CDNROCKIES

I think a refresher would be great Juanca considering you were the primary involved and it seems many of the members aren't fully up to speed on what happened.

Juanca

iTrader: (5)

Well, I did dyno runs before and after the tune, same dynojet, same operator, same settings. My gains after the tune were 19 WHP. Some people were very skeptical (which I understand completely) so they suggested that I should race another stock IS-F, and even got instructions on how the race should be. A guy in Miami volunteered to race me (I forgot his name or screenname here), but we lined up and followed the instructions. If I'm not mistaken we had to go from 30 or 40 MPH both in 3rd or 4th gear (it was long time ago, so I'm not sure). We did it many times, like 5, and the results were always the same. We would be even until we got into higher revs, then I started pulling away slowly. By 145 MPH I had him completely in my rear view mirror. Those are the facts.

I didn't agree with Andy's pricing though, but I guess he felt like he could charge whatever he wanted because he was the only one doing it.

By the way, this is the other reason why I declined on the brake pedal replacement and ECU update.

Ekorre

have you ever read that statement that supposedly came internally from toyota that said the engine was originally intended to rev higher but limited lower due to toyota policy for 150k longevity on engines? something like that? \I wonder also about what's left on the table. Seems like a lot of owners are reaping pretty impressive gains even with simple exhaust mods.

lobux, what about displacement/ efficiency, if bmw and audi can reap about the same hp 412/420 from 4 liters and 4.2 liters, bmw without even using DI...could you sort of extrapolate that the 5 liter ISF engine , based on a certain efficiency level, actually has XX left on the table, could one make such a guess/prediction?

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

I also thought I heard you're having gearbox slip issues and TCU tuning is what Andy promised out of the box. The whole thing went to crap when Andy couldn't reproduce your results on other cars.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

BMW gets their power from higher redline and shorter stroke. Redline is all based on stroke and mean piston speed because manufacturers know about how long an engine is expected to last at a give mean piston speed. It's not the do-all tell-all, but it is a reasonable guide.

Standard rule of thumb is 20m/sec mean piston speed is as high as an OEM wants to go. Of course all the ITR guys will jump up and say the ITR engine does 24 m/sec from the factory, and they're right, but as a general rule the OEMs stick to 20m/sec.

The 2UR-GSE hits 20m/sec at 6705 rpm. At the OEM redline, it's hitting 20.29, so from Lexus's perspective, they're already pushing the envelope. At 8045 rpm, it hits the ITR's rather lofty 24.00 m/sec. So there's probably more rpm available at some service life degradation.

The other part of the problem is the cam timing and the way the torque drops off at higher rpm. You can expect the torque loss to continue, so more revs isn't going to get a lot without changing the cams (and possible intake and exhaust) if you're not adding forced induction. Changing the cams also brings low rpm losses, so I'd say Lexus played a big balancing act between ultimate horsepower, gas guzzler tax, and engine service life to arrive at the configuration we see in the IS-F.

It does **** me off the 2UR-GSE makes less brake specific horsepower than the 2GR-FSE though...if they just made the same we'd have another 30 hp...

Juanca

iTrader: (5)

Andy was claiming that the TCU was flashed as well, but as I reported back when this project was active, I couldn't feel any difference in the tranny. He had some success flashing MB TCUs, but I doubt he could do anything to ours.

My problem with the tranny is not software related (at least to me), it's mechanical. It's kind of weird, I feel like it slips for just a fraction of a second only when downshifting from 6th into 5th gear and no gas is applied, then it re-engages. I talked to the mechanic that tested my car, he could see my point and he felt the problem, but the master technician dismissed the issue and said that the tranny was working as it should. Off the record the mechanic mentioned that if they acknowledged the problem, they would have to replace my whole tranny, not repair it, that's the way they fix problems with the F (remember that they replaced my whole instrument cluster just because of the tach needle). Also he said that they would have to start an investigation about this issue and see if it can affect other IS-Fs (like a recall), and they don't want that. I couldn't do anything else other than making sure that the service advisor included my tranny concern in their database, and if there is a future problem with the tranny, I had already warned them. The SA said that the whole car has a 7-year warranty and if needed they'll replace the tranny, so I feel better now.

I think Andy's project went to crap because multiple problems:

1. His prices were way to high for the gains.
2. As you said the results were not consistent, actually I'm the only one who saw improvements.
3. The TCU showed no difference.
4. He was eager to move his product without enough R&D.
5. He disappeared after the first complain.