Equalizir

Why would someone buy a car without test driving it first?

scblackout

iTrader: (2)

\Well there has been a few updates in the quest to make this car drivable. I really was just considering dumping the car until I read everyone's passionate responses to how great this car is supposed to be. So what the heck, lets throw some money at it and make it a little better.

$200 2 hrs labor at shop to rest bc coilovers. It took over 3 hrs, but he's cool. He did say that the car would never drive right with the horrible tire setup so that has to go. He raised the car more than enough to drive it and reduce some of the horrid camber.

$300 2 new front tires. While on rack, we see that inside of front tires are worn to the cords. Once again a reminder to never buy a car on a whim in the rain. So glad I had him deliver it.

$100 alignment. Let's not ruin the front tires in the first week huh

$300 Oil change, transmission fluid, rear diff, radiator. Might as well make sure all is well.

$200 totally necessary but driving me nuts, so went to dealer and purchased every connector used in the dash, center console, doors, etc to remove the not stop squeaking. Forgot to ask when they arrive but they'll get delivered someday.

Word of advice, if going to the dealer parts counter, try to do some homework before hand. Simply going in and saying it makes noise, sell me what i need is not the best way to make friends. I have no idea what I need so just got everything he could find. Took about 2 hrs...

I really should have bought him a case of beer or something. The customers behind me were furious.

So at this point I have a car that is drivable but not right. Next post up is the beginning of some much needed updates to fix this issue.

scENFORCER

Coilover adjustment, new tires, and an alignment and it still doesnt drive right? Whats the issue?

scblackout

iTrader: (2)

Left last post off at having a driving car with huge tires that drives ok at best. Now it is time to fix a few more of the problems.

1. The huge rims have to go. The rims are decent, just way to big. They are rota p45r2 18x10 and 18x11.5.

When I replaced the front tires, I took a picture of the sticker inside the rim.



I am hoping that I can use this rim on the back of the car. Yes, I did read a lot of the fitment thread but never found what I need. I don't know the offset, and I don't know if the sticker shows it or not.

I have no idea yet what size tires to buy for these rims for the car that fit, but I will figure it out. Yes, I did read a lot of the thread on fitment, but I don't know my offset, or if the sticker shows it or not, so its a guess.

2. I somehow found a pair of 18x9.5 30 offset rota p45r rims for sale in Oregon. They are not the r2, but seriously what are the odds of finding anything close to what I need in a used pair that virtually matches?



http://www.racinglab.com/rota-p45f-008.html

$100 later and I have 2 new front rims. They had some curb rash so I got a much better deal than the asking price.

3. I've read a lot on the forums as well as the supra forums this past week and one thing I have learned is that if I plan on lasting more than 3 laps at the speedway that I had better upgrade the brakes.

It was a long road trip to get the rims, so as I had a few hundred miles to drive, I pushed the car hard, and sure enough, these brakes do fade, and fade fast once it comes on. Kinda scary considering the brakes are less than 3 mos old. But none the less, I was pushing it down the mountain passes about as hard and sideways as I dared, so brake fade was expected.

$300 is to good a deal to pass up whether I keep them or not, so why not add some supra tt brakes for the front?



Now to find out if those new rims will fit the supra brakes. Needed something either way.

Still to come:
$400 or so for rear tires
$100 another alignment
$300? install brakes -- have to ask shop

All the bushings are crowbar tested and surprisingly tight,

Anything else I am missing to make this car drive right?

scblackout

iTrader: (2)

It's a number of issues,
1. rims way to big for the car
2. coilovers adjusted way to tall in order to temp accommodate the big rims
3. car loves to follow the ruts in the road way to much.
4. brake fade became extreme after some time pushing it.
5. Most importantly, I have driven a front wheel drive teg-r for years, so getting used to being pushed vs. pulled is taking a LOT of getting used to.

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

Good work so far! You're getting there.

1.) Just a bit too big. You need at least a 17" rim to clear the TT brakes. You should try a rim that gives you between 255mm to 265mm tread width in the rear. 275mm or wider will also fit but you won't be taking advantage of that much tread while you have an NA engine. Factory MKIV TT wheels (staggered) with 235/45R-17 front and 255/40R-17 rear work very well for non turbo cars. Key to those sizings are that they are almost identical to the rolling diameter of the factory SC300 tire sizing. This will maximize your acceleration potential.

2.) Stock-ish ride height minus just a bit is okay if the setup is designed for it. The Gixxer-Drew DIY coilover suspension is designed this way. You do want room for proper suspension travel room given the car's weight-- but that doesn't mean you need to have a 4x4 look. If you have coilovers that change the geometry slightly then you can safely go lower.

Additionally you should look into buying new steering rack bushings from Daizen or any other company that is offering them for the SC300/400. By now many of these cars need new rack bushings. The front LCA's are also culprits more than any other suspension component (you use new 93-96 Supra MKIV Front LCAs for service-- same fit but better rubber formulation and cheaper than Lexus).

3.) I find this can happen on irregular surfaces on my car as well but it's not tremendous and I'm running 600b-in front and 325lb-in rear springs. Softer setups might be more forgiving.

4.) You will find the Supra TT front brakes are a night and day difference. The stock brake booster and master cylinder are compatible. I recommend you also pick up some Goodridge stainless steel brake lines as well. OEM Supra TT brake pads work just fine. You could try Porterfield or Hawk HPS all around as well. The standard brakes on the SC300 (SC4 and MKIV NA use slightly larger sliding calipers) were not only a joke but a safety hazard. First thing I changed on my car.

5.) Getting used to RWD coming from FWD is understandable. I came from a 5th gen Prelude Type SH (active diff model) to my SC and I was very used to being able to power pull the nose through mountain roads. The SC300 will feel like a muscle car chassis that handles on par with sports cars. The long wheelbase makes it a "GT" but it's easily one of the better examples of that category-- once you have the suspension dialed in.

You will notice the last biggest changes in how the car drives after the following:

--MKIV subframe mounts (x2) swapped in with a 93-96 MKIV TT rear swaybar.
--LSD
--After those two, a modified (for the SC) "Lance" Alignment which works once you have the TT rear swaybar installed.

At that point you may (or may not) feel that the factory seats are adequate to hold you in place during aggressive cornering since they have no side bolsters. MKIV seats are a direct fit (and there is a DIY fix for the seatbelt dash light) and there are plenty of other seat swap alternatives written up on the forums. That's preference though.

scblackout

iTrader: (2)

If the rims I have now fit the supra brakes then I will use them for the time being. I will follow the advice and look into the 255 rears as I need new rears anyhow.

I am using bc coilovers with the supra springs.

I am pretty sure the springs are 14k/12k - stock bc supra springs, not sure how it correlates to pounds.

Thanks. I will get the brake lines and will study more on pads. I'm so glad someone agrees with me on the stock brakes. It only took about 3-4 100mph brake zones down the pass within 2-3 mins and they were fading fast.

Ok, swaybar and links on list now.
Already tried buying lsd, was wrong one, 6 sp, lucky ebay seller was cool and returned payment. I see the pumpkin for sale in the forum for NY for seemingly good price, but would cost same to ship cross country, so looking more local.

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

I found my stock brakes (which admittedly needed new pads and rotors) upon purchase to be questionable just in normal city driving, but that's me. Mountain driving or track driving is another story. LS400 or TT brakes change the car in all situations, from tepid driving to aggressive driving. You'll only need to upgrade from there if you have a 600+hp engine. My folks have a '99 LS400 (same series brakes we use as an upgrade) and even on that heavy sedan they do wonders. Just a better system overall right from the OEM parts bin.


I am not 100% certain of this but try looking at these as well. I *highly* recommend the OEM MKIV mounts but this might be a good alternative... although I don't like it that they are solid and have no internal bushings.

http://www.driftmotion.com/Battle-Ve...s-p/dm3078.htm

Shipping will cost you a good deal, yes. The open diff pumpkins are about 85lbs if I recall. TT Torsen pumpkins are... 95lbs? It's close to what it costs to ship a transmission. Better to stay local. I drove seven hours to pick mine up for what that's worth.

I saw your LSD thread. That's a fortunate turn of events that you were refunded.

Keep in mind that while you are NA the turbo-friendly 3.77 gear ratio that LSD comes with isn't going to help your acceleration. I recommend the opposite of going to an automatic 4.27 ratio with a YellowBox speedo corrector but not everyone will agree with me. You would also have to change this all over again to the 3.77, or an SC400 3.92 if/when you decided to go with a turbocharged setup or swap in a GTE engine. It's a tough decision given the expense of having a shop rebuilding a diff for you but it does make a difference even in an NA car. And you absolutely want a qualified shop for that work and not just anyone.

The TRD 2-way LSD is also a very good option but, again, you're up against $1k in cost plus a rebuild to install it in your pumpkin.

Keep looking on SF for MKIV Auto TT Torsen LSD pumpkins and make sure there are pictures to verify that it's actually got a Torsen in there (97-98 Auto TT's had it optional-- all 93-96 years had it standard but all those TT 200mm diffs look identical).

Studiogeek

iTrader: (6)

SCblackout,
Try to find a couple of experienced members close by you. It would help if you had a baseline for great running SC's as you work on yours. Driving a perfect one would be really helpful and an experienced SC owner driving yours would help as well. Shops can help but rarely know this car like we do.

If you want to sell those Rotas. I will be glad to take them off of your hands. PM me if you do.

Thanks,
SG

Albatross

iTrader: (1)

my car had issues with the rear toe adjustment arms, one of the ball joints was bad. if you're having issues with following the road that would be something to check. the biggest difference did come from adding spacers to the supra enkie/tokiko suspension to get the travel I needed. now the car handles and rides well, I hated coilovers the megan racing coilovers because they were just too stiff.

OG Dada

iTrader: (10)

All of a sudden this guy is killing the game. Those Supra brakes don't come cheap. LOL

kez

iTrader: (4)

LOL outta no where he's stepping his game up

GOOD job OP

eknine9

iTrader: (8)

Right?
Ladies and gentleman he's caught the bug.

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

This should be the birth control thread for anyone thinking about a heavily cambered setup to squeeze more rubber (pun not intended!) under the car.

picodroid

My brother owned an Integra, think it was a 95 or 98. It felt like a go-kart. It had standard springs and shocks but good god it couldn't soak up little bumps for ****. And it squeaked and rattled as it hit them. While it definitely wasn't a heavy car, it had **** for power.

My SC is leagues above that Integra. Anything better would mean more $$$ which if applied to an SC would lead to a better car. Unless you must have 1) FWD, 2) small, 3) 4 banger, then you'd be a fool to take an Integra over an SC.