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LC Engineering Turbo motor...disappointment??

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Old Dec 20, 2008 | 05:15 PM
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Erik Beeman's Avatar
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LC Engineering Turbo motor...disappointment??

I was watching a video of a dyno run...it was posted in one of the forums... The beginning in the video it displays what is done to the truck, in which it says turbo LC Engineering engine...long story short, at the end, it says "197hp, 237 (i think) torque...


Now, I've been looking into the turbo LC engine...it's around $6K...but if it only put 197hp to the wheels, I'll opt to build my own. For a turbo motor, I don't care if its only 4cyl, paying $6K for less than 200hp seems horrible. Are these motors really only putting out 200?
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Old Dec 20, 2008 | 05:17 PM
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Skip the 22r and do a 3.4 swap if you wanna spend that much money.
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Old Dec 20, 2008 | 05:18 PM
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corax's Avatar
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I got a 200hp 7MGE ('86.5-'91 Supra) into my 'runner for less than $1,500 . . . now that motor has potential if you want to add forced induction
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Old Dec 20, 2008 | 05:21 PM
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damn I spent 6K on my B-Series honda engine and that thing's built to handle 450hp. Only running 300 right now though.

Sounds like a waste of money, the LCE engine. Do a 1UZ swap I'd like to do that one day...when I have money...lol
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Old Dec 20, 2008 | 05:24 PM
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No rudeness intended, but I knew I'd get you guys that say "do this swap do that swap, put this motor in, do a 3.4, 1jz...ya ya ya".


I was asking about the LC motors. =}
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Old Dec 20, 2008 | 05:25 PM
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I guess you guys are right...I can just buy a crate 350 with 400hp for 6K, if I want to spend that money........right?
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Old Dec 20, 2008 | 05:42 PM
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At least spend 6k on a Toyota engine.
Bigblock
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Old Dec 20, 2008 | 05:45 PM
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I don't know anyone who's offered a cheap way to get mega-horsepower from a 22re. There's some cheating available, but once you pop over around 120 hp from a 22re, the cost escalates dramatically. Best I've seen is about $1000 per 20 hp... and all of it comes with reduced reliablility.
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Old Dec 20, 2008 | 05:52 PM
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Originally Posted by AP4CHE
Skip the 22r and do a 3.4 swap if you wanna spend that much money.
No joke at least it can be turbo'd or SC'd.

Aaron
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Old Dec 20, 2008 | 05:56 PM
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Put it this way, LCE is top of the line. They build 4 cylinders for racing. You get what you pay for, $6k gets you 197hp at the wheels and a bulletproof motor. I would not want a turbo motor on a rock crawler though. More desert racing, long travel, circle track. Most motors/turbos don't boost until about 2500 rpms unless its a tiny turbo. You have to keep the engine up to speed to get the power.
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Old Dec 20, 2008 | 06:54 PM
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Originally Posted by stagger_lee
Put it this way, LCE is top of the line. They build 4 cylinders for racing. You get what you pay for, $6k gets you 197hp at the wheels and a bulletproof motor. I would not want a turbo motor on a rock crawler though. More desert racing, long travel, circle track. Most motors/turbos don't boost until about 2500 rpms unless its a tiny turbo. You have to keep the engine up to speed to get the power.
I will counter that a bit though and suggest that the turbo could be lost and replaced with a supercharger without significant detriment. The engine management system LC offers for use with their turbo works equally as well with a supercharger. You'd then have a low-end-torque engine suitable for crawling....
But then maybe too much torque at low rpm's won't work with low gear ratios, making a turbo more suitable for a dual-purpose crawler/street engine.
Many variables to consider....
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Old Dec 20, 2008 | 07:30 PM
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From: chippawa niagara falls ontario
you could do a diesel swap for that much...i heard with just a superchip my diesel can get 150 horses up from the 100ish.. and the torque is already niiice
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Old Dec 20, 2008 | 07:52 PM
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as far as I can figure, for the cost to build a good decent aftermarket forced induction setup on the 22re, you could put together a naturally aspirated motor with a bulletproof bottom end that'll probably have more HP and toque, as well as a steady curve on the two through the RPMs...

on the 22re anyway; that's not going to apply to every motor...

don't get me wrong, you can boost the $#!@ outta a 22re and get some good power, BUT, you'll have to modify litterally everything to make the motor handle the boost...
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Old Dec 20, 2008 | 08:38 PM
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Originally Posted by abecedarian
I will counter that a bit though and suggest that the turbo could be lost and replaced with a supercharger without significant detriment. The engine management system LC offers for use with their turbo works equally as well with a supercharger. You'd then have a low-end-torque engine suitable for crawling....
But then maybe too much torque at low rpm's won't work with low gear ratios, making a turbo more suitable for a dual-purpose crawler/street engine.
Many variables to consider....
My subaru brain can't fathom a turbo rock crawler. My wrx didnt start really boosting until 2900 and peaked at 5000 rpms. That was a fairly big turbo though. At least with a SC you run off belts and engine speed, no lag. I don't know.

Bottom line I love LCE and their products. Wish I could afford them all.
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Old Dec 21, 2008 | 12:26 AM
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LC is very pricey. We can build a motor for 3k and they will charge 6k or more for it. So if your willing to do your homework you could get a nice FI set up for around 3k.

Also 190+ hp out of a 4 banger is pretty damn good. Thats near double the hp.
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Old Dec 21, 2008 | 12:34 AM
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The whole cost / hp ratio is what I was getting at... you can add 25 or so hp to a stock 22re for about 1000 total (considering the cost of totally rebuilding the engine). And then you'll be averaging about 25 hp more for every 1000 dollars you spend on top of that.

I could argue that 190 hp out of a 4 cylinder is not un-heard of and has actually been accomplished many times on stock vehicles during the late 80's through 90's... and often, those mod's, properly worked, could exceed 400 hp at the wheels...
... but that's not the point here.
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Old Dec 21, 2008 | 12:37 AM
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TURBO 3RZ FTW !!!!



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Old Dec 21, 2008 | 12:42 AM
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From: Temecula Valley, CA
That's easy to say when you don't have to pony up and prove it...
...
... scuba ...
...
... got yer ball joint spacers on yet? How's yer power steering?

Sorry, but what was the last turbo engine you owned?

and before you say it... yes I "F" up too....
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Old Dec 21, 2008 | 05:19 AM
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Originally Posted by stagger_lee
At least with a SC you run off belts and engine speed, no lag.

They actually used to have a Camden supercharger kit spec'd at 15psi...always thought it'd be cool, but it was like 2400...don't know if they still have it though.
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Old Dec 21, 2008 | 06:19 AM
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I would look at the 4.7L V8 or 3.4L V6 for a swap, both are capable of ample horsepower with the right modification and you can find both with relative ease for a fraction of the price of the LCE turbo engine.

Had I been able to, I would have bought the 4.7L V8 from the Tundra.
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