SC430Steve

Here is a mystery.

I bought a red & white Sep 2006 SC430 with 28,000 miles to replace my black & tan Sep 2007 SC430 with 56,000 miles.

The black 2007 car with double the mileage is noticeably quicker in acceleration than the red 2006 car with half the mileage.

This is so when comparing the two with the ECT off or on.

I thought that the SC430 engine and transmission were identical in these two cars.

What could be the explanation for this phenomenon?

JohnnyCake

Well,, there was a this thread last week about one member who was thinking of stripping the paint off the car to make it lighter and faster. Maybe black paint weighs more than red paint.

taisho

The only real way to know is if you took both cars and had them tuned and dyno'ed.

mrblister

You might reset your ecu. The previous owner could of driven like a sunday school driver. The engine may need to re-learn your driving style .

mrblister

Yeh someone was putting a dolly in there trunk. Just dont let the cops see you. Dollys should sit in the front seat unless your cheating on your dolly.

LexBrett

I'd say the slower car likely needs new spark plugs, air filter, PCV valve, fuel injector cleaning (lucas), and seafoaming of the engine. In my car, these easy and inexpensive maintenance items made a night and day difference. Changing the old ATF fluid makes a big different too. Just my 2 cents.

Harold57

Steve, an important question here is, what do you mean by quicker? Do you mean that the 2007 has a quicker 0-60 time or is quicker to respond to your foot actuation of the pedal (i.e. when you stomp the pedal, the 2007 responds quicker)?

The first one is likely a maintenance related item like LexBrett suggests. The second one is an ECU related item like MrBlister is suggesting. (BTW, there is a way to reset your ECU without disconnecting the battery. Let me know if you need it and I'll re-post it here.)

SlvBullet

iTrader: (8)

Hahaha that really funny!

SlvBullet

iTrader: (8)

Another good one! You guys were on it that night

SC430Steve

There are some good suggestions here. Thanks.

Yes, the previous owner was in his 70s, and I am also very slow when carting the wife around. I've heard that one's driving style is "learned". That may well be the problem. I've been advised by Lexus to accelerate the car like a maniac from standing starts for about 600 miles. That should "teach" it a lesson. If that doesn't do the trick, then reset the ECU.

Is this correct to reset the ECU?
1. Turn key to "ON".
2. Press gas pedal to floor.
3. Hold it there for 5 seconds.
4. Turn key to "OFF".
5. Release gas pedal.
6. Wait 2 minutes.
7. Remove key.

Sounds like voodoo to me!

I've also ordered new iridium spark plugs.

I'll report back here the results.

mrblister

I would re-set the ecu I would not advise beating the car for 600 miles

Cube

Putting your foot closer to the pedal might help as well. Hahaha but in my obsevation, the ECU can adapt to your driving style once you frequently drive it. All you need is patience.

mandyfig

Hit the ECT POWER.

Harold57

SC430Steve,

Yes, that procedure works, I've done it many times.

An alternative to driving the dog out of the car for 600 miles is to just put it in PWR mode and drive it for a couple of tanks of gas. A lot of folks just leave it in that mode discovering that they actually get slightly better gas mileage there.

Good luck.

Balr14

I leave mine in power mode. Throttle response seems better, less insensitive. Gas mileage never seems to change much (22.4 - 22.6 mpg) regardless of setting.