Tuning my supercharged TOYOTA / LEXUS V8 - how I finally hit safe AFRs (Injectors, NEO, Enricher)

[@machedari]

I’ve always thought about doing something like this to my LS400 for more power and your videos give me a little hope. I don’t know how this will work with my ECU so I may just do headers and call it a day 😅

[@johnshaw3208]

Speed academy did the same supercharger install on a LS430.

[@machedari]

@@johnshaw3208 unfortunately the company they contracted for their ecu tuning only does LS430s and up so Im out of luck. I’ve seen some New Zealanders using piggyback ecus for their LS400s but Im not ready for all that trouble.

[@plekk_9684]

dont cheap out on headers,i bought some for my gs300 and they barley fit

[@machedari]

@@plekk_9684 Im thinking of getting the PPE headers but the only issue is that they’re $1,200 😢

[@plekk_9684]

@@machedari save up for it, my headers were 400$ dollars and it took me the whole day and heating of the metal to get it to fit

[@catchfeelings8459]

Nice work on the tuning! Thanks for the step by step. Very informative.

[@XZLR8N]

I'm following your build closely. You've done very well and I'm learning along the way.

[@deimosphob]

split second also makes the ftc-1 for the gs400 in particular, you have to ask them for it but you get closed/open loop tuning, timing adjustment, etc. It acts more like a standalone but you need windows xp, same thing with the ecumasters det3 that can also be used with these cars. Both fairly cheap being essentially 4 cylinder piggyback ecu's.

[@ForwardMomentum]

Sounds like a similar device to what I ran on my supercharged 4Runner back in the day (Perfect Power SMT-6). We Tuned it with an old laptop.

[@deimosphob]

@@ForwardMomentum Thats crazy, you had a 4runner too? what generation cuz I had a 3rd gen I built out lol.

[@ForwardMomentum]

Yep! 3rd gen. 3.4, 5-speed manual, etc. In fact, here’s an old vid of it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r2nWi4GhdpqVfLc

[@deimosphob]

@@ForwardMomentum I see you had a 96, same exact year too lol. Makes me miss mine. And your old channel is cdaviesaz, you from az too?

[@ForwardMomentum]

@deimosphob yep, 96. Too funny. I actually had 6 of them, but mostly flipped them for mod $. I’m not from AZ but I lived there for a bit. If you have IG I’m on there and we could chat about old times a bit. Those 3G4R were stout!

[@bryansenulis7242]

Iv melted couple 2jz till I went stand alone ecm

[@danielgrace7408]

Would a haltech 2500 do the job and just fix the problem with just a couple of strokes of a keyboard. I heard it can even control the transmission. Pretty cool info thanks for video!!!

[@bobbuilder5362]

I'm glad you found the NEO plus enricher is working for you. Sometimes the simple solutions are best. Going for a full standalone ecu can often introduce new issues, but can be done with a parallel install and keeping factory ecu in place. Many people have had good success with the Emanage ultimate for another piggy back option, has an Aux output that allows you to switch O2s off at given load/ rpm/ psi etc

[@ForwardMomentum]

Thanks. I’d love to go stand-alone someday. That sounds like a decent option. Thanks for sharing!

[@bobbuilder5362]

@@ForwardMomentum If you are considering stand alone. Link and Haltech have some good options.

[@shameermalik5540]

Gs 430s are so cheap here in dubai. My uncle owns one and i am in love with it. I am going to buy one and do all this modding.

[@silencer25321]

Awesome work my dude. Always learning something new from you. :) I still have to tune my NEO on the 430 then possibly picking up a Split Second after watching what it does.

[@ForwardMomentum]

Excellent! Thanks for the kind words! 👊

[@johnshaw3208]

Looks like fun. Enjoy your manual transmission supercharged V8 Sedan. Not too many of those around. I wonder how many people underestimate your car's straight line performance? Would you consider it a sleeper?

[@ForwardMomentum]

It kind of depends on who is next to me. Most don’t really notice the car. My favorite is blasting past people in 2nd gear on a roll. The car really flies there. 3rd gear gets scary fast on public roads quickly, so I don’t get to try that out much. I like the power availability without having to rev it out most. Even short shifting it results in spirited acceleration. It’s a lot of fun!

[@theautochap]

Hello! Thanks for the wonderful and detailed series. It was really informative and down the road I plan to supercharge my 98’ SC 400. I have two questions: 1) There is a common complaint with the SAFC-NEO that the stock ECU relearns over time and during closed-loop, parameters go back to what the stock ECU is used to causing a lean condition again. Did you experience this? Would you say the SAFC is a complete solution for low levels of boost? 2) Were you able to pass emissions with your setup without any issues? Many thanks! 😊

[@ForwardMomentum]

Hi and thanks for the good questions. 1) I heard warnings about this as well, but haven’t experienced it in a few years of owning the NEO - ever. I watch the fuel trims closely and sometimes they will drift a bit after a few months (closed loop) and I need to make some adjustments on the NEO Lo map to knock the trims back towards zero. Open loop stays constant. I do think it’s an acceptable solution, but it’s not the best one. A stand-alone would be best, but they’re very expensive. 2) No issue with emissions, but inspection here consists of looking for diagnostic codes and making sure emissions equipment is still there (like the cats). I hope that helps! Don’t tell anyone, but the SC400 is one of my favorite LEXUS bodies/look. 👍

[@theautochap]

@@ForwardMomentum Wonderful that’s exactly what I wanted to hear! I agree that standalones are prohibitively expensive AND they make it nigh on impossible to pass emissions. Thank you for your answers, they were very helpful! Your channel is great by the way, I have a 2nd gen. GS 300 but still find your videos very informative and fun to watch. Keep it up! 😊

[@fishdishh4306]

If we dont have the post cat o2 sensors anymore, do we have to wire them for the enricher?

[@ForwardMomentum]

I would ask SplitSecond about that. They’re pretty responsive.

[@fishdishh4306]

@@ForwardMomentum what wiring diagram did you use?

[@ForwardMomentum]

I literally typed “LEXUS GS400 ECU pinout” into Google and cross-referenced the best contenders. When enough of them matched up I knew I had a winner. You can also do the same thing using a Google image search. It works pretty well.

[@JJBToyotaSupra]

Been following this series for a bit. Nice work! Just wondering why not go full standalone at this stage? Cost? Also what do you figure you're making for HP now? Think you're close to the limit for the stock rods?

[@ForwardMomentum]

Thanks! A standalone is about $2300 and all it would really gain me is some flexibility. I might be able to find some HP here and there, sure, but the car performs really well as-is and that was always my goal: to build a really well-rounded DD. I figure I’m around 315-320whp (stock is 235-245). The limit seems to be around 400-450whp on these on a stock bottom end, depending on where that power is made. My buddy has the exact same car and he’s at 362whp at 9psi. So I have some room but not sure I care to push it anyway. 😎

[@marcochavanne]

You can toss some Eagle Forged rods in it for under $800 and really get wild.

[@ForwardMomentum]

The ring lands tend to go before the rods bend, so I’m going to keep it closed up for now. Headers and LSD are next. 👍

[@michaelcharity3577]

Open Loop Tuning Question: Are you adjusting the trims so they are close to zero thru the rpm ranges OR are you doing so to keep the AFR in the 11'ish range?

[@ForwardMomentum]

It’s a juggling act. I’m doing whatever it takes for the car to hit 11-11.5AFR in OL. With larger injectors that means I’m pulling fuel in most places -14 to -18 (at the time I am typing this). The exception to that rule is where I have the Lo maps pulling even more fuel to hit my STFT targets (1K-2500RPM). On the Lo maps in that range I’m -26 to -29, but what I learned the other day is that I need to richen the Hi maps a bit in that range as well. The reason I richen the Hi maps in that range is for that space in between CL and OL transition (where the Enricher kicks in). So my Hi maps in the 1K-2500 are now -2 to -8, then at 3K RPM it pulls more fuel like say, -14, and goes from there. It’s hard to explain but what I’m doing is trying to smooth daily driving conditions in CL, richen the fuel in between CL and OL, and then hit 11-11.5 AFR in OL. It’s a dance. Clear as mud? 😆

[@michaelcharity3761]

Ok. I get it. That helps. Thanks :)

[@victorvelcea]

Do you think for a GS300 single turbo on about 4-8 psi the apexi would work by itself (with bigger injectors)?

[@ForwardMomentum]

Yes, but you may want to consider going from MAF to MAP for the NEO. Also, pre-boost enrichment would be a good idea. In the end, having control of timing and fuel is always safest. There’s less margin for error with just an AFC.

[@victorvelcea]

@@ForwardMomentum My solution would be having the MAF before the turbo and just recirculating the BOV (after the MAF but before the turbo). About the enrichment, what solution do you suggest? The one you have in your Lexus? Would it run lean without one?

[@ForwardMomentum]

I have a SS Enricher. It smooths out the pre-boost to boost transition and fueling a bit. I will admit that I am not a 2J specialist, so I can only share my experiences in a general sense. There are others far more qualified in giving 2J NA-T guidance. There’s a few FB pages that can help, also a lot of good info on ClubLexus as well. Let me know what you decide to do. Also, don’t forget the transmission. I hate the A650 and despite what you may read, it could end up being your weak link, even at low boost. The 2J A650 is even weaker than the 1UZ version, which I managed to fry with no boost. A manual or beefier AT is highly advised.

[@victorvelcea]

@@ForwardMomentum Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions! There are a few guys here in the UK that ran this setup (2jz vvti with stock auto) to 320-350whp at under 10psi of boost with no real issues and that is my goal as well.

[@thomasduarte2260]

Hey question unrelated to the video, I have a GS400 and it’s transmission is slipping like crazy. So I’m planning on replacing it. Do you know if it needs to be reprogrammed at all once I replace it?

[@ForwardMomentum]

I have never heard of that being required. Pulling the negative off during the job and replacing it after should be all that’s needed.

[@machedari]

Or you may just have to do a transmission fluid change if you haven’t done one. It worked wonders for my LS400.

[@thomasduarte2260]

@@machedari Did you have similar symptoms? Mine slips at low gearing but does pretty well once I’m up and going. It also struggles really bad going up hill. Could be torque converter? Idk

[@thomasduarte2260]

@@ForwardMomentum Thanks!

[@machedari]

@@thomasduarte2260 Mine mostly was shifting very slow and jerking randomly on the low gears while accelerating and downshifting. I left it draining overnight and got 6quarts out. I filled it up with some toyota type 4 trans fluid and it’s been smooth ever since. If it isn’t the fluid then your solenoids could be failing. I tried the fluid change first because it’s never been done in my car and it worked so I never had to replace any solenoids or the transmission itself.

[@MrRourk]

What year is your 400?

[@ForwardMomentum]

98

[@MrRourk]

@@ForwardMomentum Thanks. You did a great job and that car is beautiful

[@ForwardMomentum]

Thank you. I appreciate the kind words. 🙏

[@bryansenulis7242]

The problem with every iv heard is u can not mess with ign timing...bet that why it blew up

[@robertstothart27]

We need to get you into a standalone 😅

[@ForwardMomentum]

There are “Thanks” and “Super Thanks” buttons below. Car runs fantastic as-is, but I’m accepting donations for a SA. 😂

[@ssn608]

what long ago episode??? Not helpful for me trying to see a video on how to replace injectors on my GS400....

[@ForwardMomentum]

Did you actually try to find it? I have playlists set up and you can search easily by my username to find it. Here, I’ll just give you the link: kzbin.info/www/bejne/roSmZ4ull8doaNU

[@ssn608]

@@ForwardMomentum Actually, yes. I trided for a quite some time, looking through your list of videos for something had injectors in the title.. Then did word seaches for injector on the transcripts of several of the likely ones,, and skimmed throught episode 3 of the supercharging series/ And I didn't find it. I don't know why. So THANK YOU (very much) for the direct link. I will say that I'm glad to have found your channel, it's well done, and a lot of it is specific to our car... the GS400. I'm going to do the rear brake light hack tomorrow. But I have a lean running number 1 cylinder, and it wasn't fixed by a bottle of injector cleaner. So, sicne I have 150K miles on the vehicle, I thought I would just change out the injector. But want to see a video on how to do it, because while I am not afreaid to work on a car / truck (I installed a pretty complete BANKS package on my truck, and have built an airplane), I don't have a shop manual, and just want to get a good handle on how much trouble it's going to be......

[@ForwardMomentum]

Piece of cake if you’ve done all that before. If you let the car sit the fuel press goes to zero after maybe two hours by design. So you won’t have a major fuel leak when you loosen the fuel rail and gently pull it up. Yes, fuel will leak, so be ready for that. But once you loosen the fuel rail bolts, you can pull the rail up. Remove the injector, replace the injector and bolt the rail back down. The biggest thing with injectors on these cars is to make sure that they’re seated properly. I will typically seat them by turning them rapidly back-and-forth clockwise and counterclockwise the seals seat into the intake manifold port. You can also get the factory service manual online in a couple places. First, I do a Google search for exactly what I’m looking for and see if the page shows up in the Google images. Second, you can go to Toyota information services or TIS and pay $15 I think and get a day pass, then download everything you want from there. That’s a couple options for you but the job really isn’t that hard and I’m sure you’ll get it on the first try. All that being said, it sounds like you scanned the car and you’re convinced that cylinder number one is running lean. can you tell me what your code is? Because if it’s P0171 then bank one is running lean. And if bank one is running lean, then it’s usually a vacuum leak between the MAF and throttle body. Which is very common on these cars. Let me know.

[@bryansenulis7242]

It's over advance ign timing and u need to retard timing under boos so not get knock/ bend rods or melt piston or heads...

[@josedesveladas2112]

Your a Pro.

[@swordsmenbacon9347]

Nice

[@luthersullivan5141]

First! Excited for this!!

[@serialten]

👍

[@ابوعزامالسفياني-ن6غ]

✋🌹

[@uuv.10]

🔥✌️👍

[@bryansenulis7242]

Ask me how I know lol