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Your beef should be with the US federal regulations, NHTSA and those responsible for setting crash test criteria considering that the Soarer, a Japanese spec SC, was available with turbos from the factory but was never shipped here, as far as I know (correct me if I'm wrong). The nice thing about the SC however is that the US spec twin turbo GTE motor found in the MKIV Supra is almost a direct swap on these cars with the V160 6 speed trans if one has enough coin.
^^ There are many reasons the US-Spec SC was never sold with the equipment from the 2.5 GT Soarer, none of them good reasons even if hindsight is 20/20. No, the Soarer was never shipped here. 1991 Soarers will be legal for import in a couple of years however.
A complete and mostly stock USDM GTE is not only rare to find totally complete but VERY pricey. It's far more cost effective to swap in any JDM GTE engine be it a 2JZ or 1JZ (if emissions compliance in your locale isn't extremely strict). JDM 2JZGTE's can be converted to USDM spec with some effort. That or build an NA-T from your factory engine. As someone who is going the USDM stock(ish) route I can tell you it's very tedious to track everything down. Major GTE engine components and aftermarket parts are a different matter. There has to be a good reason to go to all the trouble.
Costly V160's are very good and superior but one is not necessary just to have turbo-capable manual transmission in an SC.
I tried to buy these huge, useless rims but he did not bite
I appreciate the offer. In the end I gave the rear rims to the shop that did the work in the first place in trade for a few hours labor. So instead of trying to ship the rims etc, I think I came out ok as really I'm getting 2-300 in labor. And honestly he always give time to me than paid for, so it's a good deal all around.
Those horribly oversize tires are going away. For now I decided to put the 18x10 20 offset on the rears and the 18x9.5 20 offset on the front. It is not optimal but will do for now.
MUCH BETTER!
$125 to remove all 6 tires and mount and balance the remaining 4 tires. Alignment was redone and will be done yet again once we get the car to the proper height. I'm learning it takes a lot of work to get the height right. We have taken the wheels off and readjusted a few times. My goal is to get it as low as I can to where I can still crank the wheel to the stop and hard brake into a corner without rubbing. The front is close to that point now and the rear has to come down at least another inch I am guessing.
I took the Supra calipers and rotors into the Toyota dealer and the service guys were cool enough to check them out thoroughly for me. Good news is the rotors are virtually brand new. The calipers appear to have been rebuilt and in good shape.
$300 Just to be sure, I ordered all new pistons and the rebuild rubber kits for the calipers. The current pistons had no rust but were not perfect, and since new pistons are only $30 each it was an easy decision.
Driving update:
I do have to admit that this car is 10x better than when I got it. I didn't have to many places to really push the car today but for what I did do the car handled quite reasonably. I would say at this point the car is doing what it is supposed to do and now it is just going to come down to getting used to rwd again and spending much more time behind the wheel to get to know her.
Now I do have to admit that the car as is, is severely underpowered. I won't say it's boring slow, but there is certainly no kick to it. I'm a little afraid that once we get the brake upgrade installed, add the bushings and swaybars with adjustable links that I might like it enough to end up spending way to much on the car to increase the power.
Oh yeah, and only one rear wheel driving the car is stupid! Why it doesn't have a factory lsd is just plain wrong to me, so on the hunt for a good local deal. I've got 6 separate tuner shops looking for me now, sure to have one show up sooner than later.
I'm only documenting the amount spent on the car so that if someone sees this post and is contemplating their first sc, that they can have some idea of maintenance and upgrade costs on these cars. At this rate I expect to have spent more on the 'repairs' than I paid for the car within a week or two.
This is getting good....... I'm back with popcorn. NA/T, 1J or 2J next i'd bet! Yeah, they are pretty slow but remember, don't expect anything down low. The NA 2J comes alive around 4K or so.
This is getting good....... I'm back with popcorn. NA/T, 1J or 2J next i'd bet! Yeah, they are pretty slow but remember, don't expect anything down low. The NA 2J comes alive around 4K or so.
Haha...
I'm impressed enough with the car now that more often than not, I wish I could change the title of this post so that I'm not offending everyone here. No way to do that.
The difference in how the car handles from start till now is like comparing an old v8 nova, you know something that kinda goes but you pucker before you hit the first turn, to say a late 60's rs camaro.
I'm impressed enough with the car now that more often than not, I wish I could change the title of this post so that I'm not offending everyone here. No way to do that.
The difference in how the car handles from start till now is like comparing an old v8 nova, you know something that kinda goes but you pucker before you hit the first turn, to say a late 60's rs camaro.
We'll see what comes next.
The mods can change it for you. They are listed at the bottom of the main page. PM one that is still active like Supra DR, Kira, AliSc3 etc.
I completely agree with you. I had my old SC400 for 4 years before buying my 5 speed SC300. And the difference in power is just straight up night and day. The V8 hauls *** even when you can feel how heavy the car is. I still like the SC300 though, the stick just makes it more fun to drive compared to the auto 400, and since the previous owner already put in a bunch of parts that I would've done myself anyways. So far, you're on the right track. My SC300, has upgraded sway bars from Daizen(the best ones there was for these cars, too bad they don't make them anymore), Supra brakes front and rear and a Supra 5 speed LSD as well. Even with my ride height, I never get stuck anywhere, and I can do burnouts on 2 rear wheels. Now, I just need to do something about the lack of oomph in power.
I'm impressed enough with the car now that more often than not, I wish I could change the title of this post so that I'm not offending everyone here. No way to do that.
Just edit the first post with a big bold notice up top that your opinion has changed. Can't no one hold it against to you now that you've owned up to it and shown admirable ambition in correcting all the car's flaws.
Excellent turnabout, scblackout! Glad you're finally getting the chance to experience the car the way it should be set up.
The power equation will hit you eventually but you've got plenty to get used to for the time being. I kid you not about swapping to a 4.27 ratio for a less expensive method to getting a minor shift in your power band's aggressiveness if you don't mind a little higher cruising rpm on the highway. The effect would be identical to how 93-96 Supra 5-speed NA's are geared. You'll still feel it needs more power and as stated a couple of posts back the engine only really comes alive at 4k-6k rpm but it makes 2nd and 3rd more useable on mountain roads and the engine revs MUCH faster. However, if you think you might get into a turbo solution in the not too far future then I would not recommend it.
A turbo setup of any kind is eventually the best solution given enough time. How much time depends on each owner.
The LSD should have been an option on SC 5-speeds and SC400's, yes. Sadly...
Something else you might like is a swap to the sportier three-spoke black steering wheel found in any of the following models: 98 Supra, IS300 5-speed, MR2 Spyder, Matrix XRS, Corolla XRS. Compatible airbags can be sourced from any IS300 ("L" logo) or a 1998 Toyota RAV4 ("T" logo). Requires an SPX airbag connector adapter wire. Your current factory cruise control stalk swaps over (you have to carefully template and cut out the plastic area to allow it to protrude in most cases). DIY threads exist for this if you are curious.
Interested to see where you'll go from here. Looking good so far!
Last edited by KahnBB6; 01-13-15 at 11:26 PM.
Reason: Grammatical correction
You should go back to the shop and have them even your ride height out. That much front rake will make the car oversteer too much especially if you add an LSD. Even ride height will unfortunately have more gap in the front than rear.
Sounds like the kid who came up to me outside the local auto parts store, back when I had my SC, and said "you drift your Soarer?" And when I said no, he said "then why'd you even buy it?" (there was more to the conversation, but you get the just). The car was meant for a high-end, older crowd who still wanted to drive something sporty, yet luxurious... It was by no means made for keeping up with the Porsche's and Lamborghini's of its time. Before my '95 SC400 was totaled, the interior didn't have a single rattle...
01-12-15, 03:11 AM
