The SC400, 1uzfe info, and Lexus ramblings.

"sony1492" (sony1492) 07/01/2016 at 10:43 • Filed to: sc400, 1uzfe

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Quick summary: It had a bunch of new modular designs on it that were used on many different cars, and some off topic excursions on other points.

I make no claims that any below statements are correct , also bit of a dry read. Yay for information! -confetti-

The SC400 is often mistaken as a derivative of the Mark 4 Supra when in actuality it’s the other way around. But the plot is not as shallow as it seems because the SC400s the first platform to culminate many of toyotas highly engineered devices into one.for example it is said the hundreds of millions were dropped into the development of the 1uzfe motor but it can be said that those hundreds of millions were actually spent laying the groundwork for Toyota V8 over the next 20 or 30 years.

To best explain, many parts of the UZ motor are interchangeable, oil filter flanges, water pumps, exhaust manifolds and many other pieces are direct swaps. More importantly they engineered a generation of bulletproof motors with some snazzy features such as 6 bolt main bearing , hypereuetic pistons, alloy block with aluminum alloy heads and intake manifolds. This motor actually weighs less than a 2JZ and in stock form makes more horsepower at the same or higher reliability

But even with all that over engineering the first generation 1uzfe (1989 through 93) had specs that arent awe inspiring at 260 feet pound of torque and 250 horsepower. you feel a little better when you look at a dyno, the torque curve is basically a plateau that starts at 1500 RPM and lowers a little after 4800. horsepower on the other hand starts slow while gradually and consistently Rising until it Peaks around 5500 RPM.

Whys the motor performance so lackluster?

It was 1989. But Jokes Aside the size and package constraints were a fairly difficult challenge. This was due to the very tall heads, having 32 valves, 4 camshafts, and an oversquare design. Some truly diabolical exhaust manifolds were used to fit it between the frame rails.(another reason for the low output) Nevertheless the first gens are bulletproof, Rockin the thickest rods of any in the UZ family, their also non interference so when the timing belt that never got replaced snaps, the motor isn’t trash

The Supra shares many SC400 components and/or designs, an example is that the entire rear subframe can be swapped between the two. Front control arms are identical to each other. another point is that the diff between the SC400, 300, Supra, GS400, and 300 are also direct bolt ons although different drive shafts may be necessary. Supra, SC, LS, and first gen IS brake caliper bolt bolt points are all the same.

calty Design Studios made the SC400 as a revolutionary new form featuring no flat surfaces in 1989. what is said to have been influential to car design in general. It transformed from concept to product with relatively little change, the biggest being the addition of high-beam,”nostrils.”

The design translated into its sports version as the Supra retaining the original two headlights, long thin tail lights, and the fundamentals smooth curves. It almost goes without saying that the Supra chassis was just a mildly tweeked SC, Gas tank position was different, the supra was a liftback, it weighed about 200 pounds less, and was a few inches shorter but the meat of it never changed.

100's of million were dumped into the motor 100's of million were dumped into the cars LS and SC, but really I think that money was spent developing a brand new company Lexus and solidifying the future of Toyota. By Creating and using new tech for these vehicles they were presenting tech to phase out the old. They created a much needed base to lunch into the 21st century.

6Cylinder > sony1492 07/01/2016 at 10:59

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My dream build is a 1UZ and a Supra 6-speed all stuffed into an IS300.

You know it can't get much more badass.

sony1492 > 6Cylinder 07/01/2016 at 11:02

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With flares, then its impossible to top.

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > 6Cylinder 07/01/2016 at 11:15

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You know it can’t get much more badass.

IS300 Sportcross. BAM! Instant more badass.

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > sony1492 07/01/2016 at 11:19

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I still want an LS400 with a W58 trans conversion/swap drift car.

Really anything 1UZ ftw. An old Cressida with a 1UZ swap would be pretty awesome too. A track car SC400 is also in the “Wants” column.

HammerheadFistpunch > sony1492 07/01/2016 at 11:22

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Whats interesting about the 2UZ is that some versions of the engine got better rods than others. The Land Cruiser version, for whatever reason, had stronger versions of the same rods in the Tundra. There was a supercharger kit from TRD for the land cruiser but never for the tundra for that reason. You COULD fit the SC to the Tundra but people have reported rod failure in that application where it isn’t the case in the land cruiser.

Also interesting is that the 1UZ has been a boat engine (Toyota VT300i)

As well as certified as an aircraft engine.

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > HammerheadFistpunch 07/01/2016 at 11:27

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My buddy had the supercharged Tundra. He didn’t keep it long enough to find out if it’d experience rod failure, but damn that thing was fast! And being a truck it rode so smooth that you wouldn’t even realize you were doing over 100mph. haha

Milky > sony1492 07/01/2016 at 11:41

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I’d love to have another one day. That thing took punishment like no other car I’ve driven ... well maybe thats becasue everything else I’ve owned has been a Chrysler product.

Either way, a decade after it had been previously wrecked, after some of the worst previous owners ever, and well past 200k miles, that engine never stopped. Hell I even crashed it ... twice!

I need me another SC400 beater. Dat long wheelbase and that straight pipe made sliding the thing damn near perfect.

V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches > sony1492 07/01/2016 at 11:45

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So how do you tell a first gen vs a second gen motor. I have a 1UZ-FE. Would the 1/2 denote the generation?

mr2gud2u > sony1492 07/01/2016 at 11:47

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In 89 250hp wasn't to bad.

sony1492 > V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches 07/01/2016 at 12:07

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The generation go 1uz-fe, 2uz-fe, and 3uz-fe.

But they recieve revisions through out the generations life, the 1uz-fe went through three. Then the 2uz began being used.

V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches > sony1492 07/01/2016 at 12:10

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So do I have the thicker rods then ?

Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura > 6Cylinder 07/01/2016 at 12:31

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It’s plausible seeing how someone shoehorned a V12 from a Century into a first-gen IS.

sony1492 > V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches 07/01/2016 at 12:41

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V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches > sony1492 07/01/2016 at 13:18

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Damn! Two years too late