jinos

I have had the car for over a year now and it is time to add a turbo to my 03 IS300 sportdesign . I am hoping to get a couple questions answered if possible.

1. I am thinking about either the SRT or the TBKO, anybody have any advice on which one? If there is another tuner I should be looking at in the same price range I appreciate tips there as well.

2. If I go with TBKO or SRT where can I get the best price? I see that SRT has 3rd party resellers that offer better prices then SRT does on their website, is this true of TBKO as well?

Thanks in advance for the help, want to get the best bang for my buck but also want to buy very soon...

bchau_gt

Don't know if everyone knows yet, but TBKO is now Turbo East. They've changed their name and other some additional products now, which you may need if you turbocharge your car.

Out of the two you mentioned, both manufacturers' kits produce decent numbers. Please keep in mind that a stage 1 kit from one tuner is not equivalent to a stage 1 kit from another tuner. My preference would be towards TBKO/TurboEast based on my personal experience with them. I have their tranny valve body upgrade on my car and service from them has been excellent.

I've also seen an SRT Stage 2 turbo kit in person, which didn't look bad. You definitely also need to consider Peter Farrell Supercars (PFS) and Toyomoto.

Also, if you're fairly concerned about getting the least expensive kit, then please consider all of the additional expenses to get the car running properly with forced induction. It goes well beyond the cost of just the kit, install, and tuning. I'm going through this right now.

I wouldn't recommend going through a reseller to purchase either. It's probably best to buy directly from the tuner. You should also call the tuners and ask them about the kits, beyond questions like how much power it will generate and similar questions.

Hope that helps.

tsopranoMB

to be perfectly honest...

people ordered SRT kits back in february...are STILL waiting...

people have had issues with TBKO as far as shipping kits out as well...

bottom line, get an IN-HOUSE install...have something scheduled and get an exact time frame of how long it should take.......

bchau_gt

Also, there will definitely be some headaches if you turbocharge or supercharge your car. Here's some added cost items you may want to consider:
* Better flowing exhaust system, which means potentially replacing your stock parts with...
- header
- race pipe
- b-pipe
- exhaust

* Transmission upgrade for your automatic (I'm assuming you have an auto)...
- transmission valve body upgrade
- transmission cooler

* Upgrading stopping power and traction...
- bigger/wider wheels and tires
- high performance brake pads and rotors, or a big brake kit

* Upgrading your suspension...
- sway bars
- strut tower bars
- shocks/springs or coilvers
- chassis/tie braces

* Optional precautionary items...
- oil catch can
- upgraded fuel pump
- fuel return system
- upgraded fuel injectors

There's possibly more for you to consider (such as all the added install and tuning costs), but the cost of boost is not cheap at all. I think it would be better to start with some suspension upgrades before adding so much power to your car.

AltezzaBob

I like SRT's setup because it replaces the stock 270~ cc injectors with RC 440's. The 7th injector really is not my thang.

bchau_gt

I've considered upgrading the stock injectors and dropping my 7th injector as well. I'm just concerned about some of the issues other have had when doing this, such as:
* Gas gauge not working
* Car running too rich in closed-loop operations because the ECU is confused

I'm going to stick with what I have so far and get my car running before making more changes.

mos6304

Jinos,

I own a 2001 Lexus IS300 and have been searching endlessly for a turbo kit. I must tell you, SRT and TBKO aren't the answer. There are two links I've included below. One is for Powerhouse Racing located out of Texas and the other is for PF Supercars. They both offer stage 1, stage 2, and stage 3 turbo kits for the IS300. The Stage 3 from either company will give you about 600 RWHP!! The only major dilemma I've been trying to fix is the fact that my Lexus has an automatic tranny which needs to be upgraded for that kind of power. Powerhouse Racing is said to have recently made an automatic tranny upgrade for the Lexus IS300 but, I'm not sure. PHR also offers all the engine internals to build your car up for such high boost.

Nate


http://www.pfsupercars.com/

http://www.powerhouseracing.com/

bchau_gt

I'd be curious to know why you say SRT and TBKO are not the answer. I think all IS300 tuner companies have a viable "Stage 1" kit. One's selection of a particular kit should depend on more than just power outputted. There are many factors to consider.

Jinos will have to evaluate all the tuners himself and decide for himself. However, I do agree with you that PFS and PHR have produced some of the most powerful IS300s. If Jinos hasn't already done so, he should read through posts on IS300.NET.

Also, PHR is not the only company that offers an automatic transmission upgrade. Pretty much all the IS300 tuners have or can produce a stronger auto tranny. These companies are also all capable of building up the engine internals. However, based on the fact that Jinos is interested in a "Stage 1" level kit, he won't really need to worry about that.

tsopranoMB

Nate,

thats a very ignorant statement you made, especially for a first post....

do you even know how many Powerhouse Racing IS300's there are??? less then a handfull....and only WXMAN besides Jarrett's old car which was recently re-fitted by toyomoto....

and TBKO is one of the hottest selling turbo and supercharger tuners right now for the IS300....next to SRT

PFS hasnt been selling that many this year to be honest with you...and they have been shady from various reports through guys over on is300.net

I chose toyomoto.... http://www.toyomoto.com/is300.htm

they have the most experiance with IS300 turbo kits since the car debuted in 2000....their reputation speaks for itself....

see my post here, the pictures speak a thousand words as far as quality....

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...hreadid=122894

-Marc

INDGOGRL

tsopranoMB & b_chau (Brian)
excellent thread so far. I have been searching for a reliable FI system for my car, where it just gets installed and I can just drive it and forget it, atleast until I step on the gas !

Being a woman, I just want my car to have decent power compared to driving my husbands modded GS. I don't need Stage II or III upgradeability and I don't want an install that requires months of tuning. This is my daily driver and my commute to work is somewhat far. I just want to drive the car and not have to think about it.

Brian,
since my hubby (RMMGS4) talked to you, we are a litle disappointed with your experience "so far" with the PLP "Vortec" SC. From what has been posted elsewhere, even the PLP "Powerdyne" SC has issues, though hopefully it's a quality issue on the Powerdyne side and not PLP's side.

We know a local who installed the PFS system through a 'reliable" tuner and there have been issues. Not going to blame PFS for all of the problems, but lets just say that the limited octane of the pump gas that we get in California, may have something to do with the lower than expected power. Don't even tell me I need to add octane boost every time I fill up ! For me, the jury is still out on the PFS and Powerdyne SC.

Don't know how realistic it is to find this ideal system, but until there is a FI system that has a "proven" track record (In California), it's not going in my car.

On the forums, we often hear from people about their FI, only when they have problems. Then there are others who brag about big dyno numbers, but they overboost for the dyno, and can't run that boost everyday or they blow up stuff (like trannies), but don't say. (Quote from RMMGS4, I just typed it)

I'd like to hear who out there has gone X miles without a problem and what FI & boost they are running?

Those are the bragging rights I'm looking for !

bchau_gt

Marc, I definitely agree with you. I don't know about the shadiness at PFS, but I think PFS and Toyomoto have put out some high quality kits. TBKO/TurboEast and SRT have also been getting a lot of business recently; and I think it's because their kits appear to be lower cost, but in reality if you add everything up, it's about the same because you get a lot of extras from PFS and Toyomoto as part of their "packaged" kits.

BTW, I'm looking forward to seeing you "new" car posted on the forums.

Maricar(sp?), my experience with F/I has been pretty good so far. I've had the PLP Vortech kit on my car for a little over 3 months nows. The issues I described to Glen were actually resolved, and the car is running much better. Actually it's running quite well, just a little rich and not tuned, so I don't push it too hard still. However, I was a little disappointed when I did have problems, but it was not the kit at fault.

There appeared to be an installation issue where my O2 simulators were incorrectly connected; therefore, I believe my A/F ratios were all off due to the ECU getting unusual or unexpected signals from the O2 sensors. My O2 sim has been re-wired now. The detonation problems I had before may have also been due to the bad O2 signals and the car trying to lean things out, or it may be that bad California gas you referred to. I'm running rich now.

Please do not think that PLP is at fault. The kit is pretty solid and looks great. I'm still happy with it and all I need now is tuning. Tuning is the key! However, I'm making some more changes (at Exact Motorsports ) soon that will allow me to more easily tune the car. I should stop by your house sometime since I work around the corner on Great America Parkway. I'd love to check out your car as well.

edawg

well i have been reading this whole thread and i was wondering what you guys thought about xs engineering or rehard. If you live in california for me these would be the only place that i would go not because i think that they are the best but simply because they are located in california. Which means that you can have your turbo installed by the people who have actually buit this kit for your car. I was thinking in haveing the revhard kit put in my car. my friend had the revhard rsx and he says that they did a good job and he likes the kit alot. I havent called xs yet but the revhard kit should come out in couple of weeks. I wanted to get the srt but they are in maryland i think or toyomoto is in florida and pfs is in like mid soo they are out of the question. I know that there are people that can install no prob the tubo kit but i would look for the exra insurance and get a in-house install. just my 2 cents

INDGOGRL

Good to hear things are looking up, that 's why I previously said we were dissapointed "so far".

PLP is the preferred shop for us, mainly because they are just down the road from where we live, so communicating issues and being able to physically see Mike is easier than dealing with a shop across the country.