Carbon Fiber Roof and Spoiler, Circuit Red interior. 2019 NGP (Last year they made that color) received it with 532 miles. Bought it for 64,900 plus sales tax and licensing. Added invidia Q-300 cat back, high flow air filter with carbon fiber intake. Purchased these OEM wheels and had them powdercoated in Pewter color with clear coat on them. Tinted with Limo tint and had it clear wrapped for protection in the following areas. Full Hood Full Bumper Full Fenders Full Roof, A pillars, Full side vent and Rocker, headlights, back of mirrors, door cups, rear bumper flairs. Project Mu Pads front and Rear with New Rotors.

 

This car is a fun car to drive, but very different than anything I have. This vehicle handles extremely well and is comfortable. The GSF is the same fun but larger and over all I think it handles the best. I have to say that my favorite is my 2012 ISF, has about 39,000 miles on it and it combines the best parts of the GSF and RCF into one car.

 

This car is a fun car to drive, but very different than anything I have. This vehicle handles extremely well and is comfortable. The GSF is the same fun but larger and over all I think it handles the best. I have to say that my favorite is my 2012 ISF, has about 39,000 miles on it and it combines the best parts of the GSF and RCF into one car.

 

I might have to concede on that one, I don't think I can pull that one off, its probably going to be in the $150,000 range.

 

So, looks like you have carbon fiber on it then you have torque vectoring differential as well. You should play with the modes. I use 'slalom' mode on city roads. 'Track' mode is great for high speed turns on bigger roads. You will see the car will snap the nose in slalom mode on small roads. Interesting your thoughts on GSF vs RCF, GSF is about 1 foot longer so that size difference is noticeable, but driving experiences are very subjective so preferences always vary. Ultimate limit wise, RCF should have the higher limits, if you put them on the same race track because of the smaller wheelbase, lighter weight and stiffer chassis/suspension setup.

 

The weight difference between the RC F and GS F is negligible. It's not like the 250+ lb difference between the RC and GS F's vs. the IS F, and you can definitely feel it driving them back to back.

 

I never said it was big difference in weight. I only said the 1 foot length was a noticeable difference.. It is around 82 lbs officially between GSF and RCF. ISF was officially 3780 lbs and RCF was officially 3958 lhs. Though, depending on the options selected on each car, it could vary. Usually, moonroof adds about 50 - 60 lbs. ML system etc. Still would not be 250+ lbs, in my opinion.

 

Dont forget the driver weight lolz

 

TVD alone is 68 pounds. The RC F with TVD is comparable to the GS F - very small weight difference. My IS F weighed 3743 on a corner weight scale with everything in the car - even the owner's manual. So the official numbers, as you stated, need to be taken with a grain of salt. The GS F had no significant weight altering options in North America, so there's not a lot to discuss with that one. It's a bit over 4000 lbs. The RC F at 3958 is going to be a solid roof non-TVD weight. Toyota/Lexus always publish the lowest weight model as the standard at least since the Supra whose official weight was 3415 lbs (mine weighs exactly that) but that's the hard top model, not the targa which weighs over 3500 pounds. So, big grain of salt with these numbers unless you've put your unit on a calibrated scale.

 

I am going by official stats to make it as apples to apples. C&D weighed GSF at 4130 lbs. Who knows how much my RCF weighs in real life with half a tank of gas? I plan on finding out. Carbon fiber officially sheds about 24 lbs (18 lbs off the roof and about 7 lbs on the spoiler). So while TVD unit is heavier than the LSD by about 45 lbs or so, the carbon fiber makes up for some of the weight difference. Also the weght distribution is 53/47 wth TVD. The heaviest trim levels were the rare moonroof equipped RCFs with no carbon fiber and TVD stand-alone option. Keep in mind, RCF has a lot of chassis strengthening in the sills and doors etc., which is the trade-off for the small weight difference of around 80 lbs between GSF and RCF.

 

Yup, it has the carbon fiber roof and TVD, I really haven't had a chance to play, but I'm going to try your suggestions, looking forward to it.

 

So, you have been using 'normal' mode like you did on your GSF. It acts more like an LSD with 50/50 left and right. It works both under cornering acceleration and cornering braking (applying opposite torque. More on the inside and less on the outside). Here is a good tutorial for you on it from the press release (edit)

Torque Vectoring Differential

It would be no surprise that a car of the RC F’s track capability would offer torque vectoring to sharpen handling response. The news here is that the RC F uses the electronically controlled Lexus Torque Vectoring Differential (TVD). The TVD uses precisely controlled multi-plate clutches, rather than the vehicle’s brakes, to optimally distribute torque to each rear wheel whether or not the accelerator is pressed.

The design aim with a TVD-equipped RC F was to make full use of the vehicle’s yaw moment for turning posture so good that it would feel as if the steering angle and direction of the vehicle travel were solidly joined.

Electronic control and precision electric actuator motors that are adjusted in units of 1/1,000-second ensure the appropriate amount of torque is distributed to each rear wheel. TVD can generate torque transfer regardless of how large or small the engine torque is, creating a yaw moment around the center of gravity and realizing movement similar to the LFA with its 48:52 front/rear weight distribution.

The driver won’t notice the TVD’s seamless operation but rather will simply enjoy the feeling of using the accelerator pedal to help steer the car through corners.

Lexus meticulously tested the TVD at the Nürburgring and circuits in Japan to fine-tune its operation and cooperation with the new coupe’s Vehicle Dynamics Integration Management (VDIM) system.

The TVD distributes torque to match the conditions of the moment, ensuring dynamic response when negotiating S-bends, for example. It improves vehicle attitude in low-to-mid speed corners, providing more agile movement and a smaller steering angle.

In a series of S-bends, TVD provides exhilarating corner exit performance with no understeer. Crisp turn-in after hard braking is equal to highly skilled driving without a TVD. Even during deceleration, the TVD constantly controls the drive force to preserve agile and smooth turn-in.

The TVD has three operating modes, independent of the RC F Drive Mode Select function:

• STANDARD (default setting) provides an ideal balance of agility and firmness.
• SLALOM emphasizes nimble steering response and the agility of a smaller vehicle.
• TRACK emphasizes stability during high-speed circuit driving.

The RC F’s unique cockpit meter display shows the rear-wheel torque distribution as a bar graph within the tachometer and, if selected from the display menu, as two orange columns in the multi-information display.

How it Works
The drive-force control mechanism in the Lexus TVD consists of two highly responsive and compact motor control units and two multi-plate clutches. The system also includes a set of speed-multiplication planetary gears for each drive shaft.

The brushless electric motors have a newly developed built-in high-precision resolver (rotation-angle sensor). Using technology developed for hybrid vehicle motor control, these allow the motor angle to be monitored and adjusted in units of 1/1,000-second, for precise control of torque distribution during acceleration and deceleration. Each electric motor controls the pressure on the corresponding multi-plate clutch via a ball-cam actuator.

Special features of the TVD electronic control include feed-forward and feedback control technology. Feed-forward control is control due to driver input. Feedback control aims for the ideal vehicle condition, even in situations such as counter-steer during a drift, for more enjoyable maneuverability.

The feed-forward control group includes steering-angle, LSD during counter-steer and LSD during deceleration. The feedback control suite includes yaw-rate, differential-rotation suppression control and VDIM cooperative control.

 

Thanks. Yeah I miss my ISF too. So raw it could be sushi...

Take some pics of the entire F stable! That would be cool to see

 

Not what they're saying here: Mr. Tingwall indeed confirms that the TVD weighs 67 pounds more than the standard Torsen limited slip. While there is truth it doesn't show up on the scale as a full 67 pounds because you won't get it without the CF roof, it's still at least 5x the weight of a good clutch type diff that IMHO outperforms the TVD for 20% the price. Worst of all, you're really going to hurt if you have a TVD issue out of warranty. They're stupid expensive even in the junkyards. I could literally buy 5 OS Giken TCD units for the same as what the junkyards are asking for a TVD unit. And just for clarity, the article I linked states unequivocally the TVD is better than the standard Torsen. That I do not doubt. I sincerely doubt it's better than the OS Giken all things considered.

 

FYI, there were RCFs earlier in 2015 that had TVD as a stand-alone option. It happened when the carbon fiber process had manufacturing issues and TVD was offered as a stand-alone option. AutoBild tested one (I posted a while back). The article you linked from C&D has one.

Similarly spec'ed RCF with steel roof and carbon/TVD are within 15 - 20 lbs of each other. The carbon fiber offsets a lot of the weight from TVD. I am not going to speculate of what a Goken can do with the RCF instead of TVD or Torsen. I am going by what I know for sure and driving it first hand. You are beating on a dead horse, really. I personally would not like to derail this thread much further.