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Love, love, love this. I've got a 95 and have been on the fence as to what to do with it. I used to autocross and track VWs way back in the day, and have recently gotten the bug to get back into it. Considered selling the SC and buying something for a track build, but then remembered how much I love my SC400, and with some of the mods it already has on it, thought it would make a great track car. So, started googling...and here I am. I do have a couple of questions, though...
With it being a somewhat heavier car, what are the consumables like? Tire wear, brake pads, brake fluid...how often do these need replacing compared to something lighter? And how do the LS400 brakes do? I have a set of front calipers not on the car yet, will they do OK on track?
glad to hear that you may potential build the sc into a track car! As far as consumables go such as pads and tires, not too bad in my experience so far. The LS400 brake setup for track use does surprisingly well. If you are planning to get into track days then i would suggest just getting some decent 200 treadwear tires that will last you a while. I've had good experience with the federal rsrr and got a good 6 track days out of them with quite a few weekend canyon drives as well. I would suggest something a bit better than the federal rsrr, maybe the hankook rs4 or the kumho v730 since they have a stiffer sidewall. The ebc yellow pads paired to the slotted rotors along with ss lines will be more than enough to stop the heavy coupe. I haven't had to replace the pads just yet myself since they're still on the thicker side. Brake fluid you will probably have to change once or twice a year depending on how often you track the car. A decent alignment will help you utilize the tires contact patch as well. If i recall, im sitting on -2.5 degrees on front camber and -2.0 degrees on the rear camber on the stock control arms (will eventually go adjustable control arms) a slight toe out up front will help the car rotate but you will have to have good reaction and car control since it will want to make it rotate alot sooner than usual. Sorry for the long rant but hopefully this helps give you an idea.
glad to hear that you may potential build the sc into a track car! As far as consumables go such as pads and tires, not too bad in my experience so far. The LS400 brake setup for track use does surprisingly well. If you are planning to get into track days then i would suggest just getting some decent 200 treadwear tires that will last you a while. I've had good experience with the federal rsrr and got a good 6 track days out of them with quite a few weekend canyon drives as well. I would suggest something a bit better than the federal rsrr, maybe the hankook rs4 or the kumho v730 since they have a stiffer sidewall. The ebc yellow pads paired to the slotted rotors along with ss lines will be more than enough to stop the heavy coupe. I haven't had to replace the pads just yet myself since they're still on the thicker side. Brake fluid you will probably have to change once or twice a year depending on how often you track the car. A decent alignment will help you utilize the tires contact patch as well. If i recall, im sitting on -2.5 degrees on front camber and -2.0 degrees on the rear camber on the stock control arms (will eventually go adjustable control arms) a slight toe out up front will help the car rotate but you will have to have good reaction and car control since it will want to make it rotate alot sooner than usual. Sorry for the long rant but hopefully this helps give you an idea.
Thanks. Glad to hear it isn't too terrible on consumables, and that the LS400 brakes are adequate - at least as a starting point. Don't want to derail your thread too much, but I think my decision has been made and I now know what direction to take.
Now this mod is specifically for sc400 owners. It's about people running whiteline sway bars that would hit the oil filter housing. One member shared a solution but would result in an oil filter relocation setup. I happen to have a spare set of battle version endlinks that i just chopped off ½" of the thread and coulper itself to shorten it. In the pics i tried to simulate how it would behave under cornering and this is my result of clearance from sway bar to filter housing. Another way would have been shimming the sway bar mounts but in my situation it would require alot of hardware to undo from the from splitter to access. One other thing to mention is that if your vehicle isn't too low then you more than likely wont experience this issue at least from my experience.
Curious why you haven’t ditched the engine covers by now? I would think they would contain heat that little bit more and perhaps add to heat soaking issues? Plus they weigh like 2 pounds. Race car!! Lol
Curious why you haven’t ditched the engine covers by now? I would think they would contain heat that little bit more and perhaps add to heat soaking issues? Plus they weigh like 2 pounds. Race car!! Lol
Nick
I kept the engine cover there because if i ever do track days in the rain or during car washes it will be handy and prevent water from getting to the engine harness. Haven't had any heating issues yet. Even ran it hard a few sessions down in Buttonwillow last June in tripple digits with no issue. Plus the vvti 1uz cover make it more appealing to look at for when i pop the hood.
I kept the engine cover there because if i ever do track days in the rain or during car washes it will be handy and prevent water from getting to the engine harness. Haven't had any heating issues yet. Even ran it hard a few sessions down in Buttonwillow last June in tripple digits with no issue. Plus the vvti 1uz cover make it more appealing to look at for when i pop the hood.
Yeah there’s a lot of vacuum lines and crap in there. I’d be willing to bet you could delete the majority of that stuff though. EGR and really anything emissions could go, coolant lines to the throttle body all of that stuff. Maybe then you could show off the engine! I guess your hood didn’t come with rain guards?
To be clear I don’t have an issue with it lol and I’ve still got mine on as well.
^^ I don't think 98-00 VVT-i 1UZ-FE's even have EGR any longer-- those functions should be handled by the variable valve timing system just the same as with the 98-05 2JZ-GE VVT-i's. General emissions stuff he might have trouble leaving off in California.
bboyjohn04-- your new helmholtz resonator changes make your V8 sound brilliant!! That's how the SC400's should have sounded from the factory! Wow!! And excellent work getting the whiteline sway bar to clear the oil filter housing! Your car's whole setup and look is so mean!!
^^ I don't think 98-00 VVT-i 1UZ-FE's even have EGR any longer-- those functions should be handled by the variable valve timing system just the same as with the 98-05 2JZ-GE VVT-i's. General emissions stuff he might have trouble leaving off in California.
bboyjohn04-- your new helmholtz resonator changes make your V8 sound brilliant!! That's how the SC400's should have sounded from the factory! Wow!! And excellent work getting the whiteline sway bar to clear the oil filter housing! Your car's whole setup and look is so mean!!
You are correct as for vvti models no longer needed the egr setup and also yes, for every 2 years of smog test and inspection i will throw the stock manifolds and cats back onto the car in order to pass. This way the car will remain valid and usable for street use. Im not at the point where i want to tow the car to every single meet or track day just yet. Also thank you, i agree the helmholtz resonator delete on the intake definitely changed the note of the engine but i understand the engineers reasoning behind it since it ultimately was intended to be a luxurious sports coupe.
Last edited by bboyjohn04; Feb 22, 2022 at 03:00 AM.
Ditched the +50lbs standard battery for an Odyssey PC680MJ battery which weighs 15.4lbs so it should help a bit with weight distribution. Not much at all but I'll take any improvement i can get. I have it plugged to the battery tender when not driving it just to maintain charge considering i don't drive this thing oftentimes.
Good call on the battery! I have it in mind one day to relocate the battery to the trunk to help even further with that distribution as well. How does that battery do with starting the car? V8’s with high(ish) compression might be more difficult for a smaller battery to cope with. How does it do?
Good call on the battery! I have it in mind one day to relocate the battery to the trunk to help even further with that distribution as well. How does that battery do with starting the car? V8’s with high(ish) compression might be more difficult for a smaller battery to cope with. How does it do?
Nick
so far it started up woth no issues. I've heard others having that problem but i don't think it's something to be too concerned with since it doesn't get freezing cold where I'm at. Guess I'll find out sooner or later
Went for a drive to see the difference. The car already feels nimble as is before the battery swap but i was able to meet up with another track buddy of mine.
Well, all the recent Mods made a significant difference. I ran 4 seconds faster than my last personal best at Thunderhill Raceway west course. Couldn't get the car to sub 1:33 before but left with a 1:29 this time. The lighter wheels with wider tires square fitment definitely played a roll along with the light weight battery swap. Next I'll dive into the headliner and sunroof assembly delete just to continue to chip the weight away.
The car felt amazing, very responsive on turn ins and outs. The ls400 calipers with ebc yellow pads and ebc slotted rotors paired to stoptech ss lines worked extremely well especially late brake entries given that it is very underrated. I need to figure out how to over lay data onto the videos but until then here is a time slip and footages and pictures
Well, all the recent Mods made a significant difference...
How much do you think your aero is helping vs hurting on certain tracks? Would be interesting to see lap times on the same track with the rear wing removed. I'm not familiar with Thunderhill, but looking at that video it looks like it could go either way. Lots of fast corners where it should help, but also induce drag and keep overall speed down on the straight sections.
