Hey all

I test drove a '95 SC400 yesterday and to be honest, I had expected a lot more! It just didn't feel as powerful as I'd expect for a sub-7 second 0-60 car. I previously owned a Prelude VTEC and expected something similar. This SC400 felt very heavy and sluggish getting up to speed. Even downshifting didn't give a surge of acceleration. WTF? The acceleration felt maybe as fast as an Accord V-6. My mom's supercharged Buick Park Ave has way more ***** than this particular car.

Unfortunately this is the first SC400 I've driven so I don't know if this is normal or not. There were 3 of us in the car so maybe the extra 350 lbs was the cause. Also we are at 3000 feet elevation here so any NA car loses some power, but that's common to all the cars up here that I'm comparing it to. And I've read the sound deadening and stuff makes it feel slower than it is. Anyway I haven't had the car checked out yet... so it could be a mechanical problem too (120k km & no service history).

Anwyay just wanted people's opinions... does this sound normal??? I was planning on buying an SC but this one just wasn't any fun to drive.
(BTW this is crossposted on TeamLexus too)

 

If you searched through past posts you'd see some interesting things.

First off, the SC400 has very limited aftermarket potential.

Second, the SC400 only makes about 180 RWHP. It's the AT that does it in.

If you really want an SC w/ potential, get the SC300 5sp. That's gonna be a bit harder for you, because they were not sold in Canada.


Search through past posts using the button @ the top of your screen to find the answer to your questions. It's proably been asked before.


EDIT: Additionally:

Did you have PWR ECT on? That changes the shift points & what not.

AND Did you just floor it right away? Cause that'll ruin your launch pretty much.

 

The SC400 isn't a super fast car. It's heavy afterall. I just drove a new Eclipse the other day and it felt faster and more responsive (granted, we're comparing a '92 SC400 to a '02 Eclipse)...but you need to figure out exactly what you're looking for. I'd rather have an SC400 than a Eclipse any day of the week.

If power is all that you care about, buy a supercharged Buick Park Ave then...but think about this, the Buick is a 3.8 Liter V6 with a supercharger and it only puts out 240HP (35 more than the non-supercharged version)...WOW! Impressive technology there!

The SC400 is a 10+ year old engine that's a NA 4.0 liter V8 and it puts out 250HP.... only 0.2 liter larger, no forced induction and it puts out MORE power than 2002 Buick SUPERCHARGED engine.

I've had friends drive the SC400 and these guys aren't strangers to fast cars, they commented that the car was faster then they thought it would be. Maybe you set your expectations too high. The older 1UZ-FE isn't a powerhouse motor...but they last forever. My local dealership has NEVER, EVER had to do major work to a 1UZ-FE equipped car (nor have any of the mechanics I spoke with)...

So if speed is all you care about, maybe you should just stick to the Prelude...or get a CRX and drop the H22 Prelude motor in it...that's smoke a Prelude or your Mommy's Buick...

 

A prelude VTEC? Honestly now... did you load 3 people into the Prelude to test it? LOL I guarentee you the Prelude will lose every ounce of its power

 

Shanker, it's not your imagination, an SC4 is pretty slow. manaray, the technology is impressive, but 4.0 litres, quad OH cams, dual distributors, 32 valves, aluminum block and heads, header-style exhaust manifolds, tuned intake, etc, I think 250hp is very unimpressive, especially when it nets out to about 175-180 horses at the wheels, but I feel these cars are so superlative in so many ways, it's a flaw that easily overlooked, and basically the only definciency in an otherwise totally over-engineered automobile, not to mention, like manaray said, the 1UZ-FE is bulletproof, it's a 400,000+ mile motor, my local Lex dealer is pretty large, and they also have never done any major work to a 4.0litre, matter of fact they know nothing about it, and that's the frightening truth, I asked them why, they said they've never had cause to rip one apart. Disturbing and comforting at the same time.
- Jon

 

Lex, I agree with you on the 1UZ-FE's unimpressive horsepower...but the "lack" of technology I was speaking of was about the Buick...not the 1UZ-FE. Also, one has to consider is that back when this engine came out, 250HP was very respectable...

And like Lex said, the other "features" of the car outweights the lack of massive HP...

When I drive the SC4 right after my GS430, the SC4 definitely FEELS underpowered...but after driving the SC4 for a while, it feels fine. Definitely enough power for *me* to live with. Like I said, I'd rather drive a SC4 over a LOT of other cars that are faster...

 

Whilst not disagreeing with the previous posts (I still want more horsepower). Driving an SC400 for the first time can be misleading.
The quality of the car removes the driver from some of the learned responses that we associate with fast cars. The SC400 has an amazingly quiet engine and smooth shifts through the gearbox and 'relaxed' suspension.
Fast cars have noisy engines, jerky gear changes and rock solid suspension. You know you are in a fast car when you cant talk in a normal voice when you're pushing the engine. So if you remove the 'sounds' of a fast car it just doesn't 'feel' as fast......
Just changing the intake makes the car feel faster.... it may only add a few hp but when you can hear the engine revving the 'learned' response is that the car must be moving appreciably quicker.....
Anyhow I eat Preludes, Audi TT's and all sorts of other noisy fast cars.....

 

Shanker300,
Yoo have to know what the car is all about.
If that is your main concern, then the SC may not be the car you're after.
My little brother has a Civic that would eat me up stoplight to stoplight.

Would I trade cars with him over this?????

 

There's a difference between feeling like you're going fast and actually going fast. My SC doesnt feel like you're going fast untill you look at the speedo and realise you're clocking 130-170 clicks. Whilst being in my friends prelude, when he takes off, feels like its hella fast!!! But!!! if we race each other then he gets wasted by about 3-4 carlengths each time between traffic lights.

Just because a car feels faster doesnt mean that it is faster.

Toan

 

"butt-dyno"

 

Thanks for the responses all.. some good comments.

Sounds like some people slightly misinterpreted what I was saying. Over on NSXPrime, every so often some joker comes along and says 'NSXes are overpriced, a Corvette will outrun them!' and of course, the joker just doesn't get it. Sounds like a few people think that's what I'm saying about the SC4. No. Wrong.

A car that is tested at 6.9s to 60mph and generates car mag review comments like "very quick", "exhilarating performance", "slingshot" etc. brings to mind a certain level of thrust as measured on the butt-dyno (thank you, MsEmerald heh).

When I drove the car, it did not meet that expectation. Put another way, my ***-dyno should read higher in the SC4 than in other cars I have driven that have been regularly tested to be slower. The comment about the Buick is that the SC4 should eat its lunch but it didn't feel like it would have. The SC4 is a gorgeous car, very refined and sophisticated, and it has without a doubt the best interior I have ever sat in. But it felt undeniably heavy, sluggish and didn't pull like I was anticipating. It is a heavy car (so is a Z32) but a good-running model also apparently has the power and gearing to make up for that. So, I asked the question to people here would would know, to find out if other people had felt the same thing and the answer appears to be "yes". Sounds like it is a combination of isolation from the usual hallmarks of speed and, in this case, the extra weight of the 3rd person in the car. If everybody had come out and said "no way, you should be pinned in the seat", I'd come away suspecting there was a defect this the particular unit I drove. I testdrove a Stealth TT when I was buying the Prelude, and it felt slow too... it wasn't until I had driven a 300ZXTT that I knew there had to have been something wrong with that Stealth.

SupraCoup3: Thanks for confirming re: SC3.. I suspected as much since couldn't find any for sale. Re: SC4, no measured times or anything, it was just rolling sprints after a corner or a stoplight and then passing on the highway, but yes, I did floor it. I was using my highly calibrated butt to gauge acceleration. So why does flooring it kill the launch? Traction control? And PWR ECT... I believe it was on.. I seem to recall that lit up in green, didn't know what it was. Either way, wouldn't the pull between 3000 and 5000 rpm be the same (ie. outside of shift points)? I guess it may have reduced the overall sensation for the runs up to 140+ km/h.

Bean: I tried to not make a habit of running 3 people in the Prelude, it wasn't exactly roomy.... but 350 lbs in a 2900lb car are more pronounced than the same additional weight in a 3600lb car. Anyway I expect somewhat reduced performance with 3, that's why I mentioned it.

Thanks again all for the comments, I still hope/plan to pick up an SC4... it is a very fine car.

 

The Lexus cars are very deceiving when it comes to performance: when I first drove my brother's '94 GS300, I thought it was rather slow...

Then you begin to realize that the relative lack of commotion from the engine room, combined with the refined ride quality (even with Eibachs and 19" HREs) are what kills the 'performance' feel. After a while, I realized his GS was killing BMW 528s, Mercedes E320s, even the occassional Civic Si guy... Torque is what these cars have over the common 4-banger.

With the auto-trans, you may want to be careful about who you pick on light-to-light, but in a roll-on type of race, the Giant Lexus (our term) will really hold it's own.

On the SC4, there are probably a few bolt-ons worth doing- torque converter, exhaust, intake... This might add about 20 ponies: couldn't hurt! Plus, you can't beat the sound of a V8...

You already know: if you're looking to haul ***, perhaps a Supra would be better. Drive the SC4 a bit- it'll really grow on you.

I found out the hard way- tried to take one down in my lightly-modded '85 MR2- the guy would have none of it! I got "stomped like a narc at a biker rally!"

 

i dunno about u, but my honda sounds like a revving **** and shakes like the shackles off the ghost of christmas past and makes me feel like i'm going fast, but my '98 sc400 can tear it up.

 

The car's heavy,so at lower speeds its a wet log,but at higher freeway speeds it rocks with the chip/intake I have.
My other car is a Fiero with a 4cam,3.4 V6,and it's faster,but not by much,and that car will hang with a new SVT Cobra in a straight line.
The Lex V8 has some severely retarded ignition timing,especially in the lower revs,the chip also solved the short-shifting problem that I disliked so much. It's still an automatic, just without the quirks.It sucks to have had to buy a chip when the car should've been made that way,but it's done now!

 

your car will run with a new 390 hp cobra?

If you want a faster SC, go with the 2000 and get the 300hp vvti engine... you can really feel a hell of a lot of difference and that car movies like a lex. should.