I was waiting at a red light when an SC300 pulls up next to me. Green light and I chirp tires just a little to see if he wants to play. He takes me by about 1/2 car at which point I hit 3rd gear and shoot ahead. He stays right on my *** in the other lane but does not catch me until I slow down at 70ish. I am almost sure that he should have killed me... was he just playing mind games with me?

 

my friend has one, its fast.

 

220ish hp matched with an auto??? nah.. not as fast as it looks.

 

THey are fast but not that fast. With a auto it will be close, with a 5 speed you get him. You should be watching out for the SC400. The SC300 has the same motor as the NA supra in it. Also same the the earlier GS300 and new IS300. I think thats right, correct me if im wrong.

 

my friend has a 1999 Lesux 300. It is very quick for an auto and off the line it would be close with a Max 5 spd. At highway speeeds the max wins hands down. How do I know. We (unofficially) raced several times with those results. By the time the Max is at 4000+ rpm in 2nd it's bye, bye Lexus. BUT his car seems to perform without exhibiting any strain-commendable.

 

i don't think they are that fast, even the sc400. my friend and i both raced sc400s on two separate occasions and we walked them by 2 or 3 cars each time, all motor.

 

SC400 comes in auto only and it's much heavier. The auto SC400 is slower than the stick 300. And the stick 300's do 0-60 in 7.7 seconds (approx). An auto Max should take a 5spd SC.

 

Uh . . no. Don't want to start anything but,

All Lexus cars in the US are Autos, even the new IS 300. The SC300 is a 4 speed auto and the SC400 is a 5 speed auto. The SC300 should be wiped by a 5 speed Max, and good comp for an auto Max. The SC400 should eat any Max ALIVE, unless it's a Max with and SC, excuse the pun

The SC400s 290 HP and 300 Lb-ft of torque coupled to a 5 speed auto ain't no joke. Maybe the older SC400s with the 1st Gen Lexus 250 HP motor and 4 speed auto will be good competetion for a Max, but the new one? Uh uh.

DW

 

Cool, that means I got some Lexus roadkill this weekend!

 

Yeah, the mags run the SC400s 0-60 in 6.1 secs.

 

hey dwapenyi, they DID make a 5-spd manual SC300!! I should know, I almost bought one! Even in the 5-spd, the SC300's aren't that fast. But yes, they did make a 5-spd SC300, the one I looked at was a 94 or 95, can't really remember now.

 

How about the GS 300's, 400's, and 430's? Are they quicker than the SC's?

 

GS400's are fast. i raced one all motor and he pulled 2 cars on me, but i walked him easily on the bottle.

 

for the first year or two it was available(93-94 or so).

 

They did?? Must have been extremely rare. Oh well. They don't now.

DW

 

But just a smidgen. It's because of the VVT-i that the 98-up(I think) has. That's for the SC300. For the SC400, power went up from the normal 260hp to 290, I think. For some reason, they kept the output below the GS.

 

The IS300 suppose to be available in a standard 01.....

 

I got on the highway behind a GS400 and he blew me away. Granted I had to downshift form 5th to 3rd and he just walked away until about 120 when he shut down (Mine dies at 117 b/c its a GXE). Wasn't even close-I lost bad. BUT the only mod I have is a K&N rectange filter.

 

When Lexus first offered the SC300 in the early 90's, they also offered it with a five speed manual. I've driven one with a stick briefly and it was quite a smooth ride. The winner of a race would be determined by the SC300's weight, gear ratio's, and the driver, of course. Yes, they've got more power, by about 30hp, but they may be chunkier - AND the majority of them have come with a slushbox.