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Lexus SC 430
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In this bulletin is provided charts and a formula for determining correct tire pressure for your area. The tire pressure is determined by outside air temperature on a seasonal basis.
I live in Alabama and the recommended tire pressures for our seasonal temperatures range from 36-38 psi.
I know this is more than recommended in the owners manual, however the car does ride much smoother at these pressures. You may question this as the prevailing theory is that the lower the pressure the better the ride but, I have not found that to be the case with the run-flats.
In any event I have owned the car for 15 months and not had the first problem. Everything works great and the only time I have been back to the dealer is routine maintenance. It's a wonderful life!!!!
Hope this helps and does not further confuse the issue.
Ron
Does anyone use it as a year round car? I live in the NE and as you know we get 3-4 months of ice, snow etc. I currently drive a BMW 330 which with winter tires is actually good in the snow (believe it or not). The summer rubber was useless and dangerous in the winter.
When test driving I did sense that the usual Lexus super smooth ride was a bit rougher and per some earlier posts, I attribute that to the run flats. Will the dealer willingly sub other tires?
This particular salesman seemed to indicate that they had to take the cars as they were shipped...
I didn't press him since I am not close to decision yet.
With regular tires and a spare, can you fit one set of golf clubs in the trunk if only with the top up?
Lastly, are their deals around on this car? I know it's been out a while and there seems to be a lot more competition from other companies in this class.
Just a side note, when looking at what one gets as far as size, features etc. it seems that the LS is a better value. But of course you can't put a price on the smile one gets from the SC.
Thank you in advance for any feedback and comments
So the choice comes down to: luxury or fun? (Which is not to say that the Audi isn't luxurious or that aspects of the Lexus, e.g., the retractable top, sound system, and navigation, aren't fun.) My question is, has anyone else confronted a decision like this and decided that there's enough fun and performance in the SC, or vice versa?,
And is there any chance Lexus would ever come out with a "sport" version of the SC with tighter handling and a 6-speed manual, or at least a manumatic? I'd buy it in a minute.
Onthefence, how long do you plan on keeping this new car? Having an out of warranty Audi can be a VERY expensive proposition. At the complete opposite end of the spectrum, the '04 SC set a JD power record for highst IQ ever. The interior is also the best this side of a Bentley. Personally I havent been impressed by the new A4, it's still down on features compared to its competition, and the NAV is basically a joke. The SC is expected to get an update for '05, most likely it will get the LS430's six speed with a tiptronic shift, (Lexus, for some reason, decided to remove E-shift as an option when they made the transition from the 4.0 to the 4.3L, but its back with the new six-speed.)
If the SC isnt enough driving excitement, I would recommend either a CLK500 Cabrio, which is a more taught and responsive car, has a real NAV system (though you do have to use COMMAND) and has the strongest resale of any car except for the BMW Z8. Or, at the pure sport side of the spectrum, M3 convertible.
While I felt that the interior was one of the nicest in the business, and I personally like the styling (you either love it or hate it), I was overall not pleased with the car enough to keep it. The ride, although better with 38-40 psi pressure in the run-flats, was punishing, the cornering was so-so and the fun-to-drive factor nearly absent with its numb handling. In summary, I felt that the punishing ride produced no dividends for me.
That said, it's reliable and far from a bad car, just not as much bang for the buck as I would have liked.
As for a sportier tuned suspension, its possible. The dealer would be able to answer that.
They DO exist.
My buddy has an M3 and tried to drive with summer tires this winter and it was dangerous.
If the SC is well balanced, I would think it would be a good winter performer with the right rubber unless I'm missing something.
There are more in this thread: www.clublexus.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=108587
I love the car but I'm very disappointed in the tires/rims. I just replaced 3 rims that were bent after hitting a few potholes. The roads in NJ were really beaten up this winter and I still have to drive very cautiously over bumps/filled in potholes or what's left of the non filled in holes. That takes a little of the sportiness out of the car.
I've also had an LS and GS - The LS was the best car I ever owned - including Mercedes/Jaguars.
Good luck.
That could make a huge difference especially if you went to a 16" tire and wheel set up. That's what I did for my 330i and the car was actually very good in snow and ice. My buddy has an M3 and tried to get by on the high performance summer tires and was stuck whenever the weather turned to ice or a bit of snow.
1. costly (20 million dollars for 20,000 cars sold)
2. Bridgestone makes the tires, not Lexus
3. No excessive deaths related to these defective tires (yet)
4. Lexus executives drive Porsche 911, not SC430
In order for Lexus to recall these tires:
1. Every owner who hates these tires, writes a letter to Lexus customer service. Ask them the # of complaints they have received on these tires. See how they try to play dumb on this.
2. Some smart lawyers read these messages and decide to spend some time on this.
3. The customer service department suddenly develops a conscience on people's safety and realizes that customer satisfaction always comes first.
Personally, I will not buy any Lexus or Toyota car again, This is not because of these fragile rims or flawed tires. It is the failure of the Lexus company to admit these tire issues.
Thank you
Dates vary by model and year.
i have an odd request for you. i too am in So. Calif and i am wondering if there is anyway possible to see your sc color combo!? its crazy i know, but you are the closest person with this car and i cannot commit until i actually see it in person! otherwise i may dash out to Texas for a peek.
Thank you
Kim
while may not be in your area, they are easy to find on ebay
I am in the San Diego area and would be glad to show you my car. Send me an e-mail if you are still interested and we can make arrangements.
That said, I don't know how easy it would be to get the regular tires on the car. I never saw one SC with them on the lot, and my dealer is a very large volume one. I'd also wonder and be concerned if the trunk configuration is different to make a place for a spare. Even if you remove the tire the compartment for it could almost eliminate any trunk space (and we are really talking minimal to begin with). It might be easiest to just replace the runflats with a regular tire the first time they need to be. I'm assuming they make regular tires in the right profile, but the durability, ride and cost to replace may not be much better.
Most of the knocks seemed to be with the Bridgestones. That's what happened to be on my car, and thinks to this forum I asked the dealer to swap them with the Dunlops on another car. They gladly swapped them, although they did say they were unaware of any issues with the Bridgestones on the SC.
I'd also never forget murphy's law..If you get a flat it will be at night, in bad weather and out of cell phone reception. Not having a spare would just be tempting the fates. You probably haven't been stopped by the police in 5 years, but leave your house without your drivers license and watch what happens...the 1st roadside document check in the history of your town.
As to the car itself, my wife and I love it. We take evening rides and scenic routes like we did decades ago. It's just a fun car, and a Lexus, which speaks volumes in itself.
My 04 sc430 has the bridgestones and the ride is generally better than in my BMW with continental sport contact 2's, although potholes are worse in the lexus.
I suspect that most people who are getting under 10K miles with the bridgestones are very aggressive drivers.
A bigger concern is that the ride is hard going over bumps and causes "cowl shake". I would like Lexus to address that in the next edition of the car, which I will rush out to buy.