Newish Member Now an Owner

[Boomer54]

Cusco Strut Brace.

Does anyone have any experience of and view on the effect the brace has on handling? That is,, is there any specific benefit ,or does it just look 'nice' under the bonnet?

 

[Bob King]

1 hour ago, Boomer54 said:

Cusco Strut Brace.

Does anyone have any experience of and view on the effect the brace has on handling? That is,, is there any specific benefit ,or does it just look 'nice' under the bonnet?

 

Neil would be the best person on here to ask 👍🏻

[Neil E]

 

8 hours ago, Bob King said:

Neil would be the best person on here to ask 👍🏻

I can confirm that if you polish it, the strut brace is indeed very shiny and probably adds 10 bhp despite the increase in weight.🙂

The short serious summary answer is, I don't think there's any significant handling advantage in having a front strut brace for normal or even fairly spirited driving. On the track, on the limit or in a smash where it should add a bit more rigidity perhaps it's worth having. To improve the handling without compromising the ride, fit good tyres, coilovers and better ARBs.

When I first fitted it I would say I was 'in tune' with the car and was convinced the front top strut brace would make no difference at all but in practice I felt it did make it feel a fraction more stable. It's a shame the old forum notes are gone as I remember doing a very brief review.  

The SC is good fun and more capable than most realise considering it's a flexible cabriolet but If you want the car to handle and go fast the first thing to do is to leave the roof on, the windows up and think about fitting a roll cage. They are strong, well built cars but you really don't want to be upside down on the tarmac or in a ditch in one of these. 

Coilovers, wide wheels, wide sticky, tyres, uprated front anti-roll bar (Aristo/GS TTE) and an ISF rear anti-roll bar all definitely make a noticeable difference. Adding the underbody brace also stiffened it. Having a proper leather steering wheel to grip helps too.

 

 Mine isn't a posh Cusco brace but it has the optional authentic Lexus sticker to impress Uncle Bob the race scrutineer. 

[Malc1]

9 hours ago, Neil E said:

It's a shame the old forum notes are gone as I remember doing a very brief review.  

where have the Notes gone too then ?  Digital notes could be kept forever presumably !

Malc

[Boomer54]

11 hours ago, Neil E said:

 

I can confirm that if you polish it, the strut brace is indeed very shiny and probably adds 10 bhp despite the increase in weight.🙂

The short serious summary answer is, I don't think there's any significant handling advantage in having a front strut brace for normal or even fairly spirited driving. On the track, on the limit or in a smash where it should add a bit more rigidity perhaps it's worth having. To improve the handling without compromising the ride, fit good tyres, coilovers and better ARBs.

When I first fitted it I would say I was 'in tune' with the car and was convinced the front top strut brace would make no difference at all but in practice I felt it did make it feel a fraction more stable. It's a shame the old forum notes are gone as I remember doing a very brief review.  

The SC is good fun and more capable than most realise considering it's a flexible cabriolet but If you want the car to handle and go fast the first thing to do is to leave the roof on, the windows up and think about fitting a roll cage. They are strong, well built cars but you really don't want to be upside down on the tarmac or in a ditch in one of these. 

Coilovers, wide wheels, wide sticky, tyres, uprated front anti-roll bar (Aristo/GS TTE) and an ISF rear anti-roll bar all definitely make a noticeable difference. Adding the underbody brace also stiffened it. Having a proper leather steering wheel to grip helps too.

 

 Mine isn't a posh Cusco brace but it has the optional authentic Lexus sticker to impress Uncle Bob the race scrutineer. 

Thanks Neil, that's helpful. I love driving the SC 430 and as you say it is more than quick enough. My question only arose ,because of the difference in handling that I noticed  between the SC 430 and the XK. I don't need more horse power/ speed. It is more a feeling of tightness and precision on the road. The XK feels notably more 'glued' to the road and by comparison the SC just that bit more 'floaty'. Hence, I thought perhaps that strut might add something extra in that regard.

[Neil E]

10 hours ago, Boomer54 said:

Thanks Neil, that's helpful. I love driving the SC 430 and as you say it is more than quick enough. My question only arose ,because of the difference in handling that I noticed  between the SC 430 and the XK. I don't need more horse power/ speed. It is more a feeling of tightness and precision on the road. The XK feels notably more 'glued' to the road and by comparison the SC just that bit more 'floaty'. Hence, I thought perhaps that strut might add something extra in that regard.

Hi Stephen, yes it just wasn't designed to be that sharp or precise. You already have the coilovers so stiffer sway bars (ARBs) would be the next thing to consider upgrading to improve the handling without the loss of that relaxed, laid back, SC character. The front strut bar will make just a very small difference. When I added the ISF rear sway bar, that was a great improvement. 

[Neil E]

14 hours ago, Malc1 said:

where have the Notes gone too then ?  Digital notes could be kept forever presumably !

Malc

Malc they were lost with the demise of another forum.  

[Nigel Coleman]

Quite right Neil. The SC430 was never designed to be a "Sports Car" but more of a luxury "Grand Tourer" which is what Top Gear did not understand when they slated it and what is it's appeal to me and many other owners.

Lexus did take note of this with the facelift models and slightly firm up the suspension without compromising the ride comfort.

[Neil E]

2 hours ago, Nigel Coleman said:

Quite right Neil. The SC430 was never designed to be a "Sports Car" but more of a luxury "Grand Tourer" which is what Top Gear did not understand when they slated it and what is it's appeal to me and many other owners.

Lexus did take note of this with the facelift models and slightly firm up the suspension without compromising the ride comfort.

Hi Nigel, in truth I think Top Gear did understand. It can of course be turned into a race car with a fixed roof but my issue with the design and placement in the Lexus range was the departure from the previous Soarer which was, in its day, superb as a sports grand tourer at LS level in V8 form and an executive Supra as the 2.5TT. Top Gear had to play to their audience, it was a poor review but if you understand that they were familiar with the earlier import Soarer (an LS400 coupe) they were right to expect something world beating in all departments. Like a broken record, I've said this a hundred times and as an old Soarer nut that's why my SC has received so much 'abuse.' 🤣

[Malc1]

My Ls400s are occasional “ race cars “ too ……. Amazing acceleration, speed  and manoeuvreability  with the right road conditions too of course ……. Real Proper Sports Grand Tourers for sure 😂

Malc 

[Neil E]

1 hour ago, Malc1 said:

My Ls400s are occasional “ race cars “ too ……. Amazing acceleration, speed  and manoeuvreability  with the right road conditions too of course ……. Real Proper Sports Grand Tourers for sure 😂

Malc 

The suspension set up makes it remarkably agile for a luxury limo and the 1UZ is so strong. 

[Nigel Coleman]

In a way Top Gear did us owners all a favour with their review keeping used price of SC's low and affordable for those of us who dared to take the plunge and buy one of these wonderful cars.

[Neil E]

2 hours ago, Nigel Coleman said:

In a way Top Gear did us owners all a favour with their review keeping used price of SC's low and affordable for those of us who dared to take the plunge and buy one of these wonderful cars.

Definitely and curiously very few people caught on to just how good the earlier model Soarer was despite Clarkson's favourable review of it.

[Boomer54]

Lexigirl day out at Wyredale Park and Lake. With brunch at The Barn at Scorton. Extremely beautiful place.

 

[Localhero]

Hi Stephen glad to see my old car is going to some nice places👍 looks good have you done much to it? My brother has recently bought a stag, having driven that makes me appreciate just how good the sc is, one day I will have another sc perhaps, hope you are being careful with that throttle booster😀Stew

[Bob King]

I notice the stag is colour coordinated white with the garage 😉

[Boomer54]

First time I have driven the SC and XK on back to back days. If I had to sum up the comparison with just one word to describe each car they would be;

SC Silky

XK Brutish

I like both for the clear difference in driving experience.

[Boomer54]

On 4/25/2024 at 7:49 PM, Localhero said:

Hi Stephen glad to see my old car is going to some nice places👍 looks good have you done much to it? My brother has recently bought a stag, having driven that makes me appreciate just how good the sc is, one day I will have another sc perhaps, hope you are being careful with that throttle booster😀Stew

Missed your post Stew "til just now. Hope you are both keeping well. Not really done much to the car if only because you had already done so much! It has just been through a major service combined with the MOT. Straight through as you might expect. Has been undersealed. Got a reversing camera, but not yet fitted. So far 3 techs have looked and left it for various reasons. Seems to be an unwillingness to fit anything they have not supplied. So, still trying with that although it's less needed as I have got really used to the car

Front leather seats is a job that got cancelled twice by a local outfit so I am going to treat them myself now the weather has turned for the better.

Will be heading your way later this Spring for a stay over break. I will let you know when and if you like and you are there may be call in and give you the opportunity to drive the car again.

[Glyn Jennings]

16 minutes ago, Boomer54 said:

Missed your post Stew "til just now. Hope you are both keeping well. Not really done much to the car if only because you had already done so much! It has just been through a major service combined with the MOT. Straight through as you might expect. Has been undersealed. Got a reversing camera, but not yet fitted. So far 3 techs have looked and left it for various reasons. Seems to be an unwillingness to fit anything they have not supplied. So, still trying with that although it's less needed as I have got really used to the car

Front leather seats is a job that got cancelled twice by a local outfit so I am going to treat them myself now the weather has turned for the better.

Will be heading your way later this Spring for a stay over break. I will let you know when and if you like and you are there may be call in and give you the opportunity to drive the car again.

If you have the SC430 mods reversing camera kit it is pretty much an easy install as it just plugs into the sat nav unit in the boot and then just two wires to the camera. That one is designed specifically to fit to a SC430. A video on YouTube shows how to do it. If it’s just a reversing camera the installer is going to have to work out how to fit it and modify the wiring accordingly.

[Boomer54]

1 hour ago, Glyn Jennings said:

If you have the SC430 mods reversing camera kit it is pretty much an easy install as it just plugs into the sat nav unit in the boot and then just two wires to the camera. That one is designed specifically to fit to a SC430. A video on YouTube shows how to do it. If it’s just a reversing camera the installer is going to have to work out how to fit it and modify the wiring accordingly.

Thanks Glyn. Yes, I have seen the video and I even linked to it for two of the techs. I think the problem is they are just not seeing much upside to fitting someone's kit if it were to go wrong for any reason. I even told the last guy " if it's working when you install it your responsibility ends there", but they still didn't follow through.

I really understand the issue thinking back to my time in business. You essentially work using someone elses's product with all that that entails when alternatively you could be off doing a job over which you had complete control understanding the likely problems and knowing that if they occur you have at least been compensated for them.

It is a shame ,because for someone with the correct tools and a basic knowledge of wiring I suspect this would not be that difficult for them. I'll keep at it, but it's not a pressing issue.

[Glyn Jennings]

1 hour ago, Boomer54 said:

Thanks Glyn. Yes, I have seen the video and I even linked to it for two of the techs. I think the problem is they are just not seeing much upside to fitting someone's kit if it were to go wrong for any reason. I even told the last guy " if it's working when you install it your responsibility ends there", but they still didn't follow through.

I really understand the issue thinking back to my time in business. You essentially work using someone elses's product with all that that entails when alternatively you could be off doing a job over which you had complete control understanding the likely problems and knowing that if they occur you have at least been compensated for them.

It is a shame ,because for someone with the correct tools and a basic knowledge of wiring I suspect this would not be that difficult for them. I'll keep at it, but it's not a pressing issue.

If you can make it I believe at the SC meeting on the 22nd June is when help is available to help with installation of products and issues people have with their cars. I am not planning to be there myself on the Saturday but hopefully will be on the Sunday

[Localhero]

One for Boomer, who I know is/was hankering after a silver roof😃

https://carfromjapan.com/cheap-used-lexus-sc-2010-for-sale-64f45403b865888276ae5182

[Boomer54]

On 4/27/2024 at 2:58 PM, Glyn Jennings said:

If you can make it I believe at the SC meeting on the 22nd June is when help is available to help with installation of products and issues people have with their cars. I am not planning to be there myself on the Saturday but hopefully will be on the Sunday

Would love to make the meeting, but I have not really been making plans past a few days as my health has been so up and down since virtually the start of the year. Means being a bit more spontaneous than I usually am. So, may be closer to the time all being well I could make it.

On a complete aside this might bring a smile to faces. An early birthday present from my brother.

[Cotswold Pete]

1 hour ago, Boomer54 said:

On a complete aside this might bring a smile to faces.

That shirt says it all.  Even though I now drive a MB, my keys have the Lexus fob, just hard to let go of not owning a Lexus (at the mo)

[Glyn Jennings]

9 hours ago, Cotswold Pete said:

That shirt says it all.  Even though I now drive a MB, my keys have the Lexus fob, just hard to let go of not owning a Lexus (at the mo)

 

11 hours ago, Boomer54 said:

Would love to make the meeting, but I have not really been making plans past a few days as my health has been so up and down since virtually the start of the year. Means being a bit more spontaneous than I usually am. So, may be closer to the time all being well I could make it.

On a complete aside this might bring a smile to faces. An early birthday present from my brother.

It’s a bummer getting old. I went to last years meeting and had sciatica at the time so couldn’t stand for long. This year I am now walking with a stick because of my knee and a couple of weeks ago my sciatica returned. As least I can still get some enjoyment driving the SC if ever we get better weather.