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That's probably true, but the exhaust and intake each lead to better performance and better gas mileage (or so I have heard). The better performance may only be felt during the 5%, but the better gas mileage is pretty much across the board, so I figured that was as good of a reason for doing them as any. The TC isn't a fuel saver, but compensates for the exhaust's reducing your low end performance. -Scott

Forgot to mention, I did a SeaFoam clean on everything but the oil a few days ago...saw huge improvements. Then I did a general tune-up, changing the plugs (NGK Platinum irrodium somethingorother) /wires (Beldin kit) /cap & rotor (and re-cleaned the deeper portion of the Throttle-body while I was in there) and saw another huge gain. This car doesn't act like the same one I bought a week and a half ago. It's driving much smoother and nicer, with a dramatic increase in responsiveness and noticable amount more power (enough that after doing it, the wife took it to the store and called me on the way saying "What did you do to this? It's got a lot more 'oomph' to it!"). I didn't do the exact seafoam thing, in that I used a valvoline kit instead, but from my understanding it works the same way. The mechanic uses these kits regularly, and puts trust in them so that's what I got. I suggest that anyone who hasn't done this to their car in a while, go out and do it...see what gains you get. Very nice! -Scott

Dawg, Thanks for the name and address! I appreciate it. After reading this thread, I am thinking of doing a couple changes to my 94 SC300 Automatic. I have a mechanic friend who is doing the majority of the work for me on these things, on the condition I find out about the same enhancements for his 92 SC400. He doesn't want to spend a huge amount of time reading through the various threads and posts, so he figures if I dig up the 'gems', he will do the work. Before doing these, though, I would ask a little bit of advice/questions to make sure I am not digging myself in too deep: Exhaust: Thinking of going to a single CAT (instead of the 2 or 3 that my 300 has) per side. This single cat would be a magnaflow or some such that would provide better flow while still keeping me OK with emissions. Is a single CAT sufficient, and if so, is there one I should get? I saw this one posted earlier: Single CAT for SC's and though it would probably work, but wanted to check with people who have gone through this. Second, on the exhaust: Going to a less restrictive, oval muffler (probably a Magnaflow again - especially if anyone has a distributer from Ebay that I can get them for with less expense). I live in a nice neighborhood and most of my driving is strictly commuting to work/non-aggressive, so I would prefer a little more subdued sound (oval vs. round). Is there a muffler / dealer that you guys would suggest? Do you know if it is it a straight-through, or an off-set? BFI Intake: Bouncing this back and forth - I hear that both the BFI and the Exhaust give you more HP plus better gas mileage (this is my daily driver and I commute a fair amount each day to work, so that is a concern for me), so I was thinking of doing this also. I haven't seen a DIY post/article about this, though...don't know if there is one that I haven't found through search, or if it is such a simple thing that the idea of a DIY walkthrough is silly...I'm just not incredibly mechanical, so don't know if it's hard or not. Does the BFI make a significant difference in HP? In gas mileage? I was hoping that by doing the exhaust and the intake, I could get an extra 3-4 mpg out of the car, while making it a little more exciting to drive. Torque Converter: I am really interested in this, but when I brought it up to the mechanic, he said that if you do a TC with a 2800 RPM stall speed, you usually have to rev your engine up significantly before it releases, then it jerks off the line. I would like the ability to have more throttle response, but not if I am jeopardizing the 'normal' ride (normal being the 95% of the time when I am not sticking my foot into the gas) - plus, I don't want to kill fuel mileage. I wasn't sure if that was correct or not, so I figured I would ask a couple guys here what they saw as the difference in drive after doing the TC, when they are NOT trying to jump off the line? How does it act? Can you tell a difference in it if you are not pushing the car? Piggy-back ECUs: I was thinking of possibly going with an ECU, but (1) woudn't know which are good for our cars, and (2) heard that the computer in our cars 'learn' what the piggy-back ECU is doing, so they are only good for a short period of time before having to do a reset of some sort. Is that correct? How difficult/expensive is it to have these 'tuned'? How tuneable are these piggy-back ECU's? Is it possible to tune for efficiency if your foot isn't in the gas, and then a secondary (higher RPM?) 'power' setting for when you stick your foot in it? I know nothing about these things except what I am reading here, and while I am learning a lot, I am still an idiot... Thanks again for any advice... -Scott

Can I get the contact info for this company that will fix the HVAC LCD black-out issue? I don't know who may have it, but can someone post it? I just got my SC300 this past weekend, and this is one of the problems I would like to have fixed. Thanks! -Scott