ATSOU

Will this TorqueMaster work on my 93 LS400? If it does.........I am in this GroupBuy thing~~~~~~~~

bigbllr2000

what happened? no more talk about a group buy depends on price i might be in .

RacingAristo

I guess Percy is too busy....

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

I've pinged on Steve a number of times RE the plugs and he hadn't heard back from Torquemaster yet. Yesterday he said someone (maybe from here?) had called him as well.

Let's give it another couple days and if Steve doesn't hear back we'll see if Percy can't give it another run since he's a long time customer.

Fallback is to go ahead and get them directly from TM yourself.

Mean Gene

Dave & others - I just ordered my 8 plugs from TM. I spoke with Suzi ( very pleasant!! ) & she said that they haven't updated their website to show the newest "star" plug that Percy mentioned. Basically it's the same as the "S" plug except that it has a modification ( some type of groove ) that enables it to work better with those cars without distributors ( like the GS & it's individual coil packs ). It goes for $14.50/plug but she said that the plugs are considered a "lifetime" plug which will only get better with age. Sounds like the K&N claims of better filtration with age. When I told her that I might dyno my GS4 with new Iridium plugs & then the TM's, she said there should be a noticeable difference but that the TM's would test out even better with some mileage on them. Current plans R to dyno the car with the stock Iridiums ( with 50k miles on them ), change to some brand new stock plugs & make a pull then finally end up with the TM's. That SHOULD shed some light on the situation. Give me a few weeks to get things lined up & I'll post the results.

RacingAristo

Mean Gene,

Did you mention to Suzi that there is a group of people who are interested in purchasing their plugs?

oldguy

Mean Gene
Thanks, this will help me a lot. I will patiently wait for your posting.

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

Update:

Steve got a response via email on Friday; Torquemaster sent him the details via snail mail.

I'm guessing we should know something late next week.

bravo261

iTrader: (1)

i wonder how many people would actually buy. number interested looks pretty big

Percy

Gene,

The lifetime plug claim actually holds true. As long as the engine is running normally, they'll last longer than the life of the engine! They've had the center electrode completely worn down and it fired normally, like as if nothing ever happened to them. As for the K&N, they actually get worse with age.

You'll see that the "star" series plugs are different than the S plugs. The closest thing to the "star" series plugs (at least appearance wise, and only by a remote factor) would be the Bosch +4 stuff. THE BOSCH IS JUNK compared to the TM. S Series had a ring electrode, the Star series has no ring electrode and the newer cars run better for this. With the older design in place there was a idle roughness. Some people found this annoying, but others (me included) didn't really care since the performance benefits outweighed the problem. With the Star plugs, there isn't any idle problem.

Percy

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

Hi guys - I'm late to this thread, but just read through all of it and have some questions / concerns...

- How do we know this plug is really compatible with the Lexus engines?

- How do we know it's not doing any damage?

- Besides some anecdotes, how do we know if this really makes any difference at all? People report the 'rpms going up faster' but that doesn't mean the engine is making more power.

- There's lots of manufacturer claims for fuel or air 'venturis', bubbling type devices, magnets, and endless fuel and oil additives that don't do jack squat (except take the suckers' money).

I guess right now I'll wait for Mean Gene's results... thanks very much in advance, Gene.

MrSypher

Well, this thread has been going on now for awhile and it seems as though a GB has not happened yet..... But if it does ever happen count me in..... Who knows maybe "Mean Gene" will already have dynoed everything by then.....

Percy

[QUOTE]Originally posted by bitkahuna
[B]Hi guys - I'm late to this thread, but just read through all of it and have some questions / concerns...

- How do we know this plug is really compatible with the Lexus engines?

***If there are no problems (there haven't been), then they SHOULD be compatible. But then you can say this about bosch, ngk, splitfire, hyped up Iridium, etc.***

- How do we know it's not doing any damage?
***From experience... '90 GP 60k miles w/no problems. '96GP 55k miles...no problems. '93 Regal 30k miles...no problems. '89 Regal...40k miles...no problems. '93 Skylark, 70k miles, no problems. '98 GS400, 40k miles, no problems. '01 GS430, 10k miles, no problems. These are all various cars within the family and the plugs have worked quite well.***

- Besides some anecdotes, how do we know if this really makes any difference at all? People report the 'rpms going up faster' but that doesn't mean the engine is making more power.

***RPM's going up faster from one point to another, using the same reference point, DOES equal a gain in HP - forgot where I saw the definition but it was something similar to that degree. TM plugs used to distribute a REAL dyno chart on a modded turbo Mustang. Peak gain was around 13 hp, average gain was around 8hp with their older series of plugs. Don't quote me on the hp numbers...it's been a long time since I've seen that chart. Also, look on TM's website http://www.torquemaster.com for a letter on an RX7 during an SCCA race. The RX7 that used the TM's blew everything else away. Also, the RX7's driver was literally melting the "specially made", NON TM plugs and has pretty much tried everything else.***

- There's lots of manufacturer claims for fuel or air 'venturis', bubbling type devices, magnets, and endless fuel and oil additives that don't do jack squat (except take the suckers' money).

***IME, that would include Crane (tranny computer delay shifter wire), Bosch Platinum plugs, Splitfire, Nology wires, JET performance ECU (they didn't have right app chart and they still deny any wrong doing), Slick 50, Duralube, Prolong (place pic of Smokey Yunick and another racer here) and various other products. Let's put it this way...TM doesn't need endorsement from anybody. Unlike some of the other products. They're good enough to stand on their own. ***

I guess right now I'll wait for Mean Gene's results
***And even with the dyno results I'm still sure there will be doubters. Isn't it always the case? IME though, they work and they work quite well. Now if I could only have Mo richen up the fuel mixture with the TM plugs... ***

Percy

bravo261

iTrader: (1)

c'mon guys, don't let this thread and group buy die...

Percy

I'm guessing they're waiting for Gene and his dyno results. Even if the group buy doesn't happen (I have no reseller liscense!) then I'd suggest saving up the bucks to get the plugs. They're worth it.

Percy