All Modders Listen Up!

[BrysSC400]

Okay, I have a '94 SC400, and I just came across a LOT of money and I want to make this car the sweetest possible while still maintaining a classy fairly stock look. I really want to keep the 1UZ-FE by supercharging or something like that, but I want to know what I should get to have the ULTIMATE lexus...from suspension, to Audio/Video, all the way down to the damn instrument cluster. I know a lot of you have (ebonicly speaking) "sweet !Removed! rides", so let me know what you think. If I get some good advice (or even if I don't I guess) I'll post pics of the progress on LOC. Thanx in advance for all the help. This place should be called the "Lexus Experts and All-around Badasses Club."

Thanx again guys,

Bryan

[BrysSC400]

PS: I want the sweetest HID light system I can buy.

PPS: I don't have any mod's except for some 17" Enkei's on top of some Z rated Yokohama's.

Let's hear those dream car suggestions.

-Bryan

[Mungrin]

custom interior by katzkins to start it off

[jzz30]

you can pay me to think some bellof HIDs would be top notch. go for HI and LOW

[BrysSC400]

hey jzz30 thanx man...I was actually just looking at those HID's and you're exactly right they look pretty awesome.

[JDOwen2]

I'd trade it in on a 99 and start from there. Or go to Australia and pick up a Soarer!

[bean_8044]

Australian Soarers are way too expensive. Come to Okinawa where $6k can get you a GT-R, EVO VI, or three Soarers

[Mr. O]

turbo supra brake upgrade, or if you got the money (which it seems like you do) got brembo GT brakes. Also go eclipse lcd cd/mp3/dvd headunit. might wanna go infinity components speakers with some nice subs and amps in the trunk.hmm what else would be nice.. TEINs are always a plus :D and if i were you i would go philips 4300 or 6000K HID. Cant go wrong w/ philips HIDs. Do a full 97 front and rear conversion for sure.. it looks a lot hotter.. well to me, its all up to which style you like more. well thats all the input i have for now! have fun and post pics when your done! goodluck

Mr. O

[Theodore]

GTR V-SPEC 2 = My one true love.

[BrysSC400]

Sounds good...keep them coming...I have the brakes and the lights on the way already and I'm still thinking about everything else.

I got the Brembo GT (i think) cross drilled and slotted brakes with their insane calipers...I'm even getting a new master cylinder that can handle a little higher pressure I'm hoping to make this 4000 lb. beast stop on a dime. And I emailed the Bellof company and they don't sell actual Bellof systems to the US anymore, they sell some off brand, so I went with the Phillips because a friend of mine has them on his M3 and they look really really nice. Anyway I'll post pics as I go...keep the ideas coming. Thanks a lot. PS if any of you are ever in central Texas...let me know we'll go run our cars together....later

-Bryan

[bean_8044]

Racing brakes are just that. For racing. For street purposes they might not work exactly as you plan either. Im sure theyll stop good, but they are going to wear pretty strange since they arent being used as planned from Brembo. If youre getting a street kit then i wouldnt worry too much, but youre still going to have to do alot of maintainance on them

[soarer479]

id like to go to okinawa and pick up a GTR.

how much are used R34's over there??

[bean_8044]

Depending on the model and year, around $50k for a newer one and 35 for older models. R32s are around 6 and R33s maybe 10-20. Theyre cheaper in mainland too

[southernsc300]

if money is not a problem..

Clear corners... makes awsome lighting upgrade

leatherseats... has damn good leather replacement

auto coture body kit

HRE 19" rims

Tein suspension

true dual exhaust

[SC40096]

I just came from Okinawa (The West Virginia of Japan) and opted not to buy a 96 Turbo Supra I saw. Nothing about that beast was stock. It was going for about $15g's. I looked into a lot of companies and they told me all the mods that have to be done, they all came up to a lot of money. Not to mention the Taxes that Good ol' Uncle Sam is going to take from you. In all, if you plan to bring in a $50K Skyline from Okinawa or Japan, prepare to dish out another 25g's on Modifications and Taxes. All this has to be done in the 180 days that the Gov't gives you to do the mods. Oh yeah, the modifications that they make on the vehicle are detrimental to the car's performance. But I got good news...You can keep that Skyline just the ways it drives in Japan only if you register it as a Racing Vehicle. Which means you have to tow your sweet !Removed! Skyline everywhere.

Later, to all the Marines doing time in "The Rock"...Semper Fi!

[Calvin L]

how much is alot of money B)

[SC40096]

OK. How much is a lot of money? About 10K to 16K just for the Supra. The companies here change minor stuff but charge a !Removed! for it. R32 price for the mods are about 14g's, 16-18g's for the R33 and 20-25g's for a R34.

As you may know, all the Japanese specifications vehicles (JDM car) are Right Hand Drive. Unfortunately, it is difficult to import JDM cars into the US at present except the 25 years or older model. It is because you have to obtain the approval from the DOT and the EPA in order to import the JDM car and it needs to legalize a car when it will reach to the US port.

Let me advise you that unless you wish to present crash test data for any Right Hand Drive car, it cannot legally be imported to the US. This is prohibitively expensive as a vehicle must be crashed to obtain the data. Also the JDM car probably do not meet the US emission standard. And after 1996 models probably need to install the OBD2 system in order to pass the emission standard.

For your information, here is a link of the US importing information.

EPA : http://www.epa.gov/otaq/imports/quikover.htm

DOT : http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/import/

US customs : http://www.customs.ustreas.gov/xp/cgov/import/

[bean_8044]

You can bypass the crash data by providing a letter of a substantially similar model from the original manufacturer that would state that there is a USDM model that passes the crash test. I.E.- Soarer compared to SC400.

[silkiechicken]

what if you found a soraer for cheap in Japan and had it shipped here and registered as a racing car... not that expensive right... then... switch the licence plates with the sc300 you own and never get into an accident? is that more cost effective providing that you never get into an accident?

[alexR]

and the most fraudulent(sp?)!!!! Then your car can get impounded and you want have to worry about anything! :)

[alexR]

also, back to the original thread....I would start modding the motor, rebuild it with some stronger internals, and for the 1uz, I think a supercharger would be a great way to go. A nice set of slicks on the back would almost be crucial, seeing as you'll be hitting peak torque very early and I'd be surprised if a set of DR's would keep you on the road. With proper traction, a S/C'd 1uz would be a monster, esp. from a dig...I'd love to see what kind of torque numbers it put down on the dyno

[bean_8044]

I know some of the aussies have the S/C sc400 with some wild setups, but with the availability of the 1JZ and 2JZ, you cant blame them for not having an aftermarket. Plus the fact that the cars arent really marketed to the "racing" crowd.

(If you import a soarer for racing you

-have to have a racing license

-can only keep it here for a few weeks

-will get to watch your car get crushed as they do not impound, only destroy)

[silkiechicken]

darn... then that means I must make a ton of money, buy over some companies, and purchace a cargo ship and some containers to some how smuggle a car... or if I ever got that much money... just get it legally. :D

[kingkong5]

IMHO turning your SC400 into a dream car would take more than just worrying about the performance. Maybe I'm getting old (just turned 31) but sheer speed isn't necesssarily what it's all about. Sure, tune it up, add your turbos and HID's, but how comfortable are you INSIDE the car when you're driving?

I'd spend some money getting custom components put into the car. Have the audio shop put in some new speakers, a custom sub, and extra power to run everything. The DVD player, big monitor and maybe an XBox if you really got the dough to spend. If you're into fast and furious stuff, and some neon lighting all around to complete the look (I wouldn't do it to my car, but YMMV).

That way you'd have a fast car that was fun to be inside :)

[BrysSC400]

Wow...I really appreciate all of you're attention to detail and suggestions. However, I don't want to get another car and as far as the money I just got a job that I'm making about $125/hr. and am working 50-60 hrs/week so you can do the math. And several other fairly lucrative things on top of that. Anyway, the point is the money is not the problem, and I really want to have a car that runs like a bat out of hell, and has fairly decent handling without looking like a NASCAR car inside. Anyway, get back to me...I'll be gone for a few days to go see my g/f who's out of town, and then I'll start posting some pictures.

Thanks again...you guys rock!!!

-Bryan