sc_toy

And power is power. But smooth power is what seperates Lex from the others, IMHO. Try placing a glass of water on your intake manifold and starting and revving the engine. Thing barely moves. :) Very well balanced, very well engineered. And the engine itself is very light. There's a reason lotsa 1UZ's make it into kit cars, transplants, and offshore boats. Aaron p.s. This makes me think, I was thinking about trading in my SC for an IS350 but dunno if I could live with the vibes from a V6 after having the smooth 8. Only a 2JZ would be smoother...

Well I know that my car (92 SC400, 370,000 km) when I bought it was having trouble shifting. Going from first to second it would hang, as if rev limited, at about 6000 before shifting. This would last upwards of a second. I bought 12 L of fluid, but only changed it 4L at a time. I swapped 4L, drove for a couple days, swapped another 4, and left it at that. The difference wasn't immediate, however the car now shifts nice and quick into each gear without pausing in between. Personally I'd only use Toyota T-IV, but that's just me. Cheers, Aaron

'92 SC400 (370,000 km) '91 LS400 (214,000 km) Previous: '92 Base model Camry (455,000 km - didn't die, sold it to buy SC) '89 MR2 Supercharged (265,000 km - ran a .1 sec faster 1/4 mile than factory) I didn't read the whole post but when figuring reliablilty, repair costs, etc. etc. you need to look at the big picture. Sure joe blow got 450,000 km on a 5.0L mustang, and maybe somebody somewhere bought a lemon camry once. The bottom line is the current NEW car manufacturer/nameplate with the fewest problems per hundred cars is Lexus. Period. Now for old cars, well I've owned 8 Toyotas to date, maybe I'm biased, but I also never had a major issue with any of them. I've worked on a lot of cars, my sisters BMW, all my toyota/lexus', some of the trucks at the company I work for, my brothers and aunts Chryslers... Anyway, needless to say when I look at the design of parts on other cars I say to myself "what were they thinking" and when I'm working on a toy/lex I think "now that's engineering...". And that's why I drive a Lexus. About the only non-toy car I would buy is the Lotus Elise. :) Aaron

Diesel isn't that bad for gasoline engines. It's basically an oil so I'm surprised it's harmed some peoples engines. I would drain the tank, refill (to the top) with good gas, no need for extra octane diesel has a higher detonation retardant than gas anyway. Then I'd pull the ignition fuse or relay (not at my car, sorry I can't check. And crank over the car for 10-15 seconds to dilute and flush the lines a bit. *should* be okay after that.... good luck! Now if you buy a diesel and put gasoline in it.... BOOM. :) Aaron

This was exactly what I was looking for, thanks. I've tried using better media (the $1 a piece maxell instead of $.30 a piece cheapie stacks), I always burn at or below 12x, etc. So I guess that old 12 disc must just be very picky. I'm glad the ES unit will work out, I like my head unit, and I don't think the SC dash is well suited for an aftermarket head unit (doesn't it have a slightly wider top than bottom?) Getting an ES changer from a yard around Toronto should be a piece of cake there are tons of ES's here. Thanks again for the help, Aaron

Hey, Sorry to barge in on an LS topic here but I have the same thoughts on rims in general no matter what car they're on... That said I've got 17" GS400 rims on my '92 SC400 and LOVE them. I don't understand people that say things like 18's look too small. Sign of the times I guess, when I was playing around with old Supras and MR2s a 17" rim was the big thing and the first guy to have 18's had HUGE rims. I don't understand the want/need/desire to go with something that will lower ride quality, add weight, add cost, and make your brakes look smaller. I've got 245/45R17's on my rims, and there's about 2.5" of sidewall (I know the math doesn't work out but that's the visible sidewall)... Anyway, end rant... Aaron

Hey all, When I first bought my SC the stereo was working fine, although the previous owner had clipped some of the wires to install their own amp. I fixed all that to install my amps (being doing this kinda thing for a long time so I know the wiring is right). Anyway, lately I've only been able to play 'normal' CDs. Any CD I've burnt will usually play a song or two but it hunts between songs and sometimes ends up playing something 4-5 tracks away. I was thinking it's likely that the changer is old and doesn't like burnt CDs, so I was wondering if a 96-97 or so changer would plug right in to my '92 Nak head unit. And if so does anybody have a later model changer they'd be willing to sell??? Thanks in advance, Aaron

Sorry I missed the meet last night, good turnout? We got a good dump of rain in hamilton... Now it's supposed to rain Friday too, guess I won't get to the track until next week. Aaron

Hey SK, I'll try to make it out on Wednesday... it's a different sound than I expected, but I like it. I was planning on going to Cayuga this wednesday but I can leave that until friday night, I'm not in the mood to pull my stereo and passenger seat out this early in the week anyway. :) Hey Don Juan, look up exhausts in the phone book, and look for places that'll custom bend pieces, and can give you a good warranty. Cheers, Aaron

Yeah, Last year at the track, I reset the ecu a couple times (just by pulling the fuse), and it would run 16+ seconds at first, then high 15s, mid 15's and low 15's each subsequent run. Resetting the ECU would bump it back into the 16's again. That said, I'll probably reset it when I get there, run 4-5 runs, reset it, and run 4-5 more and see where I'm at. I'd really like to get into the 14's... Aaron

I have rebuild the solenoids on a lot of Toyotas. If you've got a buddy that's halfway mechanical, take your starter out and get him to clean/replace the copper contacts and ring on the solenoid. I've never had to replace the metal. Everytime I shimmed/filed/sanded the contacts, the starter ended up outlasting the car. A rebuild kit should only be $20-40 and that'll come with new contacts, bearing, bushes, etc.... but again this is work for somebody pretty mechanical. Good luck, Aaron

When you say track, do you mean 1/4 mile or ???.... I really don't think it's a good idea to weld it. For a drag only car I suppose, but you're better off trying to find the rear end of another car that you could scrounge from the wreckers and rebuild the LSD section of it. If you're going road racing, spend the money on a decent LSD. FWIW, you might be able to find one of the supra guys that upgraded to an aftermarket LSD, and buy his stock unit. I've never had trouble getting the power down at the strip anyway, it usually will spin both if at all, even with an open diff. HTH, Aaron

Hey, Actually it was Zorro in Hamilton (Stoney Creek), but I think the one on Dundas did my buddies Celica. The more I drive the car the better it feels, not sure if maybe the ECU is having to relearn a little or not!?! I've got to go to the track next Wednesday and see if my SOTP Dyno is wrong or not. :) Cheers, Aaron

Hey all, It's a place called Zorro Muffler. It's a chain in Southern Ontario as far as I know. Damn I specifically said I wanted mandrel bends. I paid almost $800 CDN for that I figured they would have done it right. Anyway, the X-pipe was of course prefab'd. Just a standard 2.5" x-pipe. Took the car for a good drive up to the cottage and back (800 km round trip). With the windows up you only notice a slight rasp around 2200 rpm, but with the windows down it's much louder. I was worried it was too loud at first but several of my buddies running behind me said it was just right.... It's hard to say about the power, my seat of the pants dyno says I can feel a slight difference, but I think I gained 0 hp +- 10 hp..... :) I've got baseline 1/4 mile times so I'll go back to the track and see, unfortunately I've also got new rear tires so it'll be a hard comparison. At the very least I can look at the top speed and work out HP gain (approx.) from that. Cheers, Aaron

Hey All, Just got the centre section of my exhaust replaced (picking up car today). I deleted the first Y, the 3rd cat, the second Y, and the resonators. The new piece goes from the stock front cats, through 2.5" mandrel bent stainless steel, into an x-pipe, then back out through 2.5" SS to the stock mufflers. Obviously from the back end it looks factory, but the exhaust note is now much more alive. I have only started it, revved it, and drove it into the shop. Will report back later after I pick it up and take it for a good drive. Enjoy the pics... Aaron

Update: Rebled the rear, heard something on drivers rear so kept bleeding and bleeding and eventually *puff puff poof* a big bubble came out. Bled a couple more times (fluid was nice and clear), and now they're great. FWIW, I've got stock rotors, pads, calipers, etc. Just new surfaces and ford DOT 3 brake fluid (550 deg. DOT3). Took it for a drive and the brakes were ROCK hard. Took it up to 130-140 km/h and planted them and it just about put me through the windsheild. Went for a long drive around town and they didn't loosen up, so it looks like that was the only bubble. Thanks for the help, I can't believe I've done motor swaps and this caused me troubles... lol Aaron

I'm having the same problem. My brakes were okay pedal feel wise, but my slider brackets were bad so I had all my calipers and sliders rebuilt. Upon reinstall I've bled and bled the brakes to no avail. I'm a pretty experienced mechanic but am not having good luck with this. Maybe I need to compress the piston before bleeding? The last time I bled them they felt great for about 1/2 a km and then got softer again. Where it used to grab hard with about 1.5-2" of pedal travel, it's now more like 4" and it doesn't have the same confident feel (it seems to pull a touch under hard braking making me think one line has air, or more air than the other.) Also, how to bleed the accumulator and other ABS stuff??? Cheers, Aaron

Always Toyotas for me.... in order from first car to last before the SC400. '82 Celica GT-S '78 Celica GT-S '85 MR2 '89 MR2 Supercharged (sold to buy SC400) '85 Supra w/6M-GE engine and lotsa other mods '87 Camry (beater) '92 Camry (sold to buy SC400, had 420,000 km on clock, currently at 455,000) I think there's one I'm forgetting, all were bought with my own money, between the ages of 16 and 20. I had the MR2SC for over 5 years and LOVED IT. But my dream car was always an SC400 or MKIV Supra. Guess I'm livin the dream. :D Aaron p.s. Now to find a 1GZ-FE 5.0L Toyota V12 for a one of a kind engine swap. Lotsa people want to buy used 1UZ-FEs...

Hey just reviving an old post here. I've got an aftermarket remote start/keyless entry on my SC400 and I love it, works flawlessly. It should be noted that they need to be installed and setup properly so that at a certain RPM it stops cranking (should be 400-500 RPM for the 1UZ-FE methinks). Now to my question, I'm buying a remote start for my moms LS for christmas and I'm going to install it when she's at work on the 24th. I'm sure I'll have to get into the steering column to get at the ignition wires, constant power, etc. but where are the power lock and trunk release ecu's/relay boxes??? I'm hoping it's all under the drivers dash and kick panel... it snows pretty good up here and I don't have a heated garage to do this job in.... :D Thanks in advance, Aaron p.s. I just bought my snow tires this weekend, got 4 new Motegi MR7s (16x7" painted silver) and a full set of Yokohama Guardex F600s in the stock 225/55R16... my winter rims are gonna look almost as good as my summer 17's... :D

Well I think any opinion you'll get here will be biased. But as far as I'm concerned the SC is one of the more capable chassis out there. And if you've got money to throw at it the 2JZ (in GE or GTE form) is pretty limitless as far as HP is concerned. I agree with your reliability statement (sister has 325is, has spent $25,000 in repairs in last few years. Mom and I have LS and SC400s and have spent a total of about $250 in the same amount of time and mileage). I kinda like the more aerodynamic look of the SC myself, and I like the look of the California calty designed body. Just my $.02 but I'd go SC or go home... Aaron

^^^ Technically speaking a 245/45R17 is closer to correct. A 225/55R16 is 647.5mm theoretical overall height. 225/50R17 is 650.0 mm 245/45R17 is 645.5 mm I think it's safe to say that .5mm isn't exactly noticable though. :D Aaron

You really shouldn't be hard on it until it's warm. The trannies hydraulic fluid works better when warm, the heads and block have expanded and are tighter when warm. It's a problem on supercharged and turbocharged cars, if you get to hard into the boost when cold you can blow head gaskets really easily. Just be easy before she's warm. Cheers, Aaron

From what I've heard, the non-adjustables are usually around a #3-4 setting on the adjustables. Aaron

Ride quality is a little more harsh. These tires were on the GS400 the rims came off, and that's why they're not the correct size for the SC400. I will get proper 245/45s or equivalent when I change them. There is a very noticable difference between my SC and my moms LS w/ stock rubber. But that might also be due to my bad front lower a-arm bushings. I wouldn't hesitate to get 17" rims and rubber, but I'd probably steer clear of 18" and larger due to the roads where I live (not so good). Hope this helps, Aaron

Those are kumho ecsta supra 712s.... 235/45R17 on all 4 corners. They were on the car when I bought it though, I think I'll go with Yokohama AVS Sports next spring. Likely 245/45R17 fronts and 265/40R17 rear if I can stretch them onto those rims without too much bulge. We'll see... maybe 245/45 on all 4 corners Aaron