SC400TT Project Car Stage II by SC400TT

4 minute(s) of a 718 minute read

3-19-2011

Hey gang, I have been tweaking the car here and there, and there is more tweaking to do, but it is coming along very well.

Here is a video I made tonight from my phone cam, and this is the way a properly tuned Autronic SM4 sounds  The SM4 is the BOMB!! Car is running exceptionally well. Thank you Darin Dichiara, Master Tuner!! Dyno Tune is at the end of this month.

I am stoked guys and gals!

6-6-2011

Well guys, 

I finished up everything today...

I completed fabbing up all the parts that I needed to modify...I measured, dremeled and fit the side panels in place, I mounted up the underside panels and added 2 more spacers so that the louvered front underside panel would clear the whole length of the intercooler.

I barely had time to test drive my car (headlights are still not connected up), but I got the car up to temp, and it only once hit 50%. It never went above that, and it only got near it once while pushing the car a bit.... I am cautiously optimistic that I have resolved the issue by simply bringing my car back to OEM form regarding the underside body panels. What a significant difference. I will test the car more thoroughly tomorrow, and if all is well, I will work on tHe transmission set up and tune, and I will reschedule the dyno tune for a date real soon...

Lesson to all...tough to beat the stock, OEM engineering, and keep it intact whenever possible for most systems in the car...

It is amazing how critical the stock set up is to ensuring proper cooling of the drivetrain of the SC...Especially the SC400. When I first started examining this issue, I looked closely at every aspect that Lexus had engineered...and removing the stock fan and radiator would mean that anything I modded would require me to pay close attention to the efficiency of those mods...I did not do so enough, I thought I had, but I had not. So overheating become an issue as soon as I placed the bumper cover on my car. The nose of the SC is not very conducive to proper airflow...Look at most cars, and you will notice 2 distinct similarities almost immediately...They all have a lower air dam section to vent air into the radiator, plus in most cases, they have a large grill that covers an area very close to the overall size of the upper half of the radiator compartment. These 2 components ensure proper air flow to the cooling system of the vehicles.

The SC does not have an upper grill, so directing sufficient volume of air into the cooling system is critical by other means...That is why the underbody panels are crucial to proper functioning of the cooling system. This becomes even more essential with the addition of 

turbos into the front of the engine bay...the additional plumbing, removal of OEM heat shields, lack of room, etc, add to the need for sufficient air flow. Turbos add a whole lot of heat...even when ceramic coated and wrapped...be sure your (2) plastic side underbody panels are completely intact, and that they are installed and custom fitted around the 

additional intercooler plumbing. Be sure the louvered and flat tray underside panels are installed and attached properly too as they all work together to create a very effective air compartment that not only catches the necessary volume of air needed to cool the system, but also to force and direct the air to flow through the engine compartment and out so that there is no heatsoak.

Use your underbody panels guys and gals...

The stock set up seems to handle the lack of that panel better than my set up. You may be ok, but if you ran a comparison of actual temps and not just eyeballing the OEM temp gauge, I bet you would see that your car runs hotter without the panels than with. The temp gauge allows for a range of temps, not a specific temp, so it may not appear to be overheating...