I wonder if the 2016 premium package included LED headlamps.

 

I can tell ya that the 2017 did = does for sure!

 

Learn me this Rolla-

Don't all Performance Packages come Standard with the Carbon Rooftop (No Moon-Roof) Triple Beams & TVD together?
I've always loved the hot sun causing skin cancer on my face and head thru the Moon-Roof, but must admit- I'd love to drive a TVD Model in my lifetime!
And though I could've looked it up - what is "CAD" = Yes I know where you live, so assume its Canadian?

OOHRAH !!

 

Yeah, that is what I always thought. But, what do I know since here we get only two versions of the RCF. Both fully optioned out with triple LED lights. One has the LSD and 10 split-spoke wheels while the other one is the TVD/Carbon Fiber with 20 spoke hand polished wheels (which is what I have).

Yeah, having a carbon fiber roof instead of a moonroof or steel roof has further inherent advantages such as, lowering the center of gravity since the roof is lighter so the CoG shifts down. I believe, the moonroof weighs around 20 lbs more than the steel roof, which in turn is about 10 - 15 lbs heavier than the carbon fiber roof. TVD is an amazing piece of engineering. Slalom mode makes the front end really hyper-reactive and you can feel the steering response becoming over-sensitive at slow speeds while track mode really only can be felt while you are going through a turn very fast and applying throttle through the mid-turn. You can feel the car wanting to rotate more and more as you apply more throttle.

Yes that is correct. Cheers!

 

Center of gravity is shifted down with performance package, but the performance package adds more total weight to the car than not having a performance package, since the electric motors in the TVD are really heavy!

 

It adds more weight the bottom rear of the car (a good thing for FR and CoG balance), but with the reduction in weight through carbon fiber roof and spoiler over steel, it negates the 22 lbs differential of weight from the TVD over the LSD unit. Some of the earlier models had TVD as stand-alone option so the one's with steel or moonroof optioned out with TVD were heavier because they had no carbon fiber weight savings to negate it.

 

Oh snap. Didnt want to start a weight war conversation here. I'm fully content w my Premium and Moon Roof. No doubt.

Havnt seen my car in 2 weeks. Seems they're doing a SERIOUS PPF Package n more. Dropped custom Elvin Wong Wheel off yesterday to have mounted too. This will be a moment I hope to have on film for sure!

 

I thought the net increase was ~51lbs for the performance pack. Something like +73lbs for the TVD less the carbon savings of ~22lbs. This, at least, is in North America as we didn't get the CF hood. As you pointed out, the weight is lower.

Also, early on Lexus had trouble with the carbon fiber, which resulted in those early TVD units without carbon you mentioned, buddy of mine had one... I believe they might even have allowed sunroofs on them. No sunroofs on these models.

 

0You forgot to factor in the weight of the LSD. The LSD unit itself weighs around 20 lbs. The TVD motors around 60 lbs total. You save back about 20 lbs through the carbon fiber roof and spoiler on the top half of the car against the steel roof RCF. Even more against the moonroof version. Most of the press TVD RCFs given to C&D and MT etc. had no carbon package on them, which is why they were on the heavier side. I think option packages contribute more to the weight differences than having a TVD/carbon package vs LSD.

 

I was remembering the 70lbs as being the net increase TVD vs. LSD, but I couldn't find the actual article I was remembering, its been a few years.

I did find a few references to the TVD being 67lbs higher, but no definitive specs...and the math I did shows its closer to your 40lbs higher, so the breakeven (or slight advantage) is definitely vs. sunroof cars. Plus the lowered center of gravity, plus the enjoyment (IMHO) and increased performance (per C&D) of driving a TVD car means its a must do as far as I'm concerned.

Here's a few interesting links on the TVD, first one refers to a 67lb net higher weight vs. LSD:
http://kaizen-factor.com/tvd-or-not-...-the-question/

Here's a technical paper on the ECU by the design team:
https://www.denso-ten.com/business/t...l/pdf/40-6.pdf

Our TVD demoed:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwwFZAbYGW0&feature=youtu.be

And the C&D comparison, they used 2 identical (as much as they could, in theory) blue RCFs, same wheels. The TVD car had no CF and no sunroof, the LSD car had a sunroof (guessing ~22 lbs? penalty?)
https://www.caranddriver.com/feature...e-test-feature

My math to try to apples to apples the car was:

LSD car = 4016 lbs - 22 lbs (delete sunroof est) = 3994 lbs
TVD car = 4057 lbs - 20 lbs (add in CF roof/wing) = 4037 lbs

Net difference of ~ 43 lbs higher for the TVD itself vs. the LSD, which is in line with your estimate above, plus seems reasonable looking at the additional gears/housings/etc.