My indecisive 98 SC300 build
06-28-16, 07:54 AM
#16
Driver School Candidate
My front fenders were already rolled. My rears were shaved half way because I only needed that much clearance at the time. By only shaving half way it left me with the option of rolling and pulling in the future.
When my current wheels were mounted I had clearance issues and opted to shave a little more.
When my current wheels were mounted I had clearance issues and opted to shave a little more.
07-04-16, 02:23 PM
#19
My rotors and brake pads have been having weird compound reactions, so I've been mixing and matching parts between the LS and supra TT parts to try and figure out the exact cause of the noise I've been hearing, so far I've learned:
1. supra tt pads do not fit in the LS400 caliper
2. LS400 rotors and pads don't work with the supra tt caliper since the rotor hits the caliper and will constantly grind
3. LS400 pads with supra tt rotors will work with TT calipers. The pads have a smaller contact area, but will stop the car. (I don't recommend doing this, but it does work.)
Yeah, you're going to have to do a lot of work to get those to fit. Basically everything gerrb said plus stretch your tires and add camber. My car is at the limit of the stock fender before a pull in my opinion. Your wheels will stick out 10 or 11mm more than mine.
Thank you. I really wanted a black on black SC originally (I still do), but I saw this one at the dealer and it was too clean to pass up.
1. supra tt pads do not fit in the LS400 caliper
2. LS400 rotors and pads don't work with the supra tt caliper since the rotor hits the caliper and will constantly grind
3. LS400 pads with supra tt rotors will work with TT calipers. The pads have a smaller contact area, but will stop the car. (I don't recommend doing this, but it does work.)
Thank you. I really wanted a black on black SC originally (I still do), but I saw this one at the dealer and it was too clean to pass up.
07-30-16, 08:40 AM
#20
IMG_7055 copy by blackexcoupe, on Flickr
IMG_7070 copy by blackexcoupe, on Flickr
IMG_7061 copy by blackexcoupe, on Flickr
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TitanG545 (07-07-20)
08-02-16, 12:12 PM
#22
A few years down the line when I installed my audio system everything went to ****. A lot of the panels broke because they were old and brittle, so I had a bunch of rattles. I replaced what I could find, but now with my HKS/UAS air setup the car is even stiffer, so the interior rattles even more now. I've given up on making the interior quiet.
08-02-16, 10:24 PM
#23
I started in on the door cards and window trims, wanting to reinforce the stuff in seemingly excellent shape. Alas, the window trims were busted up in all the usual unseen places, but the door cards were as good as could be hoped for. No turning back now... I feel pretty comfortable with my ability to put everything back together on these cars without introducing rattles.
08-03-16, 02:15 PM
#24
Too late. I started in on the door cards and window trims, wanting to reinforce the stuff in seemingly excellent shape. Alas, the window trims were busted up in all the usual unseen places, but the door cards were as good as could be hoped for. No turning back now... I feel pretty comfortable with my ability to put everything back together on these cars without introducing rattles.
I started in on the door cards and window trims, wanting to reinforce the stuff in seemingly excellent shape. Alas, the window trims were busted up in all the usual unseen places, but the door cards were as good as could be hoped for. No turning back now... I feel pretty comfortable with my ability to put everything back together on these cars without introducing rattles.
08-03-16, 03:24 PM
#25
It's amazing how brittle (I'm trying to be nice to Lexus here!) those fastener points are on the window trims. They simply disintegrate from being held down in the fashion they were designed to.
If you have enough of the plastic left, you can recreate the basic shape with plastic epoxy. If not, use duct tape to fashion a tab and sort of hold that point down. Any fastener points that are salvageable, epoxy the first sign of cracks and cover everything with foil tape to take some of the strain off it. Then is the matter of the cracks where you put your elbow... I'm a big believer in expanding foam to fill the back space (terrible design; I can only be so nice to Lexus here!), carved out to fit the shape of the metal frame. For even more support, stick as much foil tape as possible up in there before spraying the foam.
I was hopeful that Lexus had improved the materials by '98, since my window trims looked so good on the outside. No such luck. So, I would recommend repairing if possible, rather than buying new ones, since new ones have probably been on the shelf for 15+ years and are just as likely to turn to dust when you sneeze.
If you have enough of the plastic left, you can recreate the basic shape with plastic epoxy. If not, use duct tape to fashion a tab and sort of hold that point down. Any fastener points that are salvageable, epoxy the first sign of cracks and cover everything with foil tape to take some of the strain off it. Then is the matter of the cracks where you put your elbow... I'm a big believer in expanding foam to fill the back space (terrible design; I can only be so nice to Lexus here!), carved out to fit the shape of the metal frame. For even more support, stick as much foil tape as possible up in there before spraying the foam.
I was hopeful that Lexus had improved the materials by '98, since my window trims looked so good on the outside. No such luck. So, I would recommend repairing if possible, rather than buying new ones, since new ones have probably been on the shelf for 15+ years and are just as likely to turn to dust when you sneeze.
08-03-16, 03:46 PM
#26
It's amazing how brittle (I'm trying to be nice to Lexus here!) those fastener points are on the window trims. They simply disintegrate from being held down in the fashion they were designed to.
If you have enough of the plastic left, you can recreate the basic shape with plastic epoxy. If not, use duct tape to fashion a tab and sort of hold that point down. Any fastener points that are salvageable, epoxy the first sign of cracks and cover everything with foil tape to take some of the strain off it. Then is the matter of the cracks where you put your elbow... I'm a big believer in expanding foam to fill the back space (terrible design; I can only be so nice to Lexus here!), carved out to fit the shape of the metal frame. For even more support, stick as much foil tape as possible up in there before spraying the foam.
I was hopeful that Lexus had improved the materials by '98, since my window trims looked so good on the outside. No such luck. So, I would recommend repairing if possible, rather than buying new ones, since new ones have probably been on the shelf for 15+ years and are just as likely to turn to dust when you sneeze.
If you have enough of the plastic left, you can recreate the basic shape with plastic epoxy. If not, use duct tape to fashion a tab and sort of hold that point down. Any fastener points that are salvageable, epoxy the first sign of cracks and cover everything with foil tape to take some of the strain off it. Then is the matter of the cracks where you put your elbow... I'm a big believer in expanding foam to fill the back space (terrible design; I can only be so nice to Lexus here!), carved out to fit the shape of the metal frame. For even more support, stick as much foil tape as possible up in there before spraying the foam.
I was hopeful that Lexus had improved the materials by '98, since my window trims looked so good on the outside. No such luck. So, I would recommend repairing if possible, rather than buying new ones, since new ones have probably been on the shelf for 15+ years and are just as likely to turn to dust when you sneeze.
08-03-16, 03:54 PM
#27
While nowhere near SSmith's level of fabrication or show quality, here's a pretty easy alternative to putting bigger door speakers in without modifying the doors:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/per...ml#post9159506
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/per...ml#post9159506
08-03-16, 04:06 PM
#28
While nowhere near SSmith's level of fabrication or show quality, here's a pretty easy alternative to putting bigger door speakers in without modifying the doors:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/per...ml#post9159506
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/per...ml#post9159506
An alternative to doing this would be to mount the speakers directly on the door panel like in this build thread: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/bui...-a-budget.html
08-03-16, 04:17 PM
#29
With the 5.25's, you can center them to not be covered by the fiberboard. I placed my first one 1/2" too low, though, and have to use a spacer to keep the panel from hitting the speaker surround. On the second one, I did the cutout a bit higher and it works well. Eventually, I'll go back and cut another ABS piece for the first one.
But, if you've already got 6.5's and want to move up to 7's, that doesn't do you much good. 5.25" seemed like the limit of what the stock pods could accept without the problems you ran into.
I've seen the "Tryna Ball" thread but never browsed through it. That's some pretty nice work! Although, if I were going to all that fiberglassing trouble, my first priority would be to do away with the massive 10 lb door cards altogether, streamlining it to just the speaker enclosure (likely mounted straight to the frame, with a foam pod to fill the opening), door pull, window/lock switches, and inner handle. It's a complicated shape to fill, unfortunately, so I've back burnered that idea.
But, if you've already got 6.5's and want to move up to 7's, that doesn't do you much good. 5.25" seemed like the limit of what the stock pods could accept without the problems you ran into.
I've seen the "Tryna Ball" thread but never browsed through it. That's some pretty nice work! Although, if I were going to all that fiberglassing trouble, my first priority would be to do away with the massive 10 lb door cards altogether, streamlining it to just the speaker enclosure (likely mounted straight to the frame, with a foam pod to fill the opening), door pull, window/lock switches, and inner handle. It's a complicated shape to fill, unfortunately, so I've back burnered that idea.
08-03-16, 04:40 PM
#30
I think you're right about the 5.25" speakers being the limit of the pods because my car doesn't have the pods anymore. I'm not sure what my friend did for the doors, but I just let him do his thing when installing since he has a lot more knowledge when it comes to audio. I just ran all the wiring and let him choose the rest of the parts and install them. He warned me that the door panel would limit the quality of sound, but I wasn't willing to cut up my door at the time.