Just bought a SC400 yesterday as a daily... did I make the right choice?
 

I am not enjoying making payments and paying high insurance for my S2000 any longer so I decided to get a cheaper used car and put my S2000 up for sale.:( I bought an SC400 because of all the rwd 2 door cars I found for the price it was in the best condition and really babied by the previous owner.

After being used to the lightweight, compact and razor sharp handling S2000 I thought the SC would feel like a whale in the corners. But it actually handles really nice in the corners and is really smooth. It just kills me that it's an automatic, I feel like having all those extra cylinders goes to waste if I can't shift it to make it go quick off the line. I did a little research and there are people that convert it to a manual but just the thought of the labor and custom fabbing required is making my head hurt. The car really does seem like a great balance of sportiness in a luxury vehicle though. I just think my personal preference would be more towards the sporty side. Any other Toyota/Lexus fans on this board that can share their experiences with the SC/Soarer?

I think it's great for a daily if you aren't concerned about fuel.

Bet you wish you had one of these though :)

http://us1.webpublications.com.au/st...1/2124_2lo.jpg

Was the engine in the 400 same as the 300?

the sc400 had the 1uz V8, not the 2JZ-GE

I have a 92 sc300 as a daily right now, honestly i hate the way it handles in terms of a RWD sports coupe. but as a luxury car its nice, and refined. The economy could be better, but im not that concerned with it as much as i am with the rx7. The auto-transmissions on these cars suck balls btw, and i am indecisive if i want to spend the time and money on converting the car to manual or just selling it right out for a manual SC. There arn't many aero options that make the car look good, and sometimes just dropping the car on nice wheels tends to be overly done among the owners. From a tuning aspect, its kind of a hit or miss. One thing i absolutely hate about the car is the weight, even the doors them-self enough to wear out the hinges after a few short uses. And im not about to spend $1700-2000+ for quality carbon doors, and opt for a side bar for added side impact protection. The only thing i can think of to offset all the crap and lack of this car has is going for the 1jz or 2jz-GTE for that added power to pull the weight of the SC, and upgrading the breaking of the car, those small 1 pistons done do very well to stop the heavy load. the SupraTT front and rear brakes and diff swap right in with very small modifications. Look into it.

i can't say that i hate how the car handles, otherwise i wouldn't have bought it. took it for a drive down topanga canyon before i bought it. it definitely doesn't have the razor sharp cornering of my s2k but it still handled a lot better than some other cars i test drove. it was either this or an s chassis car, or a mk iii supra. couldn't find anything else in daily driving condition for what little cash i had, and i definitely wasn't gonna get a project car. i did notice the brakes were a little lacking. brake and diff upgrade would be nice. have you done any mods to your car, or are you keeping it stock?

Good choice for a daily. Lots of support if you want to tune it. 1UZFE's supposed to be an awesome motor. For 'junk-yard'-type mods, it shares a bit with the Mk4 (diff for sure, brakes probably). Transmission swaps likely require an adapter plate but I'm pretty sure some Aussie's put am R154 in one.

well i am on a junkyard type budget...:(

V8 Soarer with active suspension > All your lexus sc are belong to us.

about a month ago i was looking for a new car i wanted to upgrade from my corrola and buy somethin rwd and fun and almost bought a manual version i really liked it and it wouldve been perfrct for everyday use aswell, in the end the combination of unexpected costs elsewhere and the lure of a RX-7 or Supra TT meant that i didnt even test drive it, now im trying to build up my money again so i can get one more car before my FT

Honestly most anything your thinking of swapping, check out supraforums.com there's quite a few sc300 & a couple 400 threads

You should've bought a miata

i didn't go the miata route because i'm done with 2 seat convertibles.. if i ever buy a convertible again it will only be an s2000 out of nostalgia. drove the SC on the freeway last night and while the automatic makes it a slush box off the line, man those extra cylinders give it a mean punch on the fwy!!!! this thing really would be a fun car with a stick, obviously not as fun as a lightweight rwd in the corners but the uz is one mean motor!! looking at the nose reminds me more and more of the LFA, which is cool. will post pics tmrw.

edit: matador, you'll have to explain to me the differences between the jdm soarer and the US SC's as i'm not familiar with the jdm model at all.

Where were G35/37 option too. I like SC400 more so :w00t: lol

waaay beyond my price range. as well as the 350z, mark iv supra, 300zx, fd rx-7. if i could afford any of those i would have just kept the s2000.

true, price is higher up than SC series.

They are actually pretty similar, barring that you could actually get cloth seats in the JDM soarers.

What really set them apart was;

a) They were available with a 2.5 Twin Tubro 1JZ in addition to the 3.0 NA 2JZ
b) You could actually get that version with a manual transmission

and for the gravy

c) Some of the UZ soarers were actually available with an active suspension (yeah, Toyota did it before Benz and pretty much anyone else). It is however, even rarer than the manual tranny soarers.

...don't forget the single turbo VVT-i 1JZ Soarer. Ultimate sport version, IMO.

However you have the 1UZFE, not really that much heavier than a 2JZ, I think (aluminum block goodness). A motor that is starting to make its way into both Mk3 and Mk4 Supras. Sometimes even twin turbo'd. The early 1UZ's are supposed to be majorly over-built (6 bolt mains and 4 bolt rods), but I don't know the year cut-off. Later are supposed to be a bit weaker. So you've already got the motor... and 4.0L can spool a lot of turbo quickly...

As for the auto, I'm 75% sure that it is the same as the Mk4 TT's auto, which there are upgrades for, which would be less of a headache than a manual swap. Firm the shifts up a bit.

How much more was the S2K w/insurance compared to the SC? You can hook up an SC but curious as to why you went that route.

huh, so the early 1uz's are better for boost applications? i know later uz's in the US from 98 on had dual VVTi and were rated at 290hp, 40hp higher than the early ones.

the s2k was a 05 and was financed. i was paying 280 a month plus 200 insurance. not a lot, but i got a lot of bills and they add up. austerity is the new black, lol. SC was a 92 with 130k miles so it was cheap enough that i could pay cash. looking forward to not having to make payments.

All 1JZ cars switched from twin turbos over to single turbo VVT-i in 1996 or so. I really don't bother to mention it, as it is an update/evolution rather than a different model. Good that you brought it up none the less.

The UZ is all alloy, and actually far lighter than the JZ. In fact, it is around the same weight of a 3S-GTE (Slightly heavier IIRC).

It is in fact majorly overbuilt. I've been telling guys for years that the UZ is essentially a 4.0 V8 JZ engine. 6 bolt mains, forged crank, very robust. Guys in Australia have boosted them to around 800hp on the stock block. The weak point are the rods, they are thinnish and not forged, but they can still take a lot. I plan to do a lot of work with this engine whenever my shop opens. They are great for NA applications too, as I'm pretty sure Ive seen guys with over 500whp NA.

Can't remember the differences in the bottom end between no vvt-i and vvti 1UZs (if they are any), but the 3UZ has thinner weaker rods and less bore space between the cylinders.



Guys, These engines are based on race engine architecture and have been used modified in racing applications from GT500 to Daytona prototypes. Awesome bit of kit.

lol you guys are starting to make me wanna mod this thing! but if i go crazy and mod this car now that means no money saved up for an ft-86 later!;)

sorta in the same boat, iv had my 92 SC300 since June, and put down 3000 miles on it thus far, it has 88k original miles. I want to mod it sooooo bad! but im keeping myself in check and not modding it for at least a year and a half. So far its stock, no mods. Its hard though, but i think if i save the money I am going to use for modding for other bigger better things, i might be happier. AKA FT86.

1UZ is an awesome engine, iv had the privilege and opportunity to help build a few conservative 600+ hp engines. They respond to mods very well, much more so than the JZ/RB/LSx engines. However if your thinking of using FI applications in the future there have been less problems with the NON-VVTI 1UZ vs the VVTI variant.

I knew for sure it was lighter than the 7M, but wasn't certain if it was lighter than the JZ motors. Aluminum FTW.

As for the rods, it's my understanding that the early years of the 1UZ had beefy rods, but it was changed even before they got the power bump to 290hp. It may have only been the first year or two. I think the engines that were rated 250hp from the factory? (don't quote me, though...)

A VVT-i head/ecu swap onto the earlier bottom end sounds full of win. (with boost naturally...)

I've heard the racing rumours as well, something to do with a potential IRL design when Nissan was fielding Infiniti branded engines for the Indy cars.