Lexus LFA on Top Gear right now

[Lith]

Haha I remember the old FD3S RX7s winning the 12hour production endurance races for 4 years running in Oz. Reliable as!

[Dell'Orto]

FD's are reliable until you change things without doing it properly

[AE82 FXGT]

FD's are reliable until you change things without doing it properly

Very true. Rotaries are very sensitive to any changes from factory, even intake + exhaust.

[Dell'Orto]

Well, S8's arent too bad. Mazda never seemed to get rotary ECU's right until then, hence why people think Microguess are good

[Lith]

ie, don't turn it from off to on - without praying?

PS. Rather fancy a black LFA, might wait until they are a bit more affordable:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmmOfgq6CPM&feature=related

[Dell'Orto]

ie, don't turn it from off to on - without praying?

No the trick is to sell it before it gets to 90,000k's

[frost]

if someone like leno is buying one then i'd say there will never be one up for sale, not for any realistic price anyway,

[FANGIN]

Well, S8's arent too bad. Mazda never seemed to get rotary ECU's right until then, hence why people think Microguess are good

Microtech are good enough to crack a 7.02 down the 1/4 mile, never seen a standard S8 ECU achieve that.

ie, don't turn it from off to on - without praying?

No the trick is to sell it before it gets to 90,000k's

Even with a rebuild my factory FD shat itself at 160,000 kms.

So it now has a Brand new block, MICROTECH and a GT37 hanging off the side

But in all honesty I'll probably sell the thing in 6 months and get an RX8

[Timmo]

But in all honesty I'll probably sell the thing in 6 months and get an RX8

Ahh the RX8.....the MX5's direct competitor

Yes I know that statement seems stupid- but look at the performance of the two cars. It is very similar.

[FANGIN]

Yea, I know. But RX8 has slightly more interior space than an FD, is newer & will be getting an NA 20b transplant.

But we digress away from the topic at hand.

The LF-A is a test bed for Toyota / Lexus. Good on them for being daring in a time where people are hung up on emmissions & playing it safe because of the recent recession. I don't see Mitsi or Subaru making a supercar anytime soon. Mazda has one, but it's not exactly production Spec.

So good on Toyota & Nissan for making cars that we can't afford, but will dream about owning for our lifetime.

[Adamal]

Standard RX8 engine is pretty good on its own. Sounds great too.

[Lith]

Shame its not in a lighter car, or is a rotor short

[Lith]

Well, S8's arent too bad. Mazda never seemed to get rotary ECU's right until then, hence why people think Microguess are good

Microtech are good enough to crack a 7.02 down the 1/4 mile, never seen a standard S8 ECU achieve that.

Its more the numbers in the ECU which is a problem, Microguess is reprogrammeable and for 7s of WOT you don't need much correction

[Lloyd]

Even with a rebuild my factory FD shat itself at 160,000 kms.

So it now has a Brand new block, MICROTECH and a GT37 hanging off the side

But in all honesty I'll probably sell the thing in 6 months and get an RX8

Where did you get the block from?

[Dell'Orto]

Mazda probably, they were selling brand new short blocks very very reasonably priced for a while.

[FANGIN]

Actually swapped some stuff + cash with a guy who got it from Mazda. Had receipts etc

[AE82 FXGT]

Mazda do have some nice trade deals on 13b short blocks every now and again.

btw I'm quite chuffed with my rx8, it handles amazingly.

[2jayzgte]

Yea, I know. But RX8 has slightly more interior space than an FD, is newer & will be getting an NA 20b transplant.

But we digress away from the topic at hand.

The LF-A is a test bed for Toyota / Lexus. Good on them for being daring in a time where people are hung up on emmissions & playing it safe because of the recent recession. I don't see Mitsi or Subaru making a supercar anytime soon. Mazda has one, but it's not exactly production Spec.

So good on Toyota & Nissan for making cars that we can't afford, but will dream about owning for our lifetime.

Off topic is all good but how we have digressed from talking about a Hypercar to parts for an RX-8 and how well it handles I've driven one of these cars and they are capable but are absolutely gutless and seem to have not a great deal of mid-range torque.

All I can say is get the Nurburgring Version of the LF-A tested I'm sure you'll see a big drop in laptime around the Ring as the stock car will do 7.23 according to test driver Akira Lida so with a car with quicker gearchanges lighter and more grip better downforce I think we'll see a big chunk of time off that 7.23.

[2jayzgte]

I see Motor Trend have just done the first officially timed 1/4 mile race between the LFA and the GTR with the LFA just sneaking home in the heads up drag race with an 11.8 to a 11.9 at 123 odd mph.

[Lith]

I see Motor Trend have just done the first officially timed 1/4 mile race between the LFA and the GTR with the LFA just sneaking home in the heads up drag race with an 11.8 to a 11.9 at 123 odd mph.

Yeah saw that, quite surprised the LF-A didn't have a bigger top end advantage considering the higher power and lighter weight... the GTR naturally was always going to have a AWD launch thing to narrow the 1/4mile time gap but it can't use that to add trap speed, actually makes it look like there could be some interesting battles to come.

The link, for those who are curious:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5R-oi91bd4