[Simonguey]

Good morning yawl. i'm new to this forum and am still trying to figure it out a bit.

i recently purchased a 2003 is300! last week. so far i have been loving this car!!! cant stop watching videos on turboing the car. parts are not that expensive honestly and the car is all around fun to drive and very enjoyable! i recently totaled my kia stinger which is why i ended up buying a is300. a car i can really get handy with without a fear of me completely screwing the pooch. i also didn't really feel like having a car payment also lol. is300 is a really amazing car! amazing engine with so much tuning potential. still trying to figure out more about the car and what's possible but so far all I've really seen or noticed is that adding a turbo is the main way of adding power to the car.

I'm currently looking at a cxracing turbo kit. I've seen videos of certain people having problems and some not. with getting the upgraded turbo with ball bearing be worth it? and would drilling the oil pan technically be the only hole i need to drill? I've seen some videos with people changing the cams and drilling holes for two sensors to turn the engine into a gte but that part kinda confuses me only because I've seen two videos that do that so I'm not 100% sure yet. still navigating myself around this forum! completely different then the kia stinger one.

names edwin or simonguey! age 23. only saying this because everyone on the kia stinger forum is around 60 years old

 

[Hodgdon Extreme]

Welcome.

I'd focus first on getting the base car squared away. Timing belt service, brakes, dampers and bushings, cooling system, etc. While perusing the forum for tips/tricks/suggestions on that - I'm sure you'll learn a lot more about the details of performance oriented stuff like turbos and engine swaps.

To directly answer your specific questions:

I'd say the CX Racing ball-bearing upgrade is not worth it. Instead, use the standard one until it craps out or you've determined its shortcomings and then shop for an upgrade that addresses those shortcomings.

"Technically" speaking, you'll likely need to drill more than one hole to complete a turbocharger installation on the car.

 

[01 SolarYellow]

Welcome

 

[VegasIS3]

Do not use a water cooled turbo. It adds extra complexity and will make the car overheat way easier. Just get a journal bearing Garrett or Garrett knockoff turbo. You'll be way happier in the long run.

 

[Simonguey]

Welcome.

I'd focus first on getting the base car squared away. Timing belt service, brakes, dampers and bushings, cooling system, etc. While perusing the forum for tips/tricks/suggestions on that - I'm sure you'll learn a lot more about the details of performance oriented stuff like turbos and engine swaps.

To directly answer your specific questions:

I'd say the CX Racing ball-bearing upgrade is not worth it. Instead, use the standard one until it craps out or you've determined its shortcomings and then shop for an upgrade that addresses those shortcomings.

"Technically" speaking, you'll likely need to drill more than one hole to complete a turbocharger installation on the car.

100% will be doing some preventative maintenance! going to buy parts to replace all the old stuff.

right now im just trying to buy and make sure i have all the parts for a turbo kit for that special day i have a long weekend and i can spend hours on the car without needing to drive. yeah i saw a video of someone installing the kit. made a hole for the oil return and also one in the car for the intercooler piping. hoping its just that

 

[Simonguey]

Do not use a water cooled turbo. It adds extra complexity and will make the car overheat way easier. Just get a journal bearing Garrett or Garrett knockoff turbo. You'll be way happier in the long run.

i will look into that! need to figure this forum out more first and will def look into that! i mainly went with the cxr kit because it seemed the least complex besides connecting everything to the turbo.

 

[Hodgdon Extreme]

right now im just trying to buy and make sure i have all the parts for a turbo kit for that special day i have a long weekend and i can spend hours on the car without needing to drive.

It's unrealistic to expect your car will be decommissioned for a "long weekend" to install a turbocharger system, get it sorted, and recommission the vehicle as your daily driver.

 

[Simonguey]

oh no yeah lol. i am not mechanically inclined plus i have work and soon school! I'm expecting a month maybe a little more depending on time. mainly want to get all the parts first. im debating on a motorcycle or just getting another kia stinger since i already have a lot of parts and enjoy the car. butttt a carpayment + crazy pricy insurance rates don't sound super nice when i can just use that money to travel. might just get a honda civic to daily

 

[Thatblueis]

oh no yeah lol. i am not mechanically inclined plus i have work and soon school! I'm expecting a month maybe a little more depending on time. mainly want to get all the parts first. im debating on a motorcycle or just getting another kia stinger since i already have a lot of parts and enjoy the car. butttt a carpayment + crazy pricy insurance rates don't sound super nice when i can just use that money to travel. might just get a honda civic to daily

A ek civic would be a fun project car that's probably more affordable then a lexus. If you plan to turbo your lexus just be ready to pay to play. The Is300 isnt cheap to turbo. The oil return line should be the only hole you need to drill. Drilling the hole in the head for a sensor is to add cam position sensors which this model 2jz already has. The cx racing turbo looks to be Chinese gt35 replica. They only cost $224 which is really cheap for a turbo. Hence the hit or miss aspect. You can do some stuff to make them pretty reliable though.

 

[Simonguey]

A ek civic would be a fun project car that's probably more affordable then a lexus. If you plan to turbo your lexus just be ready to pay to play. The Is300 isnt cheap to turbo. The oil return line should be the only hole you need to drill. Drilling the hole in the head for a sensor is to add cam position sensors which this model 2jz already has. The cx racing turbo looks to be Chinese gt35 replica. They only cost $224 which is really cheap for a turbo. Hence the hit or miss aspect. You can do some stuff to make them pretty reliable though.

THAT CIVIC IS NICE! I've already committed to the lexus tho lol. just bought one. I'm currently fixing up the body work. got a couple of dings and one of the fenders is slightly bent near the headlight so im replacing that. my rear bumper doesn't properly line up so I'm going to remove it this weekend and figure out why before i buy a new one. after body work and preventative maintenance I'm going all in on the turbo. i have a all the big items to manual swap the car also just need a lot of the smaller stuff. (manual swap will have to be put on hold for a while).

for the turbo ima wait for it to shit on me before getting some garrets. i was planning on swaping out the two turbos in the stinger for some garrets.

it feels strange driving a car with less then 500hp. but I do know i can push the is300 to some good numbers. plus its a way lighter car. very excited! going to enjoy every bit of working on this car.

i didn't proof ready this and also my grammar is ass so sorry people.

 

[Thatblueis]

THAT CIVIC IS NICE! I've already committed to the lexus tho lol. just bought one. I'm currently fixing up the body work. got a couple of dings and one of the fenders is slightly bent near the headlight so im replacing that. my rear bumper doesn't properly line up so I'm going to remove it this weekend and figure out why before i buy a new one. after body work and preventative maintenance I'm going all in on the turbo. i have a all the big items to manual swap the car also just need a lot of the smaller stuff. (manual swap will have to be put on hold for a while).

for the turbo ima wait for it to shit on me before getting some garrets. i was planning on swaping out the two turbos in the stinger for some garrets.

it feels strange driving a car with less then 500hp. but I do know i can push the is300 to some good numbers. plus its a way lighter car. very excited! going to enjoy every bit of working on this car.

i didn't proof ready this and also my grammar is ass so sorry people.

If your going to use a Chinese turbo I'd recommend you at least have it balanced. Ideally I'd replace the bearings and seals. Fyi you can't use the gte turbo setup on the is300 as the engine bay is too small.

 

[Simonguey]

If your going to use a Chinese turbo I'd recommend you at least have it balanced. Ideally I'd replace the bearings and seals. Fyi you can't use the gte turbo setup on the is300 as the engine bay is too small.

i will look into getting the cheap turbo balanced! will use it up but most likely have the replacement ready till it craps out on me. much appreciate the info!!

so far the install doesn't look all to difficult. i will definitely upgrade a couple of the parts and then relocate the battery to the trunk for this.

what im not 100% on tho is the tune. only because on my kia stinger i had a really good piggy back (jb4) that did alot of work for me. i was planning on buying the EK1 PRO which is a very nice tuner that allows you to download multiple tunes and then reflashes the ecu in seconds so i definitely don't have much knowledge or experience on going to get the car tunes (mainly plug n play and bolt on) which shouldn't be a problem but i am seeing people get a whole new custom harness or plug n play one which is kind of confusing me a bit.

I've noticed some people done tune the car after a turbo install. i haven't found the correct thread yet that explains that.

 

[Thatblueis]

i will look into getting the cheap turbo balanced! will use it up but most likely have the replacement ready till it craps out on me. much appreciate the info!!

so far the install doesn't look all to difficult. i will definitely upgrade a couple of the parts and then relocate the battery to the trunk for this.

what im not 100% on tho is the tune. only because on my kia stinger i had a really good piggy back (jb4) that did alot of work for me. i was planning on buying the EK1 PRO which is a very nice tuner that allows you to download multiple tunes and then reflashes the ecu in seconds so i definitely don't have much knowledge or experience on going to get the car tunes (mainly plug n play and bolt on) which shouldn't be a problem but i am seeing people get a whole new custom harness or plug n play one which is kind of confusing me a bit.

I've noticed some people done tune the car after a turbo install. i haven't found the correct thread yet that explains that.

The is300 is different then say a subaru because you can not use an acsess port to flash new tunes. You will either need a piggyback or stand alone ecm to have tuning abilities. Some people choose to wire it in themselves some choose to buy a harness to connect your ecu to the factory harness.

 

[Hodgdon Extreme]

The HVAC controls, instrument cluster and automatic transmission requires the stock ECU to work. You cannot re-program the stock ECU to handle boost.

So you can do nothing at all - which usually won't break stuff when you keep the boost LOW (as in 4psi), or
You can use some kind of "box" that lies to the ECU, or
You can use secondary ECU that controls fuel/spark, but keep the stock ecu to handle everything else, or
You can get ditch the original ECU altogether and replace with something fully capable and programmable.

You can work-around the HVAC and instrument cluster requirement using a Link Altezzalink ECU that can directly replicate the stock ECU, or you can use the All4swap unit to make those functions work.

@VegasIS3 had about the simplest, cheapest and most value-oriented "tuning" arrangement on his car. He details the setup nicely in this thread, it'd be very worthwhile for you to read thru:

Alex's 2004 8N6 IS300 NA-T build

Hello everyone. I've owned my 2004 IS300 for nearly a year now and I'm in the process of gathering all of the required parts for an NA-T build for low boost. It's an automatic, but it will still be a blast to drive. EDIT: Here's a parts list as of Oct. 2020 with the completed NA-T setup having...

www.my.is

 

[Simonguey]

Damn lol. Definitely different then what I was expecting. For some reason I thought this car would be easier to tune! I appreciate the help! Will need to do slot more research. Adding the turbo doesn’t seem bad but drilling the oil return kinda scares me. Will most likely keep it stock for a little bit to see how it is. How much of a bump does 4psi make? Would 6 be a problem?
I appreciate the thread post! Will read

 

[Thatblueis]

Damn lol. Definitely different then what I was expecting. For some reason I thought this car would be easier to tune! I appreciate the help! Will need to do slot more research. Adding the turbo doesn’t seem bad but drilling the oil return kinda scares me. Will most likely keep it stock for a little bit to see how it is. How much of a bump does 4psi make? Would 6 be a problem?
I appreciate the thread post! Will read

I would highly recommend against any boost with stock ecu. The oil return line isn't that bad as you are drilling it into the upper oil pan and not the block so if you mess up its ok.

 

[Hodgdon Extreme]

How much of a bump does 4psi make? Would 6 be a problem?

And that is exactly why it's a bad idea.

Doing nothing to account for the increased airflow and cylinder pressures associated with the turbo means you'll be using the wiggle room and "buffer zone" that toyota designed-in so that a stock engine would never ever detonate and break. A properly tuned turbo engine (in a street car) should have air/fuel mixture and spark timing set up so the turbocharged engine never ever detonates and breaks.

But boost feels good. And considering that more boost is only a knob-twist or button-press away...it sure is tempting to turn it up.

 

[Simonguey]

I would highly recommend against any boost with stock ecu. The oil return line isn't that bad as you are drilling it into the upper oil pan and not the block so if you mess up its ok.

i appreciate it! very handly information honestly.

And that is exactly why it's a bad idea.

Doing nothing to account for the increased airflow and cylinder pressures associated with the turbo means you'll be using the wiggle room and "buffer zone" that toyota designed-in so that a stock engine would never ever detonate and break. A properly tuned turbo engine (in a street car) should have air/fuel mixture and spark timing set up so the turbocharged engine never ever detonates and breaks.

But boost feels good. And considering that more boost is only a knob-twist or button-press away...it sure is tempting to turn it up.

LMAO! yeah xD def not the best ideas that I've had but I'm excited lol. 4 is fine. i mainly miss the turbo sucking sound and the bov flutter. i moved into a real quite neighborhood and considered myself the midnight menace lol. would do a full pull down the street to make sure everyone heard that nice sharp bov sound down the streets.

 

[phock.it]

Welcome.

I'd focus first on getting the base car squared away. Timing belt service, brakes, dampers and bushings, cooling system, etc. While perusing the forum for tips/tricks/suggestions on that - I'm sure you'll learn a lot more about the details of performance oriented stuff like turbos and engine swaps.

To directly answer your specific questions:

I'd say the CX Racing ball-bearing upgrade is not worth it. Instead, use the standard one until it craps out or you've determined its shortcomings and then shop for an upgrade that addresses those shortcomings.

"Technically" speaking, you'll likely need to drill more than one hole to complete a turbocharger installation on the car.

ive drilled about 10 total with all the hoses, pipes, and wires going in and out of the engine bay.