First foray into LexusWorld, UCF21 build
#19
So yesterday was a day filled with great joy and immense frustration.
Got Jimmy over to roll the fenders, if you're in the ATL area this is who to go to. Really cool guy and he definitely knows his stuff, would recommend to anybody https://www.facebook.com/VipFenderRolling
Took the car all the way to the ground and the rear stayed where it was, only way to get it lower was to remove the preload and droop the spring. Ended up having to max out the factory camber to get it to work, here it is after the roll and on the ground
Ordered some Megan Racing camber and toe arms to get everything sitting right. Gonna need to dial in a little more camber to get enough fender clearance to get the toe correct.
After that we proceeded to the fronts and got those knocked out, than FINALLY had everything back together and on the ground ready for the test drive. This was the first time I got to look at my car after all the hard work and I'm not gonna lie, I was pretty giddy and couldn't wait to take it out.
This is also the point where it went downhill...
Hopped in, put it into R and not two seconds later a metal on concrete sound. After some searching found out the exhaust is hitting my garage and not letting me pull out. Luckily my roommate has a ton of wood in the basement.
After close to an HOUR we finally get her out of the garage and onto the street after many failed ramp designs. The entire time the exhaust is scraping on the ground, so the test drive basically lasts to down the street because of the racket its making.
Needless to say I'm a little frustrated at having a car that looks AMAZING that I CAN'T DRIVE. Even if I raised the front up some it still won't clear the garage without me going 4x4 on it.
Some pics of it from today and how it looks, I got it sittin on some wood so I can get the stock jack under it.
Here's a pic of the exhaust, not much clearance and thats with it sitting on an inch of wood so it just looks like that elbow is constantly scrubbing the ground.
Also my chrome B pillars came in and 3 out of the 4 showed up cracked from shipping so thats cool. For now I'm gonna stop working on the car for a little while, been goin at it straight for almost 3 weeks.
Plans:
- raise car up and throw stockies back on for now so hopefully I can at least get it out of the garage and drive it
- get the exhaust tucked
- go with original plan of running a 40 series up front which will give me, according to a wheel calculator, an extra inch of clearance hopefully
- get some more front camber
Now everytime the garage door opens it mocks me, haha
Got Jimmy over to roll the fenders, if you're in the ATL area this is who to go to. Really cool guy and he definitely knows his stuff, would recommend to anybody https://www.facebook.com/VipFenderRolling
Took the car all the way to the ground and the rear stayed where it was, only way to get it lower was to remove the preload and droop the spring. Ended up having to max out the factory camber to get it to work, here it is after the roll and on the ground
Ordered some Megan Racing camber and toe arms to get everything sitting right. Gonna need to dial in a little more camber to get enough fender clearance to get the toe correct.
After that we proceeded to the fronts and got those knocked out, than FINALLY had everything back together and on the ground ready for the test drive. This was the first time I got to look at my car after all the hard work and I'm not gonna lie, I was pretty giddy and couldn't wait to take it out.
This is also the point where it went downhill...
Hopped in, put it into R and not two seconds later a metal on concrete sound. After some searching found out the exhaust is hitting my garage and not letting me pull out. Luckily my roommate has a ton of wood in the basement.
After close to an HOUR we finally get her out of the garage and onto the street after many failed ramp designs. The entire time the exhaust is scraping on the ground, so the test drive basically lasts to down the street because of the racket its making.
Needless to say I'm a little frustrated at having a car that looks AMAZING that I CAN'T DRIVE. Even if I raised the front up some it still won't clear the garage without me going 4x4 on it.
Some pics of it from today and how it looks, I got it sittin on some wood so I can get the stock jack under it.
Here's a pic of the exhaust, not much clearance and thats with it sitting on an inch of wood so it just looks like that elbow is constantly scrubbing the ground.
Also my chrome B pillars came in and 3 out of the 4 showed up cracked from shipping so thats cool. For now I'm gonna stop working on the car for a little while, been goin at it straight for almost 3 weeks.
Plans:
- raise car up and throw stockies back on for now so hopefully I can at least get it out of the garage and drive it
- get the exhaust tucked
- go with original plan of running a 40 series up front which will give me, according to a wheel calculator, an extra inch of clearance hopefully
- get some more front camber
Now everytime the garage door opens it mocks me, haha
#22
Hahaha, I know right?
Got a small update, haven't really messed with the car for a couple weeks. Luckily I have a DD so it just sat in my garage collecting a nice layer of pollen.
Got some parts in, Megan toe and camber arms to get the rear sitting right and a Borla for the exhaust
This gave me the motivation to swap out the wheels and raise the car up so I can get it out of the garage and drive it. Raised it about an inch and a half all the way around.
Drove it around some getting use to the new suspension, get a bit of a whirring noise when I take left turns, gets louder the faster you go. I'm thinking the right fender might be rubbing?
Next step is to get a single exhaust fabbed and tucked so I can put the other wheels back on and see how low I can drop it and still get it into and out of my garage
Got a small update, haven't really messed with the car for a couple weeks. Luckily I have a DD so it just sat in my garage collecting a nice layer of pollen.
Got some parts in, Megan toe and camber arms to get the rear sitting right and a Borla for the exhaust
This gave me the motivation to swap out the wheels and raise the car up so I can get it out of the garage and drive it. Raised it about an inch and a half all the way around.
Drove it around some getting use to the new suspension, get a bit of a whirring noise when I take left turns, gets louder the faster you go. I'm thinking the right fender might be rubbing?
Next step is to get a single exhaust fabbed and tucked so I can put the other wheels back on and see how low I can drop it and still get it into and out of my garage
#24
looks like you are going through all the normal problems all of us LS guys have
1. stupid wire harness
2. stupid firewall/uca
3. stupid rear fenders..i shaved mine..took 10 mins a side
4. stupid low exhaust
and some how avoided #5 with having do redo your speedo...
CONGRATS! will be an awesome looking car soon!
also..about your rear coilovers..
you can also wind the main tube with all the threads down into the lower shock body..
i have the custom low versions but mine is no where near that high and mines all the way raised up
1. stupid wire harness
2. stupid firewall/uca
3. stupid rear fenders..i shaved mine..took 10 mins a side
4. stupid low exhaust
and some how avoided #5 with having do redo your speedo...
CONGRATS! will be an awesome looking car soon!
also..about your rear coilovers..
you can also wind the main tube with all the threads down into the lower shock body..
i have the custom low versions but mine is no where near that high and mines all the way raised up
#25
Thats what I'm hoping for, suppose to drop the car off either Tues or Wed to my fabricator to get the exhaust fabbed up!
Haha, the only one that got me was the exhaust, I wasn't aware it would literally be sitting on the ground. Don't see how guys drive around like that but I guess most go air so its not really that big of a concern.
And the rear coilover pic does have the threads all the way into the lower shock body. Here is a pic after I took it off to make sure it was bottomed out. Clearly the rear regular BC's go nowhere near low, as least for 18s. Kinda disappointed in that since everything I read said the contrary.
looks like you are going through all the normal problems all of us LS guys have
1. stupid wire harness
2. stupid firewall/uca
3. stupid rear fenders..i shaved mine..took 10 mins a side
4. stupid low exhaust
and some how avoided #5 with having do redo your speedo...
CONGRATS! will be an awesome looking car soon!
also..about your rear coilovers..
you can also wind the main tube with all the threads down into the lower shock body..
i have the custom low versions but mine is no where near that high and mines all the way raised up
1. stupid wire harness
2. stupid firewall/uca
3. stupid rear fenders..i shaved mine..took 10 mins a side
4. stupid low exhaust
and some how avoided #5 with having do redo your speedo...
CONGRATS! will be an awesome looking car soon!
also..about your rear coilovers..
you can also wind the main tube with all the threads down into the lower shock body..
i have the custom low versions but mine is no where near that high and mines all the way raised up
And the rear coilover pic does have the threads all the way into the lower shock body. Here is a pic after I took it off to make sure it was bottomed out. Clearly the rear regular BC's go nowhere near low, as least for 18s. Kinda disappointed in that since everything I read said the contrary.
#26
Small update, installed the camber and toe arms awhile ago
Then dropped the car off at my fabricators about 3 weeks ago to get the cats modified and the single exhaust fabbed and tucked. FINALLY picking her up tonight, can't wait Gonna spend the weekend lowering it back down on the Dukes and getting everything sitting just right. All I'm saying is it better make it out of my garage now
I was hoping to get the car back in time to make it to SOWO but whatever, still went and had a good time. It was my first time and I'm definitely going to be getting a room next year.
Hope to have finished pics of the LS and another update by the end of the weekend!
Then dropped the car off at my fabricators about 3 weeks ago to get the cats modified and the single exhaust fabbed and tucked. FINALLY picking her up tonight, can't wait Gonna spend the weekend lowering it back down on the Dukes and getting everything sitting just right. All I'm saying is it better make it out of my garage now
I was hoping to get the car back in time to make it to SOWO but whatever, still went and had a good time. It was my first time and I'm definitely going to be getting a room next year.
Hope to have finished pics of the LS and another update by the end of the weekend!
#27
Looking great. What type of drill bit did you use to cut the circular hole for the UCA to go through? And what size/diameter? I was just going to cut a square but that circle looks a lot cleaner.
I plan to cut a hole for mine soon so my fronts can go lower (I'm bagged not static).
When I pull into my driveway My UCA always makes a very loud clink when it hits the top of the strut tower. All from a small 1-2 inch drop into gravel then paved driveway(city was too ****ing cheap to repave my driveway that THEY cut up to place some drain pipe thingies)
I plan to cut a hole for mine soon so my fronts can go lower (I'm bagged not static).
When I pull into my driveway My UCA always makes a very loud clink when it hits the top of the strut tower. All from a small 1-2 inch drop into gravel then paved driveway(city was too ****ing cheap to repave my driveway that THEY cut up to place some drain pipe thingies)
#28
nice updates! those arms look nice! the guy at the dealership who did my alignment said my camber is maxed out about -4 so it would be nice to be able to have a little more adjustment! what kind are they?
also jw did the move the cd changer to in the glovebox on the ucf2x? i hate how mine skips anytime i go over a tiny bump cus its in the trunk ha
also jw did the move the cd changer to in the glovebox on the ucf2x? i hate how mine skips anytime i go over a tiny bump cus its in the trunk ha
#29
Preciate it! They're Megan Racing camber and toe arms, for both I paid about $360. Had to get them from two different places to get the cheapest on both items.
Last edited by TMAdash1; 05-23-14 at 02:47 PM.
#30
Sweet. I've bookmarked that on my phone for when I go about doing that. So for your pilot hole, did you go from under the fender? I can visible see the small places where the UCA is hitting the top. So I figured you just drill in the middle of that location for the pilot hole right?