Getting ready to place an order for a 2023 Coupe, but unsure about some of the options and would greatly appreciate any opinions/advise, specifically related to the following:
1) I am leaning toward the 20" wheels to gain some rim protection, ride comfort, and lessen wheel noise. Have any of you had issues with the 21" related to these concerns? Any opinions or preferences are welcomed.
2) I am bit concerned about Alcantara seats from the standpoint of upkeep and durability. They appear to discolor and stain more easily than leather, but are required options for packages I would like. Experiences and recommendations appreciated.
3) Rear steering and variable ratio steering- The reviews are mixed here with some strongly in favor and others opining it's really not necessary. I will never track the car and will be lucky to push it to 7/10's capability in my area. For those who have it, do you have strong opinions now either way?
4) The Torsen LSD and Yamaha seem like no brainers at only $460.

If any of you have recommendations on any other options or accessories, please advice. And thanks in advance for the help. This forum is a wonderful resource.

 

Id go with the touring seats. They are the initial concept car seats and not shared with anything else in Lexus. They also have 4x lumbar

20s are fine, don't need 21s

no need for rear steering. Its a GT, not a sports car.

4) yes no brainer

 

1) I have 21” - I do not hear road noise over the exhaust. I love the look of the 21” so I went door them. I also purchased the 5 year wheel protection package. I have 1650 miles - Drove from Maryland to Alabama - Loved every mile of it.

2) I have the Alcantara. I love the stickiness of it. The look is wonderful. I cannot speak for long term use. I have heard it last up to 3 times longer than leather. Time will tell. Everyone always wants to pet my seats.

3) I will be honest - I love saying I have all wheel steering. However, until you’re doing like 90 mph in a curve it is very hard to notice (even at 90 hard to notice). Could be a repair nightmare - but heck I bought the 10 year full warranty so I don’t care. So I guess I would say it is nice. HOWEVER, the Dynamic Package includes a Full Carbon Fiber Roof. OMG the carbon Fiber Roof is beyond SEXY! - unless you are going convertible, which is not an option in Mobile, AL with all the crappy weather. Only useful like 15 days a year here.

4) Never drove without them. I have them now, until I drop $400,000 plus on a car - The LC 500 is the best!

Heated steering is nice. Warms the hands on a cold day. I really like the Mark Levinson Stereo. Many others disagree.

I also just added the Scrap Armor. I recommend this after purchase. I scrapped once already leaving work.

Blendmount to hold the radar detector. 113 comes in seconds, best to know your surroundings.

 

Ask away for anything else - I spent 100 plus hours deciding exactly what to order.

 

One year/15000km/10000miles of ownership later

1 - The ride is already incredible on the 21 inch wheels so you are probably not going to gain much downgrading to 20s and aesthetically I think 21s fill out the wheel arches a lot better, but this is subjective

2 - I have big reservations about Alcantara as well and honestly prefer the regular full leather seats but my Alcantara seats look brand new after one year of proper use so they are definitely holding up well so far, with zero signs of degradation

3 - I can feel the rear steer module working, the car feels more agile when cornering (the rear feels like it pivots into the turn, and it feels good) and more importantly IMO, it makes the car turn a smaller radius in tight spaces. So I would recommend it especially for city driving

4 - IMO the two biggest gimmicks with the car are the carbon roof (insignificant weight saving, I like the glass roof more), and auto deploying rear wing (insignificant downforce benefit, spoils the clean lines on the rear, one extra thing to go wrong over the long term)

 

i don't think it's the wheels that make the noise, but the run flat tires, and on rough roads (only), the tires on my 21's are not quiet, but when cruising on a decent to good road, they're absolutely fine. as for ride quality, i'm very impressed by how good (comfortable) it is. i understand your reasons for the 20s but i just don't think they look so great. maybe a different 20 design would look better.

i have alcantara and like how it holds me in place. slippy leather is nice, but since this isnt my every day car, i'm fine with the alcantara and not concerned about wear or stains (my interior is black though!).

probably don't need it then, but Ephilyaw says it's good if you're doing 90 but i think it's so much more than that. it's awesome to me at *5* mph taking a 90 degree turn. i feel it at ALL speeds in fact... for lane changes it's obvious and you just shift lanes so quick. and because the steering is variable gearing, i just love how responsive it is to wheel input.

savagegeese has some good comments on the dynamic handling package:
https://youtu.be/bHdVaZC8Ld0/?t=924

and yeah, carbon fiber roof is spectacular!

yup, no brainer.

for me HUD is a must on any car i drive these days.

the mark levinson system is unimpressive to me. my hyundai suv audio sounds better. it might be because the LC is so small but it's so front-staged and sounds weird with ANYTHING but the most perfect recordings, it's, eh...

 

Know what you mean. I've watched every available YouTube video on the LC, some twice. Don't want to make mistakes on a 100K investment.

 

Yea, I love the SavageGeese videos. The guy is sharp, and he was a previous LC owner, so even more relevant. But he tracked his so you know he's going to push every performance option.

Thanks for your input bitkahuna.

 

I know it's dependent on locations and allocation numbers, but have you been given a rough ETA on a '23 factory order? I've been waiting since August for my '23 Coupe at one of the largest volume dealers in Canada - still no ETA.

 

I ordered late November last year still no ETA, I was told by my SA they prioritize regular orders over bespoke, that my bespoke order for a 23 LC coupe might actually become a 24MY, which they will launch earlier than usual in early summer this year, but with no further explanation …

 

Maybe you'll get lucky, and it becomes a 24MY and Lexus announce that 24MY's will have a front camera and a few other upgrades. You never know.

 

are you in vancouver Gojirra? if so, it'll probably be in march or april for your delivery.

 

In Canada the 21 inch wheels are available as either a bespoke order, or when you order the Performance Package ( Not an insignificant $17,800 option in 2023).
Also, we can not get the LSD unless you order the above mentioned Performance Package. I do not see the LSD as an option listed for a bespoke build in Canada, but please correct me if I am wrong.
We unfortunately do not have as many option packages as our neighbours to the south.

 

I was told my order hasn’t been filled yet, thus no delivery time when I spoke with my SA last week, plus I have made a change with my bespoke order, not sure how it will affect securing the build date.

 

Yes, with regular order, we only have 2 choices, the Touring as base, or the fully loaded Performance Package, the $17800 option you mentioned above.
With bespoke, you cannot have the 4-wheel steering + the VGRS, but you can definitely get the LSD with the Performance Option …