aquanuke

I thought you could operate the Porsche top upto something quite high like 20 miles per hour. I know my BMW would work whilst moving so if the lights change half way you can just start driving.

tfischer

I have read that the Porsche (small canvas) top can be operated at speeds up to 20 mph, although I don't know why anyone would want to stress the mechanism like that just for the heck of it.

Maybe one of us should get our 430 going at 15 or 20 mph, hold in the top button and see what happens.

Post a full report here.

Thanks.

aquanuke

The sc430 wont work at any speed

tonydt1g3r

the top down button will not work unless the car is at 0 mph. this meaning if your top is halfway down and you start driving, your gonna be driving with it half way down until you stop and hit the button. However you can let go of the brake or reverse and as long as the MPH is 0 your top will still be coming down. BTW reversing with the top coming down is not reccomended since u cant see behind you, but hey I have done it before also I have started moving forward with the top coming down but once my tach reads above 0mph I get a beeping noise that tells me the top stopped coming down and I need to stop to get it down fully.

tfischer

Darn!

But maybe that was done to protect the cars behind you from having big sheets of aluminum and glass from flying into them.

. . . which would be their fault for following too closely.

Another buzzkill from the legal department.

aquanuke

Actually using the top whilst moving is quite a headturner. I can think of atleast a couple of movies that did that which stick in my mind for that reason.

Think there was Ghost Dog with the Jag XJS and Hollow Man with the Porsche.

DChuka

Actually I think it works up to something like 5mph. I know I've eased into the garage while the top was going up (then I get out of the car in my Batman costume!).

Gojirra99

The key is to only attempt it when you stop the car when the lights are turning yellow, that should leave enough time for you to complete the procedure . . .

The folding hardtop is still relatively rare in my area, not too many SC's, SL's & SLK's, but it will be less exclusive in about a year's time, with the new IS250/350 coupe/convertible, the 3 series, as well as the volvo convertible etc. all with the hardtop convertible mechanism . . .

The LF-C's mechanism, which I think will come with the IS350 convertible, will be more sophisticated, with 3 stages including a targa like position . . .

LeslieRC

I began having roof reliability problems on my `02 SC430 at about 17,000 miles. One was a cable problem, the other, the struts had to be replaced (one strut assembly alone costs slose to $3K). Warranty covered both occassions. Following the second incident, I traded-in the car for a then new, `04 SC430; no problems to date after 10,000 miles. At the time, I asked a mechanic at the dealership whom I had known for a long time whether there had been such problems with other `02s (answer, yes), and whether Lexus had improved this circumstance with the `04s (answer, yes). Because I had known this mechanic for almost 10 years by that time, and he had always been straight with me, I had no reason to think he was shining me on. As I said, there have been no problems at all with the `04 SC430. However, I also purchased an extended warranty when I bought the `04.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

for the sc430 it's 4mph, which is almost like stop. i got the info from a lexus tech

20mph? that's way too fast. you are going to put tons of stress on the mechanism. or maybe bimmer can do that coz' it's all soft top so it's a lot lighter and easier. on our hard top, imagine how much force that is

tfischer

I disagree.

I think the difference is because if you rip off the top from the Porsche when you try that top-down-at-speed trick, the canvas soft top does not cause as much damage to the cars behind you as the glass and metal top of the SC430 would.

Again, I think we need to quit talking about this and get out on the road with some cars and try it out.

But I haven't got the time right now.

(4 MPH ! -- that's no fun at all.)

sc430blue

I have over 50k hard driven miles on my car without any hardtop problems.

LexLaw

That's too funny....But seriously guys, thanx for some well informed replies on my hardtop query. I feel alot more at ease regarding the roof and its Lexus standard of quality.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

hey, anything to make you get your sc430 asap man

sc430uk

the sc430 has one of the fastest top in the world, the only car that will allow you to put the roof down or up is the new porsch boxster, up to 30mph