rominl

iTrader: (4)

agreed, unless they go through all the trouble and ask the first batch of owners bringing their cars in for any changes, all cars should be the same. even if that's the case, i don't think the changes will be drastic

i also think it's a great idea if the wing angle can be changing according to speed and steering, that will give a lot more flexibility

Joe Z

iTrader: (10)

By now the Bespoke S001's have to be done.. They can't be waiting around for tires...
The IS-F has bespoke Bridgestone RE050A s and PS2's.. (but you don't get to choose)

and

The answer to your question is YES ...

See below left side, last paragraph & last sentence.

Joe Z

rominl

iTrader: (4)

never looked into it, but i wonder how that drag coeff stacks up with other supercars. i was hoping it can be something under 0.30

05RollaXRS

I posted a full chart on exactly that. Did you miss it??

The coefficient of drag was 0.34 with the spoiler retracted, but it was very comparable to the measured CD of all other supercars. None of them were below 0.32. The LP670-4 had a CD of 0.33, for example.

However, LFA's downforce over the rear axle and the CD with the spoiler raised was the highest 0.398. The downforce over the rear axle was 32 kg at 200 km/h.

I have seen what Lexus calls "gurney flap" as the reason since it is tilted downwards that contributes to such high level of CD.

I think Lexus should let the driver chose when he wishes to raise the spoiler. Say, at 80 mph cruising, it makes no sense to have the spoiler deployed. Or they could put two or three mods such as handling mode, sport mode etc.

07grIS350

I am not sure what you're thinking, but it is not unusual to make improvements on production vehicles. One example was the first year IS350 there was no traction control disable button. Then they put one in the following year.
It looks like the engineers are still tweaking with the LFA's settings, so there is no reasons to stop tweaking them once the first year owners gave their feedbacks.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

oops, must have missed it. but great info

Mister Two

The only reason the LFA is to be built for more than one year is because the production capacity is just 20 per month and they are promising 500 copies. It isn't like any other ongoing models where continual improvements are made for each model year. There's only one model year for the LFA, 2012, to be built in 2011 and 2012, so the buyers should expect identical copies, bar any options.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

but the thing is lexus intention is to sell all these 500 cars as a whole, just that they need 2 yrs to make 500 of them. so they are supposed to be the same car. someone can correct me, but i believe they say all lfa are going to be model year 2012

keep in mind, from their words, they determine the production date, not anyone else. so the example of is350 is invalid coz' you as consumer determines the time you buy.

and in that case, if i buy lfa and get allocated on the car, say it's the first car produced. but next year if there are any updates to the car, then i should be obligated to get the changes as well.

07grIS350

No doubt about that, it the changes are publicly annouced. However, I am very sure there will be improvements (quietly) made to the cars that rolled off the production line later based on more testing and feedback from the earlier units. After all, aren't the Japanese known for the continuous improvement principle?

rominl

iTrader: (4)

then i just hope they make all changes public so owners can go in and get the updates. otherwise i would be super pissed if i am "forced" to take delivery of the car early on, but the supposedly same car that comes out 1 yr later being noticeably faster / better. especially given the money involved? lexus don't want to **** off those owners

07grIS350

That is just the nature of these things, early adaptors get the glory of being the first to have "it". The others would swallow their pride, knowing that they would get improved units.
Now if we are talking about 20 more horsepowers, then all bets are off.
Also, what are the chances of two LFA's one from each year of production get tested by the same tester in order to determine that the latter one is a big improvement?

rominl

iTrader: (4)

again, keep in mind, lexus determines the production date for people (they have been saying that since day 1). it's not people can have a choice. that's been the concept since very beginning, but of course now there are still empty allocations around. however, there are people who got allocated the cars already and they did not do anything to even try to get in front, they could be very want to be the later batch but it's not their choice. with that concept, the whole glory and pride talk is off

tested for difference is outside the scope of this discussion. just imagine say if later on it's determined that the wings are indeed programmed differently for later builds, but it's never been told or offered to early build cars. i can imagine the early owners to be unhappy

again, they did NOT choose to be the earlier ones. lexus made the choice

07grIS350

That's the official lines. I would not put much weight in that. I configured my car in May, but would not want it before mid 2012.

Yes they do. They just have to ask.

Regardless of the above, I still maintain that the latter LFA's should/would get improvements over the earlier units. Whether, Lexus will upgrade the earlier one is not relevant from my perspective.

TF109B

I don't think you know what I'm talking about. You can still have downforce without suffering a lot of drag. The way the wing is shaped will help with that regardless of the angle. I know enough about racing and aerodynamics to know that if you tilt the angle of the wing slightly 'back' it will decrease drag and raise the top speed. Bu when you have a wing with little gurney flaps on the side as the LFA does, it's not going to 'hurt cornering' as much as you think. Cornering has to do a lot with downforce I'm sure, but also the center of gravity and the tires. Mechanical grip is just as important. Look at the 458, does it have a pop-up rear wing? No, yet it still has great cornering potential as well. I don't believe the 458 is making more dowforce as the LFA, but it's just an example.

gengar

Here's a short video of the LFA I took to show the wheels on both sides (also available in 720p). The wheels on the passenger's side are also brand new CEC 21", but I forgot which model and the weight. I wrote it down somewhere, I'll post back when I get to it.

When I get time, I'll probably re-edit this video with closeup pictures I took of the wheels and the car. It was impossible to get good video or photos because it was there were so many LFA gawkers. The LFA was definitely a big attraction at SEMA - I don't think most people at the trade show knew it was going to be there, but it was a big crowd stopper. I hung around the booth for around half an hour because I was talking to the LFA guys and Claus Ettensberger, and I was pretty lucky to even get that short video of it because otherwise there were tons and tons of people around it all the time.

BTW, I forgot to mention that Pearl Gray looks ridiculously amazing in-person, better than even the good photos we've seen of it. I wouldn't pick it over my Pearl Blue, but I was quite impressed with it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2XRoomg2GM