flipside909

Optimal is in a balance of performance, sound and longevity. Its easy for any manufacturer to max out their cars and extrapolate more power if needed. But you need to have a balance of all those attributes to work well. Lexus has found that balance with how the LFA is now.

For example, the surge tank and intake system for the 1LR-GUE. I'd like to see someone try to create a better design than what's already in the car now. 400Hz was the key frequency for the richest sound of the surge tank for the human ear to detect. The engineers used microphones near the surge tank to measure where the tank will vibrate best....down to the millimeter. Yamaha did a lot of R&D to perfect the sound of the LFA. I bet you no other manufacturer has ever spent that much time to perfect the sound like Yamaha and Lexus did. Same for the exhaust system. Theres more to it than just bolting on an aftermarket free flowing exhaust or intake to make it better. Lexus didn't cut corners with this car. The LFA is not your average car or supercar for that matter.

Sure you can modify any stock car...but i'm pretty certain with how the LFA was built, that adding an aftermarket exhaust or intake is a downgrade. My opinion of course.

motohide

If all manufacturers wanted maximum output from the engine without regard to any other attributes, our cities would be pretty farting loud!!

Of course, in addition to flipside909's list, there is also a COST factor too. As in we don't want to pay an extra $1500 so we can get aluminum, stainless, or titanium-carbon exhaust. Of course, it would be awesome if dealers can have you choose and work that into the 60 month payment with your car, wouldn't it? That's what Japanese Toyota NETZ dealers have done a while back... Offering various performance and even aftermarket upgrades.

Did you know that notorious 180SX with a Silvia face on S13 Nissan was first offered by a dealership as a dealer custom option when one of the Tohoku region's Nissan dealer wanted something to boost the sales of the slumping Silvia/180SX twins. It's true.

motohide

Wouldn't consider a downgrade necessarily but it certainly would not be in the interest of OEM equipment list, if the noise levels are outside of the normal buyer's tolerance, or if the lightweight design also contributed to early rust failures or easy collapse in light, minor hits. All state of OEM tune, like I said in the LFA thread, is a compromise between all general buyer's needs.

Only that us enthusiasts are sometimes well outside of the normal... We're the strange ones.

jpvarghese

iTrader: (1)

flipside, I'm with you on this.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

again it's nothing different from any other lexus models or any cars on the road for that matter. manufacturer tuned the car for whatever balance they think is appropriate, and i respect that. but don't a lot of us mod our cars anyway for the kind of balance we prefer? mind you that you are one of those who mod your cars too. i am sure your car got louder, bouncier, harsher. wasn't that a deviation from the balance that lexus decided? but didn't the car handle better and "sound" better?

the same philosophy will apply here. i am sure lexus put a lot of work in this car and i am not taking away any credit. they make the car sounds awesome i am sure, i have heard plenty from it. but there can easily be someone who prefers to get more power out of their car, especially if they care more about performance.

you might think the car is perfect as it, but that's only because you agree with how toyota thinks about it. and my point is simple. lfa is very good as is, it has a great balance between everything according to most. but that doesn't mean this is the only configuration to go with, and the meaning of optimal is nothing short of subjective. one can skew his/her needs one way and demand something different.

again, if i were to get lfa, more than likely i wouldn't touch anything. but do i think the car can get "better" in some different directions? absolutely. it's silly to think something is perfect and no way else to improve. all good engineers keep in mind there are always room for improvement, it's matter of discovering them. isn't that lexus is still tuning the car as we speak? if so, that only tells me that even they don't think the car is perfect yet. the car might be as good as they can get at this moment, but who knows what happens tomorrow

flipside909

I think you meant you and I not you and you.

Sure we do mod our cars...but in my opinion, the more I spend on a car, the less I am inclined to modify the car if any.

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

Since I believe no car in existence is perfect, someone will modify the LFA to his/her own liking. It may or may not be better, but there is always room for improvement on any car ever produced. I hope the aftermarket comes out with good sensible mods for the LFA. Give the buyers some options and let them have fun with their cars. In the end it really is just a car.

motohide

Improved or not is a subjective thing. And owners may modify any car once its it's thier own. But there's no point in trying to tell Lexus one way or another to aske for the LFA coming out of a factory with larger fixed GT wing or a huge metal bumper, or steel frame. All of them can be considered a improvement of downforce, or stronger parking lot collision resistance, or cheaper repairs... Or any other matter that an individual may see as "better" or worse...is all subjective, but does not necessarily mean its the way Lexus wants it. That goes for not having soft compound race slicks as OEM, or 800hp rather than 560... If it's not the direction they want it, then it won't be an option you can select from LFA.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

i agree with that. but i don't think anyone is asking lexus to make any changes here? everyone is talking about aftermarket

motohide

Understood. Just making a point.

Also, the LF-A's engine is comprised of details that are optimized for naturally aspirated use, and designed to provide ultra-fast response, reliability, and resisitance to character changes even in long hard use on extended track use.
The design of the high compression, rare, lightweight metals, shaved connecting rods, short stroke, all make it a very non-ideal matter to introduce a boosted intake in any significant level. That said, yes, with a very careful re-design and extensive parts change to suit, the LFA engine will provide higher power output... And that is individual taste and resources. There have been few Lamborghini and Ferrari turbo mods so I don't think its really off the wall, but these modifications, no matter how well it was done, never increases the value in collector markets, and hurts resale in many ways, and with a $375K car, its not a task for too many owners or taste that is welcomed for most owners who buy cars like this. But as always, there are the very few who will among the 500 future owners. I can bet on that.

MR_F1

Seeing that the parts though lightweight, are made from pretty robust materials, I don't think any significant parts change would be necessary.

07grIS350

I am sure whoever bought the extra LFA for track use WILL tinker with that car . How about mods that can be swapped back to orginal parts when it's time to sell?

rominl

iTrader: (4)

we are on the same page then. case in point, the lfa that goes in the 24 hr nur race, obviously it has modified exhaust. i am pretty sure lexus did that for performance rather than making it slower. but i think it doesn't sound close to anything as good as stock. so that right there is a trade off owners will choose

jpvarghese

iTrader: (1)

Is it terrible for me to fantasize about an LFA with 100 extra hp (N/A of course)?

07grIS350

Definitely not, and while at it, make the red line at past 10000 RPM just for bragging right
How hard can that be?