captpaul Posted September 14, 2003 Posted September 14, 2003 Would appreciate any feedback on winter driving performance of SC 430. Making a purchase decision and salesmen's comments left some doubts on all weather suitability. Thanks, PW
AWJ Posted November 22, 2003 Posted November 22, 2003 I wouldn't drive it in the snow if that is what you are asking. Then again, it's hard to find a rear wheel drive car that does well in the snow. Driving skill and tires are the ultimate factor though.
Sadistic Posted November 23, 2003 Posted November 23, 2003 If you had fresh tires designed for winter weather, some weight in the trunk, go slow enough, and have basic knowledge of car physics, you should do alright.
jzz30 Posted November 23, 2003 Posted November 23, 2003 drift? havent driven in snow but would love to try!
vasso Posted November 24, 2003 Posted November 24, 2003 don´t know about sc430 but sc400 can handle with snow no problem as said good tires and slow accelerating comes with it! In my area is snow on the road at the moment and somtimes it´seven fun! Ofcourse there is lot´s of cars which can do it better in the snow but I personally can´t resist the sc400. just my thought´s... good luck tom
AWJ Posted November 24, 2003 Posted November 24, 2003 I get nervous running my car in the rain (wich is very rare). Even though it can handle it - at 3k rpm if boost hits, the car tosses her butt all over the place. I try to lay off the throttle in the rain but sometimes even at quarter throttle - boost will build. It's totally controllable for me, but it does take you by surprise. Of course that is with a very large amount of horsepower on tap and the factory version does just fine in the rain. I won't drive her in the snow. I spun the 93 in the snow the one time I drove it over the white stuff. Finiky clutch = not good for snow. Of course the 400 and 430 are auto and probably have trac - so with snow tires and a good driver - No problem eh?
Sadistic Posted November 25, 2003 Posted November 25, 2003 blah blah boost, blah blah turbo.. Rub it in why don't ya?! This winter my toy gets upgraded ;)
Sadistic Posted November 25, 2003 Posted November 25, 2003 Pretty boring, just a GTE swap. Thought about doing a 1J swap, but I'm not really the type to get all warm and squishy over JDM stuff, so the GTE will do just fine. Nothing too crazy, a little over BPU by spring. Still toying with the idea of making our own kit though. And using mine as a test vehicle.
AWJ Posted November 25, 2003 Posted November 25, 2003 Yea ... um, the second one. Not that you have to, but that would be bad @$$. Tubular header, t4 flange, indy style collector - oh man... stainless steel... mmmmm Sorry about the thread high jack, captpaul. So the jury is out on wether or not the car is good for winter. I say buy it. You won't regret it. After you get rid of the run flats. Actually, have the dealer put some traditional radials on it for you. Then buy it. ;)
Sadistic Posted November 25, 2003 Posted November 25, 2003 I second that, don't have the runflats. The ride quality is horrible, they are like driving on solid blocks of aluminum. Get some good radials or even snow tires, pretend for a few months that you're not Mario Andretti and you'll do fine ;) Trust me. That's actually what we were toying with. A tubular design with a T4, run a side mount I/C since I don't really want to announce to the world that it's more than what it looks like, If I can't get a big enough side mount I would gladly paint a nice FMIC black, or use black mesh to hide it. Maybe just swap over to the GTE head, instead of dropping the entire block in. There honestly is a world of possibilities with the car, I just need to sit down and decide what is going to happen. What setup do you run on yours?
AWJ Posted November 25, 2003 Posted November 25, 2003 We should take this to pm or msn. I'll message you tomorrow evening. I should be getting to bed. But I think you're selling the na-t short. ...I don't really want to announce to the world that it's more than what it looks like... Sorry to hack, but when you hit 18 to 20 psi at 10:1 on that GE with a good tune, you will be looking back the supra TT. Unless it is APU.
sightdev Posted November 26, 2003 Posted November 26, 2003 TRAC works wonder in slipper conditions. Its dummy proof making it hard to over accelerate on slippery surface. Good set of tires are good and the LS430 does come with 4 season tires. I have a Jeep so i don't drive the LEXUS when it snows but i was caught in a snow storm one time and i made it home safely.
Bly Posted November 28, 2003 Posted November 28, 2003 With the stock run flats on the SC430 the car is undrivable in the snow and not great in the rain. With high performance ALL SEASON tires the car is much better. It's not front wheel drive so don't expect miracles but in moderate snow it will get you home.
alicias Posted December 8, 2003 Posted December 8, 2003 i just got my 93 400 two weeks ago and the east coast had their first storm of the season. my car was undrivable. i'm not expecting miracles. i've had many rear wheel drive cars in the past and snow wasn't a problem. i think the weight is ... plus its an automatic transmission. so what's the consensus on the best tires? how much weight do i need in the trunk. does anyone know anything about plastic chains?
Lex Luthor Posted December 8, 2003 Posted December 8, 2003 Drove mine in the heavy snow we had for the past couple days...even with all seasons and plenty of kitty litter in the boot....still terrible. Gonna build me a lifted up anti-terrorist river-wading post-apocolyptic crushmobile for next winter :) Lexus powered of course... :D
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