Lexus Soarer - Anyone had any experience?
Discussion
It's Toyota Soarer, or Lexus SC, just to be a nerd for a moment 
(the ones you see badged as Lexus's in the UK are usually Toyota Soarers with different badges.
I'm looking at these too, they seem to be pretty decent, the V8 is the 1UZ which is in a lot of Toyotas and seems to be reliable. Not very tuneable though.
I've only been in a 3.0 N/A Soarer and it was quite slow, the one i'm after is the Twin Turbo 1JZ as it is infinitely tuneable!
(the ones you see badged as Lexus's in the UK are usually Toyota Soarers with different badges.
I'm looking at these too, they seem to be pretty decent, the V8 is the 1UZ which is in a lot of Toyotas and seems to be reliable. Not very tuneable though.
I've only been in a 3.0 N/A Soarer and it was quite slow, the one i'm after is the Twin Turbo 1JZ as it is infinitely tuneable!
Avoid the 3.0 version.
4.0 is a nice cruiser but thirsty for the performance.
The 2.5TT or the later VVTi single turbo is the one to have if you want the power and marginally better mpg. Both of the turbo versions are significantly quicker than the V8.
Buy on condition not age - make sure everything works as it should.
Avoid modified ones, especially if the interior has been messed with or the CATs removed. (Turbos will overboost and shortern their lives)
Good ones are hard to find now, too many have gone to drifters
4.0 is a nice cruiser but thirsty for the performance.
The 2.5TT or the later VVTi single turbo is the one to have if you want the power and marginally better mpg. Both of the turbo versions are significantly quicker than the V8.
Buy on condition not age - make sure everything works as it should.
Avoid modified ones, especially if the interior has been messed with or the CATs removed. (Turbos will overboost and shortern their lives)
Good ones are hard to find now, too many have gone to drifters
Anyone remember Mycroft ?
He seemingly was omnipresent on every Forum extolling the virtues of the Soarer in his "own style", which usually resulted in him getting a ban
Google Mycroft and Soarer and find out why the Soarer was the fastest and best car ever.
he called me a "Bucolic Homeboy" once, which I quite liked.
He seemingly was omnipresent on every Forum extolling the virtues of the Soarer in his "own style", which usually resulted in him getting a ban
Google Mycroft and Soarer and find out why the Soarer was the fastest and best car ever.
he called me a "Bucolic Homeboy" once, which I quite liked.
J4CKO said:
Anyone remember Mycroft ?
He seemingly was omnipresent on every Forum extolling the virtues of the Soarer in his "own style", which usually resulted in him getting a ban
Google Mycroft and Soarer and find out why the Soarer was the fastest and best car ever.
he called me a "Bucolic Homeboy" once, which I quite liked.
Hah! He seemingly was omnipresent on every Forum extolling the virtues of the Soarer in his "own style", which usually resulted in him getting a ban
Google Mycroft and Soarer and find out why the Soarer was the fastest and best car ever.
he called me a "Bucolic Homeboy" once, which I quite liked.
I do, can't read a Soarer thread without thinking of him. Which I'm sure is what he wanted.
I encountered him on the Fiat Coupe Club forum (which he frequented for some reason). Last time I checked, "Mycroft" was displayed as a swearword on there
I had a 4.0 for a while and it was a lovely cruiser, but fairly thirsty as you'd expect for a V8. As others have mentioned if you're going to buy one then ensure you get a tip-top version (mine wasn't, and I spent most of my ownership fixing it), as spare parts are getting harder to come by. It seems if you want new parts you have to import from Japan or Australia predominantly, otherwise you have to go to one of the specialist Soarer breakers here and start cannibalising other cars (there were two I knew of, one in the Gloucestershire region and the one I used a few times near Peterborough; there may be others out there).
My brother had a 2JZ version which was good fun to drive but rather basic inside, whilst mine had all the electric toys you could want, not that many worked though. The online communities are good for information on how to fix things, and it seems there's a solution for most issues now - mine had a flickering dashboard (it was the digital version), and rather than getting a "new" one I took it to a nearby fella who took it apart, cleaned it up and soldered a few new components on, leaving it as good as new.
I've heard of people doing LPG conversions for the V8's which may solve some of the MPG issues, but you lose nearly all of the small boot by doing this.
Overall though a good car which I enjoyed driving, but if you're taking the plunge with one, make sure you get the best you can afford!
My brother had a 2JZ version which was good fun to drive but rather basic inside, whilst mine had all the electric toys you could want, not that many worked though. The online communities are good for information on how to fix things, and it seems there's a solution for most issues now - mine had a flickering dashboard (it was the digital version), and rather than getting a "new" one I took it to a nearby fella who took it apart, cleaned it up and soldered a few new components on, leaving it as good as new.
I've heard of people doing LPG conversions for the V8's which may solve some of the MPG issues, but you lose nearly all of the small boot by doing this.
Overall though a good car which I enjoyed driving, but if you're taking the plunge with one, make sure you get the best you can afford!
A friend of mine has 4.0 one, its a lot of fun, and seems to want to do lairy burnouts all the time, everywhere, though I suspect this is the nasty Chinese tyres on the back on it at the second. Still its a good giggle when he's still slower than my LS430!
Its a lot of car for the money, though good ones aren't cheap any more.
The 1UZFE engine as has been mentioned, isn't vastly tunable as is, however we're looking at supercharging with an Eaton M90/M112 which should bump power from 260 to around 340-350hp for pretty cheap. With a better supercharger and aftermarket ECU a lot more is possible. Turbo(s) even more so.
A lot of direct crossover from other Toyota parts bins - e.g. supra suspension, lexus a/c (the early ones use R12 refrigerant - a 1994 onward LS400 will donate its compressor and pipework with a bit of jigging), etc etc.
Otherwise, they are a smooth quiet, reasonably swift, and reliable like you wouldn't believe.
Its a lot of car for the money, though good ones aren't cheap any more.
The 1UZFE engine as has been mentioned, isn't vastly tunable as is, however we're looking at supercharging with an Eaton M90/M112 which should bump power from 260 to around 340-350hp for pretty cheap. With a better supercharger and aftermarket ECU a lot more is possible. Turbo(s) even more so.
A lot of direct crossover from other Toyota parts bins - e.g. supra suspension, lexus a/c (the early ones use R12 refrigerant - a 1994 onward LS400 will donate its compressor and pipework with a bit of jigging), etc etc.
Otherwise, they are a smooth quiet, reasonably swift, and reliable like you wouldn't believe.
As this is an international site it might be worth checking where the OP is based.
In the UK the Lexus Soarer are most likely Japanese specification, I wouldn't have thought many American specification cars have been imported. The JDM offers a few significant differences, there are options for 4 wheel steer, active suspension, the 2JZ Turbo, Manual gearboxes* & they all come with a LSD as standard.
In the UK the Lexus Soarer are most likely Japanese specification, I wouldn't have thought many American specification cars have been imported. The JDM offers a few significant differences, there are options for 4 wheel steer, active suspension, the 2JZ Turbo, Manual gearboxes* & they all come with a LSD as standard.
- In JDM market they are almost all automatics but there are a few factory manual cars out there!! Others have been converted using Toyota Supra parts* and I believe a fair number have been converted using BMW gearboxes with bellhousing adaptors.
- Soarer= Supra chassis so there is potential for LOADS of upgrades for handling & POWER
Heaveho said:
CAPP0 said:
Ha ha ha, beat me to it! 
He reinvented himself as V-Bird on the Subaru forum after he managed to get banned first time round.Actually, would love him to turn up,he was a piece of work, knowledgeable, sometimes funny, but mainly combative, I wonder if age has mellowed him and whether he still owns a Soarer ?
Soarers kind of have a strange image, I went to the Manchester Computer Market in the early 2000s at "Bowlers" and saw four of them in the car park and now always think they have the archetypal "bloke who fixes computers in his spare room" vibe, i.e. quite fat, keys on a chain, smokes roll ups (though would vape extravagantly now) pony tail, heavy metal t shirt and ill fitting Farah slacks who knows way too much about video card specifications and has a snake in a tank in his living room, drives an oddball Japanese luxury coupe, previously these guys typically had Vauxhall Senators.
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