Bimmerbill

Hey Joe, I am a little late on getting back to you. First I was not implying that you should change tires to the same size that I am running ( and very satisfied with ) but only a suggestion. I am listing below some tires sizes with their diameters.

Our SC300 came standard with 215/60 x 15 with a diameter of 25.15" my front tires are 255/35 x 18 with a diameter of 25.02" very close to the same diameter
The SC400 came standard with 225/55 x 16 with a diameter of 25.74" my rear tires are 275/35 x 18 with a diameter of 25.57" again very close to the same dia.
Now with your car: 275/45 x 18 with a diameter of 27.74 versus stock diameter of 25.15 with a difference of 2.59". And if you divide that difference by two then that is how much you have raised the rear of you car. You car is obtaining better gas mileage now since you now have raised the ratio on the diff and which theoretically makes your car a little slower on take off. This also affects handling, I know back in my younger days I loved having big rear tires because it raised the rear end up and I loved sliding around corners with the lighter rear end and weight shifted to the front.

If you want to check my numbers, here is the formula for how to figure diameter of a tire. Size (275) times profile (45) times 2 (top and bottom) divided by 25.4 to convert to inches and then add in diameter of wheel 18 equals 27.74.
I wish you all the luck in the world with your 300, you have an outstanding car and I was just trying to give some friendly offerings. If I can ever help you on anything please let me know.

joewitafro

Front coils went on, and I figured I would add to the how-to as when watching peoples videos and seeing their posts has a variety of different ways people do this, from removing the lower control arm eccentric bolt, the upper control arm bolt, spring compressors, etc. So down to the nitty gritty.

Rear coils are a pain in the ***, so I did them first:
- Unbolt one of the sway bar end links on each side, with a 5mm allen (i used a 3/8 drive 5mm); and a 14mm wrench.
- unbolt the 3 upper nuts from the strut towers in the trunk, all 14mm socket
- unbolt the lower shock mount, 19mm on both sides (i used a 19mm wrench and 19mm electric impact)
- I used spring compressors on the rear, because it is extremely hard to get them out and two people should be used in my opinion
- had one person using a block of wood on the wheel studs using a pry bar to push the rotor downward as much as possible (i've seen people stand on the studs too)
- second person will be able to pull the coil out at this point
- putting coils back in is 100% easier so I'm not describing it.

Front coils were much easier for me, did it by myself but there's a few key tips to do it smoothly.
- unbolt the upper sway bar end link on each side, with a 5mm allen (i used a 3/8 drive 5mm); and a 14mm wrench. Leave the lower attached to the shock mount.
- unbolt the lower shock mount, 19mm on both sides (i used a 19mm wrench and 19mm electric impact)
- unbolt the 3 upper nuts from the strut towers, all 14mm socket Leave the nuts on part way for now.

Next is to remove the lower shock mount bracket on both sides, this allows you to remove the coils without spring compressors and without removing the lower or upper control arm bolts. I found two different methods that worked for me, so these might be interchangeable but i guess it depends on what you can make work. Also, turning your steering wheel will probably help; but I was too lazy in the heat of the moment and did it with my wheels straight, so its possible and not needed.

- on the drivers side, I used a 14mm box end wrench to get the inner lower shock mount bracket bolt, these are TIGHT; and I had to double up wrenches to get the leverage required, and smashed two knuckles in the process when it broke loose.
- Using a 14mm short socket, 3" extension and 3/8" drive put your body on the rotor to push it down a little, use one hand to push the shock inward (after removing the inner bolt, this makes the shock slide back easier) and you'll be able to put the socket on the outer 14mm bolt and break it loose.
- On the passenger side I was able to use a 14mm short socket with no extension on a 3/8" drive to get the inner bolt off, so perhaps the wrenches aren't needed (and not really preferred)
- Use the same 14mm socket, 3" extension combo to remove the outer bolt on the passenger side.
- Now you will be able to remove the upper nuts completely on the front shock towers
- next you will need to wiggle the shock to get it to come out of the mount, then pull the mount out with the sway bar link still attached.
- After doing this, you will be able to angle the front shocks to come out. The top of the shock will come out first, but you will need to press down on the rotor again to get it to clear your fender lip.
- new coils are easy to install; but for the fronts I put the new coils in and put two nuts ontop hand tight to hold them in, then installed my brackets and tightened them w/ lock tite using the 14mm socket setup.
- you will need to jack up the lower control arm to line up the coilover to your lower shock mount once the mount is tight. Once the 19mm lower shock setup is tight, you can put your end link back in the swaybar and use the 14mm wrench/5mm allen combo to tighten.

Then of course you can set ride height after putting your wheels on and lowering the car to see how much further up/down you need to go.

RudysSC

Awesome stance! Love the color and the wheel and tire size. That's some Japanese muscle if I say so myself!

perfctreig

Already starting to look sweeter! Keep up the posts.

joewitafro

99-00 RX300 3-spoke wheel is on with the harness, didn't really have any issue. Swapped the cruise control from my old wheel, had to crimp on a spade connector for the ground. Not the BEST wheel but heaps better than what I had before.

RudysSC

Always a classic upgrade for these cars. I love it.

perfctreig

Way better than the four-spoke in my opinion. If you want, you can source a wheel from a GS or RX300, which will have the three-spoke design and the wood trim, which will match your doors. I did that and am happy. Only issue was finding an airbag which fit.




Here's how it looks in my car:

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

That RX300 steering wheel is a direct upgrade to make yours like a 1999-2000 SC300/400's stock steering wheel. Classic upgrade indeed and it looks great!

joewitafro

Thanks! I did know that I could get the wood grain but I wanted to give the tan a go first. I think the color is close and works overall with the rest of the interior.

joewitafro

Started ordering some more parts for the anticipated swap into the baltic SC.

I know I will need to have my drive-shaft modified, and I already use the driftmotion GS adapter for my KAAZ LSD which uses a 1350 u-joint on the back half, but the front has a non-rebuildable toyota slip joint and it looks like several companies offer 1310 and 1350 slip yolks for the R154. I ended up ordering the driftmotion chromoly 1350 slip yoke with billet caps, and while I was ordering I picked up a dbw delete for future use when I go stand-alone and a flywheel lock ring they make for the R154/JZ combo.

Also, last time I drove my GS I noticed when my car was on the highway in 4th or 5th gear the bearings are whining quite loudly. Looks like its time for a rebuild. I decided in the mean time this would be better off as a "back up" transmission, I will have it rebuilt later on but no time soon and instead since I can still order a brand new Toyota 33030-2A600 I went ahead and did that.


I'm probably going to do an interesting setup at first based on the parts I've acquired and not wanting huge amounts of down-time yet or able to afford the levels of performance upgrades I want so I will have three stages to this build.

Stage 1: 400hp

New R154 tripod shifter JZX100 trans
ACT Extreme Street/Strip stage 4 clutch
new toyota/lexus clutch slave/master
TT Supra 4 pot front calipers w/ braided lines
twin precision 46mm wastegate custom tubular manifold (Not promoting the brand)
.88 A/R housing (removed for clearance issues with the SPA cast manifold previously on my GS300)
custom exhaust?? Not sure what I want to do with it yet at this stage, it may be 3" down-pipe into stock exhaust for now.
harness will have any broken connectors repaired, then mated to the SC300 using the stock JZS161 ecu for now
walbro 416 pump will be added
15 psi of boost like I am currently running on pump gas is safe on AFR's with the SX-E 6268.
OEM soarer side mount intercooler setup for now (unless it doesn't fit)
aluminum radiator out of my GS
tomei oil pan baffle
TRD strut bar

Stage 2: 500-600hp

Full new harness (Not sure who I am going to have build it, but my local wiring guy prefers/is sponsored by Link)
Standalone ECU (Not sure if I'm going link G4X stormX, Haltech elite 2000, or AEM Infinity)
Flex fuel, probably aftermarket hanger with dual walbro 416's
radium fuel rail, bigger injectors and pressure regulator/pulse damper

Stage 3: 600-700 hp

HKS 264/272 offset or Tomei 252/260 Poncams
Ferrea Beehive or GSC Beehive w/ Ti retainers
valve guides and seals
manley H beam HD rods
weisco AP forged pistons 8.5 or 9.0:1
OEM head gasket
ARP head studs
OEM water pump/timing belt
billet timing belt tensioner bracket
oil filter relocation
twin disk clutch (ORC 659D or HKS LA 26011-AT001)

Might be a while until I reach stage 3 but I plan to pick up parts as I can. Can't wait to get the GTE and new R154 in there just as is!

Kris9884

iTrader: (7)

Great build so far man, where about in WA are you?

joewitafro

Right across the river, I pretty much say I live in Portland.

RudysSC

Absolutely awesome - cool to see one of those things still in the box! Sounds like you have a great plan in place man.

joewitafro

Thanks Rudy! Just messaged Aaron @ DM and he has these in stock, I'm excited to feel the straight shifter setup (I've always been on swan setups with my MK3 supra or my early model chaser R154). I'd love something I can tear up the mountains and track days with, so a brand new R154 with a 500hp build should fit the needs nicely.

RudysSC

You'll love it I think. There's a used one here locally for sale and the guy wants $2800 - barf!