NRG

why would anyone expect a stock motor to be fast?
if i had a sc300, i would've swap it out with a 2jz-gte :P
front clip of a supra RZ are like 3-4k, then swap all that in, piggy back ecu, turn up the boost, and you can hit mid 12s under 5k.
although the SC cars do weight around 4k so power to weight ratio man.

surfwaz

The SC300 demands respect and gets it. I have one for my daily driver. If you want to smoke ricers, mustangs or vettes get a twin turbo. I have a Z ,which I take out on weekends and put these guys in their place.

SC400-V8

iTrader: (1)

Statistically the 92 SCs were both pretty damn quick, SC400 got 15.2 at 95 mph, and the SC300 manual getting 15.8 at 90 I believe, both very good times for stock cars. Obviously when a car is 10 years old and has 100K+ miles on it you have to expect a slight decrease in performance, but only slight, and I notice the smoothness and ride quality has not been compromised in these cars at all, which is what I would consider their only edge over their own excellent perfromance.

Idrockasupra

bro, get a sc300 5spd, swap in a 1jzgte engine wit 5spd trans, BPU it and you will have about 400RWHP for 3k if you do the work yourself, its a very nice engine and I paln to do the swap one day. Take care.

qmtran

1jz-gte are not streetable in the U.S. not smog legal.

JKAG

If you want to go fast go to a road track not the drag strip.

I take my car to Brainerd, Road America and other smaller tracks in the area. There is nothing like running at 120 or so and looking to brake to 35 for a 90-100 degree turn (turn 5 at RA).

Work the suspension, work the brakes (<$2,000) and go to a road track. I've tried what other refer to as BPU (intake, exhaust, SAFC, G-Force ECU upgrade >$2,500) and my rwhp is still <200hp.

I've a chipped Audi S-6 quattro wagon. At ~270 hp and >300 ft-lbs who knows what it is at the rear (got a 4-wheel dyno?). My wagon will blow away the SC300 in a straight line, but even with it's upgraded suspension it can't keep up in the turns.

The suspension mod's are a much bigger bang for the buck. Add some Victoracers and, even though it is heavy, the SC300 handles like a dream on a road track. I've just bought some supra sway bars (<$150) and that should make it even better.

All that said, the SC hates the long uphill straight at RA and I'm saving my pennies for a Toyomoto kit installed by Sound Performance.

Note: Sound Performance charges a flat $1,200 for a single turbo install (as of last year).

scsrock

Well, I can say my stock '94 5-sp SC300 is quite fast. It is in very good condition though. You may wanna have yours checked (fuel line, oil, trans, etc).

Anyway, SCs are luxury, quite, beautiful, and of course fast. Because of all the options and construction quality, it's quite heavy; so I wouldn't wanna do 1-60 or 1/4 mile. I would do 40-100+. If you do this, you could easily beat RSX-S, Jetta, and many others. Take them to the free-way.

Hint: Open the air box lid will improve acceleration a bit.

Anyone agrees with me?

Hermosa

Slow is relative. What did you drive before? If it was fast was it as nice?

SC300 can still lay the whoop-down on alot of cars. As stated earlier fast is not just straight line speed. What good is speed if the first corner sends your car into a ditch? Even when the SC spins out of control I havent had much trouble getting back in control.

Don't get a 2JZ-GTE, just go single turbo.

NAZTY97

the 97 SC400 just whooped a new model Acura 3.2CL type S on the hwy,... a miserable day for him,.. I drove the SC3 and it felt a little underpowered in my opinion, HOWEVER!!! the 3 has more potential than the 4 in regards to mods at this moment, but who knows what will be available in 6 months. I whoop most cars bone stock,... the SC3 has jumped on some good competitors as well, but my preference is the 400, because the V8 is a good hwy race engine platform and effortlessly gets that car moving... plus it's gonna be a monster if it ever gets boost!

Ebanks

22 on a car forum doesn't mean you are young it means you are middle age like me in this community

Young = can't legally drink... At least to me on an internet car forum it does.

-Ethan

SC400-V8

iTrader: (1)

I woudl definitely have to agree. Our cars are absolute monsters on the highway... Ive raced so many TLs on the highway and beaten them its not even funny...

2JZSoarer

I saw the 0-60 time for the VVTI SC300 is 7.4.....so what is the 0-60 time for non VVTI?
I got this info from a Lexus catalog

RSTSpeed

iTrader: (4)

Heh, that's me. I'm 19, but 20 in April!! lol! Man this thread it hella old... Anywho, I've got a '93 SC3 Automatic; it's getting a new engine as I type b/c my original was about to implode (j/k). I took it to a track thi past summer, and it ran 11's in the 1/8 mile; it wasn't a quarter mile track. That seemed slow to me, too. Then I found out that my oil rings were bad and I had/have insanely bad compression; then I found out that my crank is rattling agains my main bearing due to lack of oil earlier in it's life. My bad luck, I spose. So yes, the automatic is a good bit slower (I've read the TC won't allow you to launch above 2000rpms), and DEFINATELY drive another, PERFECT condition SC3 before you pass final judgement.

Also, some1 earlier in this thread said "don't get the 2JZ-GTE, just get the turbo kit" - I don't remember who. I know A LOT of you guys (Mr. Banks included) are huge fans of that otption, but to me it seems that the GTE would 1)take more punishment, 2)be more reliable in the long run, and 3)simply outlast ANY NA-T (Naturally Aspirated to Turbo) engine. Now, I don't have the GTE or an NA-T, but I want it in the worst way (SEE SIG, lol). Cost wise, the two are easily comparable depending on labor costs, how much you do on your own and what additional upgrades you throw into the mix. E.G. - swap in a midly-used GTE engine with the ECU, do the wiring yourself, and you could feasably be done with it and be in for ~$5-6 g's...of course you need some other small stuff, like fuel pump(s), but the NA-T needs them, too. Anycrap, that's my opinion. If somebody could break it down on why the NA-T is the better deal (and not give that B.S. "just cuz" or "I have one, and I like it" crap) go for it. .... and no offense to you NA-T guys, I have much respect for the turbo

RSTSpeed

iTrader: (4)

Yeah, I forgot to mention that: take the car on the highway (w/o the owner if possible, heh), bring it up to like 60-70, THEN STOMP IT. It will set you back in your seat, guarenteed; and I have low-*** compression. I've never highway-raced, simply because it makes me too nervous - you never know what other drivers could do. I love my car and myself too much to total it or kill myself. Also, how many other STOCK cars do you know of the top-out at over 140 mph? I doubt RSX's, Jettas, or CRX's of any do that...but I'm no expert.

P.S. - if you havn't already, check out:
http://www.intellexual.net/faq.html - great, useful info
http://www.turboforum.net/lexus/pages/faq.html#001 - All about NA-T conversions
http://www.turboimports.com/ - Take a look at Clint's cars on the "TI.com's Cars" page

southernsc

my sc300 bonestock is pretty quick on the highway, the only car i couldnt beat was my friends 98 a4 2.8L, 60-120 he lost me, but then again his limiter is 125 so i caught up pretty quick the one and only time i top this car out