knyg

this is built with just a lexus 2is body. this car is gutted to the roots. can you still call this a lexus 2is?

im not against this build but whats the point? there are better bodies, engines and chassis for a rally car.

wouldnt you want the lexus part and such to see how a real lexus really performs in gravel? obviously this isnt built to be a world class rally car. sorry for all the questions. i just dont see the point

Gville350

iTrader: (10)

Great chassis, great V6 3.5L motor. Why not? And yes it's still a Lexus without full interior. Gotta dream big!

bazzle01

Its not yours.

Ive built rally cars and hill climb cars. You have to start somewhere.
I wasn't in the past going to call mine Bazzle1 or Bazzle2.
I called them Ford Escort mk2 or Datsun 1600...even though they had different model engines, diffs etc.
What does it really matter.
Keep up the build

kplives

[QUOTE=knyg;9866109]this is built with just a lexus 2is body. this car is gutted to the roots. can you still call this a lexus 2is?

im not against this build but whats the point? there are better bodies, engines and chassis for a rally car.

wouldnt you want the lexus part and such to see how a real lexus really performs in gravel? obviously this isnt built to be a world class rally car. sorry for all the questions. i just dont see the point[/QUOTE

Hi there. By your logic could you call any true race car by the name of the original model? First thing you do with a build is strip away everything you dont need for racing, which in the lexus case was a LOT of stuff. Doesnt mean that its not a lexus, or in my mind, a Toyota.

The chassis is certainly not perfect for rally but is quite suitable. I really wanted to move way from BMW and back to a Toyota. I also wanted to stay RWD because smiles/dollar it cant be beat. As for the IS, I wanted something our fans, our team, and myself would be excited about. I was pretty excited about the FRS (asides from the engine) until I got under one and realized how short the travel was. I bought a wrecked IS and inspected it for rally purposes before committing. The more I looked at the car the more excited I got as I really think we will be able to make this chassis GO on gravel. Are there easier choices? Yes. Will we be competitive? Absolutely.

I am curious what cars you are thinking of as more suitable? SuBOOru? Thanks for the interest good or bad. I hope to prove the car and excellent choice soon enough. 2wd rally is much more about the driver/navigator than it is the car. Millen just won the 3rd straight ARA 2wd event for the year.. in his RAV4.

jonnyp34

I've had my IS for about 18 months and absolutely love it. I also enjoy being a part of this forum and reading about all of the cool things people have done to their cars. I've gotten assistance from other users (even some on this thread) and I appreciate their help. I've even been willing to perform some of my own mods (minor stuff) because of the DIYs others have posted. The fact that someone could strip this car down and re-engineer it for the purpose of a rally car...that's totally freaking cool! I was happy with my intake upgrade, and that's small peanuts compared to this build.
@kplives - Can't wait to see next round of pics; keep up the great work!

kplives

Picked up car from Lexus of Chattanooga and... She's running again! first time in 4 months since the motor came out for cage. In my better judgement I got rid of the HVAC (repacing with a smaller ligher heater) not reliaize teh code reader for the immobilizer was mounted under teh Defrost vent on the top of the box. Lexus of Chattanooga was awesome to work with. They tolerated a half put together rally car with no brakes, not running, and pieces hanging off it wonderfully. The service write r even helped me push the car into shop and then back into the trailer today in 85 degree heat. Big thanks to Jeff L. for diagnosing the missing box! ...

So now that we know there are no issues with the 2015 engine/wiring and anything we've deleted... motor coming out tomorrow for 6 speed swap. RA 62 gearing looks pretty good. Will use 1st for trailer and 6th for transit. 2-5 on stage. 4.10 for now. Standard rally logic is run super low gear (5:12 with a 2.3:1 first and 1:1 5th is pretty common in a quick 2wd) but this car will be very different with lots of torque and a broad power band. We will test but I am thinking that lower gearing may just result in more shifting, not more speed.

Ridiculously stoked to see this come together. Getting it started came at a a good time as my buds and navigator are all heading North to run Southern Ohio Rally this weekend... as is my E30 for its first event with the new owner. Moral boost for sure. Things should really start coming together now... Until they dont. :-)

kplives

Heading to Lexus

Yes that linkages has been extended 6"!

AdamP

Happy to see a real build thread. Not just some LEDs, bags, wheels, and a lip kit.

kplives

bwahaha!!! Glad to hear it. I'm actually bit surprised this thread hasn't garnered more interest... but then again I assume everybody is as nuts about rwd gravel as I am.... and they r not:-)

AdamP

Right. I put an SR20 in my IS300 and people just complained. Lexus owners are a different breed

knyg

i understand the labor into making a race car, as in stripping down the car. who needs air conditioning in a rally amirite? i am also not calling the car as something different, it still has the IS engine and body. it is what it is. i love that youre making the lexus IS into a rally, thats my dream. in no way am i against it. i just want to know more about your decision. is this legit or just for the **** of it?

my question was, arent there better engines and gearboxes for a rally car? cause honestly, the IS gearbox isnt good. the clutch and tranny are slow and definitely not built for this type of drive.

i love subarus but i definitely dont think they are the only suitable rally cars nor the best. im just curious as to why you chose this car besides RWD. there are many RWD cars and you can even convert any car to RWD or AWD.

indeed 2 wheel drive is more about the people inside, but wouldnt you want to equip them with the best vehicle or set-up? (like setting paddle sequential gear boxes so the driver can have both hands to control at all times)

kplives

First to be clear, you definately didnt offend or frustrate me with your first post so no worries. No, this is not just for kicks, all though really if you boil it down you could argue ALL racing unless you earn a living at it is just for fun. We do have every intention of sorting the car and our driving to where we are competitive. Our previous car was quite capable, but could also be viewed as an underdog to a LOT of the cars we raced. We routinely placed well into the awd turbo cars. Is it because we are so great at rally? nope, its pretty common for decent driver/navigators to get a simple 2wd well up the leaderboard. Being clean, smooth, and holding your speed is what will win rallies. If the car is OK we can build consistency, speed in our driving, and sort issues as we work to make the car faster. I do not see any big hurtles.

US roads.. US roads are very fast compared to most rallies world wide. 100 Acre, LSPR, and STPR are all very high speed for most of the rally and the longer car will be more stable. ON the tight stuff it will suffer but I tend to do better in technical stuff so Im hoping it will even out.

To answer your question, YES there are lighter cars that would take a lot less work to be more competitive. Weight is the main thing holding this car back and likely the only issue we will never fully overcome.

The 2Gr for the weight of the car is actually a pretty great motor for rally with a broad power band and more hp than we can afford tires for.

As for the trans, I looked pretty closely at dropping a used dogbox in, but honestly it was too many variables and a high liability. I think the synchros were 80 a set and the gears 2-300 with a good chance of multiples needing replacement every year. Thats just not in our budget. All of the Fiestas R2s have sequentials, the nameless performance car has a Hollinger Seguential (I think they are over $20k?) and a few others, but for the most part 2wd rally cars have standard transmissions. The good ones dog boxes. The really good ones sequentials. I think Ive heard a sequential is 1/2 a second per stage mile. Would I like one? YES! Can I afford one or even the liabilty of one? Nope. We are runnign a 42k RA62 from a IS250. It has the counterweight on the shifter and is the updated model. We are also running a SPec flywheel and clutch, ditching the accumulator, and runnign a tilton pedal box so the clutch will be very fast/short. I've heard a lots of complatints about the trans. Ive also heard some people say it is ok. We will see how it is but I suspect it will be just fine. Also, with the broad power we will likely stick with a taller gear and be shifting less, unlike a peaky 4 cylinder that is standard in most 2wds. We make good power from 4500-6500. 3rd with a 4.10 and 25.5" tire will carry us from high 40s to 80 mph.. that is a LOT of the stage. Shifting less and having good power will really help.

In closing, no the cars not perfect. Its too heavy. It also has some very strong points that other lighter cars would not have. Its new, never been done, will be a challenge, and if successful a huge accomplishment for the whole team. To top it off now that the e30 is gone I can finally shelf my 13mm, 16mm 18mm, internal torx sockets, and get out my snap on 10, 12, 14 swivels on a stick and finally be happy wrenching on a car I truely like and enjoy owning.

Gville350

iTrader: (10)

What's the plan for cooling? Upgraded aluminum radiator, trans and/or oil cooler, diff cooler or exchange for IS-F carrier with fins?

kplives

Sorry for the delayed response! For cooling all well be stock with the exception of the heater being after market and run off the trans cooler while the heater hose is looped (aluminum housing and coolant heaters deleted). Also I got a 3 core Mishimoto aluminum rad to replace the stock one (its from a 300IS). Draw back is it has arad cap which I did not think about when ordering. Should be OK, just want a high quality cap that is higher pressure than the stock one. Going to look at TRD, but not sure if the cap will fit the mishimotor or not, need to check.

kplives

Brake lines done, steering wheel relocated, shift tower fabbed and ready to fit, resevoir mounts done and engine bay 90% sorted. Had a big setback when we went to install trans. The yard that we sourced the pristine 42k mile 2010 6 speed trans from didnt think to unbolt clutch from the flyweel or pull the clutch fork prior to putting their biggest pry bar on it to seperate bell housing from the engine... the snout was broken :-(. Luckily it was warrantied and we have another on the way (picking up saturday).

MIssing STPR right now, 3rd rally of the year, so took some motivation from that to head out to shop and knock some things out. Have a little more fitting to do to get the seating/controls just rght, but will wait on transmission to finalize. Pics to follow.

We weill be at LSPR or bust in Michigan in October!