Neil E

Yes as far as I know they are the only PPE headers on a RHD SC430. PPE said they had not sold any to anyone else in the UK or Europe. They were aware of guy in Belgium who was struggling with a set for a LHD car. There's an earlier model 5 speed SC with Sikky made headers in the UK, that's a very nice car. Most of the US owners report good gains and usually fit them in a day. Shortly after the dyno run, I had the mid section silencers removed in favour of straight pipes to the rear silencer and the twin quad tails replaced with bigger twin ovals. It's still a nice refined low V8 sound but has a little more attitude when floored.

No, I've kept all of the original equipment so that the next owner can put anything back if they so desire. If I replace much more, there will be a whole spare SC430 distributed to the four corners and roof of the garage. The engine had to be lifted off its mounts, the nearside header was fairly straight-forward but making up the offside was a hell of trial and error task. You can't see it but it's a work of art underneath all of the exhaust wrap. The young technician that built and fitted it was quite exceptional. I did explain to him afterwards that although it had been a long process he is the only one to have done it. Much later the car had a few more runs on another Dyno Dynamics rolling road. I couldn't return to the original testers as they had gone out of business but at least it was the same type of machine. I wish I had taken the original dyno sheets as it might have helped the tester match the settings but after a few runs he was happy that the results were consistent at an estimated 307 bhp at the flywheel. It's also consistent with the figures achieved in the US so I'm content but again stress that it's only an indication. The tester said it's the only SC he's ever seen on the dyno, the last Lexus he tested on the rollers was an LFA and it was quite a bit below the claimed power output.

Lifting the pictures straight from the SC section, here we have just about the only means to improve the performance of an SC without using forced induction. More aggressive cams would be nice but where would you find some? PPE make a set of short pipe 4-1 headers to replace the inefficient exhaust manifolds. Dyno test results show a 20 whp gain when combined with a 3rd cat delete and a free flowing exhaust. The problem is they are expensive to make and ship to the UK and they are only designed to fit the US spec left hand drive SC430. I was reluctant to try this at first but in the end I just had to have a go. After a lot of research I emailed PPE who confirmed what I already knew, that the original near side header is a direct fit for the rhd car but the offside header would need to be modified to avoid the steering shaft knuckle. PPE said it would be difficult to do, they had been looking for 3D CAD drawings of the rhd model in order to design the solution but none were available. I asked if anyone else had done it using their headers and they replied confirming no one else in Europe had to their knowledge even tried, the only one they knew of was a chap in Australia using a GS430. So I did a bit more research and took the plunge. I must say PPE were very helpful and shipped one complete nearside header and all of the components to make up a custom offside header at reasonable cost, I had to pay the import duty. I approached MIJ in Walsall as they built the exhaust system. They make headers from scratch and thought with 2 technicians working on it the job could be done in a day but might take an extra day if problems arose. Here are some pictures of the headers and the components sent. Here is the car on the ramp It took four long days to get both headers done as they were having issues with other customers' cars at the same time. I hired a car to get home on the first day, dropped it back on the third day and stayed overnight in a local hotel. On the fourth day, I was the last customer in the garage at 6 p.m. and by 7.00 p.m. was under the ramp helping out get it back together but with a lot of effort, late into the evening of that fourth day I drove it off the ramp and headed for the M40. Very little room to work in here, difficult even to take a clear pic of the header. The exhaust wrap is very necessary to restrict the heat. Because of the extent of the works carried out, I was a very long way into the journey home before feeling confident about opening it up but when I did, what a difference! There was a subtle change in the exhaust note higher in the rev range but the car suddenly had overtaking power that it didn't have before. Hats off to the young engineer Sean for completing it, he did receive a nice tip. It had been an epic adventure and the final result appeared to be very good I did have one regret and that was simply the fact that despite the feeling of extra power it still sounded very tame.

Seems I've only seen the sensible ones on you-tube. I dare not say too much about the youth, I recall having a 4 carb XJ12 at the age of 21 or 22 in the early 80s.

Okay so if we're on page 2 then we better change the brake discs for some fancy drilled and slotted one's from the land down-under. Nice shiny discs and the first bit of minor paintwork damage to the rear bumper so it was back to the paint shop to have the whole rear bumper sprayed again. Space-saver wheel added for long trips. Note the little cut outs in the boot trim to access the adjustable coil-overs. I must get around to making some neat little covers for them.

I agree, I don't really get the how low can you go competition but I have a huge respect for the lengths they go to to make it work. Stretched tyres and strange camber angles just seems to be dangerous in principal but if it's all low speed then I suppose there's no great risk.

I found the later GS430 ride handling compromise very good. The wheelbase varies but the IS, earlier GS and the SC share a similar chassis/suspension set up.

...........AIR..........but it's £3k and I only spend that kind of money on car hifi The car gets used and abused properly. The previous picture was taken in Scotland just off the route of the NC500. I couldn't go too low otherwise it wouldn't cope with daily life. I wouldn't go this low but it would be very cool, comfortable and so practical.

Cheers Lee, I wish I had modified the skirts and the front bumper a little more, indeed I may go back and do that if I keep the car for a while longer. The exhaust sounds like a V8 at this point, not loud at all.....more on that come. Yes Tim, I didn't realize until much later there are hints of other cars from around the same time including a BMW front end, perhaps less so after I removed the fog light holders in favour of bigger air ducts. Here's a pic of an SC that looks just right from side on. They always look better lowered and so came the swap to adjustable MeisterR coil-overs with just a modest drop. The swap to MeisterR coil-overs transforms the ride and the handling. I usually set it quite firm at the front and much softer at the back for a good compromise. It's probably the best mod you can do to an SC430.

Okay so it must be time for a trip to the paint shop. And then I added the boot spoiler. This was the second version, it had taken ages to make with fibre glass. Painted and lacquered with spray cans as it wasn't ready in time for the paint shop. (It was later improved and painted professionally)

I agree with you Lee and I also respect the fact that some owners like to maintain their cars in original condition, there's a lot to be said for that but in my view Lexus didn't do justice to the SC430. I admit to being a serial modifier but I think the SC was crying out for it. Perhaps because there's no rigid roof, the strut brace does seem to make a difference, it takes 5 minutes to remove so it's not really a problem. I also replaced the anti-roll bar with a thicker one. I haven't replaced the rear anti-roll bar yet but I know the ISF ARB fits with slightly shorter drop links so that's on the shopping list. LED reversing lights now work, Experimental rear spoiler under construction. this one got bigger and bigger and was eventually scrapped. A little trip to the Midlands to delete the third cat and fit a stainless steel exhaust. I didn't want it to be too loud as further hifi would follow later so settled on a 'mid sport' sound. With the exhaust flowing just slightly better, I was surprised to admit it felt a shade quicker through the gears so curious after getting the alignment corrected I took it for a spin on the dyno. Prepping for the Dynajet rolling road. Dynos are strange measuring devices as figures vary significantly depending on how they are set up and what the conditions are on any given day, etc, etc so I take all readings with a large pinch of salt but 281 bhp was a good result and just about what I expected. (279 bhp standard) No significant power gain but oddly it did seem to pull noticeably better. With nothing scientific to back it up it should only be regarded as an impression, nothing more. There's no danger to ISFs at the traffic light grand prix just yet, though the garage owner wanted me to consider a twin turbo install with a piggyback ecu delivering 600 bhp. He claimed to have a map for the 430 and could complete it for around £10k but when I mentioned engine internals, suitable gearboxes and a diff to deliver the power he agreed that my figure well North of £15k would be more realistic.

Thanks Lee there are a few bits in the SC430 section but the original is 'elsewhere.' After supporting Robb in the request for a build thread, I thought I ought to make an effort to contribute to it. There was slight hesitancy as some like and even obsess about modifications but others might fairly argue that I've ruined a very nice car. I'm going to try to keep to the correct chronology as much as possible but I didn't realize how difficult this was going to be to produce. Whilst further modification of the front bumper holds up the paintwork the car gained a custom made strut brace from the Lexusman and a new, bigger battery.

Thanks GS430 - great car, brilliant all-rounder. Quick comfortable, utterly reliable. In my view the earlier one has a better quality interior and still has the Lexus feel of alternative styling. The later model is more of a sleeper with a little more tech. Usually a bargain as many are put off by the thirsty V8 but it's actually much better than you might expect. Really quick and agile for a big car. I miss the radar cruise. Just make sure the cam-belt service and water pump has been done or get them done and check the rear suspension. The rear struts are a known weakness. Fit 2 new ones and enjoy. Cheers Phil, I see you are in Sussex. If you can't wait or if your mate wants to see a slightly non-standard SC send me a PM some time and we can do a mini meet. Robb is the guy with the skills. I'm not an engineer, I'm just daft enough to give it a go. I was tinkering with cars before I could drive. Made plenty of mistakes along the way but now I am confident to take most things on and can decide whether I will do a particular task or give it to a trusted local garage to do it. For example I will show you shortly the rear spoiler, the first effort was too big and heavy, (looked like a Porsche whale tail) the second wasn't perfect but not bad so I painted, wet-sanded and lacquered it using spray cans and attached it to the boot knowing that it would later go into the paint shop to be finished properly and baked on. So there's no great risk.

Thanks Robb The SC430 has the potential to be a bit of a wolf but instead Lexus dressed it up like grandma rather than a sheep and toned it down to appeal to a certain wealthy section of middle America. Top gear (Hammond) had quite a rant at it, as did many Soarer fans, not least for its styling and lack of practicality. I personally think Lexus missed the mark by a long, long way after the previous Soarer was such an amazing machine. The SC430 should have pushed the boundaries and been an edgy, sports coupe, much like the LCF as that was the way of the Soarer but I think Lexus were influenced too much by the lines of other cars of the day. I had 2 Soarers for many years, both modified, they were replaced by 2 x GS430s and an LS430 but I said I would find time to go back and have a go at modifying an SC430, the last of the Soarers. I've left out a lot of the details to progress it quickly, no doubt you will be wanting to see some metallic paint next.

Attaching the rear bumper was quite a task as the fixings are awkward. Add to that the various wires I was adding for a back up camera, LEDs for reversing lights and experimenting with a central mounted fog light. The private plate was moved from the LS to the SC and I began to look at a 'stick on' rear spoiler too. I looked around and settled on a an old Celica spoiler but I could see it was going to be very difficult to adapt and attach. With the slight flaring of the front and rear arches the wheels were beginning to look a little lost so wider rims replaced them.

Hi Phil they are quite different to an LS, more like a GS430 in handling terms, just a little bit more fun and it's a different experience with the roof down too. As a Soarer fan I was less interested in the open-top side of things and thought the roof would stay on but I confess if the weather is good, I do drop the top.

Trial fitting the front end. I don't like the amber corner markers on the SC so they won't be transferred to the new panels. it looks far too friendly with the circular fog light holders so that's another mod to do.

Thanks David this isn't in 'real' time so you won't need to wait too long. One element I wasn't looking forward to was cutting and adapting the front bumper to accept the headlamp washers. The rear bumper is also a pain as it has no cut outs for fogs or reversing lamps but I knew that when I took it on....

As a supporter of the build thread, I thought I should contribute so here is a condensed look at some of the modifications inflicted on what was a standard 2006, smoky grey, face lift SC430. Even though it will be a shortened version, I will need to post it in installments. As a long time Soarer fanatic, I had been keen for some time to purchase an SC430 for a project. After a very long search, one eventually appeared. The bodywork was straight, service history great but the paintwork had clearly been neglected. There were many light surface scratches, the wheels had been curbed, the exhaust was rusty, etc, I was just what I had been looking for, though blue would have been nice. It's common to find the exhaust trims rusty, loose or missing. First tasks were to fit some spare exhaust trims (I had stored away for a GS430) and then get it thoroughly serviced. Plugs, oil, filters, cam-belt, water pump, pulleys, tensioner, etc. With a body kit on order I set about changing the head unit to an Alpine with a Beat-Sonic MVA13L interface/adapter from the US. I was aware that the harness needed to be modified to work in a European car and that no one else had done it or at least documented how to do it but why start with anything easy? It took a few hours to figure it all out but it wasn't too difficult to establish which wires needed to be altered. Removing the head unit is quite easy. Installing the double din unit into the door opening mechanism takes a little time to get right as some of the metal surround has to be cut back and made good to allow the door to move freely. Whilst I was playing with the head unit I also considered using an Ipad with an OBD interface to see what could be achieved. Here's a sample of some of the screens and gauges. I like them but finding a permanent way to display them would require more dash fab work than I was prepared to do. So order was returned to the centre console with the Alpine head unit hidden away. This is what it looks like at night. This is a later pic as the custom steering wheel has suddenly appeared. More on that later. Up next, the body kit and the exhaust. Delivery of the kit and removing the panels.

Yep +1 for the chrome covers.

I see the X pipe, where is the H? I know it isn't all visible in the picture but doesn't it go from the cats to straight pipes, x pipe and then separate pipes to a 'silencer' with cannons on each side? £1140 seems pretty steep for the cat back H and S exhaust, they sound lovely but it can't take that long to build one. With all of the interest, I'm surprised they don't build their own set of long tube headers for the ISF.

Do you have any after-market device connected into the sound system with it's own function or volume control?

Is it really so tedious? Lexus are constantly modifying their cars and they aren't shy about advertising the fact. It may not be for the majority but I think Robb is doing a great job to promote the new section. I know it's good advice but Steve has a posh RX that's crying out for bigger wheels, air-ride, flip paint and a huge sound system.....okay maybe not. Perhaps someone else will contribute with an RX build thread. Sadly not me, mine's a much older, bone stock, mile muncher, brilliant nonetheless.

That sounds very sensible. As it's done so few miles the suspension may still be in very good condition. It will be interesting to hear your thoughts on the differences.

The first thing that everyone does is to ditch the run-flats. They really do ruin the ride. It's possible to fit a space-saver wheel in the boot and or carry a can of tyre-weld. I haven't seen an SC with 'COMFORT' mode (except perhaps expensive after market air ride) but a popular suspension upgrade is to change to adjustable MeisterR coil-overs. Improves the handling and also the ride quality.