I'm a new lexus owner and new to this forum. I have a 1992 Lexus SC400. I am mostly into domestic cars, but then my cousin had the lexus and so i decided to buy it from him.

So, i was just wondering, are there any quick and cheap mods you can do to these cars to make them a little faster. Lexus's are so freakin expensive for like everything. The receipt was in the car telling me how much it was. That car was $43,320.00 when it was new in 1992! thats nuts! i bought it for 3400. (a steal!)

In the long run i hope to get bigger cams, high stall converter, exhaust, etc. but right now i want to get something cheaper just to be able to beat my friends Monte Carslow. He thinks its like super fast. right now i am like dead even with him in a race, i just want something quick to do to put me over the top.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

thanks
jason

ok.... since nobody replied, does that mean that there is nothing cheap that can be done for a lexus?

Is everything like super expensive?

Check out www.clublexus.com for more of the modding scene. Google lexus SC300/400 forums/mods etc...

Or contact our SCmodder Jibbby He's always modding his SC, Here is a good start http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...c=30822&hl=

Hey, thanks alot. Earlier today i googled "lexus forums" and just clicked on the first one i saw.(this one) and then i decided to post a thread. and then after this, i saw a link on here to the clublexus page. So i signed up there. But i had to leave to go cruizin ( ) so i didnt have a chance to post anything on that forum.

I figure there probably isnt really anything that you can do for cheap on these cars. Now, if it had a Toyota symbol on the hood instead of a big "L" it would be a different story. haha! Stinkin luxury cars... lol!

And, the reason i am looking for something cheap is because i am only 17 and i dont really make a lot of money. The car's insurance is killin me as it is. But i got lucky and got the car for $3400 bucks. If i would sell it right now i could probably get someone around here to pay me $5500 for it. But, its too nice to get rid of.

Plus, i am savin up money to do other things too. Like, i want to get my '65 buick fixed up. (i dont know what your guys' take is on domestics, but i like them) And the clutch on my truck is finally startin to go. i wonder why, i mean, it only has 391,000 miles on it. haha.

well hey, thanks for the help.
i'll ttyl.

-jason

K&N air filter = 60.00 = a little quicker take off.
or
Cold air intake = 200.00 = 5 or 6 hp. 6-10 tq.
and
underdrive pulley=250.00 = wow that motor revs quick!

You should have atleast 2 car lengths and sowly keep pulling away by now.

any after market exhaust 5-10 hp gain

cold air intake 5-10 hp gain

new headers

There are many things you can do. All depends on what you call a cheap mod

you rate that pulley at 250.00. ebay has them listed for $25. is that a typo or do the ones on ebay stink?

One easy and cheap mod it to put in some Tourque Master Plugs. I gained 5 hp and 12 tq just from this mod! cost $100 and 45 mins. to install. Well worth it! You can buy them at l-tunnedparts.com I have a copy of the dyno if you would like to see it!

There are certain things I just can't bring myself to buy off ebay. Anything that I can't verify thru a quality manufacturer, forget it. Like most of the Tein basics coilovers you see on Ebay are nock off replica's. And so fourth. The price I listed was from Unorthodox racing and I think it's a full pulley kit.And also come to think of it, I'm not sure that this specific set is an underdrive ratio, or stock size but much lighter materials, or if in fact it's both.

ummmm.....you should be able to take a Monte Carlo, unless it's an SS. Have you tried flicking the little switch next to the shifter to PWR?


as far as I'm aware there is no good underdrive pulley available for a 1uz. there is a harmonic balancer on the crank pulley that is omitted from UDPs, so even if you found a one-off it probably wouldn't be a good idea to install it. Replacing the hydraulic fan with an electric is the only thing short of a torque converter that will make a noticable gain.

also, unless the 1uz configurations vary greatly between the gen1 SC400s and gen1 LS400s a CAI or K&N won't do much of anything for you either. Neither will a cheap muffler.


My advice would be to get a little more driving experience under your belt before you start racing your friends
(if I can't dissuade you from racing, tightening the slack out of the throttle cable on a car that old is sure to improve perceived throttle response. If you just want to win you can start by removing your backseat and A/C compressor)