When turn3 founder Glenn Oyoung thought about what to get his bride-to-be for a wedding gift he decided that her dream car – a Pearl White SC430 – was a pretty good choice. This good choice became a great choice when his contacts at Longo Lexus in El Monte, California let him know that they had a Certified Pre-owned one in stock. Ever the romantic, Oyoung was persuaded by the fact that his friends at Longo would allow him to be romantic AND frugal at the same time. Two weeks before his wedding in June 2008 he presented his future wife with the big surprise. She was ecstatic. Normally this is where the story ends.
But being a car lover Oyoung could not resist the tuning bug. It didn’t help that most of his friends in the aftermarket smirked whenever he borrowed the wife’s car – the SC430 is notoriously popular in Southern California with upwardly mobile wives. “I never understood why more guys weren’t into the SC430,” said Oyoung. “I remember when it first came out I was so impressed with the retractable hardtop and the beautiful design,” he continued. “When you look at what the guys in Japan are doing with their Soarers (JDM name for SC430) including winning JGTC championships, you would think more tuners Stateside would have embraced this platform.” With today’s VIP crowd focusing on sedans like the Lexus GS and LS, Oyoung decided that he would use this opportunity to turn the stock SC into a VIP-style travelling showroom featuring products from the brands that turn3 is affiliated with.
The first brand, obviously is Lexus itself. turn3 produces licensed products for Lexus’ sister brands Scion and Toyota, so it was a natural choice for Oyoung to support the company that gave turn3 it’s big break. In addition to the style of Lexus’ flagship convertible, reliability was a major factor. “I pictured my wife and I cruising up to Monterey in this car when we’re 80 years old ,” said Oyoung. “I knew that this Lexus would last that long with some oil changes.”
“I liked how the car looked but with the current generation being produced since 2001 I knew there was a lot of room for improvement in terms of style and performance,” said Oyoung.
With turn3’s emphasis on style and creativity, it was logical that the first area addressed was the exterior. Since turn3’s licensor VeilSide didn’t make a kit for this vehicle, Oyoung turned to turn3 customer Jonari for a complete WALD lip kit consisting of front lip, side skirts, and rear bumper spoiler. The kit really gives the turn3 SC430 a unique look that is aggressive yet understated. Oyoung turned to Ming and Tetsu at ES Technical R
oadsports in Gardena, California to paint and install the kit. The boys at ES also created a custom exhaust system for turn3. They paired their piping and canisters with a set of GReddy titanium tips. Since GReddy is a turn3 brand Oyoung was adamant that the visible portion of the exhaust system should highlight GReddy’s most unique-looking tips – their Spectrum Elite SE titanium tips. “The rainbow look really pops out from under the WALD kit,” said Oyoung “I am really happy with how they fit so perfectly – it gives me an opportunity to talk about GReddy which is one of our most popular apparel lines.”
Of course after spending two years helping Five Axis develop their FIVE:AD line of cast and forged wheels, Glenn had to choose FIVE:AD’s best-selling style for the turn3 SC. A set of 20” S5:F wheels in Satin Bronze were selected to give the SC a bigger footprint. 20x8.5” wheels were placed up front and a pair of 20x10.5” wheels were placed in back. These were mated to Yokohama S-drive tires with 245/35/20’s up front and incredibly beefy 285/30/20’s in the back, compliments of turn3’s Yokohama clients.
The last area that Oyoung wanted to address was the suspension. The comfort and soft ride that Lexus is famous for were a bit too soft for Glenn. But he also didn’t want to give his new wife a loose filling from a JGTC-racecar suspension set-up. The logical solution, a set of custom-configured Endless Function-X coilovers from one of turn3’s first licenses – Endless. They not only look totally awesome but they allow Oyoung to adjust the firmness of the ride in 30 seconds or less.
With the car looking fresh and handling well, the only weakness left to address was stopping power. At a curb weight approaching 4,000 pounds the stock brakes have a lot of work cut out for them. Oyoung decided to finish off the turn3 SC with an Endless 6-pot big brake kit up front and Endless pads in the rear. The combination of the Endless brake components and the sticky Yokohamas provide the turn3 SC430 with more than enough stopping power. The highlight of the Endless build was arriving at the shop in Huntington Beach to find Endless stud Dominic and THE PRESIDENT OF ENDLESS USA installing the BBK and the coilovers. If that doesn’t inspire confidence we don’t know what will.
With the project complete the most important question is, “What does the wife think?” Oyoung sheepishly smiled and answered, “Well, it started out as a present but like everything else at turn3 it ended up being about the business… which I hope she understands.” With contributions from brand-partners GReddy, Endless, and Five Axis, and clients Yokohama and WALD – the finished product is an excellent showcase of what happens when you take a solid foundation made by Lexus and tune it with the best of the best in style and performance products. We can’t think of a better summary of turn3’s mantra: “Passion. Design. turn3.” Or Oyoung’s personal mantra “I’m just glad my wife isn’t mad.” Well said, Glenn. 
