Lexus LFA engine
Engines

Lexus LFA engine

The Lexus LFA is Toyota's first limited edition two-seat supercar. A total of 500 of these cars were produced. The machine is equipped with a compact and powerful power unit. The engine provides the sporty character of the car. The motor was made to order, which allowed it to become a marvel of engineering.

Lexus LFA engine
Lexus LFA engine

Brief description of the car

In 2000, Lexus began developing a sports car codenamed P280. All the high-tech solutions of the Toyota concern were to be reflected in the car. The first prototype appeared in June 2003. After extensive testing at the Nurburgring in January 2005, the premiere of the LF-A concept took place at the Detroit Auto Show. The third concept car was presented in January 2007. The Lexus LFA was mass-produced from 2010 to 2012.

Lexus LFA engine
The appearance of the car Lexus LFA

Lexus spent about 10 years developing the LFA. When designing, attention was paid to every element. So, for example, the rear spoiler got the opportunity to change its angle. This allows you to increase downforce on the rear axle of the car. Engineers have focused on the smallest details, so even every nut is engineered to perform reliably and look great.

Lexus LFA engine
Rear spoiler with adjustable angle

The best designers of the world worked on the interior of the car. Orthopedic seats with lateral support securely fix the driver and passenger. The machine uses Remote Touch technology, which replaces a computer mouse. With its help, it is easy to manage all the comfort options in the cabin. Finishing Lexus LFA is made using carbon fiber, leather, high-gloss metal and Alcantara.

Lexus LFA engine
Lexus LFA car interior

The active and passive safety of the Lexus LFA is at a high level. The car has a Brembo braking system with carbon/ceramic discs. The car has airbags. The body has a high rigidity. Since to create it, Toyota developed a special machine for circular weaving of carbon fiber. The car turned out to be light, but rigid enough to reduce the risk of injury in an accident.

Lexus LFA engine
Braking system Brembo

Engine under the hood Lexus LFA

Under the hood of the Lexus LFA is the 1LR-GUE powertrain. This is a 10-cylinder engine made specifically for this car model. The best specialists from Yamaha Motor Company were involved in the development. The motor is installed as far as possible from the front bumper to improve the weight distribution of the car to 48/52. To reduce the center of gravity, the power plant received a dry sump lubrication system.

Lexus LFA engine
The location of the power unit 1LR-GUE in the engine compartment of the Lexus LFA

Lexus LFA is the most aerodynamically perfect car. All holes in it are made not for beauty, but for practical purposes. So, for example, a low pressure area is formed near the gratings when driving at high speed. This allows you to draw heat from the engine compartment, further cooling the loaded engine. Cooling radiators are located at the rear of the machine, which improves its weight distribution.

Lexus LFA engine
Grilles for engine cooling at speed
Lexus LFA engine
Cooling system radiators

The 1LR-GUE engine is capable of revving from idle to redline in 0.6 seconds. The analog tachometer will not have time to track the rotation of the crankshaft due to the inertia of the system. Therefore, a liquid crystal screen is built into the dashboard, which displays various dials and other information. The machine uses a digital discrete tachometer, which indirectly determines the actual speed of the crankshaft.

Lexus LFA engine
Digital tachometer

The power unit has a high margin of safety. The dry sump lubrication system prevents oil starvation at any speed and in corners. The assembly of the motor takes place entirely by hand and by one person. To withstand significant loads in 1LR-GUE are used:

  • forged pistons;
  • titanium connecting rods;
  • flint-coated rocker arms;
  • titanium valves;
  • forged crankshaft.
Lexus LFA engine
The appearance of the power unit 1LR-GUE

Technical characteristics of the power unit 1LR-GUE

The 1LR-GUE engine is light and heavy duty. It allows the Lexus LFA to accelerate to 100 km/h in 3.7 seconds. The red zone for the motor is located at 9000 rpm. The design of the internal combustion engine provides for 10 separate throttle valves and a variable intake manifold. Other engine specifications can be found in the table below.

ParameterValue
Number of cylinders10
Number of valves40
Exact volume4805 cm³
Bore88 mm
Piston stroke79 mm
Power560 hp
Torque480 Nm
Compression ratio12
Recommended gasolineAI-98
Declared resourcenot standardized
resource in practice50-300 thousand km

The engine number is located at the front of the cylinder block. It is located near the oil filters. Next to the marking there is a platform indicating that Yamaha Motor specialists took part in the development of the power unit. Moreover, each car out of 500 cars produced has its own serial number.

Lexus LFA engine
1LR-GUE engine number location
Lexus LFA engine
Serial number of the machine

Reliability and weaknesses

The Lexus LFA engine manages to combine sport, luxury and reliability. Testing of power units took about 10 years. Long-term design made it possible to avoid all the "childhood diseases" of the motor. ICE is sensitive to compliance with the terms of maintenance.

Lexus LFA engine
Dismantled 1LR-GUE engine

The reliability of the power unit is affected by refueling gasoline. Its octane number must be at least 98. Otherwise, detonation appears. It is capable of destroying the cylinder-piston group, especially under high thermal and mechanical loads.

Maintainability of the motor

The 1LR-GUE engine is an exclusive powertrain. Its repair cannot be carried out at a conventional service station. Capital is out of the question. Branded spare parts for ICE 1LR-GUE are not sold.

The uniqueness of the 1LR-GUE design reduces its maintainability to zero. If necessary, it is unrealistic to find analogues of native spare parts. Therefore, it is important to carry out maintenance on time and use only high-quality consumables. In this case, repairs will not be required soon, since the motor has a large margin of reliability.

Tuning engines Lexus LFA

The best specialists from Toyota, Lexus and Yamaha worked on the 1LR-GUE engine. Therefore, the motor turned out to be structurally complete. The best thing to do is not interfere with his work. So, for example, not a single tuning studio will be able to create a better firmware than native.

Lexus LFA engine
Motor 1LR-GUE

The 1LR-GUE power unit is a naturally aspirated engine. However, it will not be possible to use a turbine on it. There are no ready-made solutions and turbo kits for this engine on sale. Therefore, any attempts at deep or superficial modernization can lead to serious damage to the internal combustion engine, and not to an increase in its power.

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