Turbocharged Lincoln LS...Video and Pics inside...

Obviously this is not an Explorer, but it sure is "Need For Speed". This is one of the projects I have been busy with lately.

Here are the specs on the mods: Custom Garrett T04E 60 Trim Turbo, FMIC, Tial 38mm WG, SCT Xcal2, Ford GT fuel pump, Cobra 39lb Injectors

I plan to boost it to 4 psi on the street and likely 6-7 for track days. It should make enough power to go 12's. I finally got it out of the garage and started it today. You cannot hear the turbo much because its just idling but the exhaust note itself does sound pretty good.

I just started tuning it so there are no power results yet. Those will come soon.

Here is a quick video of the build. Turbo LS Build Video

 

[justin146]

I like how you used short couplers- it makes the install look cleaner. Did you cut them in half or cut them from a large stock?

Have you ever looked into MIG brazing? It lets you bond steel cold side piping without having to worry about getting goobers in it. If everything goes as planned, I will be istalling an S480 in a Dodge Dakota in the spring and I plan to V-band and MIG braze all of the cold side.

 

[expo5.0]

it really does look great to me

ya, my C43 is around 34xx "wet" although i haven't properly weighed it

i hope to see my goal numbers (350/400) at the wheels. It won't happen until i have the water/meth going and a few exhaust tweaks though. The sc kit on a friend's stock car made 342 and 376 at the wheels, but most people with other benz 430s with the kit are 10-15% below that with everything else stock. It may be that i get well over my goals with what i have planned as well. no one is certain of all the differences between my engine and the 430s, other than that it has some tweaks and makes 22 more hp stock.

all that said- i got a feeling your car will be just as fast anyways. c43 is a bit notorious for being slower than it should be.

 

[justin146]

c43 is a bit notorious for being slower than it should be.

The E430 I was looking at (back when you were first looking at your AMG) was slower than I though it should be. I also drove an M45 that week and fell in love.

 

[expo5.0]

which gen m45?

2003/04 m45 was one of the vehicles that was on my short list of cars i thought might fit my daily transportation/2nd show car needs. However, as i test drove things- lincoln ls!,330ci, m coupe, m45, g35 coupe, jag xk/xj, b5/b6 s4, e46 m3 etc. etc. (the list is too long). I got pretty pumped about the C43 and ended up with it. It feels one-off or special in some way as compared to all the rest- whether it should be a bit faster or not. i figurd i could fix the acceleration. keep in mind the e430 is absolutely huge compared to my car and doesn't even try to keep up with it in handling or braking either.

i just can't enjoy the styling of the newer gen m45 enough to say that i liked it. I also can't really get over how disconnected from the road one feels in any of the infinity vehicles in my opinion. the only other cars that are like that are chevys and non R jaguars, and the infinity's are supposed to compete with bmw heads up... how? i don't know how much they pay the magazines to say they compare at all (and i don't even like bmw's new offerings whatsoever)

i'd have gotten an ls if they had built a newer gen that set itself apart from the older ones. They are great but there are so many on the road and to most people they are all the same etc., would take a lot of mods ot make one look any better than the one your neighbor just got for 7,000 with 150k miles on it. Of course i've had the benz for a year and already dropped enough money that the ls would have been ok too retrospectively, but whatever (my critique of the ls obviously doesn't apply to rocket's car either- he has set his apart just fine!)

ranting over, drew is out! time for work

 

[greenbeer]

LOVE IT!!!!! I used to have an 03 for a company car with the THX sound and all the goodies. Even with the stock 280hp it hauled ass. Almost perfect weight balance too! I'll be waiting for a new video on the street.....

 

[rocket 5979]

Very nice work guy, very clean install. That set up looks like it belongs there...lol You should really sell a kit, I bet you would have a few buyers.

1 thing though, clean that engine compartment!!!!! You can't have a kick ass setup like that with a dirty engine compartment, thats in the rule book!

Awesome job man

Frickea that thing was parked inside the garage the whole time I did the build so it had some time to gather allot of dust. Once it is all done and tuned I will take it for a full detail. I do not plan to offer a full kit as there just is not enough of a market. There would have to be a certain guaranteed amount of kits I would have to sell before turning a decent enough profit to make the venture worthwhile. With the LS and the LS owners that will not happen. Allot of tire-kickers out there. I do sell STS Universal kits. I also plan to sell full builder kits for the LS's too as well as doing some full systems in house, upon request.

I like how you used short couplers- it makes the install look cleaner. Did you cut them in half or cut them from a large stock?

Have you ever looked into MIG brazing? It lets you bond steel cold side piping without having to worry about getting goobers in it. If everything goes as planned, I will be istalling an S480 in a Dodge Dakota in the spring and I plan to V-band and MIG braze all of the cold side.

Some of the couplers I cut and others under the car (less visible) I did not. I wanted the engine bay to appear as clean as possible. Even with that short coupler and the one T-bolt clamp I cannot pull it apart will all my strength so it will take 6 psi no problem.

I ran all aluminum cold side piping, except from the FMIC to the TB which is all mild steel which will be chrome powdercoated. I thought about welding the aluminum but the couplers were just fine with me. Maybe one day I will weld the whole cold side together.

 

[Mikes ls]

What size fuel pump is good for are cars running a 68mm turbo eventually forged internals positions rods. Running 10 12 psi?
I ordered a 340lph in tank fuel pump.
Hope I went big enough?

 

[rocket 5979]

What size fuel pump is good for are cars running a 68mm turbo eventually forged internals positions rods. Running 10 12 psi?
I ordered a 340lph in tank fuel pump.
Hope I went big enough?

If you are referring to the Aeromotive 340lph offering, then that will take you a long way itself. I assume that you will be upgrading fuel lines too. What size injectors will you be running? I assume you will have converted to a return system by that time too....

 

[Mikes ls]

Damn I thought the fuel lines on the 03 would be fine?
The shop shop suggested 40 Pounds would be more than enough for injectors.
U don't mean fuel rails right?
I suggested the cobra ones 39pounds. They said they prefer 40 or 50s
I have the sct xcal tuner to stop the puddling

 

[Mikes ls]

Fact is I don't know enough. I just want the shop to do it right
And work great and not have to upgrade down the road.
Also I'm confused to where the catch tank will go in the engine bay.
I spent 120 on it it's nice I'd hate to hide it though.
Something should be shown as the turbo will be hidden

 

[Mikes ls]

Well I guess I have to upgrade the fuel lines after all.
Just told me that is something they do when the car is in shop to measure correctly.
Silly me

 

[rocket 5979]

Damn I thought the fuel lines on the 03 would be fine?
The shop shop suggested 40 Pounds would be more than enough for injectors.
U don't mean fuel rails right?
I suggested the cobra ones 39pounds. They said they prefer 40 or 50s
I have the sct xcal tuner to stop the puddling

I am curious, in this thread you are talking about going turbo, and in the other you are talking about going with a bigger nitrous shot. Which one will it be?

Just talk to Torrie, I am sure he will get you straightened out. If he is going to be tuning the combo for you then just go with his advice on what fuel system parts to get. As a tuner, there is nothing more irritating than a customer asking for advice on what hardware to get, such as injectors, pumps, etc, only to have them ask someone else and go with different parts than originally suggested. For some tuners that is just a pride thing, but for others they really have technically-based reasons for advising for or against certain parts that they will have to tune for later. I am not saying that your tuner's way is the only way to do things; but if you are thinking about an alternative option to what he recommended then run it by them first just to see what they have to say; since they will have to tune it all to work together in the end.

 

[Mikes ls]

Sorry I'm doing both. First more nitrous tell I have all the parts for the turbo.
I don't know much and just getting as much info I can to Select proper parts for my car

 

[Mikes ls]

There's really no list of things to buy.
I don't want to cheep out either. And the shop has never seen a Lincoln's ls there before.
I love my car to death. And I can't say how much it would make me sad if something went wrong.
So I thought I'd come and look for information on Ls cars that have delt with this already.

I Apologize.

 

[jonlax]

I had a ported to4 on my mazdaspeed 3. Maxed it out at 19 psi, anything over that it lost its efficiency.

Nice build.

 

[rocket 5979]

There's really no list of things to buy.
I don't want to cheep out either. And the shop has never seen a Lincoln's ls there before.
I love my car to death. And I can't say how much it would make me sad if something went wrong.
So I thought I'd come and look for information on Ls cars that have delt with this already.

I Apologize.

No need to apologize at all. I am just giving you the best advice that fits your situation bud. I could give you all sorts of recommendations on parts and sizes, but if your tuner cannot tune it then you will be stuck. I can advise you on the assumption as if I were tuning your car; but Torrie may have a different preference for some items to use. There is more than one way to skin a cat, but in the end the person tuning your car has to get it all working together. I apologize if my previous comment came off as scathing, because it wasn't meant that way. I just would hate to see you buy things that your tuner ends up having an issue tuning for, is all. Like I mentioned earlier, it's totally fine to shop around for options on how to do things for your fuel system, or other items, but make sure that before pulling the trigger, you run it by Torrie first. Most likely he will be good to go with anything you plan on doing that is within reason, but it is just courteous to at least keep your tuner in the loop so that they can guide you a bit.

 

[rocket 5979]

I had a ported to4 on my mazdaspeed 3. Maxed it out at 19 psi, anything over that it lost its efficiency.

Nice build.

That sounds like a fun car you have there Jon.

When looking at compressor adiabatic efficiencies one must take into account the displacement of the engine it is on, in addition to a few other things. While your T04 may have been maxxed at 19 psi on your smaller displacement engine, it will maxx at a lower psi on a larger displacement engine, while moving the same total amount of air, but at a lower boost pressure. Boost pressure is only a small portion of understanding the entire picture here. This is why it is a good idea to have someone plot a turbo compressor map for your application, if it's to be a custom one, so that you can determine if said turbo is a good option to take you where you want to go. Also, there are many different trims of T04 turbos that will exhibit very different adiabatic properties at similar pressure ratios and overall air volume flows.

Attached below are two examples that should help illustrate my point a bit better. Both "T04E" turbos, but with different compressor trims.

 

[jonlax]

Its great to have a map to know what your limiting factors are. Most aftermarket manufacturers come with one. My old shop had some problems a few months back with a r otory engine and a turbo a guy installed. Guys think they can slap an hx35 from a 6bt cummins and have enough backpressure to run it efficiently.

 

[Mikes ls]

I'm planing on going with the same size turbo, ballbearing.
I ordered new 48 mm wastegate and the new tail Q blow off vale.
What are your thoughts on this arrangement ?

 

[rocket 5979]

I'm planing on going with the same size turbo, ballbearing.
I ordered new 48 mm wastegate and the new tail Q blow off vale.
What are your thoughts on this arrangement ?

Sounds good. One thing I would suggest is a higher stall TC in your transmission to allow you to get into the power sooner with the turbos. The BB's will help, but only so much. Get your hotside piping Jet Hot ceramic coated to retain as much heat as possible. And, if not done so already, a limited slip differential for the rear would be a good idea to retain traction. Do that, and with a solid ECU tune your car should be pretty darned respectable.