Noob Searches for The Truth

[boomgarden]

. . . about my new(ish) SC430, that is.

First, a brief intro. I'm a geezer (51) who bought a Certified 2002 SC430 a few days ago. I love the car.

Through the years, I've owned a wide range of performance-oriented cars--Porsche 911, Supra TT, Mustang GT, VW R32, and more. I'm also a motorcyclist (currently riding a BMW R1200ST). While I don't demand a car that delivers hemorrhage-inducing acceleration, I do enjoy brisk driving. :scared:

I'd like to look at some mild mods--but it looks like there's not a huge aftermarket for Lexus V8 performance mods (I'm guessing this is not news to anyone here). And, yes, I've done a fair number of searches here and on other forums and have burned through a couple of servers at Google in the search for info. So, I humbly ask for your help . . .

In no particular order, I'd like to find sources for and hear your opinions about:

-Aftermarket ECUs and/or chip tuners;
-Better-flowing induction/filter systems; and
-Cat-back exhaust systems.

Also, the SC has a small amount of cowl shake (with the top down) that I think a strut tower bar could cure.

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance. :icon16:

 

[cribbj]

Welcome Boomgarden, always nice to see another "geezer". I'm 55, and there's quite a few of us over 50 here.

Concerning standalone ECU's, the early SC and the Supra share identical ECU connectors, and a very similar harness, so the AEM ECU for the Supra "should" be able to work in an early SC without too much pain. Whether this still holds true for the later SC is another thing, and I don't know that answer.

Since you're in Chicago, no doubt you must know Larry at Sound Performance? I believe he's done a few VVTi equipped motors with the AEM, however I think he left the VVTi functions to the OEM ECU, and used the AEM for fuel & ignition.

If your emissions/inspection requirements aren't too stringent there in IL, a Whipple on that motor would really wake it up.

I don't think you'll get much out of intakes, downpipes and mufflers by themselves, however if your end goal is to turbo or supercharge it, then reduction of losses in the intake and exhaust will certainly help the overall cause.

Headers are available - do a search on S&S or headers here, and you should be able to find them.

John

 

[boomgarden]

Welcome Boomgarden, always nice to see another "geezer". I'm 55, and there's quite a few of us over 50 here.

Concerning standalone ECU's, the early SC and the Supra share identical ECU connectors, and a very similar harness, so the AEM ECU for the Supra "should" be able to work in an early SC without too much pain. Whether this still holds true for the later SC is another thing, and I don't know that answer.

Since you're in Chicago, no doubt you must know Larry at Sound Performance? I believe he's done a few VVTi equipped motors with the AEM, however I think he left the VVTi functions to the OEM ECU, and used the AEM for fuel & ignition.

If your emissions/inspection requirements aren't too stringent there in IL, a Whipple on that motor would really wake it up.

I don't think you'll get much out of intakes, downpipes and mufflers by themselves, however if your end goal is to turbo or supercharge it, then reduction of losses in the intake and exhaust will certainly help the overall cause.

Headers are available - do a search on S&S or headers here, and you should be able to find them.

John

Thanks, John. Emissions compliance will be an issue--I'm in the Chicago metro area, and cars of this age get tested on a regular basis (through the OBD connector). Whatever I do will have to keep me within the legal emissions limits.

I appreciate the info--this is my first Lexus (though not my first Toyota product) and it will take me a while to get up to speed on what's available.

-Mike

 

[Lextreme II]

Boomgarden,

Welcome to our forum. You have a beautiful ride... The most extreme SC430 I have ever seen in person is the Anderson Audio & Performance SC430TT. I was at AAP few years ago and saw it in person. Here is the dyno....


I think SS headers will help along with good N/A cams.

 

[boomgarden]

Yowza! That's a bit beyond my budget.

 

[cribbj]

Mike, if you have to keep your OBDII setup intact, then perhaps something like a NOS system would be your most effective power enhancer.

If your tailpipe doesn't get sniffed, and/or they don't do visuals, then perhaps you could get away with a bit more, however it doesn't take much to upset an OBDII system.

 

[Anaema]

wow, 55. im only 16

you could try a Tornado intake vortex generator. it(apparently) will increase horsepower and torque, reduce emmisions, and improve fuel milage. i havent tested it(as i dont have the budget) but you should be able to find something on the net. and its pretty cheap too, at 30$.

 

[WDoherty]

boomgarden,
to add some performance to your sc430 i would look at swift racing. Their ecu and intake package ($449) boosts the power on a gs400 by 22rwhp or about 30hp at the crank. They sell this for the gs430 as well so i think you could ask them about it for the sc430. Next, go with headers, probably s&s (look on club lexus and you'll find them) and find a shop to make you an exhuast. Have them use 2 1/4" pipe with mandrel bends, buy high flow cats and an x pipe (summit racing) and two mufflers of your choice for the back. The header/exhuast combo should give you an honest 25hp. Finally, also found on the swift website are the dragon torque converters, get one and the car will smoke the tires from a light and be more responsive and kill almost a 1/2 second in the 0-60 and 1/4 mile time. At that point your car should be fairly brisk touting about 345hp and the advantage of the torque converter.

 

[jibbby]

I didn't know being in your early to mid 50's qualified you as being an old geezer?...Curious, what would you call somebody in their sixties? A dinosour?... I am still in my 30's but very late 30's.....and consider myself to be an up and coming old fart myself, but am still holding on to that youthful spirit....:baby:

Anyway, welcome to the forum and I would say the basic mods that won't break the bank and will make a noticeable difference is first the exhaust mods, and then maybe an ECU piggy and even a stronger torque converter...Don't know how Lexus is doing currently with their newer stock torque converters...Do the new 430's move from a stand still? Or are they a little sluggish out of the blocks like their earlier model ancestors?

 

[boomgarden]

boomgarden,
to add some performance to your sc430 i would look at swift racing. Their ecu and intake package ($449) boosts the power on a gs400 by 22rwhp or about 30hp at the crank. They sell this for the gs430 as well so i think you could ask them about it for the sc430. Next, go with headers, probably s&s (look on club lexus and you'll find them) and find a shop to make you an exhuast. Have them use 2 1/4" pipe with mandrel bends, buy high flow cats and an x pipe (summit racing) and two mufflers of your choice for the back. The header/exhuast combo should give you an honest 25hp. Finally, also found on the swift website are the dragon torque converters, get one and the car will smoke the tires from a light and be more responsive and kill almost a 1/2 second in the 0-60 and 1/4 mile time. At that point your car should be fairly brisk touting about 345hp and the advantage of the torque converter.

Great info! That pretty much describes where I'd like to end up. I want to bump the performance a bit and still maintain the car's level of comfort. A power increase on the order of 25-50 hp would be perfect.

I didn't know being in your early to mid 50's qualified you as being an old geezer

If you're in your thirties, you're an "almost geezer." You'd better squeeze in some living now. At forty, it's all over. :boggled:

Anyway, welcome to the forum and I would say the basic mods that won't break the bank and will make a noticeable difference is first the exhaust mods, and then maybe an ECU piggy and even a stronger torque converter...Don't know how Lexus is doing currently with their newer stock torque converters...Do the new 430's move from a stand still? Or are they a little sluggish out of the blocks like their earlier model ancestors?

I honestly don't know how the SC430 compares to earlier SCs, and I don't have a lot of miles under my belt yet. It seems to do pretty well out of the blocks, but it's not lightning fast. Truthfully though, I'm not that focused on 0-60; I'm more interested in responsiveness on the open road.

Of course, anything that would allow me to produce tire smoke is a good thing, right?

 

[WDoherty]

oh yeah, a link

http://www.swiftracing.com/vehicles/lexus/gs/intake_gs400.htm

 

[jibbby]

Well you have the VVT-I 4.3L V8 motor, so I would concentrate on the Exhaust mods... That will give you more punch....Headers, highflowing cats, better stream line mandrel exhaust piping, and high flowing mufflers for sure.....Check into "blitz nur exhaust or "Rod Millen" exhaust products for the 430's.... Not cheap but nice looking and perform well...You don't want to throw cheap crap on a new SC430....That would be where I would start...

See if "S&S Headers" makes a true bolt on set of headers for your car....That will bring you nice gains and little noise.... Good luck...