Scblackout - my first 5sp Lexus experience
01-03-15, 03:36 PM
#16
I am not going to bash you for your post as everyone is entitled to voice their own opinions. ..however;
These cars are not for everyone. I will say, after owning several BMW's, Lexus's AND Honda's/Acura's, I will say this car was far ahead of its time. Like I said, they are not for everyone. Even after purchasing all those other cars, I still ended up back in a '99 SC300 blk on blk. I LOVE this car. Simply put, after some 20" wheels, a quality set of coilovers, body kit and you're good to go. I am a bit older, so maybe my taste is a bit off from yours based on the pics of the purchase you made.
These cars are not for everyone. I will say, after owning several BMW's, Lexus's AND Honda's/Acura's, I will say this car was far ahead of its time. Like I said, they are not for everyone. Even after purchasing all those other cars, I still ended up back in a '99 SC300 blk on blk. I LOVE this car. Simply put, after some 20" wheels, a quality set of coilovers, body kit and you're good to go. I am a bit older, so maybe my taste is a bit off from yours based on the pics of the purchase you made.
01-03-15, 04:23 PM
#17
This 
!!!
There are very few 20 year old cars that wont look sh?tty or could hold their own beside today's cars even if they are well maintained. And the SC in my opinion is one of them. Hey buddy, why the hell you sold that 97 6speed 2jzgte SC ? was that an original 1997 5speed ? I bet you dearly regret it.
In fairness to the OP, I am still trying to understand his frustration. I believe it is a question of too much expectation from buying an SC without doing a good research of what to look for thus leaving a bad taste in his mouth.
It all happens to all of us when we don't do a good research. We blame something else to cover our inefficiencies so let's be nice .
OP , good luck and I do hope you just make the best out of it. Re reading your first post , looks like you didn't pay much for it. If indeed that car has a true black interior and being a 5 speed and not interested with it, one thing good it will bring you is , you will make good money out of that car if you didn't know. Tons of people on this forum are looking for black interior pieces and / or 5 speed shell. You might just have to post stuff in your local area and local craigs since you won't be allowed to sell it here being new.
So at the end of the day , the car you are hating will PROBABLY give you more for what you paid for
.
!!! There are very few 20 year old cars that wont look sh?tty or could hold their own beside today's cars even if they are well maintained. And the SC in my opinion is one of them. Hey buddy, why the hell you sold that 97 6speed 2jzgte SC ? was that an original 1997 5speed ? I bet you dearly regret it.
In fairness to the OP, I am still trying to understand his frustration. I believe it is a question of too much expectation from buying an SC without doing a good research of what to look for thus leaving a bad taste in his mouth.
It all happens to all of us when we don't do a good research. We blame something else to cover our inefficiencies so let's be nice
. OP , good luck and I do hope you just make the best out of it. Re reading your first post , looks like you didn't pay much for it. If indeed that car has a true black interior and being a 5 speed and not interested with it, one thing good it will bring you is , you will make good money out of that car if you didn't know. Tons of people on this forum are looking for black interior pieces and / or 5 speed shell. You might just have to post stuff in your local area and local craigs since you won't be allowed to sell it here being new.
So at the end of the day , the car you are hating will PROBABLY give you more for what you paid for
.
Last edited by gerrb; 01-03-15 at 04:41 PM.
01-03-15, 05:36 PM
#18
Def not a troll, which is the only reason I posted the pics as some basic form of validation that I actually have what I am talking about.
Backstory:
Bought the car 3 days ago. Drove to another state to pick it up. Arrived, weather sucked with tons of rain, but the car does show really well other than the ugly *** huge tires on there. So after short 'way to bumpy bad road squirrly' test drive, and going through the mountain of receipts and records, clutch is brand new, couple hundred miles, feels good and solid, brakes work, feels ok, It was less than $5k, so frankly nothing to loose. The owner agreed to deliver the car so great.
When he got to my house, still raining, I checked car over, drove it, still same, so it was done deal.
Took the car out after work for first real drive last night, hence my opinion of it.
Today it was nice out.
just returned from the closest Lex dealer I could find, 40 or so mile spirited at times drive. The longer I kept driving the more and more I really hated the car, and I can say truthfully by the time I got to the dealership I was about ready to hand the keys to the first person I saw who would offer me a ride back home.... yeah it was that bad.
So what did I hate about the drive --
1. It's not really the quickest off the line, cool but not wow.
2. On mid speed cornering I found it wanted to severely understeer and I had a really hard time keeping the back end under me.
3. Abrupt stop from 100+ was.... interesting to say the least, that is where I felt the weight of the car the most. The abs throbbing in the peddle was working hard. Lost the backend twice doing these tests. --- brand new lexus installed brakes 3 mos old, verified with receipts. Front tires brand new, back tires < 6mos and full tread.
4. Ever been in a car where the bumps in the road make you feel like your going to tag the guard rail if you hit them wrong.... NOT FUN!
The REAL problem... wait for it....
At the dealer, verifying all receipts and work done, some still under warranty btw.. cool, Service dept sales guy opinion is that overall the car is in relatively good shape. All regular maintenance done, including major timing belt etc all done... Previous owner def only cared about drivetrain maintenance though, and after seeing cost of new cluster and climate I see why, can we say Mercedes + pricing?
-- remember next time I buy a car during daytime to turn on stupid headlights and check dash. Was more concerned about rain, bumpy road, and new blind spots to get used to.
Anyhow, as I am leaving dealership, sales guy looking and says he loves car, I tell him I hate it, talk a few mins, give him the keys so he can try it.
NOT EVEN 5 MINUTES LATER, he is back and the look on his face says it all.
Well turns out it is and it isn't the cars fault, rather it is the previous owners fault. Here we have brand new bc coilovers on the car with receipts only installed completely wrong.
Sales guy said they dropped car by fully compressing springs instead of doing it the right way, whatever that is. All I know is when he showed me that the gold sprocket things were twisted all the way up and they shouldn't be. So basically the car rides like it has solid suspension which is exactly what i was trying to say. I'll upload pics once they get the wheels off.
Didn't mean to step on toes. I knew I bought a decent car and just expected so much more. I can guarantee if anyone took even the best sc in this forum, tighten the coilover springs completely and then try to drive it, you would hate it as much as I do.
So car is going to recommended performance shop and I will wait to pass judgement when I get it back. The sales guy swears that it's a great car and I will love it when he fixes it... Suppose I will see.
Backstory:
Bought the car 3 days ago. Drove to another state to pick it up. Arrived, weather sucked with tons of rain, but the car does show really well other than the ugly *** huge tires on there. So after short 'way to bumpy bad road squirrly' test drive, and going through the mountain of receipts and records, clutch is brand new, couple hundred miles, feels good and solid, brakes work, feels ok, It was less than $5k, so frankly nothing to loose. The owner agreed to deliver the car so great.
When he got to my house, still raining, I checked car over, drove it, still same, so it was done deal.
Took the car out after work for first real drive last night, hence my opinion of it.
Today it was nice out.
just returned from the closest Lex dealer I could find, 40 or so mile spirited at times drive. The longer I kept driving the more and more I really hated the car, and I can say truthfully by the time I got to the dealership I was about ready to hand the keys to the first person I saw who would offer me a ride back home.... yeah it was that bad.
So what did I hate about the drive --
1. It's not really the quickest off the line, cool but not wow.
2. On mid speed cornering I found it wanted to severely understeer and I had a really hard time keeping the back end under me.
3. Abrupt stop from 100+ was.... interesting to say the least, that is where I felt the weight of the car the most. The abs throbbing in the peddle was working hard. Lost the backend twice doing these tests. --- brand new lexus installed brakes 3 mos old, verified with receipts. Front tires brand new, back tires < 6mos and full tread.
4. Ever been in a car where the bumps in the road make you feel like your going to tag the guard rail if you hit them wrong.... NOT FUN!
The REAL problem... wait for it....
At the dealer, verifying all receipts and work done, some still under warranty btw.. cool, Service dept sales guy opinion is that overall the car is in relatively good shape. All regular maintenance done, including major timing belt etc all done... Previous owner def only cared about drivetrain maintenance though, and after seeing cost of new cluster and climate I see why, can we say Mercedes + pricing?
-- remember next time I buy a car during daytime to turn on stupid headlights and check dash. Was more concerned about rain, bumpy road, and new blind spots to get used to.
Anyhow, as I am leaving dealership, sales guy looking and says he loves car, I tell him I hate it, talk a few mins, give him the keys so he can try it.
NOT EVEN 5 MINUTES LATER, he is back and the look on his face says it all.
Well turns out it is and it isn't the cars fault, rather it is the previous owners fault. Here we have brand new bc coilovers on the car with receipts only installed completely wrong.
Sales guy said they dropped car by fully compressing springs instead of doing it the right way, whatever that is. All I know is when he showed me that the gold sprocket things were twisted all the way up and they shouldn't be. So basically the car rides like it has solid suspension which is exactly what i was trying to say. I'll upload pics once they get the wheels off.
Didn't mean to step on toes. I knew I bought a decent car and just expected so much more. I can guarantee if anyone took even the best sc in this forum, tighten the coilover springs completely and then try to drive it, you would hate it as much as I do.
So car is going to recommended performance shop and I will wait to pass judgement when I get it back. The sales guy swears that it's a great car and I will love it when he fixes it... Suppose I will see.
01-03-15, 06:08 PM
#21
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Sounds like you need an alignment. Understeer is definitely due to uselessly massive rear tires. Threw some 16's with 215 serie tires and alignment on my 400 and it was a hilarious fun oversteering beast.
Then again you also got a 300. Heavier, less power - just not the engine meant for the car.
Then again you also got a 300. Heavier, less power - just not the engine meant for the car.
01-03-15, 06:13 PM
#22
I'm old, not a teenager, I had never driven, nor cared to drive one of these cars prior to this week. While researching some parts for my teg-r, I stumbled across a few videos of the sc300 and figured what the hell, looks fun, so I went out and bought a 96. These cars are so cheap that I figured worst case I throw away a few dollars on an old car.
After a few days of owning one I have to ask:
What the hell was Toyota thinking when they built this car?
After a few days of owning one I have to ask:
What the hell was Toyota thinking when they built this car?
True
Pathetic power if you come from driving a Lambo to this...
Cornering sure isn't what it could be but sure doesn't "suck".
Opinion...nothing wrong with opinon
It's 18 years old
I respect your opinion, but I don't understand all the hate on the SC...?
Just give it a few weeks, and come back to it...don't like it? Sell it to one of us!
01-03-15, 06:15 PM
#23
SCblackout,
HERE is a video about setting preload.
HERE is a video about setting preload.
I wish I could get a pic now to upload. Basically all 4 are screwed all the way to the very top last thread and the ***** on all 4 tops are all the way hard. Any lower setting and the car bottoms out.
That is how I learned there was no posi, as I got high centered trying to get into the grocery store parking lot, and only the back passenger tires spins.. now that sucked. I seriously left the car running right there, put the title in the dash and walked into the store to get my groceries. Guess my brother saw what I did, moved the car and took it back home. I'd had enough with everyone standing around laughing at it.
I have to admit that my initial opinion was obviously skewed by a horrible setup. So lesson learned, even though tons of receipts, a decent looking car, other than huge rims, how it is setup is just as important as what is on it.
Looking forward to getting it back and seeing what I think. I will say though, if it is anything like it is now, it should be crushed. I wouldn't give it to my worst enemy as it really isn't safe to drive.
*And NO, I'm obviously not a car guy so laugh all you want. Haven't had to turn a wrench in 20 yrs. No ability, space or time to even think about it. I simply buy them, drive them and replace them when they're done.
01-03-15, 06:18 PM
#24
Thank you!
I wish I could get a pic now to upload. Basically all 4 are screwed all the way to the very top last thread and the ***** on all 4 tops are all the way hard. Any lower setting and the car bottoms out.
That is how I learned there was no posi, as I got high centered trying to get into the grocery store parking lot, and only the back passenger tires spins.. now that sucked. I seriously left the car running right there, put the title in the dash and walked into the store to get my groceries. Guess my brother saw what I did, moved the car and took it back home. I'd had enough with everyone standing around laughing at it.
I have to admit that my initial opinion was obviously skewed by a horrible setup. So lesson learned, even though tons of receipts, a decent looking car, other than huge rims, how it is setup is just as important as what is on it.
Looking forward to getting it back and seeing what I think. I will say though, if it is anything like it is now, it should be crushed. I wouldn't give it to my worst enemy as it really isn't safe to drive.
*And NO, I'm obviously not a car guy so laugh all you want. Haven't had to turn a wrench in 20 yrs. No ability, space or time to even think about it. I simply buy them, drive them and replace them when they're done.
I wish I could get a pic now to upload. Basically all 4 are screwed all the way to the very top last thread and the ***** on all 4 tops are all the way hard. Any lower setting and the car bottoms out.
That is how I learned there was no posi, as I got high centered trying to get into the grocery store parking lot, and only the back passenger tires spins.. now that sucked. I seriously left the car running right there, put the title in the dash and walked into the store to get my groceries. Guess my brother saw what I did, moved the car and took it back home. I'd had enough with everyone standing around laughing at it.
I have to admit that my initial opinion was obviously skewed by a horrible setup. So lesson learned, even though tons of receipts, a decent looking car, other than huge rims, how it is setup is just as important as what is on it.
Looking forward to getting it back and seeing what I think. I will say though, if it is anything like it is now, it should be crushed. I wouldn't give it to my worst enemy as it really isn't safe to drive.
*And NO, I'm obviously not a car guy so laugh all you want. Haven't had to turn a wrench in 20 yrs. No ability, space or time to even think about it. I simply buy them, drive them and replace them when they're done.
I added part of the manual above. I have two sets of them, PM me if you need any help.
SG
01-03-15, 06:28 PM
#25
Yeah just saw that when I refreshed, confirmed, mine are on totally wrong. Since you have same, with proper tires, I'm guessing you can imagine what it felt like with my setup... scary, and not in the fun kind of way as I don't mind wrecking a car if it's my fault. I just want a car where I know where the point of no return is so I stay far enough away. With this car, who knows where that is at. One wrong angle, one big bump, and I'm a goner.
01-03-15, 06:28 PM
#26
Wanting to have a performance car using a 20 year old luxury car as a platform will be a very expensive exercise if you cant work on it. You will be hating it not unless you have all the money to spend. Imagine having to pay for every service and parts to restore a 20 year old luxury car and on top of it convert it to a performance car. I can already see your future review about the car
.
01-03-15, 06:30 PM
#27
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Mine sucked when slammed too. Raise those about 2 inches from bottomed (at least on my coils that was a sweet spot - then again they weren't bouncy on soft when slammed.)
Then align it.
Can't stress it enough. Align. Most important thing.
Then align it.
Can't stress it enough. Align. Most important thing.
01-03-15, 06:53 PM
#29
Yeah just saw that when I refreshed, confirmed, mine are on totally wrong. Since you have same, with proper tires, I'm guessing you can imagine what it felt like with my setup... scary, and not in the fun kind of way as I don't mind wrecking a car if it's my fault. I just want a car where I know where the point of no return is so I stay far enough away. With this car, who knows where that is at. One wrong angle, one big bump, and I'm a goner.
Good Luck
01-03-15, 08:25 PM
#30
This. You're going to want to go over everything the PO did. There's a whole community of people here who love these cars, so aside from the obvious characteristics of the car (heavy, no LSD, underpowered in stock form), any other complaint you have can be addressed and fixed.
There's no need to pay a fortune for the dealership to fix your climate control or dash gauges. There are aftermarket companies doing it for much cheaper (Tanin Auto Electronix), or you can buy a digital touchscreen aftermarket climate control unit from Popformance. Eventually at 20 years, bulbs are going to fail, and this isn't just an SC thing, this is a fact of life, anything that isn't using LED bulbs is eventually going to need new bulbs. Heated seats are an option.
The feeling of the car pulling left and right when going over bumps is called bump steer. The most common cause of bump steer is the bushings on the steering rack going bad. Any rubber part is eventually going to degrade and when they do the surface of the road will pull the car left and right unless those bushings are replaced. The bushings are pretty cheap if you go anywhere that isn't a dealership, I personally purchased Whiteline bushings for $60 something, and you could probably find a shop that'll do the replacement for 1-2 hours of labor.
Anyways, I'm not trying to give you a hard time. Do your best to fix the car up and see if you still feel the way you did initially. If so, no hard feelings, sell it to one of us and go back to something you love, life is too short to waste your time with something you hate. The forum will be here for you if you have more questions or need help, don't be afraid to use the search feature or ask. Guaranteed someone else has had that problem before.
Anyways, welcome to the forums, I'm sorry your initial impression was negative, but I hope this car grows on you like it has grown on me.
There's no need to pay a fortune for the dealership to fix your climate control or dash gauges. There are aftermarket companies doing it for much cheaper (Tanin Auto Electronix), or you can buy a digital touchscreen aftermarket climate control unit from Popformance. Eventually at 20 years, bulbs are going to fail, and this isn't just an SC thing, this is a fact of life, anything that isn't using LED bulbs is eventually going to need new bulbs. Heated seats are an option.
The feeling of the car pulling left and right when going over bumps is called bump steer. The most common cause of bump steer is the bushings on the steering rack going bad. Any rubber part is eventually going to degrade and when they do the surface of the road will pull the car left and right unless those bushings are replaced. The bushings are pretty cheap if you go anywhere that isn't a dealership, I personally purchased Whiteline bushings for $60 something, and you could probably find a shop that'll do the replacement for 1-2 hours of labor.
Anyways, I'm not trying to give you a hard time. Do your best to fix the car up and see if you still feel the way you did initially. If so, no hard feelings, sell it to one of us and go back to something you love, life is too short to waste your time with something you hate. The forum will be here for you if you have more questions or need help, don't be afraid to use the search feature or ask. Guaranteed someone else has had that problem before.
Anyways, welcome to the forums, I'm sorry your initial impression was negative, but I hope this car grows on you like it has grown on me.