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Got it - thank you for the awesome help - that was very nice of you to take the time to post this! It looks like these will ship soon. Fingers crossed - I'm hoping to start the new year with a nice tune on my ECU Masters standalone and some fresh seats. These are the first big upgrades I've done since doing the swap a few years back - needless to say I'm VERY excited lol.
Heavy Breathing - lol - seats are here! Dyno tuning tomorrow, and hoping to find some time in the next few weeks to get the seats in. I'm sure giddy about getting this thing back to 100%
Hello Rudy
Both cars are really shining, must not snow were you live, ha ha
Nice seats. If you're replacing stock Lexus seats I think you're going to really like them. It's a whole different thing. I like the bottom cushion being separate, seems to me that makes the side bars hold you in even better. My seats are actually Supra seats, so they just bolt right in. Maybe you'll get lucky that way too.
My Corbeau's have always been very comfortable and durable.
So Good Luck and enjoy the hell out of the new ride feel.
I noticed the car felt more nimble (if I can use that word) after I dumped the stock seats. But I took out the spare tire the same time and got a can of tire fix. Don't carry that heavy spare around town. I do on those 1000 mile trips. Can't recall every having had a flat
Joe
Joe - it sure does snow here, ha, however, the Tacoma gets most of the weather duty. I really want to put some good snow tires on the SC and enjoy it year around, but it's nice to have the Tacoma to get dirty and beat up on all winter lol.
I'm really excited about the seats - Corbeau sells brackets and sliders that are bolt in for our car so they should drop right in (minus a little wiring to get the seat heaters working). They're super comfortable, and MUCH more supportive than the stock seats. They also drop about 80 lbs total compared to the stock seats. Which, at such a low point in the car, can certainly account for some of the improvement in nimbleness as you've described. I should probably ditch my spare too - I keep it just in case, but on my 18" wheels with beefy tires I'd have to move wheels around and put a spare on the front to have any hope of getting home since I have an LSD installed in the rear.
Hope life is good guys! Dyno at 2pm today - hoping to have some good numbers and a great running SC here shortly.
PS - I've got an Aristo auto ECU and a manual Supra 6-speed ECU (JDM) that I'd ship for a great price now that I'm going Standalone. Feel free to PM me.
FINALLY spent yesterday afternoon on a Dyno-jet getting this bad boy all tuned up. The car runs absolutely awesome on the ECU Masters Black. Ditching the electric throttle body was such a great move - I couldn't be happier with it at the moment. We need to do a few little tweaks for street driving to get the tip in dialed in, but otherwise, this old girl is a dream boat!
Next up - get these seats installed with the seat heaters wired up. Moving forward this car is at a point where it'll only be maintenance/repairs as needed for a while. This wasn't the cheapest endeavor, however, we've accomplished my goal of a simpler, more reliable, more serviceable VVTI swap and I couldn't be happier.
I made a little less power on this Dyno-jet that I did on the last dyno I went to (I forget what it was), however, the car did some great numbers for stock boost. Only other mods are a cheap no-name FMIC (came with the swap when I pulled it out of the other car), 3" downpipe/exhaust, and no-name intake.
Great news, Rudy!!! Congratulations finally getting it dialed in on the dyno! Those are very respectable numbers with your stock twins! I'm very much interested in following your lead by going standalone myself when I can do it since it looks like all your previous troubles have been eliminated.
It may be winter time but I'm happy you got to drive your SC again without worries after so much trouble!!
Thanks you two! I'm just thrilled - the weather here sucks at the moment, however, it's so great to drive this car after it having sat for so long. That's the longest it's sat since doing the swap itself lol!
Kahn - this has helped me simplify this car and bring it to a more repairable and reliable state which was my number one priority. I'm definitely pleased with the numbers and with a few little adjustments on the street this thing should just be perfect.
My wife, baby girl, and SC are all in good shape - all is well in my world at the moment!
Managed to get the Corbeaus installed and seat heaters/seatbelts wired up today. Thanks for the awesome help Boergy!
I also managed to tuck and mount the ECU Master Ecu and harness converter. With the black seats I also ordered up some new black floor mats from z30 concepts to complete the color combo a little more.
Im pretty content with the state of this car as it is. No big mods planned for now, but you know I’ll find my way into something sooner rather than later lol. Come spring I’ll change a few fluids, give it a good nut and bolt check, and will most likely need to make a list of some bushings and other small maintenance tidbits to keep it tight.
Quick shot downtown last week for my wife and I’s date night lol
Good morning Rudy,
Congratulations on those beautiful seats and new floor mats as the old saying You Have Really Got It Going ON. You are a lot more brave than I am parking that beautiful car down town in a parallel parking space. I have never done that in six years I have owned mine and your car is in so much better shape than mine. Give my best to the family of the Year. Hope this new year is going to be great for the three of you.
Bill
Curious about your thought process when it comes to your steering wheel. I have been wanting to ditch the stocker but have been reluctant to also ditch the airbag. Wonder what your rationale was and how you “got over” that aspect?
Curious about your thought process when it comes to your steering wheel. I have been wanting to ditch the stocker but have been reluctant to also ditch the airbag. Wonder what your rationale was and how you “got over” that aspect?
Nick
^^ I think this is a very good question (which we all have different takes on) and I'm awaiting Rudy's thoughts on this as well... although it's hard to deny the visual aesthetic appeal of a classic style wood rimmed thing steering wheel.
I do love the look of that steering wheel in his interior!
Years ago when I had a '69 Mustang I wanted to obtain and swap in the Shelby GT350/500 spec factory wood rimmed thin steering wheel even if it were just an identical replica.
When it comes to my SC one thing I specifically was looking for in an older used car was front driver and passenger airbags to have at least some SRS protection. Having been in a collision in an older vehicle in the past I feel an airbag is too important to me to not have.
This is why I settled on the direct bolt in late 90's to early 00's Toyota three spoke single stage airbag wheel which can be had only in black but donated from the 1st gen IS300/Altezza, Matrix XRS, 7th gen Celica GT-S and MR-2 Spyder. The "L" center airbag that matches and is plug and play with a specific Toyota SPX adapter harness (harder to obtain now but still possible to get or make yourself) is obtained from a Lexus IS300. Cruise control is swapped over from the SC steering wheel. With an SC/Soarer black steering column it looks like a factory option. Automatic IS300 steering wheels are easier to obtain than the IS300 manual steering wheels which is why I broadened my search in order to find the same design from another Toyota.
My version of the basic leather wrapped steering wheel is from an MR2 Spyder and my "L" badged airbag center is from an IS300. Everything bolts together like it came that way originally. I added an SC black steering column tilt cover to better blend this change with my factory tan interior.
Since this airbag center and the mechanically identical Toyota badged versions is a single stage type it works exactly like the stock SC/Soarer driver's airbag is supposed to.
I am sure that Rudy's aftermarket steering wheel is even nicer but as a counterpoint alternative I found the factory three-spoke wheel upgrade to be a big improvement with less overall diameter, nice grips on each side and nice factory leather.
On rare occasions I have even used my driving gloves with it despite the leather on longer trips... although I feel that a classic style wood rimmed steering wheel is where a good set of driving gloves comes into play. Not racing gloves but classic style leather driving gloves. That's almost never a thing any longer but I think if I had any classic car with a wood rim steering wheel I might be more inclined to break them out of my drawer if I had a scenic drive planned.
...
My personal feeling is that I don't want to be without a basic functional airbag in my SC. The safety provided may not be up to modern standards but it's something significant I think. Then again until recently I used my SC as a daily driver in all manner of heavy city traffic and long distance travel so that also heavily influenced my feelings on this.
Managed to get the Corbeaus installed and seat heaters/seatbelts wired up today. Thanks for the awesome help Boergy!
I also managed to tuck and mount the ECU Master Ecu and harness converter. With the black seats I also ordered up some new black floor mats from z30 concepts to complete the color combo a little more.
Im pretty content with the state of this car as it is. No big mods planned for now, but you know I’ll find my way into something sooner rather than later lol. Come spring I’ll change a few fluids, give it a good nut and bolt check, and will most likely need to make a list of some bushings and other small maintenance tidbits to keep it tight.
Quick shot downtown last week for my wife and I’s date night lol
Hello Rudy,
Hope your new seats live up to your expectations. Mine have lived up way beyond any I had. Funny, I never considered heated, guess cause my SC's weren't heated. Glad up here, my car heater comes on really quick and hot. Thats an excellent shot of the car. It has what you could call...Atmosphere. Have a shot of my car I've had for ages it reminds me of. A favorite of mine, only it's in SF. Yours is a knock out photo
Put me down on the side of air bags, just because it's a high horsepower car. And living in a city you never know when you'll get rear ended, Hell I've been rear ended twice in down town San Francisco. (my bumper took the whole shot both times) thats how well our cars are made. One other thing, living in snow and ice country, you never know when you'll go into a slide, or hydroplane in a heavy rain. I've done both (not a good feeling) The Big guy must have been looking out for me
Just things to think about, Buddy. Want to see you around for a long time
Hey Bill, what do you mean by: You are a lot more brave than I am parking that beautiful car down town in a parallel parking space. I have never done that in six years .
I've done that with mine in Downtown San Francisco for decades ?
12-06-23, 01:50 PM
I think this is a very good question (which we all have different takes on) and I'm awaiting Rudy's thoughts on this as well... although it's hard to deny the visual aesthetic appeal of a classic style wood rimmed thing steering wheel.
