I have the same tires on my car. cont,

Hi OP, I do feel like taking good care of the car will help you enjoy it more. I have a 2005 which is well taken care of with 71k miles and I get many compliments on how the old girl looks. I try to take care of any visible dings with PDR and I try to remove scratches myself using regular retail products. I keep up with maintenance religiously - edmunds.com will give you a possible maintenance schedule so there is no need to listen to the dealer who will try to make you do unnecessary stuff anyway. I did have both rear shocks replaced under extended warranty. No one believes my car is 9 years old and I really like that.

Among all 3 cars in my stable, the SC430 probably has the softest suspension and is least capable in cornering. The fact that I purposely asked the Lexus dealer to remove some negative camber from my suspension set up when I bought it in 2008 makes the handling even less sporty but I did it for tire life reasons. Even our SUV with Acura SH AWD handles better in the curves than the SC. But I knew what I was getting when I got it and I had no illusions.

Personally, I have lived with and will continue to live with this car's handling limitations because I am compensated in many ways by its beauty and reliability. I recently posted about how I did an 875 mile drive in a day and at about the 830 mile point, when I stopped for gas, I got an envious compliment from someone else at the gas station. And I was posting 26.2 mpg at that point from a naturally aspirated V8. So satisfying !

I have Conti Extreme Contact DWS too and I am totally good with them because the SC is my daily driver. I plan to keep this car for as long as I can. If ever I retire the car from daily driver duty and it becomes a hobby car, I might try to improve its handling, performance etc.. Mich Pilot Super Sports are supposedly a good tire choice for summer only use but I don't think that would work for a northeast winter.

Personally, I would not let go of my SC for a Z4 because I still like the naturally aspirated V8 ( despite its older technology, no DI etc etc ) and also, I guess I cannot fit a full golf bag in the Z4 trunk with the top down.

Hope you will stay with the SC family - this forum is one reason I will probably stay with the SC for quite some time. There is no other car forum among all the cars I have owned with such a supportive owners' community.

At the end of the day, if your tastes have changed, you need to keep yourself happy and go with your heart. Good luck if you decide to go the Z4 route. I recently decided to expose myself to German car "unreliability" by going the MB route but I am giving myself a few years to learn how to deal with it before I go out of warranty. do get an extended warranty on the Z4 if you decide to go that route.

to be honest I don't find German cars unreliable and its not because im a big german car fan or something ill just tell you like it is. I have owned 6 different including MB, Audi, BMW and all my friends have german cars aswell as japanese. You just have to be careful what you choose. What i mean by that is for example there is an audi a4 1.8L Turbo.. dont go for that go for the 3.0L (naturally aspirated) instead.. the car is heavy and a tiny engine with a turbo usually ends up having leaks or issues.. so things like that is what you have to think about, and some people are just unlucky, for example I know someone with a lexus who has had serious issues.. It also depends on how the previous owner took care of it also.. so alot of factors to consider.

BMW Z4 is a great car but make sure you get the 3.0L and not the 2.5.. that 3.0L is a great engine and wil be a blast to drive, i had the same in my 330i which i drove to 300,000km and it was running like new.. a friend stil has his old 328i which is gone 423,000km which still runs perfect (same engine).. the only issues i encountered were throttle body, alternator, battery, drive belt, a wire burnt in my rear light (recalled).. The only car I had to spend alot on is my M3 but only because any car with this type of performance requires the maintenance.. But ya Z4 is a joy but cannot be compared to an SC. I personally had issues with my sc also, like wobbling issues, etc... its frustrating and i think im almost close to solving it but this car is something else and I have learned to enjoy it for what it is.. and you gotta look at all the positives like hardtop, more seats, more room, etc...

if your bored, well that cant be changed.. , maybe it is time you need a change.. i cant personally keeep a car long too.. but if you wana give it another chance then try changing your steering rack bushings to poly.. coilovers (mine are coming soon) also make sure none of your ball joints are worn or loose. If your considering tires keep tires slightly less wider then your wheel width.. wider tires(then wheel width) put more pressure on your steering..

anyhow goodluck :)

Scott,

I upgraded my Shock Absorbers and Strut Assemblies with Megan Racing EZ Street Coilovers. These are talked about in threads in CL, and there is a DYI if I remember right. However, if you don’t have compressor tools it’s not easy. I had these install soon after I had 5 graft bypass heart surgery by a shop I trust. Although I have all tools to make the job easy, my wife pressed me to have somebody do the work.

Now know this… there are many suspension systems setups and all have their pro’s and con’s. My dream suspension system would be air, but I would have to lose all of my trunk space and I would rather have the storage space. Although, when I replace the current Magen’s, I’ll go for higher end Megan coilover’s.

The price runs around $700 for all 4. You can google “Megan Coilovers SC430”. I also purchased new strut mounts (although I didn’t need them), but a quick inspection by a professional can determine your need. The price paid to have them installed was $400. And a 4 wheel laser alignment (necessary) is around $100. These are Southern California labor prices, so it may be less in your area. It took my guy a complete 8 hour day to setup the car lowering it 1.0-1.5 of an inch (it’s a tedious task to get it dialed in).

I have no clue where to take your car for installs in Connecticut. It’s hard to find a place you can trust not only to do the task correctly, but not to rip you off because of a lesser knowledge of auto mechanics. Your best chance would be word of mouth. Ask around to people you trust where they go for automotive work, and it would better if those people have a mechanical background.

The guy I found here outside of San Diego, I use for oil changes. In perusing the shop, I noticed he did a lot more then oil changes. He was a regular hotrod motorhead and even have some machine tools in the back of the shop. He had a beautiful BMW M5 with a ton of aftermarket upgrades. He told me the story how he got the car… the car with most of the upgrades he paid cash for and got a whole lot more car for his money. He was the one that actually inspired me to buy my SC430 (although, in the beginning I was considering a M3). I determined what I wanted and didn’t want in an SC and started looking. I test drove many cars and considered buying a few, but I was patient and finally found what I wanted. Drove around 100 miles north of here, and paid cash. A 2003 blue SC430 with 37500 miles for $24500. The car was almost 6 years old at the time and was super clean. I would do it over again in a heartbeat.

When it comes to tires, what’s the most important thing… what do YOU want the car to do? How do you want it to perform? My understanding is you want the car to hold corners tight and perform coming out of them. You need a high performance tire. These tires have a low Mileage Warranty (20k), because they’re soft to grab the road. And if they’re grab often, you’ll be lucky to get 20k out of them. The last set I bought were over $1400 out the door (I’ll talk about this more later)

The Continental ExtremeContact DWS (Dry, Wet & Snow). May be a good choice as an all season tire at its price point. But they’re not going to give you what you want. If it’s necessary to use the car during the bad winter months, I’d suggest getting serious winter tires on some less expensive wheels. Then when you’re sliding around you’ll not damage the good wheels. In reading about the Continental’s on their website, it left me with questions how that tire would actually provide a cars need in the life of the tire. Kind of a silly concept. When talking to my brother (he use to manage a tire center at Costco) and my niece (she owns & manages a Big O tire center), they both said the Michelin's are a much better tire than the Continental. My brother said he don't understand why somebody would want to put them on a SC, and would attempt to talk them into the Michelin's.

I’ve put 3 sets of tires on my SC. The first two sets were Michelin Pilot Sport PS2’s, 20k. The wear life is short (I think I got 23k), however they grab the road like glue. Handling and braking was excellent, but they lacked comfort in that they were a little noisy and would grab grooves in the road (pulling the car).

The third set of tires and current are Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus (45k). The wear life so far is better (that was expected, they’re 45k tires. Not as soft) and I thought the handling would be affected, but these tires have been a complete surprise. The hold the ground practically as good, I’ve never felt any slipping, even in the rears, but braking isn’t as good. I feel this was more do to the coilover and lowering upgrade. The comfort is amazing, their low noise and don’t follow grooves in the road. Hands down these are my favorite tires. But, these tires come at a cost of over $100 each more than the Continental’s.

Living in Southern California I don't have to consider snow tires. I'm lucky to be able to have the same tires year round.

Your damaged wheel should be fixed, if it actually can be. If not, then hopefully you can find a single used on or buy a new wheel.

It’s pretty late, I’m done for now. Have a wonderful evening and a better tomorrow.

Best Regards,
Dan

Simple ways to add a little pep
 

A. To reset the ECU without losing your seat and stereo settings:

1. Get in your car and insert key. (It doesn't matter if you close the door or not.)

2. Turn the key to the on (not start) position.

3. Press the gas pedal to the floor.

4. Hold the pedal to the floor for five seconds, then turn the key back to the "off" position (don't remove the key), then release the gas pedal.

5. Wait 2 minutes.

6. Remove key.

B. Drive in Power mode

C. Upshift and downshift manually

More on Coilover install
 

Thought of a couple other things I should share about the Coilover upgrade.

On the top of the Coilover there's an Adjustable Damper Dial. This allows the owner to change the dampening (stiffer or softer ride) of the Coilover's performance. The front Coilover Dial's have easy access in the engine compartment. The rear Coilover Dial's require a modification to the left & right Wheel-well Trim (molding) in the trunk to gain easy access.

The modification has a DIY in the CL forum. It requires a hole (2"-3") cut through the left & right Wheel-well Trim. Although the installation of rear Shock & Strut Assemblies on the SC requires the removal of the car's interior molding to gain access to the top mounting bolts, this would be understood by the Mechanic. I would suggest you disassemble the trunk's interior molding yourself prior to Coilover installation. And after the installation, do the modification to the Wheel-well Trim and then assemble the trunk's interior molding yourself. I would assume if you were to do it yourself, you may get a reduction in the labor cost of the Coilovers. If your not comfortable doing this yourself, part of your investigative search for an Installer (Mechanic) should be to explain your need for the hole modification.

One thing not described well in the CL DIY was locating where to cut the hole in the Wheel-well Trim. When I did mine (starting with one side), I measured the x & y coordinates where the Damper Dial was located, then did the same to the Wheel-well Trim and drilled the hole. Prior to cutting the other side, I fitted the Wheel-well Trim in place only to be disappointed that the location was shifted enough not to work properly. This now put me in Mechanical Design Engineering mode (my profession) to come up with an esthetically pleasing alternative. The hole now became a slot and the slot size was determined by the off-the-shelf bezel I used around the edge of the slot. Then I match the other side.

The positioning of the hole is a 3D problem. I think the simplest way to get the proper location for the hole would be to apply some marking compound (Vaseline w/ some marking powder mixed in) on the top of the Damper Dial, fit the Wheel-well Trim, pressing down in the general area of the Damper Dial. Remove the Wheel-well Trim and cut (from the bottom) where the mark is.

When considering lowering your SC, understand that you're going to have to be more careful at speed-bumps, driveways (high-centering), potholes & poor condition roads. Like most things... there's pro's & con's. What will meet your desires and what are you willing to accept at the end of the day.

Have a wonderful day.

Best regards,
Dan

Well said OBP,

I too feel the same way. I've 88k on my 2003 and I do more than the maintenance requires. I run Total full synthetic oil and change the oil at 50% of the recommended mileage.

I too get many complements on my 11 year old car, and most people are surprised to find out it's 11 years old. When I was out on medical with my 5 graft bypass heart surgery, I was getting something down in my garage and a piece of pottery fell, bounced off my head and land on the hood of my SC (right above grill). I was heartbroken. I then took the car to a local body shop and had the complete front clip redone and had every chip and dent removed throughout the whole car. The guy gave me a great deal ($2000), because they were new in the area and wanted to build a reputation (word of mouth). When I went back to work 7 weeks later, she was looking better then she had in years.

This car has been with me in the great times and the bad, and have made the bad times better.

I've owned a couple sport cars in my life and this one by far exceeds the happiness of any other car I've owed or drove.

Best regards,
Dan

To OP, you only live once, try something different is an adventure you should have and entitle to have. There is no mistake of getting different cars if you could afford to. The mistake will be that you drive the car everyday thinking, wondering and wishing you were driving something different. After all, you always have a choice to get back to an SC430 when you choose to.

Thanks to everyone for the replies. I will mull over some of this and may have some follow-up questions. Since I'm not savvy working on automobiles, I would need to find a trusted/capable shop to do mods for me. I'd also be a bit concerned about spending a good chunk of money on a mod without really knowing what the end result is going to feel like. That's where buying a different car might make things a bit easier (take a test drive, see how it feels, and know that's what I'm getting). If I knew some folks close to me with modded SC430's, that would be great, but even stock SC430's are pretty rare.

Scott,

I completely understand. I'm a wine guy and it's hard to pay higher prices without knowing for sure it's good. Recommendations don't always turn out well either. It seriously saddens men when I pay $40-$100 for a bottle that ends up tasting like many $10 or less bottles. That's why I love to go wine tasting!

I share the same feeling about these new run flats everyone's talking up. I've bought too many sets of tires that I've had to live with and be thinking about how much I dislike them until it's time to replace them.

I live in one of the vacation hot spots of our country (San Diego). If you're ever here enjoying paradise, feel free to contact me and you can drive my car.

Best of luck with your decision.

Regards,
Dan