the Is300" which obviously if I wanted to I would of.

Which only really leaves the turbo upgrade.. would you recommend? What you do differently having owned it a year now? And lastly was it all worth it in the end!?!

 

Thanks!

C

[andyk134]

I still love my car and it does go really well. There are no new superchargers, so going that route will be second hand parts and finding fabricated ones as some are just not around anymore. Yes I would do it again, I spent around 3 grand with the turbo, lightened flywheel and now the Piggyback ECU, which has really made the difference and made it safer by getting the fuelling right. I now have 260 bhp at 9psi which the car will take all day. Simon has just completed his 30th Kit and not one has broken yet in over 2 years and they get some serious abuse. Give him a call and talk it all through first. And I have done all the suspension and brakes too and hope to keep the car another 5 years if I can. It has just gone straight through the MOT yet again, they are good cars. cheers