Project Thread Project SC400TT

SC400TT · Jun 20, 2012

One Hot said:
Ryan I have the same problem with my car, I had upgraded my alternator but it seems I have low idle probably due to a dirty idle valve controller...I adjusted my idle in the meantime to compensate temporarily. How many volts are you running when the fan, lights, and a/c on all at the same time?

It dropped down to 9 volts, so I stopped running the car immediately. I have just received the Lextreme alternator in the mail. I will let you guys know the status as soon as I get it installed...

Ryan

stevechumo · Jul 18, 2012

Any update, Ryan? Did you sort out the voltage problem and have a new dyno?

SC400TT · Jul 20, 2012

stevechumo said:
Any update, Ryan? Did you sort out the voltage problem and have a new dyno?

Steve, had to order replacement gaskets and wait for them to come in. Some of the turbo plumbing has to be removed to replace the alternator. I should have the alternator replaced this weekend. Haven't been able to get on the car and wrench...

Ryan

SC400TT · Aug 15, 2012

Sorry I haven't posted up in weeks. A little over 3 weeks ago, I hit a curb on a narrow sidewalk which leads to the Seminole Wekiva bike trail, and unfortunately, my 10 speed flipped, I went flying forward, and did not manage to get my left hand off the handlebar...my hand rolled forward under my wrist and caused my radius to snap in two about 1.5" below my wrist. The tip of my ulna also chipped and needless to say, I have not exactly been in the mood to work on my car or to even visit or post on the forums.

I had to have surgery as the fractured radius could not be stabilized enough with a splint or a cast to keep the reduction anywhere near 100% (meaning both bones anatomically joined correctly). We tried it, but within 4 days the bones had slipped apart by about 30% and that would not do, so, I had surgery about a week after the break, and I now have a titanium plate and screws in my left arm. The good news is I need no cast, only a removable splint, and I started rehab yesterday. It is amazing how stiff my hand, fingers and wrist got within just a few weeks.

Anyway, I planned to change out the alternator with Lextreme's high output one right after my bike ride on the day I broke my wrist, but that got postponed...I also planned to install the Kenne Bell Boost A Spark that day...although I am healing I still have 2 more weeks before the doctor will release me to drive, and I definitely am unable to wield a wrench right now. So I am paying a most excellent performance guru to finish it up for me. He needs another week or so before he can get on it. I am not driving anyway...:sad:

I will keep you updated on the progress as I get it done.

Here are a few pics of my arm:
In ER day of accident:

X-RAY of break:

Stitches about to be removed:

Case up of stitches:

After stitches removed, swelling is reducing...

Ryan

SC400TT · Aug 15, 2012

Lesson learned

Another note:

As i mentioned previously, this project is my first one, and even though I planned it carefully, I just really way underestimated the time, money and scope of what I was undertaking. At the time I only had a working knowledge of cars, and I had to teach myself the knowledge of performance. What a great journey, and many lessons learned. Well, I have learned another one, and I am compelled to share it with you all.

When taking on a project such as this one, it is likely that several friends or acquaintances will not only be enthusuastic about it, but that some will offer their knowledge and expertise, as well as their wrenching skills. While there is nothing wrong in accepting their assistance, I have determined it is in most cases best to decline...the main reasons I say that are:
1) the knowledge or experience may not be sufficient to correctly perform the needed tasks
2) damage can result from the work of the friend
3) much time can be lost due to matching schedules
4) egos can get in the way
5) eventually, money almost always becomes a big issue
6) friendships can be greatly strained or lost

There are many more, but I encountered each of those points I listed above, and more than once in most cases. I have determined that if there is something I need done on my project, and I do not know it or understand it enough, or I don't have the time to research it enough to tackle and complete the job myself, then I will no longer solicit the help of my friends, but instead pay a professional to do the job. This makes it a simple business transaction, and the emotional issues that can potentially come up with friends is a non issue. I lost one person that I thought was a friend, and almost lost 2 others. This is unfortunate, and all three friendships were important to me. The strained friendship was able to be talked out, and I handed over more money, and we are now past it. One is probably irretrievable, and that is most unfortunate. And the other is still in the air...

I think it is best to just cruise around in the finished product with most friends...And when working on the project, keep it to myself. My friends are too important to risk losing over a car, no matter how important the project is to me.

Ryan

stevechumo · Aug 15, 2012

Sorry to hear about the accident, Ryan. Get well soon and get boost soon.

SC400TT · Aug 15, 2012

stevechumo said:
Sorry to hear about the accident, Ryan. Get well soon and get boost soon.

Thanks Steve.

Ryan

BlackUZZ31 · Aug 15, 2012

bloody bicycles! death traps i tells ya!

SC400TT · Sep 20, 2012

Finally, another update!

Well,

I finally have an update for you all. Once again, thanks for your well wishes with my wrist/arm. I am healing well, and quickly, but it is challenging with the Physical Therapy.

I finally got a chance to get back on the car this past Sunday, and it was an eye-opener. The easiest way to get the alternator replaced was to dismantle the passenger side turbo, and remove the cold side only. All the plumbing stayed intact, and I only had to remove the Belt, and the Power Steering Pump to get to the alternator. Dan had to do a lot of it as I am still operating with a gimp hand, and I am only allowed to lift 5 pounds right now. Hard to wrench much one-handed.... When the alternator came out, saw additional issues that made me quite happy that this was done with not a whole lot of driving...The wireharness to the alternator was melted, and the (3) wires were fused together mainly in the melted shielding. The main power connector was also melting. This was due to the forward positioned manifold being real close to the alternator, and because I did not wrap the manifolds prior to installing them, but after, there was a runner that could not be reached and wrapped, and that sent to much radiant heat to those wires. So, rebuilt the harness, and replaced the power cable with a (1) gauge, shielded them, wrapped that section of header with DEI Titanium wrap, and re-routed the power cable and harness away from the manifold. Should never be an issue again. Lextreme's HO alternator is now installed, and preliminary tests were excellent.

Installed the Boost-A-Spark, and it was fairly straight forward. Just cut the power to each coil, spliced in the BAS, wired them in series per direction, and the car fired right up. Still have to drill the firewall and run the cable through for the potentiometer, and it will be complete. Once I get that done, I will drive it around and see if the charging system functions at 100%, if so, it goes to the shop for a thorough look over, and then gets the big tune. Gee whiz this project has dragged. But I do expect soon. AT this popint, I just want results...

I figure those melted wires were actualy having a profound effect on several issues with the car beyond charging as Darin could not understand why the car started breaking up at higher revs, and I suspect unstable voltage was an issue, as well as possible being the battery drain I got from parking the car. We will see.

Cheers,

Ryan

stevechumo · Sep 21, 2012

Melted wire? It sounds like a melted heart. Lol. I agree that those turbo manifolds should be wrapped over the ceramic coating. I watched on youtube that some guys video the coated manifold during tuning, and the glowing red hot can be seen through the coating.

XR8tt · Sep 22, 2012

Red manifolds is sign of high power levels ..
Mainly rich mixture and "retarded" tune..
Where fuel is burnt more so in exhaust..
Yes at least the shield manifolds..
Wrapping has it's issues too..
Especially with thin wall ...
Shielding prevents burnt wire etc and lets manifold cool..
Good to see all is well...

stevechumo · Sep 22, 2012

With this setup, I see there's barely any room for shielding. Even in my single turbo setup in the SC4, the clearance between the manifold and the alternator is only 0.5". And the rest is just neck to neck.

SC400TT · Sep 23, 2012

Manifolds are thick wall stainless. I do not recall the tubing thickness, but I will check with the fabricator and he will know.

Had to wrap them or the heat would melt everything in the engine bay.

Ryan

SC400TT · Sep 23, 2012

Took the car out or a test drive today...

Overall, the test went well. It was a very hot day today...90 degrees and fairly high humidity. Anyway, drove the Lexus around town and on the Interstate, and it drove quite well. Now that the voltage is correct and stable, not only did the car drive and idle better, but it also corrected the AFR readings on the Gauge. The Gauge has always showed around 11 at idle, no matter what, yet Darin stated he tuned it closer to stoich than that. Anyway, the gauge read consistently around 14.7 to 15 at idle during the 3 hours I drove the car around today. So that is great. As I drove at different agressive throttle positions and load conditions, I consistently saw between 10.5 to 12.5 AFR's on the gauge, so, again, it looked good. Car still needs more tuning, but I am beginning to believe there may be a light at the end of the tunnel this time...

I also believe my starter is crapping out on me, and I will probably have to change it. Pain in the arse for that one...

Perhaps the big tune will be able to be done soon.

Ryan

SC400TT · Oct 26, 2012

I want to thank all of you Lextreme Members so much for following along. It is hard when it takes so very long to get a project done. All of you here on Lextreme have been so encouraging and positive and helpful about this project. I appreciate all the well wishes for both me and my car.

My arm has healed well, and the bone has grown back. Lot's of physical therapy required and I am back in the gym, but having to keep the weights light. I may be able to start wrenching again in about 4 weeks.

I dropped my car off at the stereo shop last night for the Precision Power components to be installed and for the trunk to be customized. Mars Audio, Sound and Beyond is doing the install. The new alarm has to go in as well. I am expecting Mars to take a few weeks to get the stereo all buttoned up. Once that is done, back over to Lexus to see why I lost AC coolant and repair that. The starter does not need to be replaced at this time, as the starting problem turned out to be the POS Optima Yellow Top battery. Even though the Auto Store showed the battery as good, it was not. i could not get the car to start so i simply took out the plain jane Interstate battery out of the Escape, connected it up and the car started right up. i drove it over to the audio shop with no further issues...Go figure!! I am replacing the Optima with a Kinetix. I am through with Optima as this is the 4th or 5th one I have had go bad on the SC, and I have hardly driven the car over the last 7 years.

Once the stereo installation is done, the car goes to Performance Race Solutions for a thorough once over and to work on heat containment so the engine bay will be as cool as is possible to get to. They should have it for a week. After that, back to the dyno, so, hopefully, by the end of November (2012

), it will be ready to send to final paint. I plan to then take it to Miami after paint for the new wheels to be made and fit. My goal is to have this car ready for it's formal reveal by Christmas this year. We'll see how it goes...

Thanks to all of you for hanging in there with me for so long...

Ryan

SC400TT · Oct 28, 2012

The good news is the Lexus is being prepped to represent in the Spring Break Nationals this coming May, 2013. I am looking forward to finally getting this car done and completed.

All the MB Quart components and the Alpine V12 amps came out of the Lexus this weekend and were installed in the 4Runner. The head unit is a Pioneer Avic Z2, and it stayed in the Lexus. The 4Runner got a new Soundstream DVD/NAV installed with a back up camera. Looks damned good, sounds damned better!! I seriously enjoyed the drive home tonight in the 4Runner.

I also bought a new DD as the 4Runner is going back to my wife, and she can hardly wait. I am seriously trying not to get the mod bug for the new DD.

I will keep you posted on the Lexus...I relly want to get it finished...

Ryan