Hi everyone.
Im new to the site, it looks great btw. https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/icons/icon7.gif
And I got my sc300 6 days ago.
It is a 1996 5 speed. completely stock.

I have a couple thousand I can use on upgrades.

I just want suggestions on what the first upgrades are when ppl first get their sc's.

Any comments would be highly appreciated.

* btw I tried to post on the newb thread but something is wrong w/ it. I cant seem to get to the last page to post.*

here are some pics:

 

please can someone help me out.
any advice would be highly appreciated

 

Are you friggin' kidding, that car is clean as a pin... don't go screwing it up! Spend your first $1k on maintenance for every thing that is rubber under the car...... bushings, etc......

 

2JZ GTE swap!! Then save for a single (or a BL compound?) kit

Bone stock with a GTE would be a nice sleeper

Spend the 2k on an engine then take your time buying maintenance parts until its ready to go in

 

I would say use it on maintenance then whatever is left suspension/rims.

 

The biggest improvement you can make is a TRD shift ****. The stealership wants like 70-80 for it but you can get it down to 30-40 if you talk to the manager and say another dealership far away is offering you that price but you dont want to drive all the way their.

Make sure you get all the maintenance out of the way. That means changing EVERY fluid. Oil, trans fluid, coolant (use oem toyota red), brake fluid, use a hand pump for an easy change and use a turkey baster to change the clutch fluid in the reservoir. Change the spark plugs, cap and rotor. Changing out the bushing is also a really good investment. Check the PCV and air filter along with the cabin air filter.

For cheap parts go to the lexus of pembroke pines trademotion website.

After you get all that out of the way buy some bigger rims and get the ls400 brake calipers and possibly toyota supra rear calipers. Upgrade the suspension, i like the Drew Gixxer Hypercoil setup. And after you get all that, then swap a turbo gte engine or go na-t if you are low mileage.

 

yup, once you get maintenance out of the way, then you start~
easy things like HID, Tint are mostly first ones
LED Interior light, seems like your leather is in really good condition... mine are in pretty bad condition for driver seat so I'll be upgrading to supra seats, supra seats and s2000 seats fits our car perfectly, no need new bracket, but you lose passenger side power functions...

then you can do a couple, these are the ones I am doing this week, i got my sc almost 2 months ago, be patience when you collect parts, dont rush into stuff and do it wrong, waste of money

Some people go with the Supra TT 17" OEM Rims which looks pretty nice, but their kinda hard to find and sometimes pricy.. from 450-650 a set...
Or you can go with after market rims, 18" or 19"... in our sc section there's wheel/tire fitment guild, definitely read through it... our car can handle 38+ offset without rolling, max width in the rear (i think) is 10" so you want some staggered 18x8 front 18x9.5 rear, you get the idea

Then if you want to upgrade your brakes, popular ones are the LS400 and Supra TT... I personally went for the Supra ones because I think they look nicer, there's tons of article that compares the too, some even say LS is a down grade, which i disagree, but do your research on that.. I might have a spare set of supra front that will be for sale soon... Usually a good set of supra fronts go for 400-700 depending on condition, their about 1000 new... LS400 are easier to come by, 200-400 depending on condition, rotors, and pads... upgrading to stainless steel line is good too...

Then suspension, I've heard good things about the Blistein/Hypercoil gixxerdrew set up, but I personally got some H&R Coilovers because I got it for a great price... dont rush yourself with coilovers, often there are good deals on the forum that you should jump on, do you research and search for the coils that suites your driving style, stiffness, comfort.. etc

Then depending on what you like, you can go for exhaust, body kit, etc....

 

1st upgrade is always....MORE PICS
THEN, spend the $ on what is most important to YOU.... not anybody else

 

1. maintenance
2. suspension
3. wheels/tires
4. lighting

 

holy **** dude....i think i may have just lost the niceset stock sc award.....

that interior is MINT. i find it hard to believe that that is the original leather...how many miles on the car?

 

id do exhaust and good set of rims

 

wow.cleanest 5sp i ever seen.does'nt even look like it was driven alot.how many miles?

 

damn thats one clean interior, i say drop and get some staggered wheels

 

Thats all you realy have to do to a sc, lower it, tint it, and slap some 18" on. " I got a couple thousand." luv it!

 

Freaking clean man.. Do all the maintenance first, to include the struts/mounts, bushings, etc, then rims/wheels, and then a drop!