CheetahSpeed

I'm puzzled. My friend is deciding between a GS430 or SC430. He is convinced that the SC, having the GS drive train, and being so much smaller, would be a much faster road rocket, and is therefore the way to go (even though he loves my GS430 roominess and other details). Now at 1st glance, the SC is a smaller car with a smaller footprint, but looking at the Lexus web-site, the SC is 125 lbs heavier with a slower 0 to 60 time. Is this a typo? I guess my real question is, if the SC is 125 lbs heavier, where the heck did the weight come from?? I know convertible reinforcements add weight, but what the heck did they use, 10 feet of steel Skyscraper support type "I" Beams? The SC looks about 1/4 smaller than the GS.

The second question is, does the SC have the same gear ratios as the GS? I found almost nothing about this on the Lexus web site; it's seriously lacking in this area.

Thanks in advance.

enginyr

Im curious too now...Can you post the data from the site? It must be wrong....

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

You kiddin'? That retractable STEEL roof is hugely heavy (many pieces), and it's not a small coupe (in length).

ceoart

The SC430 should be called the "Lead Guppy"

DevilDog

The GS is faster, I've driven the two cars one after the other.

dnguyen_GS430

CheetahSpeed,

Most convertibles are heavier then their counterpart. This is true because of the heavily reinforced A and B pillars. A-pillar is where the post for the windshield and B pillar is right after the doors. The car also needs to have a roll bar in case of a roll over. The Chassis is also heavily reinforce to prevent twist and torsion stress.

The roof have to be reinforce and all the linkages and motor to move the retractable top all add weight.

With all the added weight, the SC will definitely slower. Furthermore, the transmission and rear axle may have been geared differently from the GS. The GS may have been gear lower for 1st and 2nd gear to move the mass of the car. while the SC may have been gear higher for emission.

I asked my dealer where I bought my car was why the 430 do not have E-shift and they told me that the new engine will not meet ULEV status with the E-shift and with the E-Shift, the transmission can not hadnle the increase torque.

mooretorque

dnguyen, the loss of e-shift was not due STRICTLY to the fact that the GS couldn't meet ULEV status with it......rather, Lexus couldn't get it done in time for the 2001 model year. I'd expect to see it again soon........as far as being unable to handle 15 extra lb-ft of torque, your dealer is giving you the old ramalamadingdong.....e-shift has nothing to do with the transmission's internals.

as far as the SC, the proud new owners of such a bloated vegetable should be happy that something with such a bulbous appearance is as quick as it is.......which is indeed pretty quick, just not quite the equal of any of the GS4s.......:eek:

gsintensive

The SC430 while using the same engine 4.3 as the GS, yet it is almost heavy as a GS. SC is more of a luxury coupe than a sport coupe, GS4/430 will outperform the SC in acceleration, but i am not sure about the handling tho.

CheetahSpeed

Thanks Guys (and gals if you're there).

Thanks Bitkahuna - I actually haven't seen one up close with the top up - no chance to kick the tires (or roof) so to speak. I can imagine that the mechanism used to raise and lower it would weigh a ton (or a part thereof). But as to size, I know it's not a MG or Miata or anything, but the SC is a full foot shorter than the GS and 3" lower, or is that a typo (and I've found a few on the Lexus site). Then again, now that I think about it, that is only about 6% shorter on a 17 foot car. The car must be a box of steel with a cutout for the driver and passenger to sit in.

Thanks for the hands-on data DevilDog. I'd take him in for a test drive, but none of the dealers have the SC's to play with.

And Enginyr, they'd kill me if I posted all the data you want to see on this site. It's a mouse click away at lexus.com.

Thanks all.