Post your ideas/experience/information and they will be placed here.

Here's my FAQ: http://www.intellexual.net

Very nice work there.

The Soarer Twin Turbo Website
SC Sound System
User Information
How to's
Peter Scott's Great Site!

Need a turbo?
The masters in Chi-town
Questions about how a turbo works?
TRD
Leather Repair?
Elevated - Lexus Website
SKR

Bushings

Parts

Auto Couture

Haltech
Auto Math
More parts

Paint codes
More paint codes

SC400 cooling fan fsm info - courtesy of K9crew

Hello...I just found this forum and thought I would register. I am the proud second owner (since 1998) of a 1992 SC400. This is one beautiful car I am glad to have. I have spent a few well deserved dollars to clean up the interior, but, other than that, this car is in excellent condition! I look forward to speaking with other owners and finding good tips on care and maintenance...

Hi LexusSC400Owner

welcome to the club - this is the best place on the 'net for Lexus Owners!

Our main man for SC's (AWJ) will be around shortly - what this guy doesn't know about the SC isn't worth knowing!




Must confess to being jealous - the more I see and hear about the SC - the more I want one!

Thanks Matt. I'm no expert, but trying hard. The model is one true passion of mine. Timeless and amazing feat of engineering.

LexusSC400owner - thousand welcomes. Feel free to ask anything. Check out some links and make noise. Great car you got there.

Enjoy.

Regards,
AJ

1JZ-GTE

the Forgotten Hero

2JZ-GTE - na/tt - SC300

97-00 conversion

a little turbo faq for the SC

Quite possibly some of the best information I have seen yet - ever about engines and the things we do to them and how to make sure those things are working towards the goal. (period)! All credit and due respect to Mr. Dave Baker of PUMA RACE ENGINES.

PUMA RACE ENGINES - MAIN MENU PAGE

How about Hardcore Lexus V8 Performance. We focus mainly on the 1UZFE and topics like NOS, Turbos, Superchargers, Engine Mod, N/A, Swap and Conversion. We also have some research and development on the V8 and few other performance parts.
Enjoy Lextreme

I was reading some books at the library on aerodynamics. It says that using a front air dam saves gas because it lowers the coefficient of drag more than the frontal area. Not only that but it will increase downforce on the car allowing it to corner faster because less air on the bottom or car creates suction. The same goes with the optional oem spoiler and wing. The Lexus website says that with the optional rear spoiler drag coefficient is reduced from 0.32 to 0.31

Interesting info.

The DaveH budget turbo....

Dave "Turbo" Henry...
Has developed a slightly more wallet freindly set-up. He came by once to talk about it but that post was lost in our recent site failure. So here we go. Some statements can be seen at www.supraforums.com from people that have it. Dave is a stand up guy and has one fast NA-t. Just another turbo option for ya.

Dave's kit

I'm going to add.

Mikado Technologies Company
1435 Huntington Avenue
South San Francisco, CA 94080
Phone: 650-615-9966

Mikado Technologies

This company can rebuild you climate control Instrument Panel. Last time I used their service they charged me $299 for the Clock/Climate Control on my LS. Their prices may have changed, so if you call them, and you hear something different, please let us know. It is possible that they can fix the guage clusters as well.

Another company/individual who can change the bulbs and cold cathoids, for less than above is:

bcrowder19@comcast.net
LexTech

Removing the Guage Clusters:
Instrument Panel Removal
Also, some instructions on how to change the bulbs in your radio or climate control.

ADDED 3/8/04:
Jim Walker
Jim Walker (LOC PM)
jimlwalker@sbcglobal.net
559-457-3092

im looking for performance parts for the lexus sc400 and as many of you already know, they are near non-existant. i have a few things that id like to know and hopefully this could be stickied to the top to help other new comers. im wanting to know of companies that sell the parts i am asking for, but im also going to include a suggestion(s) of a custom alternative that i would like your opinions on; here:

EXHAUST: 3" custom piping eliminating the cat and resonator splitting into 2.5" piping with either 2.5" straight through mufflers or just chromed/polished stainless steel tips.
HEADER: some skilled exhaust shop maybe? i dont know *shrugs*.
INTAKE: ram air; custom tubing that routes the intake to where the stock airbox would be, with a k&n cone on the end.
SUSPENSION: just something to lower it 1"; definitely dont want to cut springs.
STRUT BARS: is it even possible?
CARBON FIBER HOOD: no way in hell would i even attemp a diy cf hood, so where can i find one if they even exist which i doubt?
WHEELS & TIRES: just go to tirerack.com; got that covered .

these are some that i would personally like to know:

what (other than the above specified items) would need to be done to achieve 300 hp (not whp) and/or 300 lb/ft tq? would 11:1 forged pistons and slightly more aggressive cams do it?
what spoiler looks good on a sc300/400? im looking for something more aggressive looking, yet flows with the body lines very well.

There's a JIC Magic Strut bar http://www.jic-magic.com/productsjic_strut.htm
Cusco Strut bar http://www.cusco.co.jp/english/e_cont.html This is hard to find.
Do-Luck ladder bar: http://www.do-luck-usa.com/products.html?auto=JZZ30

Lowering your car 1 inch. Eibach pro-kit. www.eibach.com Surf the web and you'll find some good prices. Ebay is good too (that is, if you get the real thing).

CF hood: www.importfan.com I think their site is down right now.

We actually have a section pinned above called FAQ. AWJ started it, and we were hoping people would add to it.

I'm Merging and Pinning your topic above

I'll Add:

SC300/400 Mesh Grill Inserts
American Stitches--Leather/Carbon/Wood Steering Wheel Customized
Although can't read Japanese, yet--Tom's has many performance parts for todays Lexus and Toyotas.
http://www.tomsracing.co.jp/index2.html
Gold Plating--Midas Touch
Lexus Grills
Import Toys--dealer
Clear Corner--Head and Tail Light Customizers

is the rod millen exhaust (http://www.rodmillenstore.com/sc_400/exhaust.htm) an axleback or a catback? ive emailed them numerous times but theyve never responded.

I haven't upgraded my exhaust yet, so I have the least Mufflers experience. Borla, Flowmaster, or Magnaflow are good. Greddy has an exhaust system listed ontheir Website for the SC300.

HKS has some equipment you could look at.

I would recommend 3.5" pipes, if you're thinking about turbos in the future, and can afford paying for a custom setup.

Be carefull though. There are certain states that forbid it.

PS: Instead of calling Rod Millen, you could call Stillen. they're the same family.

im just planning on doing boltons and i just found out through the magnaflow website that the local exhaust shop is an authorized magnaflow dealer. im probably just going to have 2.25" piping (recommended by planetsoarer.com) that eliminate the cat because the custom headers that im looking to group buy from lextreme.com are made for a 98+ and they dont bolt directly into the cats. all im going to do is probably wheels, tires, exhaust, headers, intake, and maybe get some eibach springs.

of course, theres a local radio station having a contest where they have $200k that theyre just giving away for pretty much anything and i asked for $40k for an sc430 and they would get my current car, although the chances are VERY slim.

I'm also going to add:
Autobacs--USA SuperStore

hey guys-- bought a '92 SC400 three days ago.....
im already in love w/ it. Needin a little love, not much, mainly with lighting (needles), suprise suprise. Will have some pics soon

congrats on the new purchase. Are you modifying it in any way?

Hey all,
Was just browsing through the Lexus websites and found this great forum, hats off to it's members and moderators.

Anyways, so the reason I've been browsing is that my brother has left me with his 1992 SC400 (traded him my 1993 GS300 for it, did I come up?)

The car so far has an K&N air filter and 18" C5 rims.
I'm looking to add a little more performance on it.

In the future, hopefully I'll have enough money to add a body kit and a supercharger (forced air?)

But right now, I'm looking to invest in an exhaust system.
Been leafing through these pages, but I'm so unfamiliar with exhaust terms that it's hard to keep track of.

Went to intellexual and heard some of the noises that these exhaust make. I kinda like the ones that Rod Millen and Borla put out.
Are these the ones that are referred to in his videos?
1) http://www.rodmillenstore.com/sc_400/exhaust.htm

2) http://proficientperformance.com/Merchant2..._Code=BOR-11401

Now, are these two similar except for the sound they make?
I know the RMM are around $700 and the Borlas are around $500
They both have dual mufflers/tips? or do I have to buy two sets to make it look similar to my oem?
I read on proficient performance that the borlas are a cat-back, and someone in here said that the rod millens are axle-backs? (is that correct?) What's the difference in terms of performance/look/usefulness later on as i add the turbocharger?

lol, i'm pretty inquisitive, i apologize in advance.
but last question (and most important)
the sound of these exhausts
i heard the videos on intellexual and like both of them, are they consistent with your guys' experience in real life?
i have pretty picky neighbors, so i don't want to annoy them coming home late wiht a very loud exhaust (my bass bothers them enough)
i'd like a deep, consistent sound (not the metallic clingy sounds of greddy), but prefer it to be quiet (i realize that it'll be louder than stock) possible for when idling into/out of my garage.

do either of these fit the bill, or are there any other suggestions?


thanks so much in advance
danh

Axle back is referring to just the muffler. The rest of the piping is stock. So you're just buying the noise and some performance. The Cat-back refers from the catalyc converter to the exhaust tips. The Borla is better because it's a cat-back exhaust. It would have been better if it was a header exhaust, but that requires custom work.

Cat-Back:
Longer
Better performance-more air out and faster.
Better choice when you go to upgrade.

I don't think you want to tackle a turbo 8Cylinder, since it's rather complicated. Supercharging is the best. In that case, you'll want a custom exhaust.

I'm not 100% if the turbo exhaust from the SC3 will work on the SC4, but you can ask my fellow moderators (AWJ, and Lex_Luthor). they can answer that part.

My Choice, 92 SC400 w 4.9-li stroker, Tex headers, Dynamax mufflers, & 2.5" true -dual. Best bang for your buck.

hey guys
i have no plans for a turbo, but hoping to find enough money for a supercharger soon.
i appreciate all the help on the exhaust system, looks like borla is the way to go.
can i add piping on it later to make it better? when you say new piping, are yout alking about replacing the ones in addition to the borla kit? or replacing the ones that came with the borla kit?

is an exhaust system hard to install? i really have no prior experience (at all), and barely have any tools. but if imma start playing with my car, i'd hate to have other people do everything for my car. what do you guys think?

thanks for all the help
danh

ditch the borla. go to the local muffler shop and get a custom exhaust. will be much more cheaper in the long run.

I'm adding this link for a few people to check out. A member on the LS forum added it a couple of days ago. Their server is a little defective, and having a high speed connection will help speed up some of the applications. Apple Quicktime Required.

V8 Exhausts:
http://www.lexusgonewild.com/norCal_v2/V8exhaustComp.htm

a shop near me built a Cat-back-onwards system for a friend, using Borla marked pipes and mufflers.

I haven't come across an exhaust company building a complete kit for anybody.

It seems that the SC forum gets the same audio questions posted almost daily, so I thought it might be a good idea to have a FAQ for SC audio all by itself. There is much information to be had through searching, but a fair amount of it is vague or conflicting, partly due to the fact that some people posting in the "General" audio section don't bother to mention which Lexus they're referring to. In addition, it seems that many people are simply too lazy to search, so it have a "SC Audio FAQ, read this before posting questions" section. This FAQ should include, but not be limited to:

-Aftermarket equipment integration with factory system
-How to diagnose common problems/ links to repair sites http://www.technicalhelp4u.com and http://carstereohelp.com/strlexus.htm
-Audio wiring diagram located on this site
-How to remove door panel/rear deck/CD changer/amp on this site
-Links to all 20,000 subwoofer threads

This is a great site with lots of helpful information. I think that putting it all in one place will not only limit the redundant posts, but will make the job of dealing with the excellent, but problematic SC audio system that much easier for everyone.

Thanks for the suggestion. I will consider putting this as an added post to the general FAQ stickied up top. Do you have any links handy to share? Thanks, AJ

Great idea!

And thanks for the links!

Got it.

Parenthesis fixed.

AJ, do you want links to search results, or outside links? I don't know of many external site other than what I posted, but I'd be happy to do the searching within LOC to provide the info I was have been reading through.

Edit:

On the subject of the SC subwoofer, and general freeair sub information:

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...ic=5900&hl=subs
http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...35&hl=subwoofer
http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...61&hl=subwoofer
http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...37&hl=subwoofer
http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...56&hl=subwoofer
http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...22&hl=subwoofer

Very nice bro. Thanks. I'll merge this up with the faq here shortly.

Maybe we could get PIONEERSUBY to write a general troubleshooting section for this, since you can't always count on external sites?

Also, coming from a DSM background, I think that the format of this site:

http://members.shaw.ca/costall/1000Q/quest...italinformation

would be excellent for an audio FAQ section. It could be in this format:
_________________________________________________________________

SC400 Audio FAQ


What size are the stock speakers in the Nakamichi system?

The Nakamichi upgrade uses a total of seven speakers. Two tweeters and two 4" mids in the doors, two 4" mids in the rear deck, and one 10" "freeair" style subwoofer in the rear deck.


How many watts does the amp put out?

The 5-channel amp in the Nakamichi system is reported to put out 280 watts.


Can I upgrade my base system to the Nakamichi system?

Yes, but you'll have to run the necessary wiring to the trunk, since only cars that came with the Nakamichi system came pre-wired.

_____________________________________________________________

And so on...

Unfortunately, I'm just a newbie to this at the moment, so my knowledge is limited to what I've read by searching. Maybe PIONERSUBY and other regular audio contributors can help here. I don't want to post incorrect information or hearsay, but I really think this type of FAQ will help the newbies who can get 99% of their questions answered on one easy-to-read page.

It's a work in progress. If you want to put together a page in word and send it to me - I'll put it in a separate audio faq. For now, this will do. Thanks for your input.

Unfortunately, I have more questions than answers, so I'm afraid that would be like the blind leading the blind. Maybe someone more knowledgeable about the SC audio system would like to do it.

I have been reviewing all the links in here for a 94 sc400 and I had a question. I was told by Car Toys that there is no harness adaptor that I can buy to plug into the stock harness for a after market cd player. is this true? and if so would anyone have a write up that tells me what wires i need to splice into? Im also putting in new speakers so should I go ahead and run new wire or splice into the stock wiring as well?

Thanks,
Justin B.

Decided to put this here also, because inevitably, people won't Search and will not find the thread I posted it in.




Most will agree that a high Qts, Low Fs, and high Xmax are the most important qualifications for a good IB/Freeair sub. This list is hopefully accurate, but certainly not complete. Feel free to add drivers that you find that stack up well with those listed. Maybe the mods can edit my post with new info so we can keep it tidy and all in one place.

-------------------------------------------------
Soundstream Exact 10

FREQ. RESPONSE (Hz) : 25 - 1.7k
Fs (Hz) : 30
Qes: 0.4
Qms: 12.87
Qts: 0.332
Vas (Ft3) : 1.117
Xmax (INCHES) 0.51
SPL (dB) : 89.6
HOLE SIZE (INCHES) : 925
WOOFER DEPTH (INCHES) : 5.3
RECOMMENDED ENCLOSURE (Ft3) : 0.5/0.75
RECOMMENDED ENCLOSURE TYPE : Sealed/Vented
Free Air
-------------------------------------------------
Elemental Design e1OO.44 / 14


T / S Parameters
Qts : 0.59
Qes : 0.76
Qms : 2.69
Vas : 20.5 L
Sd : 0.0312 m^2
XMag : 18.3 mm
XSus : 21.1 mm
XMax : 18.3 mm
MMd : 128 g
Re : 2.39 ohm
Fs : 32.3 Hz
Bl : 11.36
Mounting Depth : 5.5" (139 mm)
---------------------------------------------
JL Audio 10IB4

Fs 37.5 Hz
Qts .769
XMax .3"
Mounting Depth 5.69"
8 ohms
Vas 2.93 cu ft
------------------------------------------
Kicker Freeair F10c

Fs 32.4
Qts .407
XMax 7.7mm
Monting Depth ?
4 ohms
Vas 2.88 cu ft
-----------------------------------------
Image Dynamics ID10 4

Fs 30 Hz
Qts .42
Xmax 10mm
Vas 2.89
4 ohms
Mounting Depth 4.625"
------------------------------------------
Pioneer TSW-254?







--------------------------------------------
Assuming price or mounting isn't an issue, the driver that looks like
it fits my needs is the Elemental Design e1OO.44 / 14 so far. Maybe
someone who has info about the Pioneer Freeair can add the t/s
info.

Sorry, disregard my last post. It seems to have been talked about at length in this post:

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...?showtopic=4079


Here's another good discussion (although I wish there were model numbers for the speakers they mention):

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...?showtopic=4483



I'd love to see some recommended speakers listed w/model names/numbers. Anyone? Also, the front and rear are 4" midrange. Can they be replaced by 4" 2-way or 3-way speakers? If so, how do they work in tandem with the 1" tweeters in the front? Obviously, I have never installed a car audio system before.

Thanks.

-Gene

Good Evening,

I replaced all four Nak 4" with Rockford-fosgate 4" 4204 2-way, and the sub with an R-F 10" RFZ3810.

We had to back off of the treble's detent setting, but it sounds good no matter which seat you sit in.

We chose the 8-ohm sub because the original Nak sub was 5 ohm, and some of the posts said never go below the amp's minimum. There is, of course, limited info on the Nak amp. Better safe than buying another.

Good Luck