Wizard

Just got it out of the shop. Over 50 hours of just buffing, but theres NO orange peel. None. Liquid glass. You cant tell from the picture, but theres prism paint on the top layer and its gleams a rainbow sheen when you look at an angle to the sun.

There were 782 SC300 5-speeds produced in 1995. That's direct from Lexus in response to my query regarding the rarity of my vehicle. My dealer, in Tucson, has seen 2 5-speeds pass through this dealership since it opened (in '92 iirc). He knows of a third owned by a dealership owner in Cali. So, yes, you can find them. There are a few thousand of them if you combine model years. There are some differences in the different models years, which a quick search can turn up, which makes the '95-'97 especially useful for those wanting a 6-speed upgrade. That plus other minor differences make the '95-'97 potentially the most valuable. I have heard it said that the auto outnumbered the stick by 20 to 1. If this is roughly accurate, then that puts the 5-speed in the <5% bracket, which could be considered "rare" and "hard to find". In any case, I am not getting rid of my 74K miles 95 SC3 5-spd for anything. There is an almost intangible quality to driving it that even the BMW M5 and 911 cannot replicate. The balance, poise, versitility, road feel, and control of the car are almost perfect in every way. The only thing its short on is raw power(esp at low end), but having the soul of a Supra means that problem only exists as long as I let it. ;)

Can't believe anyone would want to sell one these days. Only 782 made. I'll bet there are less than 500 left in working order. In a few more years...but hey its your car, so G/L! *wishes he had the cash to buy another one atm*

First, go to the dealer. Ask for a hardcopy of the items involved in each service. They gave me the sheet and I'd type it in if I hadn't thrown it away. Use this sheet to determine which service(s) you need to specify when going to the shop of your choice. I feel perfectly comfortable letting Midas do all the brake system checkouts, etc, mostly because they do have a lifetime warranty and they have honored it. Anyone can do the filter changes and check lube points, etc. Timing belt and accessory belt are likely to be your major items, as will a tranny flush and possibly a cooling system flush, but you have a great amount of leeway in who does it, assuming you can get the parts. Finding a place to take it for the major work is not easy, because trust isn't something that comes without experience. I will say only one thing in the dealers defence and that is they stand behind their work and their parts. If you get a third party part and have a third party put it in, you may have no recourse when the part goes bad. Its unlikely to happen, but its something to consider. In some cases, the cost difference is minimal, while in others, its downright rediculous. I found trunk lifts for less than one THIRD the price the dealership wanted. I could only save a couple bucks on an Idler Assembly though, by the time I paid for shipping. It was well worth the $45 to have the dealership put the trunk supports in, but they won't cover the work because its third party parts. The idler, however, is covered for both parts and labor for a year, while the part that I could have saved a couple bucks on only had 90 days and labor would not have been covered. I recommend taking it to chain shops for simple everyday tasks, and letting the dealer handle anything major. Besides, at least when the dealer does it, you get a 2004/5 RX330 rental and your car is nice and clean when they're done. Oh, you can also hang out and nibble on mint sticks and drink decent coffee too =P

I have to disagree with this, based on costly personal experience. In fact, the reverse is true. Synthetic oils are more resistant to breakdown due to heat, but they are WORSE at handling and suspending contaminates. A synthetic oil will cause engine damage at a lower level of 'dirtyness' than regular oil will. Therefore, you must change synthetic oil sooner and more frequently than regular oil to avoid this costly possibility. Regular oil is far more forgiving and can be driven 'dirty' without severe repercussions. If you ever 'forget' to change oil until its just 'a little' late, then synthetic is not doing you any favors. If you 100% absolutely, pit-crew-religeously, change your oil every 2500 miles AND include quality filters in each change, then synthetic will kick the **** out of regular oil. Unless you are that pedantic, and most people are not, then use a high quality regular oil. I live where its over 120 during the day and I run my car hard for long hours and I've never had oil breakdown problems, but I *did* have to get a whole new shortblock due to ONE round trip from AZ to MI and back while I was using synthetic. I had driven ~1000 miles on the oil before the trip and didn't think a change was necessary and I was short on time, so I didn't get one. By the time I got back, the combination of synthetic's inability to suspend particles beyond a certain amount and the long hours of fast driving in very dusty conditions(yes I had a new air filter, but that doesnt stop everything) caused severe wear on the engine, to the point that even though I changed the oil the day after I returned, the engine had already worn to the point that they had to replace the entire short block after I spun a bearing a few weeks later. After the mechanic at the dealership explained what damage he saw and what he thought caused it, I researched the issue and what I said in the first paragraph is the result. This was at ~60K miles, and was under extended warranty(the extended warranty didnt say you couldnt use synthetic, and doesnt require proof of every oil change's milage, unlike the standard Lexus one), so the $8400 repair bill didnt cost me anything, and if you take this info into account when selecting oil, it won't cost you anything either. p.s. I'm back to regular oil now, and 14K miles after the short block change, there are no signs whatsoever of wear, and I havent altered my driving habits either. And yes, my 95 5-speed SC300 only has 74K miles on it. Should be good for a while :)

I am an audiophile. I use either AAC(mobile) or lossless(home) already. iPod uses AAC. What I *don't* want is to be fiddling with the iPod controls when I could be using the car's volume control, track selector, etc while I'm driving. You should be able to get in the car, dock the iPod in a slot in the stereo, and then use it as a music source using the standard controls. BMW does this to limited extent already, and apparently now Lexus has recieved enough interest in this that they are working on it. I thought I'd pass the news on. As for the whole snob thing, by your standards I suppose anyone who buys a Lexus rather than a Toyota is a snob.

Um, why dont I just go out and buy a rusted out Ford to drive while I'm at it? Or maybe I should just stick a boombox in the back seat? Do you know how poor the quality of music is through the tape circuitry? Obviously not, since you use mp3 format on a product made by a brand that is world reknown for poor quality. What the is the point of having Nakamichi or Mark Levinson audio systems if you are just going to use some piece of to drive it? If "Works just fine" cut it, I'd be driving a Toyota or Honda 4-banger. We are talking about Lexus here. Its all about quality, refinement, and integration. Do you think the rear door of the RX330 just HAD to close itself at the push of a button? Of course not, but it is precisely that kind of lavish overkill which defines the Lexus brand.

Type F — Introduced by Ford in 1967 for their automatics. Also used by Toyota. Type CJ — Special Ford fluid for C6 transmissions. Similar to Dexron II. Must not be used in automatics that require Type F. Type H — Another limited Ford spec that differs from both Dexron and Type F. Can be replaced with Mercon. Mercon — Ford fluid introduced in 1987, very similar to Dexron II. OK for all earlier Fords, except those that require Type F. Mercon V — Ford’s newest type, introduced in 1997 for Ranger, Explorer V6 and Aerostar, and 1998 & up Windstar, Taurus/Sable and Continental. Must not be used in 1997 or earlier Fords. Dexron — General Motors original ATF for automatics. Dexron II — Improved GM formula with better viscosity control and additional oxidation inhibitors. Can be used in place of Dexron. Dexron IIE — GM fluid for electronic transmissions. Dexron III — Replaces Dexron IIE and adds improved oxidation and corrosion control in GM electronic automatics. Dexron III/Saturn — A special fluid spec for Saturns. Chrysler 7176 — For Chrysler FWD transaxles. Chrysler 7176D (ATF +2) — Adds improved cold temperature flow and oxidation resistance. Introduced in 1997. Chrysler 7176E (ATF +3) — Adds improved shear stability and uses a higher quality base oil. Genuine Honda ATF — Special ATF for Honda automatics. Toyota Type T — Special formula for Toyota All Trac vehicles and some Lexus models. Do NOT use anything but the specified fluid. Any Lexus dealer should be able to get it and probably has it on hand.

Opinions? Yeah. 1) Its not something you want to do yourself. 2) There is a fair amount of work to be done. 3) Lexus will rip you off for the parts.(30% markup on already overinflated price) 4) Lexus will also rip you off on labor. Other places are just as competant, but cheaper. For example, they want $65 for the leather cover that covers the parking brake. Not only is that rediculous, they wanted to charge me .2 hours labor! This was today, so I'm still *BLEEP*ed. I made the guy come out to the car and show him how its replaced in under 10 seconds by simply pulling it off and putting the new one on. He sold the 'part only' after that, but the markup is stupid. Need example? Struts for trunk. $150??!?! :chairshot: EACH?!? Plus $51 labor. I don't think so. Several stores sell them, specifically marked as being OEM for a 95 SC300-no spoiler, for $39. So, considering that the engine is almost dead on identical to a normally aspirated Supra, you should be able to get new parts very easily and much cheaper. You should also be able to have them replaced anywhere they work on Supras or have a ecent general mechanic with the repair manual or experience doing the work. Of course, you won't get the rental (I'm driving an RX330 today while my SC has is 75K service), the priority service, or be able chomp down mint sticks and sip coffee while they do the paperwork, but all those amenities don't come from thin air, they are worked into the price of repairs and service as well as the cars themselves. Sorry for the long rant, but you asked for opinions. ;)

For those music fans having envy issues with BMW's offering an integrated iPod system, I recieved feedback from an inquiry I made through our dealership that the 2007 SC will not only have a new body style, but it will be the only Lexus model offering iPod integration. Of course, plans are subject to change, but that is what is currently in the works, according to the regional office in CA. My personal hope is that they ressurect the old body style and get rid of the euro-trash look and complete impracticality of the current 430's. If they donj't, then I guess I'll be driving my '95 5-speed into the grave with me when I die.

As with most things dealing with audio, it all depends. If you are satisfied with the sound coming from a premium system, then the only reason to upgrade would be so you can tell other people you put in a better stereo. On the other hand, if you find the stock system unpleasing, then there are a great many choices available. I personally find the stock Premium system to be of higher quality than most other stock systems. The Nakamichi system is only very slightly better than the premium system to my ears, but not by ANY means good enough to be called high-end audio. If you want a top notch system, be prepared to go to a specialist audio store in your area and spend a lot of time looking over their selection, listening to *your* music on what they have, and reading reviews of whichever products you narrow down as being on your 'short list'. So, to the question of worth....it depends on how much of a critical listener you are. The SC's are pretty quiet cars most of the time, so you can more readily tell the difference in audio quality between systems. Personally, I would say that IF you upgrade the speakers, you go with something like Focal drivers. Finding a sub will be more difficult due to the cramped space between the fuel tank and the sub itself. Look around though, there are plenty of options. As for head units, Eclipse makes decent gear, but so do many other companies. You can spend several grand on an audio system in a hurry. Is that *worth it*? Only your ears and wallet can answer that.

I hope you are aware of how rare those cars are. I asked Lexus customer service via their website how many were made for my model year (95) and they replied saying that 782 5-speeds were made in 95. Thats not a lot. The owner of the local dealership, who has been there since it opened in the early 90's, said he's only seen two come through his dealership, of any year.

My car is getting its 75K done on Monday (95 SC300 5-speed). Normally, the timing belt, spark plugs, oil, and such are replaced. If you havent had these done yet, then they should be. Mine were done at 60K, so I dont need to worry about it. Normally, the whole 75K maintainance costs $1100, but you can take off what you dont need (like transmission oil flush =P) or what you've done yourself and they will reduce the price, or at least that is what my dealership is doing. Because mine has already had so much done, its going to be less than half the normal cost. If you'd like I can get a list of everything they do for this milestone. I cant help you for 90K, but if the 75K has been done, there really shouldnt be anything significant.

I can verify that the 146MPH posted top speed of a 5-speed SC300 is accurate(red line reached in top gear with W58) and easily reachable on I-10 between Tucson and Phoenix. Plenty of power left, runs out of rpm. Need a 6-speed I guess. Note: Float at this speed is noticable (no spoiler) but manageable, but I don't think theres more than another 30-40MPH left before handling becomes too unreliable for public roads. Track speeds above this should be no problem.

I have the Goodyears on my SC300 right now. In the past I had the Bridgestone Pole Positions. The Pole Positions have outperformed every other tire I have personally tried, but they don't last for more than 10K miles even if you are lucky. They stick on dry pavement and wet pavement, with wonderful hydroplaning resistance. The sidewalls are rock hard, unyielding, and had the best cornering response I've ever seen. You have to watch them though, because they can go totally flat and not even appear low. (personal experience, don't ask) My vote is for Pole Positions if you can afford their replacement rate.