LS400 engine tuning.

[mrdoofa]

Hi guys,

My next door neighbour is considering buying an LS400 for its engine and transmission to go into a race car for circuit racing, he plans on selling the rest of the car for parts. The one he's considering is a mk4 with 279bhp stock but he is wanting to tune it to 400bhp but no higher. He wants to know if this can be done and what kind of work and expense would be involved. If anybody has any idea or can offer any help or advice that would be great.

Cheers everybody!!!

[Jake430]

the auto box will not be suitable for racing. Engine should be good depending on the kind of races he enter.

[ambermarine]

The Lextreme sight in The USA goes deep into the mechanics and applications the Ls400 engine as been put to.

It is the go to engine in the USA for powering any kit car or boat.

[Titch LS]

When the Americans were running their "Cash for clunkers" scheme, the car scrappers were killing car engines by pouring in some horrible concoction until the engine finally died. It was noted at the time that it took ages for this treatment to see off an LS400 engine. Other makes "died" very quickly. Just goes to show how well designed and engineered this V8 really is.

[steve2006]

Apparently the earlier engines were better built for tuning having stronger con rods, there are no aftermarket upgrades and the ECU cannot be modified.

Supercharging is a popular power boost with Eaton M90 being the one to go for combined with higher flow injectors.

BMW gearboxes are popular for a manual transmission.

[mrdoofa]

Thanks for your help guys, I'll pass the info on to my neighbour although it seems the Lexus V8 isn't the ideal engine for tuning!!!