TRL Performance

JZS161 Aristo V300 Vertex I keep getting VSC, TRACand Engine Check light on and when I grab the fault codes it's fault code 19 which is Throttle Pedal Position Sensor. I measured the sensor and only get a reading from ONE of the variable resistor paths. The other is open circuit. It's drives O.K. and then under breaking and steering the VSC lights up and goes into limp home mode. I've also notice the brake feels weird. It brake really well right until the car is about to come to rest when the pedal just falls to the floor. A bit alarming. Anyone recommend anything else it could be. I think maybe the ABS side of things is a bit suspect? Almost like the ABS isn't able to modulate the pressure from the master cylinder or something? Take your foot off and back on and the pedal feel resumes as it should. Under heavy breaking the ABS does kick in and stops on a knife edge. Anyone know of a VVTi Supra or Aristo V300 being broken or do you have some Parts for sale? I think I need a throttle pedal position sensor for the Lexus V300 Vertex It's the same part on the Altezza, Aristo, NA Supra and TT tiptronic Supra. NOTE this is NOT the throttle POSITION sensor it IS the PEDAL sensor. The one connected to the cable on the throttle body. So on the left of the throttle body (when viewed from the front of the engine) It's electronically linked via a magnetic clutch to the actual throttle control motor. Thanks Pete

JZS161 Aristo V300 Vertex VVTi Throttle Pedal Position Sensor Anyone know of a VVTi Supra or Aristo V300 being broken or do you have some Parts for sale? I need a throttle pedal position sensor for the Lexus V300 Vertex It's the same part on the Altezza, Aristo, NA Supra and TT tiptronic Supra. NOTE this is NOT the throttle POSITION sensor it IS the PEDAL sensor. The one connected to the cable on the throttle body. So on the left of the throttle body (when viewed from the front of the engine) It's electronically linked via a magnetic clutch to the actual throttle control motor. Symptom.... I keep getting VSC, TRACand Engine Check light on and when I grab the fault codes it's fault code 19 which is Throttle Pedal Position Sensor. I measured the sensor and only get a reading from ONE of the variable resistor paths. The other is open circuit. It's drives O.K. and then under breaking and steering the VSC lights up and goes into limp home mode. I've also notice the brake feels weird. It brake really well right until the car is about to come to rest when the pedal just falls to the floor. A bit alarming. Anyone recommend anything else it could be. I think maybe the ABS side of things is a bit suspect? Almost like the ABS isn't able to modulate the pressure from the master cylinder or something? Take your foot off and back on and the pedal feel resumes as it should. Under heavy breaking the ABS does kick in and stops on a knife edge. Thanks Pete

I hate to say it but that's what I said all along to you in my private emails ;) Go to my web site. As you know there is a speedo converter and combined delimiter on their. TRL DSC I know it's advertising but I'm awaiting a mail to get me put on as another sponsor. Pete

GS400 models use ABS information for vehicle speed signal. If a fault is present a DTC (Diagnostic Trouble Code) is set. For GS300,LS400,SC300 and SC400 you have to manually test the sensor. Remove the sensor connector and measure the resistance between the terminals (of the sensor). Resistance should be 560->680Ohms Set a voltmeter to AC and measure between the terminals again and wave a magnet close to the front of the speed sensor (quickly) This should generate a voltage pulse which you should be able to read. I've also dumped some more stuff at http://www.trlperformance.com/personal/Lex...gs300_obdii.gif http://www.trlperformance.com/personal/Lex...3_400_obdii.gif http://www.trlperformance.com/personal/Lex...ls400_obdii.gif Although my web page seems to be dead :-( Might be of some use. Regards Pete

Still no joy then Rik ? I was working on a Tiptronic Supra the other day and that thing wouldn't shift up gears at the correct time, the display was all wrong (gear display) and the traction control would come on all the time. To cut a long story short it was the cr*p speedo converter and installation. It was a right bull in a china shop conversion. No thought had gone into it at all. Now I know your car was fine and then suddenly went wrong and it may have nothing to do with the same problem but someone out there must have an OBDII scanner that can be plugged in for 30s ! You can buy them yourself from the web and as I've said to you I've even considered making one. (or buying one myself) norkep has the manuals so interpreting the codes from the scanner is simple enough. My first avenue with all these things regarding imported cars is remove what is foriegn to the car. i.e. anything not Lexus original. A wire that has been cut, replace and see if the problem goes away. 80% of the time the car goes back to working fine as Lexus/Toyota intended. Then work forward from there. This is because in general the Jap cars are so reliable, I always assume something else first. The scanner will obviously help narrow down the problem quickly but there are other ways to diagnose the problem. Pete

If you suspect the O2 sensor is fouled/dirty and not functioning you could always remove it, stick it in a solution of Lemon juice overnight to clean the deposits off. If after refitting the fuel consumption is not better then get it checked out. Finally replace. Sometimes they do get fouled up and a clean is all you need. Also check wires as well. All to many are replaced without need, just the connector is dirty, wires are broken or just plain dirty. You've got nothing to loose have you? BUT Never just stick a voltmeter between the contacts of the O2 sensor. You'll damage it. Only do so if you know the correct precedure for testing. Regards Pete

>>In Japan, premium unleaded is 100RON, >>which is the diet recommended for the 2JZ-GTE I know. But none of the 2JZ-GTE Supras in the UK have a problem with 98RON Optimax. I run 18psi with no problem. >high ambient temperature build-up (80C/178F) towards >the rear of the engine bay Same deal with the Supra. The UK Spec car has a bonnet vent, ducting air to the turbos. >>My thought was to increase the air flow onto the turbos >>with a bigger duct, then replace the undertray. Yes, or come from the top down with a bonnet scoop. >Water injection kits are about AUD$2,500. ERL sell the Aquamist system which when I last looked was about £350, so just under $1000 AUD You're being done! http://www.aquamist.co.uk/cp/cp.html with an Australian distributor.... MRT Performance (Middleton Rally Team) Professional Rally components 82 Belmore Street Ryde NSW 2112 AUSTRALIA TEL: +61 2 9809 2110 FAX: +61 2 9809 2286 Email: info@mrtrally.com.au Website: www.mrtrally.com.au Contact: Brett Middleton >>Can you tell me a little more about the DCX Infinity. Can you mail me privately. >>Also will the SLD allow the cruise control to be set above 110KMH? Yes, the DSC+SLD will allow this, but again can you mail me privately on this. >The standard plugs are NGK R BKR6EKPB 11's. Go for the 7 series. BKR7EKPB 11 Regards Pete peter@trlperformane.com

I've got one 16MHz band expander left. £21.45 TRL Band Expander Pete

Wayne, > Problem 2 is the biggest drama for me. Assuming ducting doesn't completely > solve the problem, would you try water injection next? Any other > thoughts as > to cause? Is there a way to remap the advance curve to reduce > pre-detonation > while increasing boost? The biggest cause of detonation or knock is 1: lack of fuel or 2: high air/fuel mixture temperatures. Lack of fuel can often mean lack of GOOD fuel. I ALWAYS run the Supra engine on Super Unleaded which is a UK term for fuel at least 98RON. 95RON which is our normal unleaded fuel is absolute rubbish, so it DOES make a hugh difference. 2: Air/Fuel mixture temperatures are normally all to do with the temperature of the air. The air in a turbo charged vehicle is subject to extra heating through the turbo chargers, as air is compressed and molecules smash into one another causing heat. The intercooler attempts to cool this down again whilst maintaining the high air pressure. So you have a number of problems. The intercooler will only be about 60% efficient anyway. Meaning at best it can cool the compressed air down to 60% of the outside ambient air temp. A 100% efficient intercooler would cool the air charge down to exactly ambient. But even the best intercooler in the world won't help if the ambient air temperature is high. So if you live in a hot country a turbo-charged car has problems. There are a number of ways to help the poor efficiency of the intercooler. 1: fit a larger intercooler, bigger volume has a better chance of cooling more air. 2: spray cold water onto the external fins of the intercooler to help heat evapouration 3: Make sure the ambient air coming in from the outside is as cool as possible. i.e. don't go fitting some aftermarket air filter and expect it to be as cool as with your stock air filter system. You need to make sure the air is as close to ambient as possible. i.e. not allowing the engine to heat up the air coming in, called heat soak. 4: duct cool ambient air to the external fins of the intercooler. Ducting is a method of directing the incoming airflow to only go through the intercooler and not around the outside. Ducting must have sealed edges and corners etc. It is NOT neccessary for the frontal area to be the same size as the intercooler area and the rule of thumb that it should be at least 1/4 the size. SO!!! You don't have to go cutting great holes in the front spoiler but you WILL and DO need to make a good duct. Which is why the undertray of the engine is very important, not least of all for high speed stability but also cooling. Don't remove it expecting more air to get in. It won't! Plus your high speed stability will be affected. However DON'T DUCT the incomming air to the air filter. These turboed cars are NOT RAM air systems. The ambient air intake must be placed in a cool but large volume of air so the car can suck as much as it wants. Coming back to ducts. The best ducts are those that are smaller on the outside than the inside. There's a picture in Maximum Boost by Corky Bell. A very good book to read on the subject of turbo-charged cars. ISBN 0-8376-0160-6 I would have attached it but I don't know how. > What process would you follow to increase power? Exhaust? Air > filter? Boost > control & FDC? Other? Remove Catalytic converters and fit straight through exhaust pipe. ONLY fit an aftermarket air filter if it comes with a kit to shroud the filter to prevent heat soak from the engine. Otherwise you might as well stick with the stock one. You may be able to fit a better insert into your stock system though. I don't know. Boost can be raised easily with the addition of a simple bleeder valve fitted in-line with the turbo control pipes. Or an electronic boost controller will do the same thing with more control and flexibility. Increasing boost will mean you hit a boost/fuel cut limitation so a fuel cut controller is next (http://www.trlperformance.com/vfcc.html) Larger intercooler or intercooler spray would be next. Or like me I've fitted water injection which inject water internally to the incomming air flow and mixes with the hot air. There are so many things you can do but first you must sort out your fuel! ALWAYS use the best fuel you can buy. Try fitting cooler grade spark plugs as well. That will help at high RPM. Regards Pete Mr P.Betts TRL Performance peter@trlperformance.com http://www.trlperformance.com the Automotive products division of Temporal Reality Ltd peter@temporal-reality.co.uk http://www.temporal-reality.co.uk a DSP Design Consultancy.

What do you want to achieve. There are many ways to increase power on a turboed vehicle. Simply and cheaply. Most of it D.I.Y. Only if you want serious mods do you need to spend mega bucks. Pete

Thanks for the replies. The HPI and services all check out so I'm happy. All except.......... I NEED 18X10 deep dish alloys. The only thing that sets the car off in my opinion. Anyone know of a place to buy them (or a cheap Lexus dealer) I was quoted £410each+VAT I could get a lot of after market wheel for that price. (3piece split rim) But I like the LEXUS rims so help!!!! Anyone know of someone to ring or who is selling a good 2nd hand set? Or who can get discount at Lexus/Toyota dealers? Pete

I've seen three sports now and none mention SPORT in the log book. Seems highly unlikely that they are all GS300 with body kits and not true Sports models! I think a chassis and engine number check with Lexus would confirm this. Or is there a resource here to check that sort of thing? Did an HPI check on the one I'm interested in and it comes back as a GS300 S So the fact it has all the sport goodies, the right price and mileage I think means that providing the AA check comes back O.K. I'll be a Lexus owner in a couple of days. Regards Pete

Am I correct in saying the GS300 and the GS300 Sport are only different in 1: Lowered Suspension 2: 18" alloys 3: Rear boot spoiler ?? I only ask as I've just seen a nice GS300 Sport but when I view the log book it only says GS300, no mention of Sport? Should the log book say Sport or do I have to check the chassis number or something to check? It seems a bargain 105K miles for £6995 So is it a Sport or the non-sport with bits added? :?: Thanks Pete

My initial question was related to the aftermarket fitting of a traction control system. In my personal opinion the UK spec traction system (as fitted to the Supra, sorry to bring that up again) is bad. It's very harsh and will apply breaking and throttle control which is way O.T.T and can leave you with sluggish response. What I mean is you can be accelerating from a junction and get minor slip but the TC cuts in and buries your cars power into the floor, great when you want to nip into traffic and suddenly the car accelerates like a lemon. The aftermarket RLTC was far far superior as it was completely user configurable to your own tastes and has adjustable settings. So in the wet you choose wet! and in the damp you can reduce the assistance right up to dry when you have limited assistance. Most people I know turn the stock system off, any most people who have spun their Supras had the stock TC on, so shows how good it is. This all leads to a TC that is completely invisible to the driver. If the UK Spec MkI GS300 does not have TC then I was asking does it have enough power to induce wheel slip? (I'm still trying to find one I want to buy, seeing two this week) If so I will be budgeting for the RLTC system and fitting it. Regards Pete

I've certainly fitted stuff to cars and taken complete ECU/speedo units apart and refitted without any problem. I've got signal generators, portable oscilloscopes and loads of test gear so I'm not at all phased by taking something apart to see how it works. You should see what I've done to mine and it's still working 100%. Even when I finally get my own GS300 I'll be taking it apart just to see whats what. Most of the problems with conversion is the correct wiring. A good solid converter box is also a key (some I've seem clock up miles when you are stood still!) I did mine to have the original signal, 5/8ths scaled signal and a frequency clamped signal all in one plus I put in a +/- 10% user calibration function to enable you to correct for change in rolling radius of wheel, differential gearing or correct inaccuracies in the speedo generally. It's all software programmable (in situ) so any mods or updates can be made to the car in the future. I can also make specific units to peoples spec (i.e. they have a spare output wire which could be used to trigger something at a certain speed or something) Anyway, enough of my ranting. If anyone is up in the Midlands area or fancies a journey I'd be more than happy to help out. Or I'll see you at Billing next month (I'll be on the Supra stand as well) All details would then be posted on my site for all people to see, and use in the future. I don't believe in holding on to that sort of info. Pete