rob_clio172

I managed to get something done today which i had almost forgot about.... AEM trim pot for boost control. Good bit of kit, very easy install all i had to do was lengthen the wires, put some protective sleve on it. Find a nice place to mount it and pin it to the AEM ecu. Once it was all in i got my friend from the states to help me set it up. He knows the AEM tuner like the back of his hand! Managed to do a little video call over instagram which works really well and set up team viewer on the laptop. Once we setup the input from the switch on the trim tab it worked a treat. I will probably only use 5 or 6 of the settings with a 2 psi increase inbetween each setting. On 0 it will just run wastegate spring pressure.

Cheers matey, i cant wait to get to some meets and shows! Is it stav whos now doing a twin turbo 1UZ? 🤣 how funny would that be to take it to the dealer for something!! Tech would know something is different when he keeps stalling it because of the twin disc clutch 🤣 saying that though the gauges and exhaust may give it away!

So ive continued to make progress, i now have the prop hoop sorted. The hoop itself didnt fit as the holes was too wide for where it bolts to the original prop center bearing holes. Ive had to cut the brackets off, shorten them by an inch and angle them in slightly so the holes measure 147mm apart. Then gave it a quick coat of Zinc 182 primer and a couple of coats of matte black paint to tidy it up and for some protection. I feel happy now this is sorted, if it does ever break it will cause alot of damage but at least it cant pole volt me off the road! Also got the SPA oil pressure and temp gauge sorted, this was a bit fiddly but got it done. I used the old A/C drain plug under the carpet to feed the wiring loom through, i have no need for it now the A/C has been ripped out. Still has a little room left in it for when i fit a fuel pressure sensor into the FPR. got all the wiring routed through and fuse fitted. Also mounted the programming switch for the gauge under the trim for the heated seats so nice and hidden. I then mounted the bracket for the gauge also under the trim by drilling a little hole and putting a nut and bolt in there. Turned out really well and also matches the colour of the rest of the dash lights. Also got the exhaust hangers done finally, it only had the small 1 at the very back the car that was for the rear silencer and a hard bracket bolted to the rear subframe, the front part was being suspended by the downpipe and flexi joint taking the full weight of it. I managed to get 1 each side of the exhaust so when they was located it hung perfectly inplace up to the flanges each end. I had to install my own hanger at the front in the transmission tunnel for this. I did this by removing the carpet and drilled 2 holes through the body, i then used riv nuts in the body so i could bolt the hanger up. Also made sure the body was protected after driling so the old tin worm dont set in. I got the hanger rods bent and welded at work they turned out pretty good, i just need to bend the ends a little more where they come through the mounts. So thats the exhaust finally finished, next up is probably going to be the catch can setup then maybe brakes or paint work.... we will see.

Thanks mate, yeh some of the turbo kits out there are pretty good, all depends on your power goals and budget. Not sure on power at the minute as its got fuel cut set at 16psi and doeant have a proper tune but it feels pretty quick already just being tickled. Im hoping for around 600-650 at the wheels, it may not make that but will be super happy if it does.

I have a build thread on here, got the car u and running now, been at it for 3yrs but ive left no stone unturned. Manual gearbox coverted and a built 2jz. Not been on a dyno yet for a proper tune but hoping for big power. Have a blast through that👍

Depends how you intend to use it 😂 dont look at my project thread you will make me feel very guilty. Although ive not done it as an investment... well thats my excuse🤣

Yeh that wouldnt be a bad shout if sticking to standard power or a small power increase. Tbh if sticking to standard power i would probably plough that money into other areas of the car just depends how bad you would want a manual.

Pretty sure there was only 50 of these in the country, hopefully if 1 does pop up for sale its been kept in good condition.

Manual swapped IS300 here, so far i love it but ive not done many miles on it. Ive used the r154 from a JZX100 and swapped the shifter housing from a JZX110 or Toyota Verossa so its sits central in the shifter boot. 1 thing i will say is the r154 is noisey, very very noisey. Ive added sound deadening to the trans tunnel and i can still hear it whining over the 4" exhaust and turbo and the gearbox is brand new unit from factory. Also very clunky shifts but i feel it adds a kind of sporty feel to it.

Pretty sure these have tamper proof screws, i think when i did mine i either drilled them out or used mole grips. Top cover is 10mm bolts.

Small update, i finished the heatshielding off with some rubber edging trim. Its seems to have transformed the look of it by just tidying it up. More to come, exhaust hangers are getting sorted aswell as the prop hoop which is slightly too wide. Oil gauge i need to install properly and get a fuel pressure sensor wired up to AEM. Also ive got a new breather setup coming as im not happy with this 1, it may give be problems when the boost is cranked up.

Thanks for the kind words 👍

🤣 thanks mate, im over the moon with how it turned out and i really thought the shielding would have been a real pig to shape and make it look half decent but it was pretty damn easy.

More progress and another step closer to getting this thing ready for a tune. Finally tackled getting all the heat management bits installed. Wrapped the downpipe and dump tube. Made 3 seperate heatshields up top and joined them all together to protect the oil feed, brake and clutch master cylinders, servo, matrix hoses, wiring loom and vac lines to the wastegate. Its a double layer heat shield and suprisingly easy to cut and shape around things. Under the car i replaced the old small inadequate heatshield. Also made another shield to go over the steering rack to protect the rack fluid lines from the dump tube. Then threw the down pipe, dump tube and turbo blanket on. Turbo blanket is from funk motorsport, its there new mk3 version, does a great job and fitment is absolutely perfect. Just waiting on some edging for the heatshield stop me potentially slicing myself on it, so happy with how its turned out.

Really miss car meets.... well normal csr meets without all this lot going on. Hopefully get out to some next year in the IS300 and finally see some of these cars in the flesh

🤣 not yet but hopefully soon, just tying up loose ends now before mapping.

Had a few more bits turn up this thing is still slowly coming together..... Got myself a turbo blanket, this is much needed as the small amount of driving and testing has already started to affect the valve cover paint!! Also got some wrap for the down pipe so will eventually get round to doing that. Finally got an oil pressure and temp gauge, i went for the SPA digital gauge. Real good bit of kit, can programme hi and low alarms for both channels, choose what colour backlight and also what colour alarm backlight flash.Went for amber to match the dash lights. Managed to trial fit it quickly to test the kit and programme the settings, just need to get it installed now.

Looking good, ipad is a great idea and would save alot of money on gauges!

Yeh i remember changing a few shockers on GS450h for knocking, if i recall correctly alot of them was rear shockers. Even changed some for knocking and they had no leaks just an internal fault. Im also using a ctek charger too, quality bit of kit for the price.

Digs

Wife

Wings

So i got the wheels waxed, spigot rings and center caps fitted and thrown back on the car. I also decided to weigh the wheels and compare them to the old 1s just out of interest. Even though the wheels and tyres are bigger they are 5 1/4 lbs lighter on the front and 4lbs lighter on the back. So an 8.4kg saving all round which tbh is very suprising, im not getting too caught up with weight saving as im not really going down that route....... yet, but still nice to know.

Cheers 👍, haha yeh its pretty loud although on idle its not too bad... its just that deep noise when pulling away that will give it up. I will go for the Toyo R888r after these, i got these very cheap through work (£5 per tyre!) As they was taken off a sales car, i wouldnt normally go for Nankangs although these are there track tyre and have a few decent reviews, i just couldnt turn down that very cheap price to get me going on the road. I think if i go down the R888r route i will also switch to a 265 on the back rather than the 255

Thanks mate, Just a couple of coats of collinite wax i think should do the trick, it wont be seeing any bad weather or road salt so thats a big wheel wrecker i dont have to worry about. Just seen the footnote.... when did you get rid of the IS300??