I finally found a "new" car. I just bought a 98 SC400. It's pearl and loaded. Should be a lot easier to keep clean, and a hell of a lot cooler when I get into it after work, compared to my jade 94. I can't wait to pick it up tomorrow. I am trading in my 94 sc. In the deal I worked out they are even going to take off the eibachs/tokico's for me. I kept the OEM for this reason. I'm going to try the 98 out for a while with the stock suspension. I guess there were a few improvements over the 94's suspension and I forgot how much smoother the ride is without the aftermarket suspension. I'm sure I'll want it back on in a month or so though. One thing I have to say after driving it is it's a whole lot faster than the 94. I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL TOMORROW

Hey Mo when are you gonna have a S/C for the sc's??

 

thats cool. isnt the '98+ models the ones with 290hp?
anyway, what color is the ext/int of the '98? and how many miles?

 

Yes 1998 models and on got the hp bump.

SC/LS 290 hp
GS 300 hp

and all engines 98 on have the vvti technology

 

Pap Eric answered your first question above 290hp.

It's Pearl/Ivory interior. I just got home from picking it up, and driving around for awhile. It's got 49K on it. A little more than I wanted but after looking for a while this one had everything I wanted.

It did have the gold package on it but I had them change it over to chrome. Looks a lot better now. I'll have to wait until next week for the new center caps on the chrome rims to be changed to chrome rather than the gold L in the center of them. Now I'm thinking I should have done it with the platinum emblems. Of course after I did it I second guess my decision. Isn't that always the case.

Another big difference is the feel of the car with the factory wheels and suspension. On my last car I did the 17" rims and then the suspension a couple of months later so the handling improved in two stages. I didn't notice how different it was until driving my new one. You really feel a lot more body roll and sidewall flex on the tires with the factory setup. It's got 225/55/16 on 16X7" rims. Is this the optimal tire size for this rim? Maybe that has something to do with the excessive sidewall flex? They are decent tires Goodyear eagle gt+4's.

First off I'm going to get the windows tinted and a K&N. I think I'll throw the 17's on it until I save some money for some non knock-off 17 or 18" staggered setup. Thanks to Manaray for all your expertise on rims.

I'm off for a cruise. Later

 

SC400 james can you feel a big power difference from the old 94 SC which was 250hp and the 98 with vvti at around 290hp?I am pretty sure there is a huge diffrence.

Have you topped it out yet on a long striaght?Also the 5 speed tranny should be better than the old 4 speed one.

Looks like you got a rare diamond there,i hardly ever see any 98+ SC400's around here in Southern Cali.

Oh by the way I almost forgot,congrats on the new SC ride

 

edogg It is a major difference in the power. It feels a lot faster. Not sure of the 0-60 times for the 98. I think it was around 6.9 0-60 for the 94. I would guess this one is closer to 6. I haven't topped it out yet. Got up to about 110 but had to slow for traffic. Smooth as silk. I only topped out the 94 once at just under 150 according to my speedo when the gov kicked in. They say the tranny is better now. It shifts a lot smoother than my last. I'm hoping this will change when the ecu learns my driving pattern.

 

I would guess that since the 98 LS400 did

6.4 in 0-60
15.0 in 1/4 mile

it would be a little faster becuase the SC would be lighter than the LS with the same engine.

So i would say for a 98 SC400 it would be

6.0 or lower in the 0-60
14.8 or lower in the 1/4 mile.

The LS times were taken from Car and Driver and you know how they are biased to those Germans,so the posted estimated times might be even -0.5 secs. faster.

I know this for a fact i have seen many GS's stock run into the high 5's in 0-60 and Car and Driver had it listed at 6.2 sec 0-60.

Hmmm sounds fishy to me