lspower

so do you have an extra torque converter laying around? u said u bought 2 so you have one for sale?

thanks
ryan

jldg888

sounds good. by the way can you post some pics.

Thanks

KIno

jibbby

Gashopper, I did the exact mod's as you did....I must ellaborate on the results of these mod's...

Dragon Torque Converter - A dramatic improvement over the stock torque converter was noticed immediately, no problem doing a burnout from a dead stop with the change... However, you will notice a drop off in power at the higher RPM's... To compensate for the topend loss from the DTC install I had replaced the entire rear section of the exhaust system(high performance mufflers and a highflow cat). Those upgrades brought it back to what it was... There is a give and a take as the torque is transferred from highend to lowend but the positives clearly out weigh the negatives...

Torsen LSD - I had also swapped in a 1993 Supra TT (automatic) Torsen LSD...Traction was gained off the line. A slightly different feeling at times is noticed when turning hard at high speeds...Nothing worth being concerned about but there is a slight difference in feel then with the open end stock differential.. I also noticed my speedo was off just a hair which also leads me to believe the differential gearing between the two are just slightly different...I think it is a plus for 0-60mph times.....

I did later wonder how the (6 speed) Torsen Supra differential would have worked out on my SC400 rather then the (automatic) TT Supra differential? I still wonder to this day if I should have gone with the (6 speed) Torsen and even lower the gearing more. Does anyone have any thoughts on that? I hear it is a big difference but throws your speedo way off and the top speed is reduced greatly........


Apexi piggyback ECU - After installed I notice power gains, and I would say it is equivelant to let's say changing out the stock mufflers to a new set of high performance mufflers... The downside is you will notice that the car uses more fuel... WIth the ECU now wide open more gas and air is feed into the engine and while the 10hp or so power is gained you do take a hit at the pumps...

Eibach springs - lowered my SC400 almost 2", while the handling dramatically increased, the luxury feel disappeared...Also you lose alot of suspension clearance... Steering wheel drift was immediately noticed when driving on the freeway.. The lowered look and handling is impressive, the suspension and luxury feel is not....

Got to give the Daisen bushings a thumbs down...My LCA daisen bushing ended up in the trash can after three weeks.. Went with new Supra LCA and the new OEM bushings that came with them... A %100 improvement was noticed over the Daisens installed on my stock LCA arms.....

...
Just thought I would add my two cents...

gsshopper

jibbby, I just happened to see a familiar thread back on the front page while browsing for other stuff, thanks for adding your experiences.

Since my original mods, I've replaced the Tokico struts with Tein coilovers, and am now very happy with the suspension - the Tokico / Eibach side trip was an expensive experiment. I took back about half of the original 1" drop I got with the Teins when I added a set of John Brady's headers and a Magnaflow cat-back system - next to the Dragon TC, this was the best performance mod I've made.

My next mod will be an intake - already have the SRT system sitting in my garage, waiting for sufficient time to build a proper air box.

Even without the intake, my car is a joy to drive, now. Great power, just enough growl (but not too much), and great handling - with Lexus interior and road manners. How can you beat that? It's the best combination of civilized daily driver and stoplight sleeper I've ever owned.

gsshopper

BTW, re: the Daizen bushings, I'm happy with the result I got, but I think I'd be less satisfied (too much road vibration) had I replaced both upper and lower bushings, instead of just the lowers (more prone to wear and rot). The Daizen bushings are considerably less resilient than the stock parts.

jibbby, I couldn't tell from yours note what the specific issue was with the Daizen's but I know the stock bushings are a pain to replace. And I've heard good things about the Supra control arm replacement option. Anyway, my advice to an anyone contemplating bushing replacement (vs replacing the control arms) with the Daizen parts is to replace just the lowers.

jibbby

Gsshopper - the Daisens had a bad road feel and wear out way too fast. What else? The lower control arm Daisen bushings do not have adequate ribbed sides so the grease does not hold for very long.. So not only will you get premature wear but they also will make noise too... Like I said I threw mine in the garbage can after 3 weeks......My friend did the same and went with another brand....

The S@S Headers - Are great, but what most people don't know is that they are originally designed for the GS models but also are sold for the SC's because they are almost identical for fitment but not quite...So what is suppose to be bolt on exhaust is really not. With those S@S headers installed without custom work the rest of the exhaust hangs an inch or so too low. Shortening off the down pipes are needed and this mod cannot be done in your backyard which I found out the hard way... Very nice mod though......

Flex-a-lite dual electric fan swap - I got to give that swap a thumbs up as well...Noticed some power gains as to which most disagree. This mod also reduced 25-30 pounds of front end car weight. This mod made a lot more room under the hood to my suprise aswell.....The electric fans are a little more noisy then stock but sound good and they also cool the car just fine on the hottest of days with the A/C on...The electrical crap that comes with the flex-a-lite fans are junk but the fans themselves are wonderful.. I am now able to work on my engine much easier and also now have room for a future turbo setup if I ever decide to go that rought...

BFI intake - Seems to be the choice for many. However, I did a combo of Rod Millen, Injen and BFI and it seems to flow realy well. Also made a custom heat sheid.....However with any intake mod performed on these SC's you will not notice any gains like you would an exhaust mod......

Little mods that make also made a difference on the older SC's is electrical upgrades for starters, such as; Optima battery (lighter weight and perform better then the stock block battery), new ground cables, high quality wires, etc...Also better flowing Y pipes near the center cat on the exhaust alone made a noticeable difference when changed with a highflowing cat for me...........


Gsshopper - Good choices with all your mod's......

TRD_Power

awwww, I don't wanna lose my nice ride when I do suspension! I planned on doing just eibach springs with the stock shocks, how will that do?

jibbby

The Eibach springs will lower the car, reduce your suspension clearance, and make your ride stiff. Not good if you want to keep the luxury feel....If any thing keep the stock springs and just get the aftermarket shocks....


Another mods -

Dumping the stock rims and tires, getting light weight alluminum 18" rims on low profile Z rated tires.... I have 275/35 ZR18's and I noticed improved handling, traction, and looks...

TRD_Power

I do want to lower the car at least 1" though and after-market shocks alone won't do that, guess I will have to sacrafice some of the ride

verylost

For a NA motor, the piggyback should be tuned for leaner conditions. There should be no reason why the piggyback itself should be causing you to use more fuel.

jibbby

Verylost you are correct...WIth my nitrous system I am tuned to run slightly rich..That could be what am seeing.... For a basic NA motor you may be correct on that..

gsshopper

TRD_Power: Re: lowering your suspension with Eibachs, jibbby's right, the result is much less compliance, due to shortened shock travel. The only way I know of to lower your SC and keep its compliant ride is to go with coilovers (even then, you need to choose the right ones).

The Tein CS coilovers I have are expensive, but I can't say enough about how much they improved my ride and handling, compared to the Tokico blue / Eibach combination I tried at first. I even tried the Tokicos with my stock springs, but the ride was still too stiff - not at all like the stock setup, regardless of what others might say.

Believe me, I wanted the Tokicos to work, but in the end, I decided that it was worth replacing them to feel good when I drive my car, considering all of the time and expense I've invested.

Good luck!

jibbby

I would like to post a few more mod results from my sc400....

Electrical upgrades - As mentioned above I did the battery change, replaced the crispy ground cables, installed high performance spark plug wire set, also installed a hyper voltage regulator to even out the batteries electrical current...Changed to copper connectors thru out....Those combined changes immediately made the car more responsive and seemed more perky...No more dimming of the head lights at idle..

Removing the stock tire, rim, tools and bulky 12 cd changer I believe that also made a slight difference, no traction was lost from what I could tell...I can't say for sure gains were made from the weight reduction but I think it did make a little difference...

100-150 Dry Nitros system - This mod was very impressive... I do experience traction problems in first gear and sometimes even in second gear on aggressive shot runs...The recent addition of wider rear tires has helped out alot..So NOS activation timing is very important to get the car going real fast and not just sit there doing a massive burnout and go nowhere....

Upsides: Nos is immediate when activated, no lag or hesitation...just a jolt.... feels literally like the engine doubles in power on a fully heated shot (most impressive)... With nos the engine remains in N/A form, so stock reliabilty is still intact, no breakdowns in over a year... No problem passing emissions.. Gas mileage remains the same as stock or close to it as apposed to a AFI setup...No premature engine wear to report, the motor still idles perfect and does not use oil after a year of running the nos almost daily....Transmission may be taking a beating but has not let me down yet...

Upping the tranny oil line pressure - I can't say for sure it made my car faster, but shifts seem more crisp and maybe even more timely...Does not jerk into gears but is now a little more aggresive then stock...Downsides: Hard shifts from Park to Drive or Drive to reverse...kinda clunks..Other then that I would have to say it helps with transmission performance and I give it a thumbs up......

Woops forgot to mention the Downsides to using Nitrous: Nos bottle refills cost me on average close to $100 per month...(I use it alot), non-controlled acceleration stinks for traction control at times, (you do not want to ride the nos when cornering), untimely transmission shifts occure every once in a while on bigger shots, also changing, opening and closing the bottles can be an annoyance at times...

.

jibbby

Current mods I am now considering -

Mild set of cams to bring an additional 40hp or so...Waiting for Lextreme to manufacture a set, they are in the works...Cost $500-$600.....

Shift kit - to aid in tranny performance....$350...Not sold on this mod just yet...

sc400injen

just put a dragon TC on my 92' sc400,
first off-i'm running short ram intake, true duals from the headers.
noticed a good off the line improvement, and a good turn in accel, a little worse gas mileage but not much. if interested more, pm me.
good mod but cost 761.19 from precision industries and about 500 to install so in all about 1300, but in my opinion, worth it