UZZ32 Information

Introduction

The UZZ32 "active" Soarer is a variant of the Toyota Soarer, produced for the Japanese domestic market from 1991 to 1996.

Although the UZZ32 model shares many similarities with the other Toyota V8 Soarers (UZZ30 and UZZ31 models), as well as the left-hand drive Lexus SC400 of the era, the UZZ32 contains a number of unique features including an advanced, computer-controlled hydraulic suspension as well as four-wheel steering.

How common are they?

As only 873 UZZ32 Soarers were produced over some six years, these vehicles are now becoming increasingly rare.

Where are they found?

Of the "known" vehicles, the majority are located in Australia and Great Britain, with others appearing in eg New Zealand as well as their native Japan. Since these vehicles were only produced in right-hand-drive form, they are generally not found in North America or Europe, though there are exceptions, including at least one vehicle in Norway.

Many of the 873 vehicles are "yet to be located", while others are known to have been wrecked and/or dismantled.

How to recognise one?

The UZZ32 "active" Soarers are externally (and internally) similar to the more common base models and can thus be difficult to distinguish.

Depending on the circumstances of the sighting and information available (eg chassis number, view or photos of the vehicle), look for:

- a Toyota chassis number starting with UZZ32-xxxx
- distinctive "concertina" suspension strut covers with "active" logo visible in the engine bay
- four-wheel steering (steering rack visible underneath the vehicle, or rear wheels angling slightly when front wheels fully turned at low speed)
- hydraulic suspension components visible in the wheel well areas
- configuration of switches, ie switch, blank, switch in front of the automatic gear selector
- dash cluster showing "active high"' status light (when suspension is in high mode)
- dash including "active suspension" during the power-on self-test (or when manually pressing the 'scroll' button)

Less conclusive, but circumstantial evidence can also be used to help ascertain that the vehicle is likely, but may not be, an "active":

- on the track (ie virtually no leaning under heavy cornering / braking / acceleration
- weight: the "active" is the heaviest Soarer of them all at ???? Kg
- presence of expensive options (eg the "factory" reversing camera) may increase the chance that it is a UZZ32, because someone ordering the top-of-the-range model may be more likely (financially and psychologically) to tick the options box when purchasing their new vehicle
- if the active suspension is in need of maintenance, the suspension may - at one or more corners - gradually sag when parked 
- if the suspension is in need of msinenance, the vehicle may also exhibit "bounce", typically during low-speed cornering on a bumpy surface

Conversely, certain options were not available on the "active" Soarers.For example:

- the factory-fitted dunroof was not available until ..., meaning that, eg an early 91 model with a Toyota sunroof is unlikely to be an active - the presence of side skirts, a front grill, or late-model (97+) tail lights or rear spoiler would (unless retro-fitted as an upgrade) indicate a '97 or later model, by which time the UZZ32 was no longer being manifactured.

It must also be remembered that a number of UZZ32 Soarers have had the suspension replaced by more conventional ones.

Production Timeline

- chassis numbers table
- features change timeline
- optional features table, including date/month/build number where eg sunroofs where introduced

Build plate decoding

- sequence number
- colour code (internal and external)
- driveline code

Vehicle and/or owner's register

- summary table (with columns in the table for key factors?) of which cars are 'known' - 
- individual pages per-car

People

Hall of fame - 3rd parties

- rob hayden
- vlamos
- smiffie
- neal
- niall 
- peter taplin
- planetsoarer
- darren (hinges
- electronics

Buying

- source
- prices
- things to check
  - is it (still) an active
  - suspension test
  - 4ws test 

Cost of ownership

- Pros & Cons
   - low purchase price, but 20 years old
- tecnical complexity
- potential difficulty in finding parts (and thus cost)
- fuel consumption

Servicing

- workshops (by location?)
  - niall
  - neal
  - smiffie
- service manuals 
  - Lexus SC400
  - Soarer 'bible' CD  
  - Wiring diagram
  - spare parts manual (online or cd)

- DIAGNOSTICS

- diY

- SUSPENSION STRUTS 
  - TOP HALF 
  - BOTTOM (ACCUMULATORS)
- SUSPENSION PUMP
- ELECTRONICS
- SENSORS
  - g-SENSORS
  - HEIGHT SENSORS
- 4WS STEERING  

- deactivating an active soarer

- reasons for and against
- process
- leftover parts

- parts sourcing

   - castle hill toyota
   - amayama
   - lexus / toyota US (eg Carsons)
- spare parts cd

User community

- clubs 
- External websites that may be of interest 
   - alsc
   - soarercentral
   - planetsoarer
 - events

- for sale and wanted

 - parts
 - cars