They're definitely a very period correct classic look! Completely worth the effort you went into getting it right

You certainly are not alone in finding the infamous SC "dirt mine"


Honestly I don't feel an entire Supra MKIV rear subframe (the 200mm version or especially the even more expensive 220mm 6-speed version) is worth it or needed. The coilovers you have will swap into both vehicle subframe suspension setups but there just isn't much need for the effort and expense. Not unless you found that an entire MKIV rear subframe's suspension geometry might help you in a track car situation-- and even in such cases almost no one has felt the need to do that entire swap. Only those who have in the past done a full 2JZ-GTE + V160 + 6-speed 220mm MKIV rear diff swap needed to install a 6-speed MKIV subframe assembly.

The SC rear subframe mounts and MKIV rear subframe mounts are actually identical (other than perhaps the rubber formulation but even that is debatable) except for the swaybar mounting plates welded onto them from the factory. That's really all there is to it. But for piece of mind I wanted the actual MKIV rear subframe mounts with those plates already aligned perfectly for a totally bolt-in affair with no guesswork.

The Supra MKIV rear subframe does allow for a slightly greater amount of.... I can't recall if it's toe or camber but it's one of those ranges (I'm not a well versed suspension guy, sorry) and those differences *can* make a difference... but 98% of SC owners haven't been limited at all when dialing in their setups with the stock rear subframe geometry. Other than the factory SC rear swaybar being inferior, IMO.

Even the Supra 93-98 MKIV NA & 1997-1998 MKIV TT 20mm rear swaybar will give a marked improvement over the factory SC 20mm rear swaybar just due to the geometry/mounting point changes alone but the one you should look at getting is the 1993-1996 Supra MKIV TT 22mm factory rear swaybar. Or an aftermarket MKIV rear swaybar that is 22mm or close to it. The TRD rear swaybar for the MKIV Supra was, I think, something like 25mm or more(?) and it's really overkill in diameter for most SC's.

 

Yeah I think you’re probably right. Ultimately I’m not building a race car here anyway, right? One of the things that I wanted to avoid was the cutting and modifying associated with the swaybar mount swap. So to me, after seeing a JDM Turbo rear subframe for about $600, I thought to myself that would be a cleaner and somewhat easier swap to just drop one subframe and bolt in the other. I’d have “upgrades” across the board as well. Though I don’t know, the MKIV axles could be stronger?

I do agree with you though that the standard Turbo bar should be sufficient for my needs. We’ll see.

Nick

 

In this case especially because you're building a street car I absolutely don't feel there is any reason to change the rear subframe to the MKIV version. Even high powered JZ turbo SC's almost never have that changed out either.

The diff axles aren't really a problem either. They're the same strength for all SC model years and for all MKIVs, SC's and Soarers using the 200mm diff. The axles for the 220mm 6-speed diff may be a bit thicker and stronger but that's a moot point unless you were to swap in that entire 220mm 6-speed diff and its required subframe at great expense... which you could be putting toward any other aspects of your build.

I find find that a fresh set of front lower control arms (if needed), a good set of coilovers, wheels, tires, factory MKIV subframe mounts (with rubber in there) or at least some copy that uses polyurethane to isolate NVH, and the factory 93-96 MKIV TT 22mm rear sway bar made a combined big difference in my SC's handling capability and response over stock.

In the case of the SC300 I was able to swap in a factory Supra MKIV TT (same for all model year TT's) front swaybar. This doesn't seem like it should make a difference but it actually was ever so slightly different and stiffer than the factory front SC300 sway bar and it did seem to make a subtle difference in bringing the front end more into line with the already upgraded rear end. Unfortunately this bar is said to not be compatible with the placement of the 1UZ engine in the SC400 so you can't use it as far as I know.

Whiteline or another company may have a front swaybar that is mildly stiffer for SC400's in similar to stock diameter that can compliment an MKIV TT 22mm rear swaybar.

But... I drove for years without the front sway bar being upgraded and it was fine. The rear sway bar is where the really significant difference in handling improvement and geometry change will occur.

Lastly as an overall package I have to mention that in the long haul even if your SC400 remains at the factory 250-260hp output you will fully complete the handling upgrades with a rear end rebuilt with a limited slip differential. And any gear ratio change you want while you're in there if you feel a change of gearing is needed. A gear-type Torsen or clutch-type 1.5-Way LSD is better for the street (Kaaz 1.5 or OS Giken 1.5) due to there being no lockup on deceleration. And a Torsen just varies its distribution of torque dynamically 100% of the time.

Everything I've mentioned here is still what I would consider applicable for a street car setup and pretty much describes my SC's setup that I regularly use for normal, everyday city driving in comfort.... just with very above average handling capability when/if ever required

 

Just a quick update, but I’ve purchased a couple of Magnaflow mufflers, second hand off FB Marketplace for $75! Taking them down to my father in law next week to have 4.5” tips welded to them. Once that’s all fitted I’ll take the car to a muffler shop and have them installed. Just planning on lopping off the stock mufflers and slapping these on. I’m really only interested in looks and a little noise for the time being.

In other news, I placed an order for TT Supra rear calipers yesterday. Found them for $166 each, brand new, from Elmhurst Toyota! Steal of a price. When they come in I’ll be mounting them up with some coated rotors from RockAuto, along with LS460 front calipers and 14.2” IS-F rotors. All of this made possible by XAT’s adapter brackets of course.

According to CCW, the brakes should fit with about 1mm of clearance to spare. A little tight for my liking, so since the fronts don’t really poke like the rear wheels do, I’m gonna run a 5mm spacer to give me that extra clearance and make the front visually match the rear better. Spacers are on order from ECS Tuning and are made by H&R. They weren’t “cheap” but I chose them because they use an aluminum/magnesium alloy, rather than T6 aluminum which is what everyone else seems to. I wanted them lightweight and strong. They’re also anodized with a silver coating that I think will help them to blend in with my wheels and coated rotors which I’ll order here in the coming days.

To go with the spacers, I have longer studs on order. For anyone interested, we have a 14.20mm knurl stud and stock length is 40mm. I went with 50mm up front and 45mm in the rear. My lug nuts were only getting 7 full turns and 9 turns is necessary for minimum thread engagement, so the net effect is +5mm stud length on all four corners. This should give me those extra two or three turns needed, for safety. Studs are also H&R but nothing special really.

Pictures and more details coming soon…

Nick

 

Wow, beautiful. I can only wish for now!! Thank you for sharing!!!

 

I have flowmasters or magnaflows, one of them, so long ago, don't remember. Its not that dramatic of a thing, our cars don't have that pronounced Corvette kind of lope. Its much more of a steady hum. When I'm driving at a higher speed I liken it to being inside a 747. Lot of power. I live for that sound. Did put wider pipes, about the only non stock thing I did to the car. I always thought the more I drove it that, the Japanese got It perfect from the start.
I haven't messed w anything. Thats probably why Its still running fine today.
Good Luck

 

Yeah I certainly see the value of this car as a cruiser. The exhaust is mostly for looks but the car is so quiet stock that I wanted to just let a few more people know I’ve got a V8 lol

Nick

 

Just a couple pictures. It’s a rainy day but I got my exhaust installed so I wanted to share with you guys. I’m real happy with it. It’s basically stock noise levels in the car and zero heavy drone but it’s slightly more rumbly and I can hear it growling as the car decelerates at lower speeds. Pretty much exactly what I was looking for!






Only thing left for now, will be my BBK. I have most of the parts but I’m still waiting on the TT Supra calipers. According to Elmhurst Toyota, they’re backordered till 3/28 but they original said 2/25, so I’m getting a little nervous…we’ll see.

Nick

 

The SC looks beautiful Nick!! Did you go with the M2/Manzo style axle-back mufflers? They look like the ones I have on my SC.

Love that wheel fitment too!

If you've ordered the Supra MKIV TT front calipers I think those should still be in production. If it comes down to it you can always get a used set off Supraforums and have them totally reconditioned. I have heard the TT front calipers that you can get at major auto parts stores are not actually original castings so I would stick with your order or find a used set from a forum classified sale. Maybe Gerry has a set available?

 

Thanks Craig!

I am actually using the TT calipers and rotors out back, will have LS460 front calipers with IS F rotors (14.2”). I found them for a quite reasonable $163 each but again, I’m having a hard time getting them now. Let’s see what happens.

The exhaust is my own copy of it. Didn’t want to pay that kind of money so I bought a pair of used Magnaflow mufflers off FB Marketplace for $75 and then bought 4.5” tips off Amazon and boom, you’re there lol

Nick

 

Nick, you could have fooled me! The recreated muffler design looks great and is *very* close to the M2 design!

Ah I forgot that you were using IS-F calipers and rotors up front. So it's the two piston TT rear calipers and rotors that you've got on order. Give it a little more time. Elmhurst will come through for you. They've been helping the MKIV/SC community for a very long time. If the parts are out there in a warehouse somewhere they will find them.

 

In preparation for my BBK I decided to pick up a suitable spare tire. I’m sure many people who install a BBK on their car don’t think about it until they’ve got a flat, so I wanted to avoid that egg on my face moment and swap out my spare for one that would fit over the larger calipers and rotors.



Enter this gem I found on eBay. I did a fair amount of research, looking for a lightweight, aluminum spare which would be large enough to clear the calipers. I decided on the factory RC spare which fits both RCs with F-Sport package and RC-F with their Brembos. It weighs about 32 pounds compared to the full-size spare which weighs nearly 50 pounds! And it looks kind of cool.

It’s sitting in there wedged for the moment. It JUST fits in that wheel well. I need to figure out a tie down solution, as the factory threaded cap doesn’t work. Because this is a skinny spare, there isn’t enough threads and the shaft is too long for it to reach low enough to tighten down on the wheel. I may cut it to size and have threads put onto it, or look for another car’s which is shorter. We’ll see.

Nick

 

Excellent find! Most people don't think about this, no. I bought a used Supra MKIV TT compact spare many years ago for just this purpose since the factory SC full size spare will not fit over the TT calipers. At this point I really need to get a new compact tire for it to replace the ancient old one that it came with. The same compact spare was also available on some model years of the SC430 that didn't originally get optioned with "Run-Flat" tires from the factory.

I'll have to make a note about this RC spare since it is proven to fit in the SC's trunk!

 

Craig, you can’t beat it man. I paid $180 plus shipping for this thing and it’s brand new. It was listed for $250 and I offered $150 and went back and forth a little. The other spares I found online were double this price.

Nick

 

That RC spare is a smart choice. You got a good price on it too. I’ve been thinking of what spare would fit in the trunk. I currently don’t keep one in my trunk and keep one of my LS430 18’s around as a spare. Would an OEM 1992 SC400 16 inch wheel and tire fit in the trunk space?