Intellexual

Lets face it, Lexus steering sucks for any kind of enthusiast driving.

The wheel turns way too lightly and you cannot feel the road at all.

Is there anyway to overcome this short of removing the power steering unit?

Exactly HOW hard would the car be to drive daily without power steering? Getting rid of this unit would drop 25-30 lbs too I think, and weight reduction is very important to me.

Don't get me wrong, if getting rid of power steering makes the car nearly impossible to drive, I won't do it, but I'd like a compromise between the light "I don't know where I'm going" feel it has now and no power steering at all.

Also, this got me thinking, because this is a RWD vehicle, no power or torque is being put to the turning wheels, would that make it easier (relative to FWD cars w/o power steering) to drive w/o the power steering?

awj

Actually, fwd cars are easier to drive w/o power steering in my opinion. I've driven both w/o power steer (drive types, not lexus) but that was a long time ago as a porter.

I remember that when the car is rolling, it is easier to steer, the faster, the easier. It also seemed much more sensitive at speed if I recall. There is a lot of potential for disaster driving a car w/o ps for someone whom has not done it.

I was thinking about this also but I would drive the car fairly regularly - so I want the ps and I like the other thread about the track day settings - so that is an option.

Why not yank the a/c while you're at it?

SDSC300

I hate the steering in the sc too .. is the supra the same?

JAC JZS

Yes! poor steering but such amazing handling/chassis that it does not even matter I have never driven a car that corners so FLATLY. The suspension is tight(going over dips or bumps does not induce float) and sharp left/right swerves/turns are effortless with Zero bodylean. BTW I am referring to the 93-96 Supra TT's , I hear they softened up the suspension a little bit on the 97-98's. I have even heard of the 93-96 models referred to as the more of a purebred racer than the 97-98 models. The 93-96 models are also a little lighter as more sound deadening materials were added in 97'.BTW I am referring to the 93-96 Supra TT's

bizzy928

You are driving a LEXUS. These cars are tuned for luxury. ("L"uxury "EX"port to the "US") Our breed of sc's are lucky and have sport engraved in them as well. The steering is fine for the group its aimed at.

I do agree that it is a bit loose and light feeling, but it wasn't built for that.

As for driving without PS. I think it would be really difficult in our cars and would be unsafe.

London Bill

I cant vouch for the "trackday" settings on my TT as it has heavier steering due to the lowering and +35mm offset, if you are that unhappy with the power assistance try bolting on a set of +40 or +35mm rims to the front as it really does increase the steering feedback, be wary though as it also makes the steering more lively and prone to tramlining under braking.

If anyone has the engineering available you could try a larger driven wheel on the power steering pump or an underdrive bottom pulley (not too sure about the drawbacks on that one).

JAC JZS

[QUOTE]Originally posted by bizzy928
("L"uxury "EX"port to the "US")

Interesting, I suppose that's another reason why they don't call it Lexus in Japan, because it is not an EXport there

London Bill

The whole "Lexus" thing is a marketing ploy by Toyota who thought (and probably quite rightly), the high end Toyota models would not be as appealing outside Japan in the original Toyota Aristo, Celsior, Altezza or Soarer badging.

At the time of the Lexus introduction Mercedes, BMW & Jaguar where the big targets in the luxury saloon class so they also copied the more European style of nomenclature "LS", "GS", and using model numbers just like XJ6, 500SEL or 850CSi.

They also avoided the mistake made by Mitsubishi when they intoducued the Starion to the world market, this was meant to be the "Stallion" but was actually mispronounced by the Japanese.

lex400sc

Hehe... "Starion", sounds like good ol' fashion Engrish to me

Is it true that LEXUS = Luxury Exported to United States, or is that just coincidence? Some say Lexus = 'sexy' in Japanese, but I don't get that same translation back. Interesting indeed...

I really need to drive a Supra TT, I feel I'm missing something in my life .

MadMaxSC400

With the staggered wheel setup (wider in the rear than front) and wider wheels all around with low profile tires the car had a very big increase in handling accuracy. The steering is sharper and the car corners far better. I want to get torsion bars for the excess body roll.

'S'Low Rider

There is a Japanese kit on the market that modifies the 'signal' (?) to the power steering, I've seen it advertised for the Celsior(LS400), that may work on the sc400/sc300.

"C's" Power Steering Controller ($300 ??)

http://www.cs-comrade.co.jp/celsior.html

Toan Nguyen

Didnt autospeed have an article on how to do this?? They did it with a LS400 though, and it cost like... AUS$10? I cant remember clearly as I dont subscribe to Autospeed (Their Melbourne Rep is a complete arsewipe.) but I'm sure its in the archives somewhere.

Toan

Overclocker

Don’t know if this has been asked before, but how different are the steering setups of the SC and the GS? Would the steering ECU upgrade for the GS work on the SC? Has anybody ever done it?

Overclocker

Intellexual

I'm not sure how different the steering setups of the SC and GS are, but keep in mind the SC did pre-date the GS by 6 years and I don't think any steering changes ever occurred in the SC.

It would be sweet if the L-Tuned Steering ECU did work on the SC though!

Overclocker

Good point Intellexual... I hadn't even thought of that.

Anybody know for sure?

Overclocker