Sc400 Acceleration Questions

[Da Kid With the LEXUS]

Hi, I have a lexus '93 lexus sc400 with 48,000 miles on it. I wanted to know how to get the fastest 0-60 when racing (like when should i turn off overdrive and put on power). Also, does anyone know what the 0-60 is when o/d is off and power on? How can I make it faster and gain horsepower without spending thousands? I really don't know much about cars. Can I get NOS, if so should I use wet or dry? Is it illegal in NY? What's a good exhaust to put on?

Also, my friend has a 2004 subaru forester (suv) turbo engine with automatic transmition, he claims that his car is much faster than my sc400 for 0-60. Do you think that is true?

[soarer479]

i very much doubt he is faster than you. race him and find out

[Mr. Curious]

cheap power = nitrous

dry systems are simpler. wet systems have more power potential.

a good exhaust to put on is one custom made or one for www.lexussoarer.com

btw, awd 0wNz rwd/fwd in 0-60. he weighs ~600lbs less, but has 40 less hp and 25 less tq. id say hed rape you in 0-60, especially if hes put a few dollars into the right mods.

[lexxus]

You don't want to hear this. The Lexus is not a race car. It just isn't. If you want to drag race, you should get an old Chevy with a V8. Or even a ZX with a turbo. The appeal of the Lexus is different, in my opinion. I don't know, I was just thinking about how I wish I could have found one with 48,000 miles on it. These are gorgeous cars, one of the best looking cars on the road. Only maybe the Lamborghinni and the Aston Martin look as cool, and you're talking money in the stratosphere. That Lexus with 48,000 could last you the next ten years, if you treat it right. But if you race it, it's going to break and cost you big money. You could buy an old Nova/Camaro with a 327/350...

[jzz30]

my friend just recently bought the forester turbo and its auto( he is older and tired of drivng 5 speed) he still goes down to our local drag strip and according to him he does high 15s so i dont know about 0-60 but i think you can take him on the quarter.

[sightdev]

Forrester -turbo w/automatic!! Not much low-end torque + turbo lag, it won’t have much of a chance from 0-60 compare to SC. Best way to launch any automatic is to power break and launch at the RPM range where more torque is produced (this applies to the manual shift too). With that note, ‘power’ switch on, TRAC turned off (if you have one), power break to 2-3k range where you will feel the surge of power kick in and may begin to spin rear wheels, launch and hope for the best. The member above is correct about SC. SC is not designed for drag racing, and it is more designed for comfortable cruising. Few of the members here have Mods that will enhance the ability to be sportier but your stock with exhaust won’t do much.

[sc_toy]

- O/D switch only allows the tranny to use 4th gear, won't affect a stoplight drag

- PWR/NORM tranny switch doesn't apply to WOT as far as I know, so again no effect on a stoplight drag

- what the guy above me said is right, I went to the drags a couple weeks back and ran two 15.4s by holding the brakes as hard as I can, and pushing the gas so that the car almost is pushing the front tires, then when the last light lit I hammered it and released the brake. I tried a couple runs by just hammering the gas off the line and I ran 15.6-15.7.

- cheap mods that should increase acceleration: shift kit, BFI....

Aaron

[Mr. Curious]

Only maybe the Lamborghinni and the Aston Martin look as cool

*cough* elise *cough*

*cough* mk4 supra *cough*

:whistles:

[Mr. Curious]

Forrester -turbo w/automatic!! Not much low-end torque + turbo lag, it won’t have much of a chance from 0-60 compare to SC.

LMFAO!! where do you get this information? here are some comparisons:

0-60... 1/4

93 sc400 7.0 15.3

02 wrx 5.7 14.4 (ALL 0-60 to get ahead. turbo lag whaaa?)

95 gsx 6.4 14.9 (hmmm... im seeing a trend)

04 evo8 4.8 13.4 (a bigger difference in 0-60 than 1/4 compared to the sc400)

97 3kgt vr4 4.8 13.6 (even BIGGER difference!)

do i dare mention the turbo 911's with their sub 4 0-60's?

stock cars dont use big turbos!

[Mr. Curious]

I went to the drags a couple weeks back and ran two 15.4s by holding the brakes as hard as I can, and pushing the gas so that the car almost is pushing the front tires, then when the last light lit I hammered it and released the brake. I tried a couple runs by just hammering the gas off the line and I ran 15.6-15.7.

.3 sec increase by just launching :D . btw, what size tires and what kind of tires did you use to run your 15.4?

[sightdev]

Forrester -turbo w/automatic!! Not much low-end torque + turbo lag, it won’t have much of a chance from 0-60 compare to SC.

LMFAO!! where do you get this information? here are some comparisons:

0-60... 1/4

93 sc400 7.0 15.3

02 wrx 5.7 14.4 (ALL 0-60 to get ahead. turbo lag whaaa?)

95 gsx 6.4 14.9 (hmmm... im seeing a trend)

04 evo8 4.8 13.4 (a bigger difference in 0-60 than 1/4 compared to the sc400)

97 3kgt vr4 4.8 13.6 (even BIGGER difference!)

do i dare mention the turbo 911's with their sub 4 0-60's?

stock cars dont use big turbos!

Your stats are correct -+ .5 depending various conditions. But the stats are done by professionals with ‘drop’ launch (manual trans). 2005 Forester has peak HP of 210 @5600rpm. To launch a Forester with 5M at 4Krpm took 0 to 60 in mid 6 seconds (this is where early SC400 sits), with 4-speed auto it took mid 7 seconds. Considering I have driven and owned few turbo cars myself, automatic turbo Subaru has big rush once the RPM ranges in 4000+. 2.5 Subaru engine alone is a competent engine but Forester is 3200 +lbs with tall stand and it is not WRX (Forester may get the WRX treatment, which adds 50hp). 0-60 stats varies because of external conditions such as temperature, altitude, and etc. If you can find an old Car and Driver from 1992, 1993 SC had mid 6 seconds from 0-60 because the specification was similar to that of the 1993 Z28 which was in the low 6 seconds. I bought the 1993 Z28 that year because it was half the price and the performance was top. In any case, with proper launch, I will put my money on low mileage 1993 SC400.

[Mr. Curious]

the low end on the 1uzfe powerban isnt anything to shout about. probably the best thing you could affordably do to better your 0-60 is just more stickier rubber. put some 275 mp or even uhp goo out back.

[lexxus]

Yeah, the thing is, you think SC400 and "V8", but...it's a REALLY tiny v8. What is it? 260 cubic inches? That's where Detroit started out! America 6 cylinders have more displacement. The SC is a beautiful cruiser that just about lasts forever, but fast it's not. Me and my buddies had 12 second street machines when I was a teen. Mostly "small" block Chevies, maybe one L88 big block Nova in the crew. A small block Chevy motor has about 70 to 100 more cubic inches than the Lex v8, and don't even compare the 260 to a 427/435!

Dude, so what if you beat a Subara station wagon. I'm telling you, save the Lexus to impress the ladies, and get something else if you wanna race. If you break that Lexus, it's going to be expensive.

I'll tell you a funny story. A few years ago a wealthy friend of mine got a new Porsche, and he wanted to impress me. So, we went out on the town, and he had his foot in it all night. We pull up to this light, and there next to us sits this raggedy-looking old Datsun 510(I think it was) I mean primered and nasty, with some gangbanger looking teenager driving. But the exhaust note of this old Datsun was popping. Not voooooomba. RAP!RAP!RAP! You could hear the motor taking the gas. Well, we got our asses beat three times that night. It was miserable for my friend. He was so embarrassed. I mean, the Datsun kid was slamming gears and pulling away strong after second gear each time. My friend just spent like 50 grand on a car that got eaten alive by an ancient Datsun.

HOWEVER...later that evening, the ladies were able to appreciate the Porsche.

[Mr. Curious]

actually, the 1uzfe is 244ci. porsches have *BLEEP* poor quality according jdp&a (lexus #1 auto in the world :) ). racing a 510 is like flipping a coin. they can run 20's. they can run 10's. they have such a unique aftermarket support that they can be crazy in almost every way possible. id love to have 510. maybe swap in a 3sgte and the awd drivetrain also :o . oh wait, im neither crazy rich nor crazy knowledgeable. :(

[bean_8044]

It may be off on a wild tangent, but....

39 Denso Sard Supra GT (Ranked #1)

38 au Cerumo Supra(Ranked #3)

6 Esso Ultraflo Supra(Ranked #6)

35 Yellow Hat Supra(Ranked #7)

37 Dynacity Tom's Supra(Ranked #8)

36 Woodone Tom's Supra(Ranked #9)

25 Eclipse Advan Supra(Ranked #10)

They all use the 3uz-fe. Granted, its not the 1uz and its a whole different engine than the production engine, but they also control 7 out of 10 spots in the GT500 class of the JGTC. Lets not forget about the Craftsman Truck series Toyota also

[sc_toy]

.3 sec increase by just launching :D . btw, what size tires and what kind of tires did you use to run your 15.4?

Yeah it was really noticeable in my 60 foot times. I did about 7 passes that night trying out different things and comparing speeds all the way down the track.

Anyway, tires are 50% worn 235/45R17 Kumho Ecsta Supra 712's @ 32 psi or so. TRAC off, normal trans mode. Brand new toyota air filter. 1/4 tank of gas. 100+ pounds of stereo stuff and a couple work laptops in the back. :)

I'm going to make a BFI, remove the subs/amps, and possibly remove the passenger seat and A/C components and see if I can't get it down to a 15.0 flat on the stock engine. Might remove the rear mufflers too, not for sound or power, but for weight savings. I'll have to bring a couple sockets with me to the strip.

[Mr. Curious]

id take off the rear muffler pieces and also the piece with the resonators on it. you can also take out all of the lining in your trunk, your cd player, your amp, your spare, and all of the tools and styrofoam pieces in the trunk; this is all easy stuff that can be swapped in short time. you could also try a run without your trunk lid and maybe even a run without both the trunk lid and hood.

[sc_toy]

id take off the rear muffler pieces and also the piece with the resonators on it. you can also take out all of the lining in your trunk, your cd player, your amp, your spare, and all of the tools and styrofoam pieces in the trunk; this is all easy stuff that can be swapped in short time. you could also try a run without your trunk lid and maybe even a run without both the trunk lid and hood.

Yeah I had the mid pipe section off to change the gaskets behind the cats, the car was LOUD.... :o The previous owner got rid of the nak amps ($#@%@^$) so my amps are mounted to my sub box right now, its easy to unhook the whole thing, just damn heavy to lift out. The spare and all the tools were out of it when I dragged it last time.

I might take out the back seat lower portion because it's so easy, but it really is damn light. The subs are HEAVY 75+ pounds right there. The passenger seat must be over 50 pounds. The A/C system including lines, condensor, evaporator, etc. on most Toyotas weighs in around 50 pounds. The mufflers feel like they're around 15 pounds each, but the mid pipe section with the cat and two resonators must weight 30-40 pounds.

Realistically I could shave 150+ pounds from the way it ran last time, + the BFI (not expecting much but every bit helps). When working out the numbers, on a cold night I might be able to get a 15.0 flat.