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Hi guys I just bought a SC400 1995 with 160k km, the car looks good drive as a new..
I have some doubts about habout get more power as it has a v8 engine but It doesn't drive like a powerful car..
would be good hearing from you guys what can I do to pump it up a bit, nothing too extreme, more like exhaust, air intake and why not ECU remapping.
I am in Sydney Australia, and would be good catch up with other owners around the city!.
Last edited by fliperj; 07-17-20 at 05:48 AM.
Reason: Wrong spelling
Welcome and congrats on the new to you SC400! (Or did you get a Soarer V8?).
Assuming you won’t have any registration issues with it I think you might do well to look into an Eaton M-90 or M-112 supercharger adaptation kit from Bullet Cars Australia. And then a fuel system upgrade and possibly an aftermarket ECU to tune it.
The automatic transmission may need to be built to handle the higher power or you can buy a kit to swap your V8 model to a manual transmission (W58 for naturally aspirated, R154 or Nissan CD009 for forced induction).
I think the most popular speed upgrades for V8 owners without involving forced induction modifications have been: a W58 manual gearbox swap, bigger LS400 front brakes, and an LSD either using the factory 3.92:1 ratio or a shorter 4.08:1 or 4.27:1 ratio.
Welcome however first it is an SC not CS. LOL. Also it is a 20+ year old car it won't be powerful compared to stuff on the market now. However it is quick when you keep that in mind, for perspective we are faster 0-60 than a base Lexus RC. Plenty of engine swaps documented if you want more power under the hood or even a turbo option if you want to stay with a V8. Close to the end of the year I plan to do a 2JZ swap, here in VA we have to worry about emissions. However I only have 1 more year to deal with it.
Welcome and congrats on the new to you SC400! (Or did you get a Soarer V8?).
Assuming you won’t have any registration issues with it I think you might do well to look into an Eaton M-90 or M-112 supercharger adaptation kit from Bullet Cars Australia. And then a fuel system upgrade and possibly an aftermarket ECU to tune it.
The automatic transmission may need to be built to handle the higher power or you can buy a kit to swap your V8 model to a manual transmission (W58 for naturally aspirated, R154 or Nissan CD009 for forced induction).
I think the most popular speed upgrades for V8 owners without involving forced induction modifications have been: a W58 manual gearbox swap, bigger LS400 front brakes, and an LSD either using the factory 3.92:1 ratio or a shorter 4.08:1 or 4.27:1 ratio.
Thanks mate!
I'll keep it on my mind an see how is it goes, I'll upgrade the brakes first as I feel like the car doesn't have a good one. I've just put new 20s shoes on it..
I don't have much knowledge about cars, this SC400 is my first "project" as I've been driving turbo cars since ever, I am still in adaptation with a aspirated one hahah.
Anyway, thanks for your reply!
Welcome however first it is an SC not CS. LOL. Also it is a 20+ year old car it won't be powerful compared to stuff on the market now. However it is quick when you keep that in mind, for perspective we are faster 0-60 than a base Lexus RC. Plenty of engine swaps documented if you want more power under the hood or even a turbo option if you want to stay with a V8. Close to the end of the year I plan to do a 2JZ swap, here in VA we have to worry about emissions. However I only have 1 more year to deal with it.
Hi mate, sorry SC no CS hahah
I know it is 20+ years old.. still strong Enough I guess..
I am not interested in swap the engine I bought this V8 because I like how a V8 sounds..
the car is realy nice I am happy, ill do only some basic upgrades, like air intake, exhaust, maybe ECU nothing much..
hope you swap goes really well!!
^^ The only air intake upgrade you would want to do is the well documented ("BFI Intake Mod") which has been popular for SC400's in the past. The stock intake system actually flows very well as designed. While staying naturally aspirated there aren't any real gains to be had over it with an aftermarket cone filter (this would be a different story if it were a turbo Soarer).
And if you were to switch to an aftermarket cone style air filter it would be best to also add an isolator box to keep the main engine heat away from it. The one that MVP Motorsports makes for the MKIV Supra is a good (if pricey) example. I picked up one of those and did a very minimal modification to it to so that it would fit my SC300's engine bay with a cone style filter. It isolates and seals away most of the underhood heat pretty well. I know they can't be the only company that make such an air filter box for these cars. Also, you could just make one yourself or get a fabricator to make one for you.
However if you won't be getting into any Eaton supercharger upgrading on this car then the main things to upgrade for the basics are:
The 1995-2000 Lexus LS400 (or 1995-2000 JDM Celsior which is the same car) four piston front brake calipers, an exhaust system upgrade for better sound (look into the M2 aka Manzo cat-back bolt-on system for a stock look) and maybe a rear resonator delete depending on your preference. So many exhaust options out there though.
With a naturally aspirated SC400/Soarer V8 the W58 manual swap will change the character of the car and free up some power lost through the stock automatic transmission.
And if the car doesn't have one already (I think even some V8 Soarers did have an LSD option from the factory on some packages but you'd have to check the axle code of your car to see if you have the common open differential or an LSD. If you can find one, an MKIV Supra NA factory Torsen LSD with a 4.083 or 4.272 final drive ratio will drop in (you just have to swap over the diff companion flange) or if you can find a factory JZZ30 Soarer 1JZ-GTE factory LSD rear diff from an automatic model that will give you the same 3.92 final drive ratio you have now. Or a Soarer 1JZ-GTE Manual rear diff with the factory LSD will give you a slightly higher 4.083 ratio.
Your Soarer V8 has a stock final drive ratio of 3.92:1.
When changing any of the driveline stuff or even tire & wheel size changes you can easily adjust the VSS (Vehicle Speed Sensor) signal coming from the transmission with a Yellr Yellowbox V5. Those are made and sold right in Australia so should be easy to pick one up! They even make an SC300/400/Soarer/MKIV Supra specific plug-and-play harness for it if you ask them to add it to your order. If that device will help you I have a DIY writeup showing how to install it in these cars. You would just flop my Left Hand Drive style instructions for your Right Hand Drive layout.
06-25-20, 03:31 PM
New to SC style.
