Candela

iTrader: (1)

Cut the spare tire well out, cut out a few inches of its height to make it shorter, weld it back, find a donut from a lexus that didn't have a full-size spare. Shorter in height so you can mount your diffuser better, less weight but still have a spare!

1997Soarer

iTrader: (1)

I found your first roadblock. You said your car topped out at 147. Thats the ecu stopping you. Aero won't make you go any faster at this point. All it will do will increase (or decrease) your mpg at high speeds and provide more grip. OK, that's not exactly a bad thing lol.

If you want to go faster you need to swap your ecu... unless someone has a work around for that.

Also, for being effective, you're gonna have to find a new location for your rear license plate. It's smack dab in the middle of the bumper you're gonna have to cut.

And don't run 97+ aero - the rear bumper actually traps more air than the 92-96. MPG is slighly better with the 97+ because of tuning, the spoiler, and the front bumper / side skirts.

Kris9884

iTrader: (7)

Some people are forgetting, if you have aftermarket wheels, whats the point of having a spare that doesn't fit? You can't run an 19" wheel and a 16", not even in the front, super unsafe.....

eknine9

iTrader: (8)

Well... I mean you can. But it's a little ridiculous.
I got a flat about 150 miles out on a road trip and had no choice but to use the spare. I mean technically it wasn't a flat, I hit a dog and the tire seperated from the rim. Needless to say the last 2 hours of driving turned into 4 hours of driving as I was way too scared to go over 50 mph, and even that was probably pushing it. If you only drive it in town and are willing to tow for a flat, then sure, delete the spare entirely. But if it's a DD, or you go out of town you can still use the stock spare in a pinch with aftermarket 19's on the other wheels. But yeah I wouldn't suggest it, I kind of wish a bigger wheel could fit in my spare tire well.

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

I would argue that changing the diameter of the tire (regardless of wheel diameter) is never a good idea, so I consider that a moot point.

Now, if you have a big brake kit, clearance of the calipers is a major concern for any spare.

Kris9884

iTrader: (7)

Lol I bet that looked crazy, did it teeter at all?

Are you meaning to say, to change from stock anything isn't a good idea? I guess I missed what point was void? I was just saying putting on a spare wheel/tire of different size from the others is unsafe. Albeit possible, just frowned upon..

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

In my opinion, you should always stick with the stock tire diameter. (There are compatibility charts and wheel size calculators for that.) Otherwise, you throw off the speedometer, odometer, and ABS computer. (Unless these cars have some way of correcting for that that I'm unaware of.)

I can't help but wonder if people who complain about the stock SC brakes being unsafe are running larger diameter wheels/tires, because these are by far the best brakes of any car I've owned.

Kris9884

iTrader: (7)

Oh gotcha, I agree. In a perfect world everyone would follow the factory specs but looks/performance come first in most books haha. I also agree the OEM brakes are suffice but definitely not built for turbo cars or higher horsepower. If you switch from stock brakes to LS400/Supra calipers you'll easily understand it right away, let alone a large brembo kit or the like..

BeaksSC

iTrader: (1)

Not that I have a spare, but I guess I never really thought of that haha it's a good point, but running a smaller wheel with a larger aspect ratio that measured out to the same as the low profile tires on the rest of the corners would work fine right? Or would there still be issues somewhere? Just thinking of possibilities. When I blew out my tire on the highway, it was quite a lengthy process to take the wheel off, drive to the tire store and have a new tire mounted, then go back to the sc and put it back on. When we replaced all of the tires, we saved one of them that was in good shape still but I have to find an 18" to fit into it. Then I'll just leave it in the garage or something. How big of a wheel fits into the tire well?

I feel like if you're not tracking the car, what's the point in going through the process of removing it? I painted mine black and I think it looks fine there on my 95 body.

eknine9

iTrader: (8)

Yeah it looked absolutely retarded. But no it didn't teeter, I drove it like a grandma the whole way home. I've had to use the spare a lot more than I'd like to on this car tbh. I've had some of the stupidest problems with these tires.

3L4jzz31

iTrader: (2)

So theoretically if you ran a spare wheel w/ an overall diameter (tire diameter) that was the same overall diameter as your other wheel and tire you should be fine to drive on it. (concept of double stagger i.e. 17x8 F 18x9 R w/ overall same diameter tire) That being said I would not recommend you running the spare for a long time for the reason that it's a spare which usually runs a much narrower width tire, so your driver side and passenger side tire width which could cause issues of pulling to one side and what not...

Anyway, if you end up going the route of a small donut rather than a full size spare. The MKIV supra came w/ a smaller donut rather than a full size spare, so that may be something to look into.

CalitriSC

iTrader: (13)

I have aftermarket 18"s and my full size 16" LS 400 spare is the same diameter as the 18"s. The taller sidewall makes up the same difference. So yea it fits just fine and there is nothing un safe about it.

turbodremz

iTrader: (18)

Or get AAA or roadside assistance from your insurance and ditch the spare all together. I mean we are going for performance after all, right? Strip the weight where it counts with the spare tire, not the tire well. The tire well weighs less than 20lbs, IIRC mine weighed in right at 15lbs or so when I cut it out.

But as stated, your not going to exceed the 147mph with the stock pcm/trans/gears. Get a standalone, or do some sort of swap then go for more, and then worry about weight and drag issues.

bigwhite

Curious where you have a long enough straight away to do this speed? Ive had a flat tire on the road before and Im not leaving home without a spare. I use a 16'' Solara wheel and lugnuts with a 205 width, saves around 20lbs. I think the guy that thought of raising the wheel well and keeping a lightweight spare and still have your diffuser is best. I would have went with the Supra donut but theyre hard to find, and mines not a donut, so Im not tempted to eat it.

SEIDO

iTrader: (1)

Where? The PA Turnpike has straightaways for miles ...

Also, I do like the shortening idea; rather than entirely removing the well.
The wheel would sit up a bit higher than the floors level, but since I'm redoing the whole trunk anyway, I can raise the floor (build a new floor, like you might do with an audio system.
I don't load much cargo in my trunk besides a gym bag. It could work; well see