Neil E

I would take it to a good local car hifi shop and let them test it. If there is anything else that's causing the sound to be muted they should find it.

I look forward to seeing the thread. Wheels and coil-overs will make a big difference. MeisterR adjustable coil-overs are well regarded among the SC modding community. They transform the handling without compromising the ride quality. I think mine was dropped by approx. 25 mm all around.

Yeah start a new thread and keep us posted. Would be interested to hear about the LS brake upgrade. What else do you have planned?

Glad to hear it's improved it. Can't say that I am a fan of budget tyres but if they work okay that's a hell of a saving against my purchase of 2 new rear tyres today 285 30 19 Continental £420

Yes agree with the above if it's definitely an amp fault and everything else has been checked. They do come up on auction sites from breakers etc but better to have it repaired if possible.

Yes they can be fairly noisy rear seat passengers when agitated. I must get around to finishing the install.

It's possible to fit a 17 inch space saver wheel in the boot with a cover. It's worth doing a search as I think there are a few options that will fit.

Hi Peter Firstly I should like to echo the comments of others and commend you on your efforts to further develop the car. It can be great fun being the first to try these things but no matter how thorough the research, there's usually some pain to go with it. Extra power over the Sikky or PPE headers would be a neat trick, perhaps with porting and scavenging every last horse they could improve it just enough to make a difference but without forced induction or engine mods, I wonder how much that could really be? I see development of the supercharger is underway but that's not going to be cheap. I wasn't aware of a backlog at PPE, I imported a header and some bits for the SC430 in Feb and they arrived in about 3 weeks. The result of the cross pipe will be interesting but I don't think either the burble or the growl will be lost by crossing the flow from both banks.

Yes not much clearance but actually in most cases quite the opposite as the guys that use air suspension can do as the LS owners can and raise it up for humps and bumps at the touch of a controller.

I'm trying to resist the lure of the ISF but I'm very interested in this. I fear it's always going to be quite costly to install headers in the UK as there are so few ISF owners with the desire to chase the extra power. PPE will ship headers now so whilst expensive, the upgrade is available and the process to fit them is very well documented so an exhaust/tuning specialist should be able to do the work without any major difficulty. Creating a 4-1 header from scratch might take an expert 2 days to complete so that would be say 16 hours @ £70 per hour for each side. So there's the development cost. The question to H and S or any other potential supplier over here, is will they eventually be able to make them to the same or better standard at a cost to attract enough customers? On the issue of the cross pipe, I was surprised to learn that the flow from both banks doesn't merge and then split again already. I'm no expert but both of the V8 exhausts I had made were designed to merge the flow from both banks. I'm not sure if there is any potential power loss but the articles I've read on exhaust design suggests merging them helps avoid 'drone.' I would always (okay on sensible days) sacrifice a few top end track-day horsepower for comfortable motorway cruising.

Ah, so now we have your attention. That's cheap if it's in reasonable shape. There does seem to be quite a few for sale but I think some of the dealers are asking a premium when you consider the price compared to say a similar aged GS430 or LS430. I've noticed a few brave souls in BMW rag tops with the roof off in the past week, a glimpse of the sun increases values. Surely Lexus could have sold more in this country if the cars had been styled like this one.

Thanks, I agree it's nice to be in something rare and interesting. I'm reasonably happy with progress, the aim was to make it feel more like a traditional Soarer, A sports Coupe/Cab that has a bit more of a modern aggressive edge to it. It's not quite as good as some of the examples in the US but I think I only have a short way to go to achieve what I set out to do. It seems to me that Lexus focused heavily on the folding top and forgot how innovative the earlier Soarer was. They took a step back from the digital dash, air suspension, ultra-sonic door mirrors, rear camera, superb Nakamichi hifi and lots more besides and opted for a curiously rounded shape and a classic interior. Chris, if you know your hifi, you will appreciate DLS. I'm trying to resist the urge to install Scandinavia 3 way components to the front. It sounds pretty good using the ML drivers set completely flat but £1200 more and a bit of fabrication and it could be car hifi heaven. Previous Soarers had big installs in them and I said I wouldn't do it again so I'm really trying not to this time.

The Celica spoiler had to be highly modified to fit. It took me ages, longer than the rest of the body kit and in fact, I still have the 'whale tail' first attempt hanging in the garage. 2 owners in the states asked me to make them one but I don't really have the skills to do it economically. On the matter of age and comfortable cruising, I'm sure you are correct however one of the quickest road going SCs I know of is owned by someone over 70. I'm not quite at retirement age but well on the way. In my experience many of the go faster (my turbo is faster than your V8) brigade on the boards type and banter as if they are 17 but can ride most buses free of charge. I'm a big fan of the LS, I had a 6 speed prior to the SC and I do miss it. A 600 beckons if I can act my age and stop looking at ISFs. In the front, the SC is almost as comfortable and there's plenty of room, it's a nice place to be. It's not as quiet and a little less remote from the road as an LS but if you tried one, I think you would be happy enough. My garage tells me the SC is quite a bit shorter than the LS. The coilovers are adjustable and everyone seems to agree that the MeisterR's improve the handling with no detriment to the ride. On standard wheels and tyres I would say it improves it but allow a little more feel of the road for the wider rim set up. Air ride would be my choice if money was no object, the standard suspension set up is pretty good, it's no slouch but with these few additions you can certainly enjoy the countryside curves a little more.

And with changes made so far. MeisterR adjustable coilovers, modest drop, restyled bodykit, Celica style rear spoiler, total respray, drilled and grooved brake discs, 19 inch LM Mesh wheels, staggered fitment 8.5 front, 9.5 rear with Continental 245 35 19 front and 285 30 19 rear, strut brace, up-rated anti-roll bar, up-rated drilled and grooved DBA brakes front and rear. Alpine 585BT CD/DVD/Iphone head unit with modified Beatsonic interface to integrate with ML amp and Lexus Navigation/steering wheel controls. DLS A5 amplifier powering 2 JL10 3v3 subs in sealed enclosures. rear camera, bluetooth interface for OBD monitoring on Ipad. Modified PPE headers, 3rd cat delete, free flow custom exhaust, quad tailpipes (sounds like a V8 but it's not too loud)

Well that's the underside of the car covered. I thought there might have been a little interest from the 4.3 V8 community in a genuine power upgrade, perhaps most are content with the standard 279-282 and why wouldn't we be? it may even be the first time it's been done in the UK? PPE said they hadn't sold any others and were only aware of one right hand drive GS430 in Australia that has them fitted, all the others are on LHD cars. Here are a few pictures of the evolution of the rest of the car. I bought it as a project, as the last in the line of Soarers with the intention of making it more 'in tune' with my view of the original spirit of the Soarer. Many, including Top Gear and indeed much of the Soarer community have been critical of the SC430 but I always thought that very few of the detractors looked beyond the 'boat' like styling to appreciate what a clever concept it was. I will admit that I wasn't sure that I would be able to live with it for very long as it really is limited to carrying 2 people in comfort but though I don't think they will ever be loved as the earlier Soarers are, I do think that unlike the SC fans in the States, a lot of people in the UK have overlooked a really good car. Purchased less than 2 years ago, this is how it looked to begin with. It looks very good but there were a good few minor blemishes in the paint work that made it an ideal project car.

Excellent, you don't hang around.... Speaker faults are quite common on these. I suspect it's sometimes due to abuse and sometimes because they are exposed to the elements. So many people turn the bass up to distorted levels instead of turning up the volume. For a standard car system, it really can sound very good. I've changed my head unit for an Alpine and have some additional subs but the components up front are really very good.

Sussex must be an SC hot spot. There aren't that many in the country. I usually see fellow SC owners when I'm in the RX. When I had 2 Soarers I also so other Soarers when I was in a GS430 or the LS430 it just always seemed to be that way.

If Lexus can't, a professional car hifi shop should be able to help you. There are still some experienced and talented installers around.

I dare say they are quite expensive from Toyota/Lexus but it's worth checking. I recall the sub was quoted at £350 ish and it really shouldn't have that price tag. There are a few being broken on ebay but if it's the usual speaker surround repair that needs doing, there is a repair kit available and a tutorial on U-Tube. It looks fairly easy to do. If memory serves, I think Polk Audio made some 8 ohm drivers that fit or can be adapted to fit. I will try to do a little research to check. They are likely to be much better and less expensive than the ML drivers. Some owners have used 4 ohm replacements and not reported any issues but I wouldn't recommend it.

Yes it does have the same lovely, 3UZ-FE 4.3 V8 as the LS430 with a similar suspension set up to the GS430

That looks very nice indeed. The standard tyres are 245 40 18 front and rear on 8 inch width rims but it's quite common to have after market 'staggered' alloys to allow wider tyres on the back for better traction. I have 245 35 19 front and 285 30 19 rear. The wheels are 19 x 8.5 front and 19 x 9.5 rear. Some owners fit even wider wheels. The 6 speed is definitely an improvement but the 5 speed is essentially the same car so I wouldn't be too concerned.

For a long time I've put off attempting to fit headers to the SC430 but with some help from PPE Engineering in the US and MIJ in Walsall, the task has now been completed. It was a costly exercise but I'm happy to report that there does seem to be a fairly significant power gain. The original near side header is a direct fit. The offside header has to be modified to avoid the steering shaft of the right hand drive model so PPE shipped the parts and with some considerable effort MIJ were able to fit the nearside and then make up the offside manifold to fit. The 4-1 short pipe headers are designed to bolt directly to the cat flanges. PPE tests show a 20 whp gain when combined with a 3rd cat delete and a free flowing exhaust. I won't know until I book a dyno session but the signs are good.

Firstly I commend you on the choice of sub but be careful about using full volume, JL make a point of warning their customer that these products are capable of sound levels that can damage hearing. What make of head unit and amplifier do you have? Have you checked that all of the connections are secure and in particular the blue remote lead that runs from the head unit to the amplifier?

I think it is fuse No. 47 in the engine bay 30 amp