My 1992 SC400... Whatcha Think?
good luck with the rest of the project. the headlights look really good
01-20-09, 10:47 AM
#19
1JZ Single SC400
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I appreciate all the good/bad comments. I cant believe all the bad news about the rims I searched and picked. Oh well, I value everyones opinion.... I like them.... I will get the magnaflows and thanks for pictures of them.... I have read about the magnaflows from everyone just about... either those or the tannabe's.....
01-20-09, 10:51 AM
#20
1JZ Single SC400
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The way I did the headlights was simply wet sanded them with 1500 grit sandpaper, paying attention not to get to close to the edges. Then I buffed them out with a wool pad and cutting compound, then finished with a foam pad and some polish/ swirl remover/ wax compound..... and walla... Here they are! I also put dioelectric grease around all the bulb housing to keep the moisture out, just in case..... Thanks again for the compliments. Will keep everyone posted on the upcoming leather repair and lighting from Lextech.
01-20-09, 11:37 AM
#21
How's the cold air intake working for ya? I've been wanting to do some performance/engine mods to my sc400 but I've heard that the 1UZ is so over engineered that any mod that I try to do to it will actually decrease its performance..
01-20-09, 12:43 PM
#24
1JZ Single SC400
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The BFI was actually used from 2 different websites. The most reported gain by using something similar to what I have done is 17HP. I have not dynoed my SC for before or after the install. I will tell you that it does make a difference in sound when you step on it. I also noticed a better performane increase in MPG by 1.5 and better throttle response on the top end. Keep in mind, each car will react different in each mod you do. I liked the look, the sound, and the better MPG, when it was 4.65 for premium in Alabama. I also used some metal to form my BFI and a piece of aluminum for the lid. I did cut a major hole in the front of the airbox and then did a "ram air" type induction on the front plastic piece where air hits the radiator in front of the car. I did not like the ABS look that several people used. I am not knocking the people who did, just that I didnt like it. You can see a little bit of it, if you click on the link to the cardomain website above my first pix. For other simple performane mods, I deleted or gutted the front 2 cats... In other words I knocked all of the crap out, but left the converters in place. I adjusted my TSP for better shifting points and firmness. My next big project is the exhaust.
01-20-09, 12:45 PM
#25
1JZ Single SC400
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Thanks for the compliments on rimzzzz... I like yours 2.... I wanted 20's, but I have heard and read about horror stories about them... My 19's actually rubbed a little... I had to bend the inside lip down a little with a grinder and then painted the inside of the fender wells again. People dont realize how good their car would look if you simply painted your undercarriage and your fenders wells. Its the little details that keeps me going about cars...
01-20-09, 12:48 PM
#26
1JZ Single SC400
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I converted the stock turn signal lights to foglights and then replaced the small wattage bulb to a 55 watt bulb... Man what a difference.... I just simply tapped into my parking lights and used a relay. Would you like a pix of them? Heres the instructions... Hot off the press.... Good luck.
01-20-09, 12:51 PM
#27
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Check out the http://www.intellexual.net/faq.html website.. Tons of info... Pass it on!
Converting cornering lights into fog lights
This modification is specifically for the 1992-1994 SC coupes, which came with cornering lamps instead of foglamps. Foglamps were introduced on 1995 production cars. Since it is an installation procedure for a basic automotive relay, you can use the same instruction applied to other electrical circuits on the car (DRLs, extra foglights, etc).
Please do note that the 92-94 cornering lamp assembly is different from the 95-96 and 97-00 fog lamp assemblies. Though the 92-94 looks a lot like the 95-96, you can not interchange them between bumpers because of subtle shape and dimensional differences. The 92-94 lamps run on 15w bulbs whereas the 95+ run on 55w H3 bulbs so the illumination on the road is not the same. The 95+ fog lights are brighter, but the beam pattern is a bit wider on the 92-94 conversion.
First you'll need to buy a few items: a 4 or 5-pin 30-amp automotive relay, an inline fuse holder, a 30-amp fuse, about 20-ft 12-awg wire, a box of t-taps (5 is all you'll need if you don't mess up), roll of electrical tape, and good solid connectors: either use solder or buy male-female disconnects. All of this stuff is available at Radio Shack and should cost you no more than $10-15.
Now you need to get to know the relay. A relay is essentially a mechanical switching device that is activated by a low voltage input to activate a high voltage switch. In this application, your low current trigger will be tapped off the parking lights. Your high current output will be the power supplied to the auxiliary lights by the battery via the relay. The relay itself should be a 1-inch black plastic cube with 5 spades on one face, and some sort of mounting tab on another. The 5 spades are labelled something like 30, 85, 86, 87, 87a (at least these are Bosch's labelling).
- 30 is your input voltage for the switched device.
- 87a is an open circuit (no power).
- 87 is a closed circuit that supplies the high current to your auxiliary lights.
- 85 and 86 can be interchangeable, but they are the low voltage leads from your parking lights.
You can choose either headlights, city/parking lights, or sidemarker lights as your signal trigger. I used the city lights because they were easiest to access, the relay can be switched with an input signal as low as 150mV, and in case anything went wrong, no big deal.
Hopefully everyone here already knows that every DC electrical device requires two connections: a postive (live) and negative (ground). The darker/colored wire is always live (yes black is a color) and the lighter/white is always the ground wire. (in AC it's slightly different). I believe on our cars, the live is an off-red and the ground is white.
STEP 1
Basically, your first connection is going to be two t-taps off the both cornering lights' positive wires. Now connect the two t-taps you just made with two runs of 12-awg wire, and lead both wires back to the battery pan. Twist the two wires together into one single wire and connect them to the 87 spade.
The 87a spade will have no connection because it is the open switch.
STEP 2
Lexus uses a switched ground system which presents a problem because your cornering lights aren't always grounded. So to resolve this issue, go back to the cornering lights and t-tap both of the negative (ground) wires. Run two lengths of 12-awg wire from these t-taps---the same way you just did with the positive wire---to the negative post on the car battery. Your circuit is now properly grounded.
STEP 3
Next send a wire from the battery's negative post to the 85 spade.
STEP 4
Now make another t-tap off of the positive wire from your chosen signal trigger (in my case the city light), usually the closest one is the best. Once you've established this t-tap, run another piece of 12-awg wire from the t-tap to 86 spade.
STEP 5
Last is to establish the big power! You will connect the battery's 12v positive post to the 30 spade. BUT before you do that, use that inline fuse holder you bought. It will be a black, plastic, well... "fuse holder", with a looped wire running from one end to the other. Cut the loop into two bare ends. Connect one end to the 12v positive battery post, and connect the other end to the 30 spade on the relay. You may need to splice or crimp extra wire to make the run to the 30 space. It is critical that the fuse holder is very close to the battery. Like less than 12-inches of wire between them both. Make sure you weren't eager and stuck a fuse in that fuse-holder yet, because that would create a live circuit.
STEP 6
Right now the relay system is completely wired up, but there is no fuse in the holder. Therefore no current is running through it so it is still safe. At this point, you'll want to check all connections from and to the relay and once you've determined all is secured and well, insulate it! You want to make the relay water and weatherproof. I did so by wrapping the entire thing in 6 layers of electrical tape. Feel free to use more if you want. Then tuck or mount the relay somewhere safe (IE somwhere away from water exposure and engine heat). I put mine next to the battery pan which remains relatively dry and cool.
STEP 7
Now you can insert the 30-amp fuse you bought and test out the relay circuit. Turn the light wand in your car to activate the parking lights. Your cornering lights should turn on as well.
Converting cornering lights into fog lights
This modification is specifically for the 1992-1994 SC coupes, which came with cornering lamps instead of foglamps. Foglamps were introduced on 1995 production cars. Since it is an installation procedure for a basic automotive relay, you can use the same instruction applied to other electrical circuits on the car (DRLs, extra foglights, etc).
Please do note that the 92-94 cornering lamp assembly is different from the 95-96 and 97-00 fog lamp assemblies. Though the 92-94 looks a lot like the 95-96, you can not interchange them between bumpers because of subtle shape and dimensional differences. The 92-94 lamps run on 15w bulbs whereas the 95+ run on 55w H3 bulbs so the illumination on the road is not the same. The 95+ fog lights are brighter, but the beam pattern is a bit wider on the 92-94 conversion.
First you'll need to buy a few items: a 4 or 5-pin 30-amp automotive relay, an inline fuse holder, a 30-amp fuse, about 20-ft 12-awg wire, a box of t-taps (5 is all you'll need if you don't mess up), roll of electrical tape, and good solid connectors: either use solder or buy male-female disconnects. All of this stuff is available at Radio Shack and should cost you no more than $10-15.
Now you need to get to know the relay. A relay is essentially a mechanical switching device that is activated by a low voltage input to activate a high voltage switch. In this application, your low current trigger will be tapped off the parking lights. Your high current output will be the power supplied to the auxiliary lights by the battery via the relay. The relay itself should be a 1-inch black plastic cube with 5 spades on one face, and some sort of mounting tab on another. The 5 spades are labelled something like 30, 85, 86, 87, 87a (at least these are Bosch's labelling).
- 30 is your input voltage for the switched device.
- 87a is an open circuit (no power).
- 87 is a closed circuit that supplies the high current to your auxiliary lights.
- 85 and 86 can be interchangeable, but they are the low voltage leads from your parking lights.
You can choose either headlights, city/parking lights, or sidemarker lights as your signal trigger. I used the city lights because they were easiest to access, the relay can be switched with an input signal as low as 150mV, and in case anything went wrong, no big deal.
Hopefully everyone here already knows that every DC electrical device requires two connections: a postive (live) and negative (ground). The darker/colored wire is always live (yes black is a color) and the lighter/white is always the ground wire. (in AC it's slightly different). I believe on our cars, the live is an off-red and the ground is white.
STEP 1
Basically, your first connection is going to be two t-taps off the both cornering lights' positive wires. Now connect the two t-taps you just made with two runs of 12-awg wire, and lead both wires back to the battery pan. Twist the two wires together into one single wire and connect them to the 87 spade.
The 87a spade will have no connection because it is the open switch.
STEP 2
Lexus uses a switched ground system which presents a problem because your cornering lights aren't always grounded. So to resolve this issue, go back to the cornering lights and t-tap both of the negative (ground) wires. Run two lengths of 12-awg wire from these t-taps---the same way you just did with the positive wire---to the negative post on the car battery. Your circuit is now properly grounded.
STEP 3
Next send a wire from the battery's negative post to the 85 spade.
STEP 4
Now make another t-tap off of the positive wire from your chosen signal trigger (in my case the city light), usually the closest one is the best. Once you've established this t-tap, run another piece of 12-awg wire from the t-tap to 86 spade.
STEP 5
Last is to establish the big power! You will connect the battery's 12v positive post to the 30 spade. BUT before you do that, use that inline fuse holder you bought. It will be a black, plastic, well... "fuse holder", with a looped wire running from one end to the other. Cut the loop into two bare ends. Connect one end to the 12v positive battery post, and connect the other end to the 30 spade on the relay. You may need to splice or crimp extra wire to make the run to the 30 space. It is critical that the fuse holder is very close to the battery. Like less than 12-inches of wire between them both. Make sure you weren't eager and stuck a fuse in that fuse-holder yet, because that would create a live circuit.
STEP 6
Right now the relay system is completely wired up, but there is no fuse in the holder. Therefore no current is running through it so it is still safe. At this point, you'll want to check all connections from and to the relay and once you've determined all is secured and well, insulate it! You want to make the relay water and weatherproof. I did so by wrapping the entire thing in 6 layers of electrical tape. Feel free to use more if you want. Then tuck or mount the relay somewhere safe (IE somwhere away from water exposure and engine heat). I put mine next to the battery pan which remains relatively dry and cool.
STEP 7
Now you can insert the 30-amp fuse you bought and test out the relay circuit. Turn the light wand in your car to activate the parking lights. Your cornering lights should turn on as well.
01-20-09, 02:01 PM
#28
I see we have ALOT of the same goals with our SC's
you've done a great job getting her back in shape, head lights look great
and all the bushings are done (how did that improve ride quality BTW?)
i wish i had took some pics of the test fit for the 20's (it look sick IMO and others that seen em on) cause i only had them on for 2 days LOL
but the ride on the 20's felt better then stock can't wait to put them back on
you've done a great job getting her back in shape, head lights look great
and all the bushings are done (how did that improve ride quality BTW?)
i wish i had took some pics of the test fit for the 20's (it look sick IMO and others that seen em on) cause i only had them on for 2 days LOL
but the ride on the 20's felt better then stock can't wait to put them back on
01-20-09, 03:40 PM
#29
1JZ Single SC400
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The bushings made it night and day all around.. I did all the things together as stated above when it came to replacing all the rubber stuff. The ride is real tight feeling, no swaying, no clunking, no nothing, except for a little vibration in the steering wheel... I think its from going with the bigger rim and less tire. It had a little shimmy in it, before I did anything to it.... Maybe the front ball joints.... but guess what you cant replace just the ball joints, you have to replace the control arm.... Oh well... maybe next time. I purchased all the bushings from TM Engineering.... I am very, very happy with this install. Its time consuming, but well worth the time and effort in the end.