On to the next car, an LC500 (modification thread #4)
 

Long story short, my R8 deal fell through and I took it as a sign to be a bit smarter, financially speaking.

After the new owner of the Z drove off I set up the delivery for the LC500. I gotta be honest, I do miss the Z. I've never sold a car that wasnt put back to stock. Seeing it drive off with all my time and money put into it, made me feel a little regret, even now with the new car. I've had it for about 2 week and its definitely a completely different type of car, for lack of a bigger explanations. It catches a lot of attention, especially with the new exhaust on it.

I just got an Armytrix exhaust installed and am attempting to stretch out the modifying a bit, since theres so little that can be done to this car. For some reason I feel like Im in a rush to make the car look the way I want it to. Its almost like a need to get some cheap car I can mod, to essentially get that "high" I need.

I also just ordered samples to get the calipers powdercoated some shade of red and get the stock 21s powdercoated a dark grey of some sort, close to black.

Springs are still 2 months out due to no one having them in stock and 22" wheels cost an arm and a leg. So spening $8-10k on wheels will be something that wont happen right away...."right away" hah.

Anyways, heres a vid of the first start up of the car.

understand the wanting to mod quickly, sounded nice, enjoy it...

I think many of us suffer from the same issue but our bank accounts slow it down a bit

That’s one loud b1tch!

whats weird is it doesnt sound loud, inside the car. I guess I could argue the idea that the sound deadening and exhaust are a different quality than what I've owned previously. Im use to my nissans and infinitis being able to tell me how loud my set up was by how loud the cabin was. In the LC, it takes me passing by something to realize how loud it is. That and down shifting in the city. The low tones of a V8 are very different from all the motordyne goodies Ive always had on my nissans and infinitis.

Probably sounded louder with the shop echo as well.

Sounded mean as a mug! Me likes. :yum::driving:

A few updates on the car. These prices are so new to me, a little bit of sticker shock but I still followed through.

Im personally always curious about what people pay for things so I posting the price for people like me, that want to know but never ask.

Placed my order for the 4 piece Artisan Carbon kit ( Side and front splitter, rear diffuser, and duck bill spoiler), 4+ month wait incoming! After tax it ran about $8300

RSR springs ordered and fingers crossed they will be in in about 2-3 weeks.
Springs were about $800.

I also ordered 25mm spacers at*motorsport-tech.com. I had to get them made since Project Kics is out of stock and H&R doesnt make them.
Spacers were pretty normal price. $90 per spacer.

Ive got a date set for powder coating my calipers in gold and my wheels in a deep gunmetal. The wheels are 21" so they run about $200 per wheel and the calipers are around $150-200, with the size difference from front and back.

Oh and I also got the "Ti tips" for my exhaust. I made the mistake of getting the matte black ones, assuming I was going to go full jet black for the car but decided Im going to keep it white. Expensive mistake, costing about $780 for new tips...

I'm looking forward to see what you do with this. It sounds like it's going to look reallll nice. I LOVE the LC. Such a bad a$$, clean, classy, proper grand tourer. Honestly, it sounds like it was time for you to "step up" anyways, so hopefully you will get over your regret soon. The R8 is definitely awesome too, but I rather have JDM :) Plus, LCs are pretty exclusive.

Out of curiosity, did you ever consider the GTR? Seems like something you would have considering your history of vehicles.

I use to enjoy the GTRs appeal, in the early 2010s. After Seeing the car around for 14+ years, it slowly started losing that appeal to me. They did subtle changes but I feel like the car hasn't aged well, thats just my opinion.

Theres no question about its engine and power but Ive always been a sound, looks, comfort, then power.

Funny enough, after all the new things I just bought, theres not much more that can be done! The ECU hasn't been cracked yet and 21-22" wheels will run me $8k-12k, going off Rohana, ADV1s, HRE, Vossen, Savini, and AG...which a couple of those brands dont even make the best quality wheels yet are crazy expensive.

I could get PPE headers though. I think the car gets a bit raspy with them though. Im sure there will be more, just gotta dig a bit deeper!

what about a piggy back

little potato quality video of me leaving cars and coffee this morning

caliper and wheel update.

https://i.imgur.com/7yTa6Vn.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/EkxDZa3.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/xmM1oDI.jpg

I drove an LC500 at the Lexus Performance Driving School -- it's a pretty fun car and in factory form it handled a few laps around COTA well.

Nice buy. I've yet to see one of these on the street, let alone modded whatsoever.

cant say I blame people! This car is crazy expensive to modify. I miss my nissans :D

Luckily a shop in cali just cracked the ECU too. We are all just waiting to see the numbers after the tune.

Ill post some better pics later but heres an initial shot of the car with the rsr springs, 25mm spacers all around, and powder coated wheels and calipers.
The fronts could stand for 30mm spacers, to match how flush the rears, just a random thought.

https://i.imgur.com/Ds0OWZ7.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/GiU8yfu.jpg

that is a long a$$ hood lol

I like the wheels, especially in that color, but I think some aftermarket wheels with skinnier spokes would be even better!

Making great progress.

I definitely agree with that first part and also the second. The wheels Im looking definitely have thin spokes. Rohana RFG19s. Ill probably get them in a very similar color.

https://rohanawheels.com/wp-content/...1/06/RFG19.jpg

What a coincidence...I was looking at those wheels too. Couldn't find the right sizing for what I wanted. Those are going to look awesome!

I will say, I called and spoke to a rep at rohana for a good 30 minutes. They told me I can get pretty much any width and definitely any offset that I wanted. Rohana was also appealing since they allow me to pick any color I want from prismatic powders site and even make my own combo. Essentially anything you might want, they can do. Though, they quoted me at $8800 for a set of 22s 10" front 12" rear. I was like "oooof, Ill get back to you guys closer to 2023"

Got my car back is week, after getting it wrapped "Carmine Red" and blacking out the chrome. Ive got about a 4-6 week wait left for my artisan carbon kit and currently waiting on color samples for the wheel faces.

https://i.imgur.com/JsnL4P9.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/ScHMcPP.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/N9prW9R.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/QVPJMDB.jpg

Noice! Are you going with the Rohana wheels that you posted above?

yeah, just a different color face. Rohana lets you pick any color oyu want for the faces, hardware, if you dont hide it, and the lettering in the center caps...so Im making sure I get exactly what I want...making my rounds ordering 3x6" samples of a lot of different colors.

nice

Zoren did the same thing. Sold his Z and got one of these. :tup:

didn't he have the silver one and sold it over a year ago, maybe more?

Yea, it was silver. Don't know if he sold it or not. Haven't talked to him in a while. With his crazy wife. You don't know what he will do next. He might be low money and needs to do more anal probes.

Im ok with all of this...yep!

Ceramic coated the wrap last week and did the wheels as well. The brake dust build up on these carbon ceramics is crazy.
https://i.imgur.com/4Svp1cl.jpg

Got the car back from the shop today. Artisan kit is finally on! No matter how many times I do the waiting game for parts and install, it still kinda blows my mind. I ordered this kit in May and after 14 weeks for it to be made, 2 weeks for shipping, 3 weeks to get the correct spoiler shipped out, 1 month wait time to get it into the shop I use, and 1 week at the shop since they do custom work on the side. 24 weeks and Im here!

side note about the parts--
Ive been modifying cars since 05' and these carbon parts, no exaggeration, are the worst parts Ive ever received. Ive always been a nissan/ infiniti guy so carbon parts have always been a little less expesnive too. It took 3 full clearing and sanding jobs and time spent with a dropper to fill clear into hundreds of pits in the weave. IT came raw as Fuuuck! I would never recommend Artisan parts unless you can pay another $1500-2000 for a shop to fix it and prep it to make it look the way it should have. It pisses me off because Artisan makes the best kit for the LC, aesthetically speaking. At least in my opinion. They send parts that are good for a 100% track focused car but an LC is a luxury coupe. Im happy and mad at the same time, hah.

https://i.imgur.com/pS7hxYF.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/YubCqWx.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/QdNAvuA.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/03CnN88.jpg
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https://i.imgur.com/4lDkSMg.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/IoAEnIu.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/NQyN9YG.jpg

Super clean

Kit looks really nice, love the rear diffuser.

I went your original route (picked up a used manual V10 R8 in 2018) and the sticker shock is real on that side too. H&R springs weren't too bad, but stepping up to Ohlin coilovers came with an $8k price tag (nearly X4s the price of the 370Z set up). Plus not a ton of options for cosmetic changes. After a few performance parts and a set of refurbished 3-piece Work wheels (that I'm still waiting to correctly lip) i felt the same mod itch as you.

Ended up giving in and picking up a used BMW 335 as a daily 2 weeks ago. Looks like I can get 500 WHP on that thing for less $ than the intake and exhaust on the R8.

I would avoid artisan if they make parts for the Gen1 R8. Have to say it! Its amazing how super expensive suspension parts are when moving to a different level of car.

You did what I was tempted to do, hah. Pick up something cheaper so modding is less of a hit to the wallet. I got my wife a 22' SQ5 instead of getting me something fun and cheaper to mod. In all fairness, she would have been fine with a base Q5 but I wanted the blacked out version and the S. Gotta mod her old 2014 nissan rogue lol. Tint and powder coat the wheels lol.

I finally returned my capristo exhaust that I bought for the 2018 R8 I was SUPPOSE TO get. That and sold some of my collectable cards. Im right there with ya on the wheels. Sadly, the LC is so damn big, I had to go with 22" wheels and the cheapest I could find that were still decent quality were Rohanas. In perspective though, the Works for the Z were more expensive when comparing the value of the car to the wheels. Id have to buy $15k wheels to equal that value in wheels to car price for the LC.

Looks like a grown up version of the Q60. Great job on the looks.

I hear these are impossible (hard as hell) to program.

I fell in love with LCs but the tuning kind of ruined it for me. That RC v8 is one powerful beast when they're bolted and tuned.

Thanks BULL. Because of that reason alone, I wont keep the car for more than maybe 2.5 years or so. I love how Im making it look but I literally cant do anything else after I install wheels. I cant even "slow drip" an NA build since anything passed an exhaust makes the car raspy as hell and obviously theres no ability to knowingly add power. I dont take pleasure in saying all that, I really wish there was more to do than suspension, exhaust, carbon stuff, and wheels.

Its funny because the tuning on a Lexus is exactly I didnt get one. Feared the same with the Supra. I didnt really like it anyway and now those are pushing over 800Hp easily. Well, by easily, I mean for a fair price. I ended up with a C8 and found out it too would have a non hackable system. DOH! Supposedly that will not be true soon, but we will see. The guys at Late Model Racecraft have unique ways they trick the system on C8s to have them pushing out over 1000hp with a Fueltech solution. Maybe give them a call? Im on a couple lists for Supercharger systems that will be using some kind of flash to the ECU which im more comfortable with.

Your car is super clean I hope you can find a way to upgrade its performance.

Yeah, its really a matter of how much time I want to invest into my daily driver. Sending it off to a shop, out of state. Im not against that idea I think Id have to know its a certainty it could happen.

I really dont think Ill have the car for more than another year or so. Its a fun car and definitely sticks out but its sad that its really only missing one thing....well, I think we all know at this point. Ride around on my new wheels being made and cross my fingers I see tuning become available in the next year.

Thanks!

My cars a big ol' fatty...definitely a boat! However, its a fancy boat. Just got my new plate in.
I have to poke fun at the fact that this thing weighs nearly 4400lbs

https://i.imgur.com/b4Lz9x0.jpg

I like it haha