Scblackout - my first 5sp Lexus experience
#46
Super Moderator
iTrader: (34)
We all make mistakes about our toys , that includes me . I have learned the hard way.
Moral of the story for me :
RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH about what you are buying or going into and the people you are dealing with. Verify twice or thrice what you read on the internet. Not everything is true. The automobile or performance car business can be sh?tty. The almighty dollar $$$ tempts a lot of people to be dishonest. People you know can be the very people who would do you wrong...good in front of you but behind you are pieces of sh?t. You don't do well your RESEARCH , then nobody else to blame but yourself. We just love to cover our inefficiencies by putting the blame on something or somebody else, me included.. hahaha.
As the saying goes, "Nobody will better take care of your interest than yourself ! " . I was never a car guy. All I knew was drive. But bad experience with these toys forced me to learn things myself. Now I save tons of money and getting my toys just the way I want them .
I will let go of my MKIVs to be honest before my built SCs especially once the two monster street SCs I am building now are done.
Moral of the story for me :
RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH about what you are buying or going into and the people you are dealing with. Verify twice or thrice what you read on the internet. Not everything is true. The automobile or performance car business can be sh?tty. The almighty dollar $$$ tempts a lot of people to be dishonest. People you know can be the very people who would do you wrong...good in front of you but behind you are pieces of sh?t. You don't do well your RESEARCH , then nobody else to blame but yourself. We just love to cover our inefficiencies by putting the blame on something or somebody else, me included.. hahaha.
As the saying goes, "Nobody will better take care of your interest than yourself ! " . I was never a car guy. All I knew was drive. But bad experience with these toys forced me to learn things myself. Now I save tons of money and getting my toys just the way I want them .
I will let go of my MKIVs to be honest before my built SCs especially once the two monster street SCs I am building now are done.
#48
If it was cheap like you say you wont have any problem at time of sale let me know and i give u your money back but you say that have plans
to me that sound that you want to have some fun and just want to make some noise
to me that sound that you want to have some fun and just want to make some noise
#49
i put my SC on a scale and it came in at 3700lbs.
i was in it. i weigh roughly 200bs. and i also had a lot of junk in the car at that time (such as the spare tire, welding oxygen tank, etc etc.
the car ins't THAT heavy. hahaha
i was in it. i weigh roughly 200bs. and i also had a lot of junk in the car at that time (such as the spare tire, welding oxygen tank, etc etc.
the car ins't THAT heavy. hahaha
#50
Pole Position
#53
Lexus Champion
iTrader: (10)
Stick shift and luxury were meant for one another, check out BMW for instance they have butter shifting performance vehicles for ages now, and they are luxury as well, take any M3.
One thing that doesn't go well together most of the time though is a cruddy interior and a spouse. one of the many reasons I got rid of my 240sx back in the day for a SC300.
Instead of complaints about how small and cruddy everything was now I get compliments and the seat warmers go a long way.
If you live in a cold area find one that had the winter package. Another great thing about manual SC's is that none of them have traction control. I seriously love that they did that.
and majority of us have had a burnt needle or cluster bulb out or a leaky climate control screen. My first SC had the leaky screen and cluster issues, second SC just cluster issues, and my third SC which is my current 5 spd has only ever had 1 cluster bulb go out, no needles or climate control screen, which is my personal best with SC's so far.
you must expect a few of these things to pop up, but the good news is they are common and pretty easy to deal with (the climate screen is a bit annoying if you DIY).
Just slap a turbo on it already and you will see what everyone is hyping about.
Understeer?? you shouldn't even be using that word get yourself the right tires and some more power and learn to love the oversteer... Oversteer
OVERSTEER!!!!
One thing that doesn't go well together most of the time though is a cruddy interior and a spouse. one of the many reasons I got rid of my 240sx back in the day for a SC300.
Instead of complaints about how small and cruddy everything was now I get compliments and the seat warmers go a long way.
If you live in a cold area find one that had the winter package. Another great thing about manual SC's is that none of them have traction control. I seriously love that they did that.
and majority of us have had a burnt needle or cluster bulb out or a leaky climate control screen. My first SC had the leaky screen and cluster issues, second SC just cluster issues, and my third SC which is my current 5 spd has only ever had 1 cluster bulb go out, no needles or climate control screen, which is my personal best with SC's so far.
you must expect a few of these things to pop up, but the good news is they are common and pretty easy to deal with (the climate screen is a bit annoying if you DIY).
Just slap a turbo on it already and you will see what everyone is hyping about.
Understeer?? you shouldn't even be using that word get yourself the right tires and some more power and learn to love the oversteer... Oversteer
OVERSTEER!!!!
Last edited by Ali SC3; 01-05-15 at 01:32 PM.
#56
Lexus Test Driver
iTrader: (4)
" I'm old, not a teenager" sweet username kid. Post pics of your dope teg bro. Bro bro. Bro bro bro. Bro. Ziptie. B16. Racewars.
Not gonna lie though, I'm not a huge fan of how they drive either. I'd take a cressida any day over z30. But I can get my wiener sucked quicker in the z30. So yeah, I daily.
Not gonna lie though, I'm not a huge fan of how they drive either. I'd take a cressida any day over z30. But I can get my wiener sucked quicker in the z30. So yeah, I daily.
#57
Lexus Champion
iTrader: (8)
I had the opposite experience than the OP. I bought my SC six+ years ago and immediately enjoyed the driving experience. But slowly the car started showing its age and broke down regularly. I couldn't keep up with the huge repairs so now it's been parked in my garage for over a year. I pretty much hate the car now and want it to burn to ashes.
However, if you keep the car I will say that it can be a lot of fun to enjoy. This forum is full of stickies and threads which include huge amounts of assistance in your time of need. Trust me, you will need this forum to keep your sanity. NO ONE WILL COME TO YOUR RESCUE OTHER THAN CLUB LEXUS. Your bank account will appreciate the DIY threads as well.
I want to be biased and tell you to buy the car, but maybe you should have done your research and understand the expectations before buying it. The cluster needles and bulbs are typically burned out. There are companies that rebuild these for $200 or less. The climate control commonly bleeds and can be repaired or replaced for around $50. The suspension is an integral part of the overall driving experience and should be perfected after the engine maintenance.
Let us know if we can help you with anything. This forum is great at providing advice and a tool to research those nagging issues.
However, if you keep the car I will say that it can be a lot of fun to enjoy. This forum is full of stickies and threads which include huge amounts of assistance in your time of need. Trust me, you will need this forum to keep your sanity. NO ONE WILL COME TO YOUR RESCUE OTHER THAN CLUB LEXUS. Your bank account will appreciate the DIY threads as well.
I want to be biased and tell you to buy the car, but maybe you should have done your research and understand the expectations before buying it. The cluster needles and bulbs are typically burned out. There are companies that rebuild these for $200 or less. The climate control commonly bleeds and can be repaired or replaced for around $50. The suspension is an integral part of the overall driving experience and should be perfected after the engine maintenance.
Let us know if we can help you with anything. This forum is great at providing advice and a tool to research those nagging issues.
Last edited by Tabaka; 01-06-15 at 06:46 PM.
#58
Update: Car's first apt in the shop
As expected the previous owner had indeed installed the coilovers completely wrong by using the top preload rings to set the ride height instead of properly using the lower ring. Add the fact that the tires are way to wide for the car and there was my built in recipe for disaster.
The preload was set so high that it took having to leave them on the car so that he could use a breaker bar with the wrenches to loosen them all up. Once off the car he put the springs in their testing machine and they were within specs. He really did want me to consider changing out to a dual spring setup or a variable spring someday in order to get a decent luxury ride until you push it and then it stiffens up or something.
What I thought was only going to take an hour or so turned into three hours. My number one priority was to get the car to where I wasn't going to cut a tire in half on a bump in the road. In the end, because the tires are way to big for the car I had him raise the car back up to almost factory height. So now the car looks like a 60's muscle car rake... kinda stupid but safe for now.
At least all the ball joints and bushings are 'ok'. Classic old car sloppy but holding. Brakes are brand new, lines look good, overall safety inspection is fine.
Here are pics of the front and rear final settings on the bc coilovers.
It was dark by the time he finished so I did not even attempt to get pics of the car with wheels on. Besides, I ended up scraping the front fender twice on the way home, so it's going back tomorrow to get raised some more up front. I am still riding with the dampening adjustments all around set to hard until I trust it won't bottom out into the fenders.
On the way home, I pushed the car like before and I do have to admit that the difference is dramatic. I don't trust the car yet, but my *** isn't puckering every time there is a dip in the road ahead.
As expected the previous owner had indeed installed the coilovers completely wrong by using the top preload rings to set the ride height instead of properly using the lower ring. Add the fact that the tires are way to wide for the car and there was my built in recipe for disaster.
The preload was set so high that it took having to leave them on the car so that he could use a breaker bar with the wrenches to loosen them all up. Once off the car he put the springs in their testing machine and they were within specs. He really did want me to consider changing out to a dual spring setup or a variable spring someday in order to get a decent luxury ride until you push it and then it stiffens up or something.
What I thought was only going to take an hour or so turned into three hours. My number one priority was to get the car to where I wasn't going to cut a tire in half on a bump in the road. In the end, because the tires are way to big for the car I had him raise the car back up to almost factory height. So now the car looks like a 60's muscle car rake... kinda stupid but safe for now.
At least all the ball joints and bushings are 'ok'. Classic old car sloppy but holding. Brakes are brand new, lines look good, overall safety inspection is fine.
Here are pics of the front and rear final settings on the bc coilovers.
It was dark by the time he finished so I did not even attempt to get pics of the car with wheels on. Besides, I ended up scraping the front fender twice on the way home, so it's going back tomorrow to get raised some more up front. I am still riding with the dampening adjustments all around set to hard until I trust it won't bottom out into the fenders.
On the way home, I pushed the car like before and I do have to admit that the difference is dramatic. I don't trust the car yet, but my *** isn't puckering every time there is a dip in the road ahead.