- Messages
- 4,790
- Location
- Houston, TX
I've been compiling some comparisons between the two engine designs and families, and the similarities are striking. First, some fundamental differences:
Ferrari V8's have a flat plane crank with that configuration's firing order (2 x 4 cylinders), Lexus have a cross plane with a chebbie firing order.
Their cylinder numbering is quite different too, as Ferrari put #1 as the front cylinder, right bank, and then number the cylinders sequentially down the right bank, around the flywheel end and up the left bank, so you wind up with #8 as the front cylinder, left bank.
Ferrari have a dry sump design with a designed for purpose internal, chain driven oil pump, with multiple scavenge/pressure stages, Lexus is wet sump with an integral crank driven oil pump
Ferrari V8's are designed to be high RPM screamers, Lexus are low RPM cruisers
Interestingly, Ferrari have hydraulic lifters while the later Lexus design has SUB (shim under bucket) lifters (which arguably are more suited to high rpm work than hydraulic)
Here's a comparison table that I've compiled so far. The Lexus 3UZ and Ferrari 430 engine are the most similar in terms of displacement, but look at the size of the Lexus rod and main journals as compared to Ferrari's!
With a flat plane crank, 4 new cams, some modified chebbie Ti rods and new pistons, you could have an 8500 RPM Lexus screamer that sounds just like a Ferrari 430
I'd think you'd probably need to work on the oiling system a bit, however, as I understand that was the undoing of another 9500 RPM screamer a few years ago.....
Ferrari V8's have a flat plane crank with that configuration's firing order (2 x 4 cylinders), Lexus have a cross plane with a chebbie firing order.
Their cylinder numbering is quite different too, as Ferrari put #1 as the front cylinder, right bank, and then number the cylinders sequentially down the right bank, around the flywheel end and up the left bank, so you wind up with #8 as the front cylinder, left bank.
Ferrari have a dry sump design with a designed for purpose internal, chain driven oil pump, with multiple scavenge/pressure stages, Lexus is wet sump with an integral crank driven oil pump
Ferrari V8's are designed to be high RPM screamers, Lexus are low RPM cruisers
Interestingly, Ferrari have hydraulic lifters while the later Lexus design has SUB (shim under bucket) lifters (which arguably are more suited to high rpm work than hydraulic)
Here's a comparison table that I've compiled so far. The Lexus 3UZ and Ferrari 430 engine are the most similar in terms of displacement, but look at the size of the Lexus rod and main journals as compared to Ferrari's!
With a flat plane crank, 4 new cams, some modified chebbie Ti rods and new pistons, you could have an 8500 RPM Lexus screamer that sounds just like a Ferrari 430
I'd think you'd probably need to work on the oiling system a bit, however, as I understand that was the undoing of another 9500 RPM screamer a few years ago.....Attachments
Last edited:
