Hi

Further to my earlier post

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/ind...showtopic=52435

I have actually done a bit of pimping to mine....

I lowered the front by 30mm to get it to look more level, the front always sat higher than the back and I think it looks better now...



The later 430 had nice oval tail pipes on show and I got a pair off ebay, I hoped they might go on without too much trouble but no I ended up cutting off the rear pipe and welding on a new stainless pipe, then fitting the tips to that.... this is a during photo to show before and after.... it looks pretty mean now....



This was the morning before I changed the tyres for these



You can see the bald inside edges of the rear tyres....

Pete

Pete,
You had the perfect chance to stick some 4inch tailpipes on the car!

Seriously, looking good :-)

How did you lower the front ? The ls430 has air struts so you cant just change the coilovers like regular suspension ?

But looks very nice. Dark blue looks the part.

Hi

It's much easier than coilovers, there is a height sensor for each wheel, the front ones have a threaded bar to adjust the ride height, I just adjusted it down nearly all the way, you can go mad and cut down the rod and drop the front by about 3 inches but thats a bit radical for me.....



The rears are even easier, if you want a radical drop you space down the bracket



Pete

Hi

Thanks... believe it or not these are over three inches as standard.... it's just got a big bum (like me) so they look small.....

Pete

It is a lovely motor you have Pete and does look better being that bit lower Oh and my exhausts bigger than yours

Thanks, but remember its not how big they are its what you do with them that counts.......how often do you polish yours??

Not very often mate as its titanium and doesnt make a lot of difference polishing it

Whats the LS like on fuel Pete with the lpg fitted? As i'm very tempted to have a look at one

It does about 22mpg on petrol around town, that's about 18 on LPG... petrol 115p lpg 56p that’s an equivalent petrol MPG of 38

On a run it can get up to about 28mpg on petrol if you pussy foot (unlikely with nearly 300bhp under your foot and that gorgeous V8) then it's equivalent to 48mpg...

0-60 - 6secs.... 155mph+.... an engine note that has been described as tearing silk and 48mpg if you cruise..

Go on buy one you know it makes sense....


Pete

You lucky b*st*rd ! Wish I could afford one. Paul

Pete[/quote]
You lucky b*st*rd ! Wish I could afford one. Paul
[/quote]

The only thing that stops me turning a permanent fashionable green - but with envy - is that I think the LS 430 Mk1 is just about the most ungainly-looking car on the road. The team who designed the front had obviously fallen out with the team responsible for the rear. I remind myself of its unfortunate looks when I recall all those things it has that mine lacks: massaging rear seats, airconditioned front seats, 5-speeds, multiple airbags, traction control, soft close doors, HID headlamps, parking sensors, teasmade, pop-up toaster, cigar cutter, microwave oven, power shower, DVD player, heated pool and ride-on lawnmower.

You also forgot to mention the Thai Ladyboy Tronic option and automatic body lotion dispensor.

On a serious note, it does look better with a lower front. I might look at doing that when I get my front suspension bushes done when Lexus moan about them on another service. Are the front bushes somthing that Tony could do at WIM?

Thanks, i do feel lucky, if you are ever up this way you are welcome to a drive...



Yeah but you can't see the front or back from the drivers seat.....



I've been outside cleaning it most of the day and I have to say I think it looks much much better now its level...

Which front suspension bushes have you worn out? how many miles did it take, and what are the symptoms please.

Thanks

Pete

Hi Pete.

It went in for a service at Lexus Woodford and the report that the mecanic sent through to the service department said that the front suspension bushes are starting to perish. They could last a week or two years was what I was told and not to worry as my wheels wouldn't fall off. I just love it when they are specific about these things. As far as symptoms go there is a little bit of tramlining which you would expect from having 245 tyres so at the moment I'm not worried at all. It goes in for it's MOT on Friday and to have the SL2Vi iPod adapter fitted so I will update you on what happens after that.

It is a 2004 Mk2 with 64,000 miles on the clock. It still feels like it needs running in.

I'm more concerned for getting it cleaned for JAE at the moment.

Cheers,

Jim.

What an ridiculous thing for them to say, any 3-4 year old piece of rubber will show an outward appearance of "starting to perish" if you removed the top 1-2mm of rubber it would be as new underneath, a worn rubber suspension bush is just that "worn" the integrity of the rubber breaks down with usage and the joint starts to get sloppy, this puts more strain on the rubber and it give out....

I imagine they are trying to line up some work in the future, if they want to replace the bushes ask them to show you the wear, i.e. excessive movement in the suspension joint, not just a slightly crazed surface to the rubber.

If they are MOT'ing it then be careful if it fails, a friend of mine who has an Amazon took it to Toyota for an MOT and they said it needed over £1000 worth of work to the suspension, he phoned me to ask why because it drove "as new" We took it to my MOT man with the failure list and he went through everything with a fine toothed comb, there was nothing wrong with the suspension at all, the only failure was a binding rear handbrake that had not been mentioned by Toyota...... It’s now had another MOT since then at a different Toyota garage as he has moved to Cornwall and it passed with no problems....

All main dealers are feeling the pinch at the moment and are trying to get money wherever they can, they will ply you with a free coffee and be as nice as pie as they inform you the worst....so beware if it fails and get a second opinion.

You will love the SL2Vi.... your own music and you never have to agree with your car again..... (remember if it doesn't "agree" within about 5 secs of the screen appearing then you need to switch the feature on, how to is in the user guide)

Good Luck

Pete

Hi Pete.

Thanks again for your advice. It's always helpfull as usuall. I was driving it today and it feels as tight as a drum. There is no creaking, groaning, it doesn't pull to either side, the air suspension still goes up and down if you want it too (still havn't found out why you would want to do this), the sports suspension still makes it firmer and more uncomfortable. If it does fail, I shall take it to the garage down the road who used to fix all my Peugeot driving school cars, and believe me, they fixed them quite alot. When they did an oil change on it a few months ago, they said nothing was wrong with it as I asked them to look. I will keep you posted on what happens.

I would have had a go myself at fitting the SL2Vi but what puts me off is I need to take out the touch screen display and knowing my luck I would break somthing. Lexus said they were more than happy to fit it for me because they didn't need to cut into the original wiring loom. The worst is putting a hole into the glovebox to feed the cable through for it.

Suspension wyse, I parked mine up today and they do look slightly high on the front. I have also noticed this on the few I see parked up as well. Perhaps I shall have mine dropped just a little as well.

Cheers,

Jim.