5 Speed A/T Only
300HP 325T
4.3L RWD

Anyone ever messed with these before? Seems like a well tuned engine. However the A/T might hurt it. Lot of torque for a 4.3L, our cars are so out of date.

 

Oh yeah I see them at the track all the time...

I think they do low 15s.

From a power and speed standpoint only, that car is not worth $75K.

 

They make power, but with the LAZY transmission they have, they lose ~30% of the power, and it shifts slow as christmas. From a roll, they're not bad though.

 

I raced an all black one on the strip here in vegas, Black paint, Black Rims, Tinted windows looks really nice. But it was not as quick i thought. By 50mph i had enough cars on him to move into his lane to avoid traffic and then get back in my lane and put more car length on him. I would say they are easly a low 15 second car.

 

Toyota has some true engineering here. 300/325 and only 15 seconds estimated. Thanks for the input, ALOT of them are popping up around here.

 

I'm sure Lexus' plan wasn't to design a 1/4-mile king when they conceived the SC430.

300HP is merely a selling point and power to give the car pep. Do you think a Lexus owner is going to want a hard shifting transmission in a $75K car?

 

I dunno you tell me. The SC430 is actually quoted at 55 grand, seems like direct competition for the M3 to me.

Both top of the line cars
2 door sport cars
the near same price range
300 Horses v. 333 horses

They sure make it 'look' fast. I wouldn't mind owning one, but it should be better

 

You guys are forgetting that the 430 is a retractable hardtop that weighs in close to 4000 lbs. That's a lot of heft for 300 hp to carry around.

Jason

 

It's got a feather-like ride, with seamless shifts, and an outstanding interior feel. Not to mention, it packs the smoothest/quietest V8 I've ever heard, and has the world's fastest (1-touch) convertible hardtop. For the price, of course true sports cars can beat an SC430 down the track, but those cars don't have the luxury status.

 

Rumor has it Lexus is going to start introducing tuned versions of some of their models, like AMG/MB. Work over that 4.3L and get some performance into it, the tranny, and the suspension of some Lexus models, and you'll have some decently fast cars.


-B

 

The IS430 is going to be a beast

 

i was behind one on the freeway going to fast. he was trying to get away going DOWN hill but i was catching up slowly. this is when i had a lid and catback only.

 

Once people start tuning that PCM and reworking that 5 speed auto, those things are going to start spanking us.....

A 5 speed auto that shifts like the LS1's A4 could rip us apart with relatively little added power.

Put 350+ HP in there, put a "performance mode" in the tranny, and make a hardtop and see what she does

I would own it. But not for $55K....$35K maybe, but I would rather have the IS300 and turbo that sucker

 

I worked at a toyota/lexus dealership drove a many of these cars
car is slow!, it feels like your stuck in 5th gear the whole time drivng it, also I raced a stock like 95gt with one and he pulled me three cars lol

 

its probably geared for mileage/highway use mostly....

I wonder.... 5 automatic gears and 4:11's........mmmm

I used to have a 5 speed auto BMW and it kicked ***, oh man it kicked ***

Might not have had a lot of HP but it certainly had pep for a straight six

If they could get that 4.3 to shift like my BMW did and add 50 or so HP then they have a WINNER