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OP, if you're looking for a touring car and not a track monster you'll be alright. I've got a buddy with the LC who drives quite spirited and doesn't have any transmission issues. You could argue that the higher elevation makes the trans liquid boil faster, but that's the same argument with any car.
Coming from a fellow NSX owner, don't sell the NSX! If you're really looking for something in the same spirit of the NSX, consider an Evora. It's hard to beat the LC as a luxury cruiser though. The only complaint you'll have is likely trunk space.
Coming from a fellow NSX owner, don't sell the NSX! If you're really looking for something in the same spirit of the NSX, consider an Evora. It's hard to beat the LC as a luxury cruiser though. The only complaint you'll have is likely trunk space.
Not looking for a track monster, no. Convertible, Japanese, power at Rocky Mountain elevation (big displacement or forced induction) and unique/rare are my goals. The Evora isn't a convertible but does gain some points back for the Toyota powerplant.
I don't have the garage space for a collection, so the NSX will have to be sacrificed to make the next thing happen. I've had the S2000, it's mainly lacking in the power department. The NSX isn't lacking power, I love driving it but I hate putting the miles on it. The LC currently meets all of these goals, an NSX Spyder would as well (and be overkill) and so would a rebooted S2000 (new rumors of this just in the last week). GT-R meets every requirement but "convertible". The 370Z/400Z doesn't interest me. The C8 isn't Japanese and won't be unique/rare, but checks the other boxes at a price point that is compelling. And I just can't stomach being just another C8 owner with a $27K car in 6-8 years.
Big thanks for the technical help from @DRGibbons and @flowrider on the thread. Maybe if I wait a couple of years, an LC-F with better transmission cooling will cost less than what my trade-in has appreciated to. I'm less worried than I was at the first post, but again, still, for a car at this price point made by Lexus I'm a little irked that anybody is seeing the issue. Even if it is just Matt Farah or at a track-day event.
I saw Matt that morning before his drive. I suspect he drove the car for quite a while before starting his video and no doubt edited out other portions of the drive as well. This was not just a short drive.
That said, if there are enough issues that arise, if they arise, and if enough LC owners bring this to Lexus' attention, I suspect they would greenlight a fix.
I'll be at the F-Day event this weekend (December 5) in Maricopa, AZ where I will be driving my LC on the track for the first time. I'm sure I won't beat it as hard as I did the one I drove at Laguna Seca but I intend to push it a bit. I'll let you all know how it goes with the fluid temperatures.
Okay all, Follow-up report after returning from F-Day:
The event had both morning and afternoon groups. 3 stints 20 minutes each (about 5-6 laps) with about a 20 minute wait between stints. All stints were lead by a professional driver and we followed in 4 car groups (lead-tail). The Apex Motor Club track is 2.27 mile, 12 corner track running clockwise. I was in the afternoon group. Ambient was 67-72 Fahrenheit. I ran all laps in Sport+
Stint 1 - I would classify as 6/10ths. Getting familiar with track. 5 laps. LC - No issues. I could tell the brakes were fairly hot but no fade. Stint 2 - I would classify as 7-8/10ths. Much more aggressive/rapid laps. Saw 110-115mph at end of straight. 6 laps. LC - Brakes were very hot but still no fade. Engine oil temperature was slightly elevated. Transmission warning light illuminated mid-way through lap 5. I still completed through lap 6. Light turned off within a minute or so after completing stint. I let car idle during wait for final stint. Stint 3 - I would classify as 8-9/10ths. Saw 115-125mph at end of straight. 5 laps. LC - Brakes were very hot but still no fade. Engine oil temperature was slightly elevated. Transmission warning light illuminated mid-way through last lap. Again, light turned off within a minute or so after completing stint.
This is the first I've ever seen the warning light but this is also the first time I've run my LC on a track. There was only one other LC500 at the event and the driver was in a more beginner group, not reaching the speeds that my group did. He did not see any warning light. I talked to a few of the RCF, GSF & ISF guys and none of them said they had transmission temperature issue, though some of them did experience some brake fade.
I feel this confirms my belief that the LC500 is not designed for continuous track driving. When pushed 8-9/10ths in a track environment you will get transmission temperature warnings after about 20 minutes. I drove 500 miles home yesterday and all was good. I still love my LC and it does exactly what I want and expected when I purchased it. It's a keeper.
By the way. The F-Day event was a hoot. Even a LFA attended and ran. Well run by the Lexus staff and the Apex Motor Club people. Definitely a must-do next year. Didn't see any of you LC people there . . . . Apex Motor Club Track 2.27 miles
Okay all, Follow-up report after returning from F-Day:
The event had both morning and afternoon groups. 3 stints 20 minutes each (about 5-6 laps) with about a 20 minute wait between stints. All stints were lead by a professional driver and we followed in 4 car groups (lead-tail). The Apex Motor Club track is 2.27 mile, 12 corner track running clockwise. I was in the afternoon group. Ambient was 67-72 Fahrenheit. I ran all laps in Sport+
Stint 1 - I would classify as 6/10ths. Getting familiar with track. 5 laps. LC - No issues. I could tell the brakes were fairly hot but no fade. Stint 2 - I would classify as 7-8/10ths. Much more aggressive/rapid laps. Saw 110-115mph at end of straight. 6 laps. LC - Brakes were very hot but still no fade. Engine oil temperature was slightly elevated. Transmission warning light illuminated mid-way through lap 5. I still completed through lap 6. Light turned off within a minute or so after completing stint. I let car idle during wait for final stint. Stint 3 - I would classify as 8-9/10ths. Saw 115-125mph at end of straight. 5 laps. LC - Brakes were very hot but still no fade. Engine oil temperature was slightly elevated. Transmission warning light illuminated mid-way through last lap. Again, light turned off within a minute or so after completing stint.
This is the first I've ever seen the warning light but this is also the first time I've run my LC on a track. There was only one other LC500 at the event and the driver was in a more beginner group, not reaching the speeds that my group did. He did not see any warning light. I talked to a few of the RCF, GSF & ISF guys and none of them said they had transmission temperature issue, though some of them did experience some brake fade.
I feel this confirms my belief that the LC500 is not designed for continuous track driving. When pushed 8-9/10ths in a track environment you will get transmission temperature warnings after about 20 minutes. I drove 500 miles home yesterday and all was good. I still love my LC and it does exactly what I want and expected when I purchased it. It's a keeper.
By the way. The F-Day event was a hoot. Even a LFA attended and ran. Well run by the Lexus staff and the Apex Motor Club people. Definitely a must-do next year. Didn't see any of you LC people there . . . . Apex Motor Club Track 2.27 miles
Thanks for sharing! Did you bring this issue of the warning light coming on to Lexus' attention? That's the important question--and if so, what was their response?
Sounds like a great, great time, thanks for sharing. Did Lexus offer rides with pro drivers in any of their cars? Did they share anything about future products or events?
Limited ride-alongs were available but not really promoted. This was mainly and event for owners to drive our their own vehicles. It was also FREE. There were some of the GSFs available for people that did not want to run their own cars. They did give each one of us radios as we followed and the pro-driver was continually giving us instruction/pointers as we did the laps.
Awesome update! This makes sense as the GSF and RCF have transmission coolers up front. I would expect the LC to be just that: a nice touring car. It doesn't detract from it anyway but I can't imagine it being a serious track toy.
This is the first I've ever seen the warning light but this is also the first time I've run my LC on a track. There was only one other LC500 at the event and the driver was in a more beginner group, not reaching the speeds that my group did. He did not see any warning light. I talked to a few of the RCF, GSF & ISF guys and none of them said they had transmission temperature issue, though some of them did experience some brake fade.
I feel this confirms my belief that the LC500 is not designed for continuous track driving. When pushed 8-9/10ths in a track environment you will get transmission temperature warnings after about 20 minutes. I drove 500 miles home yesterday and all was good. I still love my LC and it does exactly what I want and expected when I purchased it. It's a keeper.
Thanks for the update! Maricopa AZ (Apex Motor Club) elevation is ~1200, looks like the highs yesterday were in the 70's. So great air density and not-hot temps.
I think "the LC500 is not designed for continuous track driving" is just where I have to get my head at on this thing. Thanks for reporting back!
I've signed up for one of these events, with a couple of friends and my wife to ride along. I will definitely be trying to push the car to the point of overheating the trans, it's highly likely that my own comfort level pushing the car won't be fast enough to have this problem. If it doesn't, then I know I likely won't experience it myself if I ever buy one.
I too experienced an LC transmission over heating at the LPDS event at Laguna Seca. This was in August ‘19. The morning sessions when the temp was lower were fine but the last afternoon run (and we were getting more confident on the track) the light came on and the car shutdown partially to protect itself. These were 2019 model cars.
I can see a guy like Matt Farah in an intense canyon run having the issue. Unlikely for “normal use”.
A quick update since I've now also attended a Lexus Performance Driving School event, at Circuit of The Americas (the US Formula 1 track) in Austin. If you've never done one, absolutely go do one. We did some quick back-of-the-napkin math and it's hard to see how Lexus isn't losing money on these events (i.e. marketing expense). We did 11 fast laps around COTA in LC500's, two autocross segments of 3 laps each in the new IS500 then about 10-15 minutes of skidpad time each in an RC-F. The per-driver cost isn't trivial, but for comparable experiences at the same venue for how much you get to do with breakfast/lunch included it's a bargain.
In the Q&A session with Scott Pruett I asked about the LC's cooling, he acknowledged that it was a GT car rather than a track car, and that it needed more cooling to be a track car. For the main track we would do 3-lap segments, there were 4 groups of 3 participants with an instructor in a 4th car in the lead. The instructors all drove RC-F's, all the "hot laps" where participants could ride with instructors at the end of the day were done in RC-F's. The RC-F has upgraded trans cooling over the LC.
The day started off cool in the 30's, and got into the high 50's or low. The pavement warmed notably from the sun over the day. My two friends and I were the "fast group" of our 12, we passed other groups twice and our instructor really let us push the cars. The fastest speeds we typically saw on a good lap were up to about 140. They recommended against manual mode, they also recommended Sport over Sport S+. I ran the entire day in Sport and never experienced a high trans temp warning. My two friends ran in Sport S+ for one of their runs and both saw a high trans temp warning at the end of their runs. We were driving in a group so pushing the cars largely the same on those runs.
I expect that a hotter day would have caused more issues, however I also never expect to run my own car this hard. So to confirm the general consensus reached earlier, "probably not a problem for how most of us will drive these cars". I'd still prefer more trans cooling for the car -- cooler average temps long-term means less issues -- but at this point I'd say it's not necessary unless/until I start experiencing these issues myself on hot days.
12-03-20, 02:41 PM
