Engine out! Officially done after this...

[sbproducer]

Emira just went into the shop Monday morning. Here is the list of what's going in... The full mod list is in my signature. Pretty sure I'm done after this.

ENGINE: Aerie Motorsports Header / Valvetronic Titanium Exhaust / JB4 Tuner / JUBU Cooling Upgrade 2GR / JUBU Cooling Hose Upgrade Kit / JUBU Pulley Upgrade Kit / JUBU Aluminum Alternator Pulley

TRANSMISSION: XClutch Stage 1 / JUBU Torque Insulator Upgrade Kit

SUSPENSION, BRAKES, WHEELS: Nitron R1 Fast Road Coilovers

MISC.: JUBU Ventilation Kit / Lotus Baffled Oil Pan / JUBU Aluminum Flaps

Notables:

1. Yes, that's right, I'm going JB4 with OBD2 connected. I like the continuous monitoring and adjustments. I'm pretty sure it will be enough for me, especially with full bolt-ons and JUBU cooling.

2. For exhaust, going titanium with JUBU ventilation kit.

3. I decided to go engine out for the clutch upgrade and easier motor mount installation. The Emira really needs those motor mounts..

4. Switching from GRP lowering kit to the Nitron R1 Fast Road Coilovers. My axel boots were leaking. Not gonna point fingers or investigate. Don't have the time for it. Could be the installation, the sleeves, Lotus, a combination... don't care enough to try. Shop is rebuilding boots and I'll have to bring it back just for the coilovers as building and shipping will take a month on those.

Once everything is done.. about a week for everything but the coilovers, I'll post a review.

 

[mmattt]

Following

 

[Lots_Of_Trouble]

Love it

 

[TFS]

Following too. Sound really good mods list

 

[NJemira85]

Emira just went into the shop Monday morning. Here is the list of what's going in... The full mod list is in my signature. Pretty sure I'm done after this.

ENGINE: Aerie Motorsports Header / Valvetronic Titanium Exhaust / JB4 Tuner / JUBU Cooling Upgrade 2GR / JUBU Cooling Hose Upgrade Kit / JUBU Pulley Upgrade Kit / JUBU Aluminum Alternator Pulley / JUBU Torque Insulator Upgrade Kit

TRANSMISSION: XClutch Stage 1 / Powerflex Trans Mount Bushings

SUSPENSION, BRAKES, WHEELS: Nitron R1 Fast Road Coilovers

MISC.: JUBU Ventilation Kit / Lotus Baffled Oil Pan / JUBU Aluminum Flaps

Notables:

1. Yes, that's right, I'm going JB4 with OBD2 connected. I like the continuous monitoring and adjustments. I'm pretty sure it will be enough for me, especially with full bolt-ons and JUBU cooling.

2. For exhaust, going titanium with JUBU ventilation kit.

3. I decided to go engine out for the clutch upgrade and easier motor mount installation. The Emira really needs those motor mounts..

4. Switching from GRP lowering kit to the Nitron R1 Fast Road Coilovers. My axel boots were leaking. Not gonna point fingers or investigate. Don't have the time for it. Could be the installation, the sleeves, Lotus, a combination... don't care enough to try. Shop is rebuilding boots and I'll have to bring it back just for the coilovers as building and shipping will take a month on those.

Once everything is done.. about a week for everything but the coilovers, I'll post a review.

At this point you’re spending 75% of the requisite labor and 80%~ of what it would take to rev to 8500 and make God Damn Supercar power.

Don’t regret not taking out saddam after DS1.

Commence the valves, valve springs, con rods and pistons by. Be legendary

 

[TFS]

At this point you’re spending 75% of the requisite labor and 80%~ of what it would take to rev to 8500 and make God Damn Supercar power.

Don’t regret not taking out saddam after DS1.

Commence the valves, valve springs, con rods and pistons by. Be legendary

Great idea.. I want to so this too.. where should I get those parts? And does it need tuning, with other words can jb4 tune do that or does it need a proper ecu tune.. vf tuner stile.. which we still not seen yet

 

[NJemira85]

Great idea.. I want to so this too.. where should I get those parts? And does it need tuning, with other words can jb4 tune do that or does it need a proper ecu tune.. vf tuner stile.. which we still not seen yet

Yes, exceeding redline required a tuned g6 ecu or a standalone ecu.

Friend have dyno results next week for VF.

 

[HydroJim]

No point in putting too much power down if the transmission can't take it reliably.

 

[MiamiBlue]

How much have you spent on this build? I admire your dedication to the platform. Looking forward to the results, and hopefully it proves reliable.

 

[NJemira85]

No point in putting too much power down if the transmission can't take it reliably.

A fair point. Looks like he’s doing clutch. What other parts are we worried about?

@mikemc @Porter should he do shifter forks while he’s in there? Any other internal tranny stuff preventative?

(Mike pls don’t get mad at me for the ping, you’re the expert on this stuff, thank you for your service )

Ounce of prevention is worth $10k of labor to get the damn thing out again…

 

[rzem6bay]

Emira just went into the shop Monday morning. Here is the list of what's going in... The full mod list is in my signature. Pretty sure I'm done after this.

ENGINE: Aerie Motorsports Header / Valvetronic Titanium Exhaust / JB4 Tuner / JUBU Cooling Upgrade 2GR / JUBU Cooling Hose Upgrade Kit / JUBU Pulley Upgrade Kit / JUBU Aluminum Alternator Pulley / JUBU Torque Insulator Upgrade Kit

TRANSMISSION: XClutch Stage 1 / Powerflex Trans Mount Bushings

SUSPENSION, BRAKES, WHEELS: Nitron R1 Fast Road Coilovers

MISC.: JUBU Ventilation Kit / Lotus Baffled Oil Pan / JUBU Aluminum Flaps

Notables:

1. Yes, that's right, I'm going JB4 with OBD2 connected. I like the continuous monitoring and adjustments. I'm pretty sure it will be enough for me, especially with full bolt-ons and JUBU cooling.

2. For exhaust, going titanium with JUBU ventilation kit.

3. I decided to go engine out for the clutch upgrade and easier motor mount installation. The Emira really needs those motor mounts..

4. Switching from GRP lowering kit to the Nitron R1 Fast Road Coilovers. My axel boots were leaking. Not gonna point fingers or investigate. Don't have the time for it. Could be the installation, the sleeves, Lotus, a combination... don't care enough to try. Shop is rebuilding boots and I'll have to bring it back just for the coilovers as building and shipping will take a month on those.

Once everything is done.. about a week for everything but the coilovers, I'll post a review.

Warranty claim be like: but sir, there is no Lotus part left in your Emira

Joking aside, this is awesome and I’m eagerly waiting to hear how the car is transformed after this!

 

[sbproducer]

At this point you’re spending 75% of the requisite labor and 80%~ of what it would take to rev to 8500 and make God Damn Supercar power.

Don’t regret not taking out saddam after DS1.

Commence the valves, valve springs, con rods and pistons by. Be legendary

@NJemira85 I did consider valve springs and pistons.. I did .. I really did. @mikemc recommended this and I did listen.

And yes, I was also waiting for @VF Tuner .. I even bought the pulley and belt for more boost.

Also, I knew that I wanted to upgrade my clutch and definitely put in the motor mounts which both require engine out. JUBU instructions say differently on the motor mounts but both Shinoo @ Inokinetic and I both agree that it's borderline false advertising. That's not a shot at JUBU. Not many people are going to buy motor mounts knowing they'll have to engine out for it. So, technically since "anything is possible" like mutant mechanics with exceptionally long arms that bend in 5 places..

The Emira really needs the motor mounts in my opinion. When you're driving aggressively and you're letting go of the gas or going full throttle quickly .. you can really feel the engine go back and forth in this car. That's not limited to the Emira.. I just think it's more pronounced than other manuals I've driven.. and it's really bothersome to me. It's like playing Call of Duty and the screen shakes for no good reason while you're aiming.

At the end of the day, I decided to not mess with internals and go JB4 Tuner for the following reasons:

1) I don't want to die just yet. This winter I realized that the Emira is much snappier when its not bogged down by heat. 50 to 80 more horsepower with better cooling would probably be enough for me and the roads.
2) Switching out internals always comes with 2nd party risk (parts) and 3rd party risk (installation). It would literally no longer be a well-tested reliable Toyota engine.. which we complain about but say, "Hey, at least it's reliable and cheap to fix."
3) An increased redline would be cool.. but for me it's not necessary. I haven't felt claustrophobic about the rev space and, since I have the reflexes of a wild cheetah, the jarring fuel cut for me has been easily avoided with the flashing display that I see well with peripheral vision. I think I hit fuel cut 2 times in 10,000 miles.
4) I do believe @VF Tuner will have a legitimate product but I just got tired of waiting.
5) There are pros and cons to both the piggyback and ecu tune. With the piggyback, you get real-time monitoring and adjustments that are "tailored" to what is going on with the car. With the ecu tune.. you kind of get a standard tune based on the test car. I have heard reports of cars running better on JB4 piggybacks and ecu tunes causing issues. This is a real thing.

This entire line of reasoning above can change at any moment and I'll have a better idea after a couple thousand miles of driving with the JB4. I'll update when I have some answers.

 

[sbproducer]

How much have you spent on this build? I admire your dedication to the platform. Looking forward to the results, and hopefully it proves reliable.

Including the PPF/Ceramic and mod installation costs.. probably .. honestly I stopped counting so I can't remember but .. I don't know .. maybe around $40,000.. sounds like a lot but.. It's like buying a $150,000 Emira. If it feels anything like what I'm assuming it's gonna feel like and considering Porsche inflated prices.. it's not a bad deal in my opinion.

EDIT: Honestly, I'm kind of afraid to actually sit down and tally it all up. Kind of painful to the heart.. but I'm kind of lucky to be able to do all of this (even though I paid dearly for it with as they say "blood, sweat, and tears").

If I can get it to last 100,000 to 150,000 miles without any significant issues over expected wear and tear and the occasional new part, I won't regret any of it. That's a dollar per mile.

 

[rzem6bay]

Including the PPF/Ceramic and mod installation costs.. probably .. honestly I stopped counting so I can't remember but .. I don't know .. maybe around $40,000.. sounds like a lot but.. It's like buying a $150,000 Emira. If it feels anything like what I'm assuming it's gonna feel like and considering Porsche inflated prices.. it's not a bad deal in my opinion.

EDIT: Honestly, I'm kind of afraid to actually sit down and tally it all up. Kind of painful to the heart.. but I'm kind of lucky to be able to do all of this (even though I paid dearly for it with as they say "blood, sweat, and tears").

If I can get it to last 100,000 to 150,000 miles without any significant issues over expected wear and tear and the occasional new part, I won't regret any of it. That's a dollar per mile.

It’s gonna worth it. It doesn’t look like you’ve over spent because even at $150K you’re getting a better price per performance and handling compared to other cars in that range. Not to mention some of your budget went to PPF which you would have done on any other car you would have purchased instead of Emira.

 

[NJemira85]

Including the PPF/Ceramic and mod installation costs.. probably .. honestly I stopped counting so I can't remember but .. I don't know .. maybe around $40,000.. sounds like a lot but.. It's like buying a $150,000 Emira. If it feels anything like what I'm assuming it's gonna feel like and considering Porsche inflated prices.. it's not a bad deal in my opinion.

EDIT: Honestly, I'm kind of afraid to actually sit down and tally it all up. Kind of painful to the heart.. but I'm kind of lucky to be able to do all of this (even though I paid dearly for it with as they say "blood, sweat, and tears").

If I can get it to last 100,000 to 150,000 miles without any significant issues over expected wear and tear and the occasional new part, I won't regret any of it. That's a dollar per mile.

The only part I feel is dubious, value wise, is paying the labor bill to take engine out only to leave stock internals alone.

I’d expect VF dyno results within 10 days.

I love jb4 stuff, but the 6800 redline and oem torque limited means we all may be capped around 480whp.

Why bother with a new clutch if you’re only going to make 480whp max?

Maybe just wait on engine out until ecu options resolve.

InoKinetic is also making sounds about a flash option.

Sometimes strategic patience pays dividends

 

[sbproducer]

The only part I feel is dubious, value wise, is paying the labor bill to take engine out only to leave stock internals alone.

I’d expect VF dyno results within 10 days.

I love jb4 stuff, but the 6800 redline and oem torque limited means we all may be capped around 480whp.

Why bother with a new clutch if you’re only going to make 480whp max?

Maybe just wait on engine out until ecu options resolve.

InoKinetic is also making sounds about a flash option.

Sometimes strategic patience pays dividends

You're absolutely right but I don't have to upgrade internals or engine out for a stage 1 flash..

 

[NJemira85]

You're absolutely right but I don't have to upgrade internals or engine out for a stage 1 flash..

Agree and that’s kinda what I’m sayin!!

 

[sbproducer]

Agree and that’s kinda what I’m sayin!!

I’m not ruling out a stage 1 flash lol.. just hoping the JB4 will be enough

 

[sbproducer]

The anticipation is starting to get to me..

 

[NJemira85]

The anticipation is starting to get to me..

I get that truly, no one been chasing this windmill longer.

But to spend $20k to get 480whp which anyone can get for $900 installed. Nah bro

Don’t go out like that