I test drove a Scion TC. While it had more torque than my Xrs it didn't stay in its rev range as well because it was only a 5-speed instead of a 6-speed. I lost interest after that. It is a shame though because it was the replacement for the Celica essentially.
Nice stock wheels though.

I am willing to bet that most of the Scion guys will come around in time. I think right now the majority of the guys that have Scions bought them because they are cool, not because of performance potential like Ben said. It might even take a few years when these guys run out of cold air intake mods and start growing into racing and performance. Their idea of what is cool will have to evolve.

I agree with Ben. Why would anyone buy a new or used tC when there are so many other cars at any given price that kick its butt, straight out of the box? Even if you are planning on major mods to make it perform properly, a tC is probably not the best platform to start with... FWD, no stock LSD, 5spd, heavy. To me, the only draw of the tC is doing something different, i.e. not going w/a used s2k, evo, sti, civic si, etc, just for the challenge of making the tC into a great car.

Also, one reason for the lack of hits on Project tC: it's already a full blown race car. If you look at the Project tC page, it's a mix of race results and build write-ups. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the articles, but there isn't much continuity. Plus there isn't a lot the average enthusiast would be able to take from write-ups, as I bet few are looking to find out about how to build an all-out race car... most are interested in a balanced street/track car (like the s2000 project).

I think one way to get someone interested in the tC is to find someone that does AX with it and wins or HPDE and has exceptional times. I understand Mike thinks AX sucks, but there's a lot of folks doing it...
Would be curious to know if a C6x trans mates up to it. Might be a bit faster then.

Yeah, I've read a few threads that contain Mike's disdain towards AX...they're amusing. The way I see it, it's the easiest, cheapest, and safest way for me to drive aggressively. Anyway, all that aside, I looked up where the tC is classified by the SCCA for autoX. It's listed under H Stock, which includes the Mini Cooper non-S, nearly all Civics and Civic Si's except for a handful of Si's (doesn't include 86-87, 06-10), non-Si CRX's, all GTI's (surprisingly), and all Focus, including the Focus SVT (again, surprisingly). I'd consider it effectively outgunned. I found some 2009 national results for H Stock, which mostly included Mini Coopers, a handful of Mazda3's, and a random BMW 318 and '88 Benz. No Scions competed in that particular autoX (2009 Sep 8-11, Nationals..not sure where it was located).

AutoX tends to reward agility over power, so I'd guess that even w/the tC's relatively stout engine, the ~3000lb curb weight would be a lot to overcome. It'd be interesting to try though and a non-Stock class might treat it better, but I'm not familiar with how much there is to gain with the intake/header/exhaust that is allowed for STX or whatever it's named now. But bench racing aside, I think the DG Spec cars have proven that they CAN be fast on a race track, but now I think we're more curious about what it takes for them to be that fast.

Ok I will be the first to cop to it! I am a Scion TC owner and there for inherit fan.. I can't entirely say much for my brethren TC owners but I like this site it brings class to the tuner world where APC junk is considered quality parts and chrome is acceptable. haha I am not into the car show scene as most of the mods for car shows add weight to the already fairly heavy car. I have found that most of the people on the scion forums are kind of snobs and turbo kits is the only answer which I like to see some innovation and experimentation similar to the build of the Toyota 4AG NA beast lots of technical stuff may not have been the easy way to get power but was done right in this instance.

I have done some modes for looks but aim mostly for function as I have relocated the battery to the back passenger side to try and equal out the steep front/rear weight distribution. currently suspension and aero are kinda my concerns as I will be getting a set of BC Racing BR coil overs for it this winter and then my focus will be trying to defeat the amount of lift the front end creates. Then I plan to squeeze some power out of it which I am not sure if I want to go with boost in the means of the TRD supercharger or a fairly agressive NA build which will be grossly expensive because I would want to do it from ground up with a Brian Crower stroker kit, Darton MID sleeved block, Headwork, cams and valves.

I have been keeping an eye on DG-spec racing for a couple years now and I think it is really cools someone saw potential to turn this car into a race car and Dan kicks but. On a side note I think Chris Rado is opening the door for some Scion Earth shattering possibilities with his fully built time attack scion tc with a 2AZFE block build like a bright shit house and with a turbo the size of my 17" PF01's

Scion racer here!

I started with a 2006 xA that I built for Street Touring autocross action.

My first full season was 2008 & I finished 4th in Chicago region, 2009, 3rd.

In 2010, I was firmly in second in the xA when the dealership I work for, Oakbrook Toyota-SCION got a 2007 tC 5-speed in on trade (coincidentally, the week after I saw the DG Spec Scions race at Mid-Ohio in August)

I finshed the year in a battle for first with an RSX.  I beat him on the last event, but not enough to take the year (Points are awarded on the percentage back from first, not necessarily the placing).  Therefore, I was in second, but only by 0.8 point.

So far, my car is barely out of stock class. Two mods: Dunlop Star Spec tires - grippy, but a lot of road noise. Hotchkis Sport rear swaybar.  That's it.  I was pretty happy with my finish.

This year will be a learning process as I build & tune the car.  I completely believe I can win Region in 2011.

My arch rivals drive an RSX, and a Scooby 2.5RS(scooby won the previous two years) I don't count the "Spec Civics", as I believe they should be reclassed when NOTHING else can compete & a Civic won STX against WRX's this year at Nationals...  There are no Civics in our region anyway (a couple run in Milwaukee region)

 

If only the TC revved to 8000 and had a LSD. Thank goodness they finally put a 6 speed in it.

Why would it need to rev to 8000 RPM?  It's a torque motor.

I would expect to hear that it also needs a big turbo & rear wheel drive like those drift cars on TV...

RWD wouldn't be that bad LOL

I think I grew as a bigger fan of the TC while I was checking out the Greddy TC at the Phoenix Redline event. It dawned on me as I was looking it over, TRD supplies most of the race parts you would want. FI is even available if you want to do it the TRD way! That's pretty good backing, because you know hard core research is behind it. Now, if only we knew that TRD was going to deck out the new FT-whatever they're going to call it :/

I fell in lust with Toyota's 2ZZ engine and they threw it away. Larger displacement with same rev characteristics means, "Hello, 240 HP". Torque is useful and cool, but high revs set my heart to fluttering. Definitely not the most scientific answer, but the most accurate.

The only car that I would ever consider replacing mty tC with is the Mazda3.
tC is a great racecar, it's just most Scion owners are more interested in parking than racing.

by the way, sciondimension.com is OFFICIALLY introducing the SCION FT-S at 12:40 central time

So that's the Subaru powered Scion?

yup

Saw photos on Autoblog. The FR-S looks pretty good even though they did away with the LED lights up front. The profile looks proper as well. Looking forward to how the car performs!!