2018 Lexus LC500 Track Review - Fish Out Of Water?

Рет қаралды 10,987

Күн бұрын

Can a bone stock LC500 run a few laps around Laguna Seca without its ~4300 lb curb weight destroying its brakes and tires?
See how I rank the cars I've reviewed in my Zygrene Performance Index (ZPI): bit.ly/3Vo0Idd
Follow me on IG: / zygrene
Email me if you'd like me to review your car: zygrene@gmail.com

Пікірлер: 75

@Club-Version 3 ай бұрын

Props to the owner for dipping his toes into HPDE!

@ARentz07 3 ай бұрын

Drove one of these on track (Road Atlanta) at the Lexus Performance Driving School, and it was fun. I could feel the weight sometimes, but it also was easy to place and has some great brakes. At least, in 3 laps at Road Atlanta, there was no fade - though, like you, I did smell them after we were done.

@truonghthe 3 ай бұрын

LC500 was never meant to be a track car, Lexus themselves said this in the very beginning of the LC500 release. The lack of trans cooler and engine oil cooler compare to it F car. The ISF/RCF/GSF is more toward track use (more like ISF and RCF) but not for advance track racing unless being heavily modified. I am impress how it handle for a big GT coupe out in Leguna, I never had doubt that the brake gonna give out in the beginning as these brake are good to resistance to fade. If anything it the fluids and pads compound that the weakest link of the braking system. Seeing you in Advance session remind me of Gran Turismo driving mission challenge lol. All big boy track car.

@LC500-Lexus 3 ай бұрын

I’ve tracked my 2021 LC three times at COTA, twice at Barber and once at Motorsport Ranch and Watkins Glen. I run stock brakes without issues and recently added a transmission cooler from the Japan version of the LC. I post my track days at my KZbin channel @LC500-Lexus. I will be posting my recent track day at COTA in a few days. I run 2:43 at COTA with is comparable to typical “sports” cars. I participate in track days with APEX, Chin and Edge Addicts. Maybe see ya there?

@mikedurling2111 3 ай бұрын

I have heard they really improved the feel and handling with the 20+ models.

@Swaangin 3 ай бұрын

Took out your beloved LC500 for Zygrene to say "this car has some major weaknesses"... I would be sick but still awesome video and awesome car

@UnrelatedNonsense 3 ай бұрын

That goes for a lot of bone stock cars. Tires and brakes are the most important safety items you need to have on your car.

@2ZZGE100 3 ай бұрын

It is actually 4400 lbs (SavageGeese and C&D weigh ins) rather than 4200 lbs with a very soft suspension for comfort and lack of cooling so no surprises here as it is a GT car meant for luxury, style and comfort (exhaust noise, of course).

@z32luvr 3 ай бұрын

That may have been the convertible version.

@2ZZGE100 3 ай бұрын

@@z32luvr No I am talking about the coupe from 2018. Their official base mode weight is 4371 lbs according to Lexus. It is because it is on the LS chassis.They are 4400 lbs with some options easily. Not 4200 lbs by any stretch.

@RandenMontalvo 2 ай бұрын

@@2ZZGE100 Agreed and thats the secret of the LC500 biggest issue its weight. At nearly 400lbs heavier than the lightest F car configs ( RCF TE, ISF ) sans the GSF including the LC's F Performance counterpart the IS500 its quick frankly a car thats better enjoyed on the interstate than the track although anything is possible with a service staff on deck after laps lol. There is a reason on KZbin there are little to no videos of a LC500 passing any car WOT in a race of any sort. It will win on sound and luxury and build quality the rest, well......it ends there in that space. If you think im lying about how hard it is finding a LC500 beating anything on the road or a track .....try to search yourself. Kinda tells ther reality of that, however doesnt mean its a bad car its a gorgoeus car as we both know its just a different tool for a different use case and is more at home cruising on nice long bends than 2 hour session HOTLAPs on a race track where it won't make it in Sports + as compared to any F car which i mean.....run those to the wheels fall off. The LC500 never appealed to me after test driving one ( i did see the market its pointed to and it just wasnt my demo in my opinion) but it does make me sad that a LCF never arose that could fix the LCs biggest issues performance wise. Alas a ode to a cancelled project and what could be with that prototype that got the axe.

@2ZZGE100 2 ай бұрын

@@RandenMontalvo True. Agreed. It is actually 550 - 570 lbs heavier than the TE. About 400 lbs heavier than non-TE variants. I really admire the LC500 for what it truly is. An amazing luxury GT car, but some of the rhetoric around it is over the top where seems to be a case of having your cake and eating it too. The LCF was cancelled due to the weight problem. It was going to be 4700+ lbs and Akio Toyota wanted it to be lighter. The LS500 global architecture luxury platform (GA-L) is very heavy and they could not get around it.

@RandenMontalvo 2 ай бұрын

@@2ZZGE100 Well to be accurate the definitive reason was never given to the public officially as to the LCF cancellation. What i learned from those close in the racing program was COVID also played a huge part in the LCF story as its launch was during that time frame. Weight is something that we also believe was a reason because one could imagine the prototype viewed was the same chassis with presumably with a 4.0 TTV8 and typical Full F upgrades. One cannot cash these checks as gospel of course. In my view after Yaguchi retired it seems Lexus also changed their direction and a grand debate occurred which sadly held up alot of progress even to this day is my working theory i plan to speak on based on my research.

@JamesBrown-ny2dw 3 ай бұрын

It feels like the car was original designed with 20inch wheels in mind. Downsizing wheels from 21 to 20 while keeping tire thickness unchanged will lower unsprung weight, lower body by half an inch, make the final gearing ratio slightly shorter. Overall would feel slightly more agile. That would be exactly what this car needs. Increase tire width too.

@gazman9468 3 ай бұрын

Agree with pretty much all of that. The tyres are pretty skinny for the weight...for reference an M5 CS is similar weight but has 275 front tyres whereas this only has a 245 up front. Of course to take advantage of the wider tyre would also require stiffer suspension. There would be a lot of work to get an LC500 to perform on track and it probably isn't worth it

@JamesBrown-ny2dw 3 ай бұрын

@@gazman9468 The 2018 LC also doesnt have the rear wheel steering, so the problem is likely worse

@RandenMontalvo 3 ай бұрын

Can you track one yes you can also track a SC430, but should track a LC you probably not in my opinion due to its weight and cooling detractors. Its just not the right tool stock for the job from the brand......get any F car for that use case if Lexus bound. Drive the LC to Cars & Coffee's and travel in her and enjoy the interstate thats its whole point. Keep in mind a LC is like nearly 400lbs heavier then the lightest F platform configs sans a GSF so you really have to set your expecations accordingly and just be happy with the experience and ambience and luxury it provides.

@9000revsyt 3 ай бұрын

Modern M cars are coming in at 5K lbs .. so I guess it is all relative. Suspension, sway bars, brakes, cooling and tires would make it "track friendly", but expensive to track for sure :)

@avery4528 3 ай бұрын

It looks fun on track for a beginner! It looks fun at that pace. If you aren’t focused lap times and just want to drive, then you’d still say it needs major upgrades for track driving? Do you think it would hold for a full session at this pace with just a higher weight oil and a bit more focused pads and tires?

@Alex-9022 3 ай бұрын

NEXT TIME test drive my 3500lb rcf with this NA😜 5.0 V8

@2URLex 3 ай бұрын

What the heck kind of weight reduction have you done?

@i.d.6492 2 ай бұрын

Still heavy af 😂

@2URLex 2 ай бұрын

@@i.d.6492 well no shit, it’s not a Miata. What are you comparing 3500 to?

@i.d.6492 2 ай бұрын

@@2URLex the RCF is overhyped trash. In its price range pretty much everything else is better. The only thing saving it is the V8 engine and it's exhaust note

@2URLex 2 ай бұрын

@@i.d.6492 ah you’re one of those types, you more than likely drive nothing special I’m betting. Don’t dodge my question, what are you comparing 3500 pounds to?

@ontimeapex 3 ай бұрын

Is this you driving or the owner? Because at 5:30 you braked at the exit and I nearly rear ended you.

@ARentz07 3 ай бұрын

Oh wow. That's braking??? Wow. Definitely not what you want to do at the exit of a corner.

@ontimeapex 3 ай бұрын

@@ARentz07 yes, I was only a couple meters behind him so even a small amount of unexpected braking is dangerous. I have my own in-car footage as well, I had to make an evasive move.

@hamsterbrigade 3 ай бұрын

Is this the one without the rear steer still? that must have been interesting.

@Zygrene 3 ай бұрын

Yep, no rear steer

@nodrogkam 3 ай бұрын

The trans needs to be in more Toyota/Lexus vehicles for sure. The oil temps rise quickly just like in the sister cars, sadly. Worth the noise.

@hamsterbrigade 3 ай бұрын

It's not an F model it doesn't have the oil or trans coolers.

@nodrogkam 3 ай бұрын

@@hamsterbrigade yep I know. I have an IS500 - aka a sister car. even the full F cars struggle hard with factory cooling parts...and still struggle with aftermarket cooling parts and modifications when certain conditions are met. that's fine though...pressure to set a flyer within 3 laps. just not great if you wanna push for a long session or if there's an open lapping day.

@sdlausen1 3 ай бұрын

Taking a boat to an HPDE event??? Hell yeah! Why not!

@Zarifzar4 3 ай бұрын

Fun time!

@masterofdisaster666 3 ай бұрын

Blue on tan is perfect spec

@rightminddrive 2 ай бұрын

don't you think it might be a little intense to say "i would highly avoid tracking this car." ? there's all types of driving, i mean some drive follow beginner sessions are literally putting around the track and is still enjoyable, and just about any car could do it safety. idk, maybe HPDE's are different on my side of the country

@BushidoDriver Ай бұрын

Aye aye captain! ....🛳.... way to keep her off the reef 👍

@duotran7956 3 ай бұрын

Beautiful car!

@A_guan 3 ай бұрын

Compared to the rcf which would you daily and maybe track?

@Zygrene 3 ай бұрын

LC for daily. It has more road presence, better interior, and overall feels more refined. RCF better for track but I'd probably just get an E9x M3 for that.

@matthewantonucci2585 3 ай бұрын

Great video! Always been curious how these do on track. Would be interesting if Lexus released an f-sport version of this with better brakes and cooling.

@CarsMeetsBikes 3 ай бұрын

Savagegeese tracked his a lot

@ryanlu.500 3 ай бұрын

I think he only had supercar 3 tires and R12 pads from G-Loc and he enjoyed it quite a bit

@Zygrene 3 ай бұрын

Didn't know that. Wonder if he had cooling issues.

@ryanlu.500 3 ай бұрын

@@Zygrene he did. He mentioned in his live stream that beside not being able to drive a lot, the cooling issue was one of the reason he got rid of it. The trans would last about 7 laps on autobahn country club before the car throws a warning light. The oil was getting hot too.

@blueshark3098 3 ай бұрын

I don't get it. Why try to re-purpose a platform that's built as a GT car into a track car. Wouldn't it be cheaper and more sensible to just start with a lighter, closer to track-spec car, rather than working with a 3800 to 4200 GT? Life is too short, cash is better invested elsewhere.

@laxminarayananks1520 3 ай бұрын

Totally agree, no matter what you do to this car it's waste of cash. It's a GT, Lexus specifically made this for comfort.