Redsteve

Hello guys, I am sorry it has been a long time coming, but here is the video taken of me driving the old LS on the track day. As a point of reference, when the TVR goes past us on the right we were doing about 140MPH and I was doing 148MPH when I first hit the brakes for the corner. Notice how the S2000 "hits the wall" between 140MPH and 145MPH but the old LS just keeps on pulling. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qEJcoJ6duo

hey steve,cheers will check that but I am pretty sure they are unlocked. are you in HPOC? ;) Hello Kristoff,I used to post on HPOC and, as far as I know, I am still a member but I haven't posted for a very long time. There was a bit of a falling out among some members and a new club called Elite 4X4 was formed. I found that the guys that went to Elite were much more relaxed so I posted there for quite a while but I haven't been on the site for a long time now. I still have a HiLux (the one in my avatar) but all my buddies got rid of their 4X4s so I don't go off-roading now. The truck that had the V8 was a much nicer looking one than I have now. Steve Hi Steve, Yes I heard about that. But I became member after. There still is nice bunch of people there. Lots of meets and banter. ;) You have any pix of your old v8? :) Cheers Hi Kristoff, I only have one picture of the old V8 and that doesn't show the engine, it was back in the days of 35mm film so it was expensive taking pictures back then. :winky: In contrast, this is my current truck. And this is the last HPOC meeting I went to at Tixover, near Peterborough.

hey steve, cheers will check that but I am pretty sure they are unlocked. are you in HPOC? ;) Hello Kristoff, I used to post on HPOC and, as far as I know, I am still a member but I haven't posted for a very long time. There was a bit of a falling out among some members and a new club called Elite 4X4 was formed. I found that the guys that went to Elite were much more relaxed so I posted there for quite a while but I haven't been on the site for a long time now. I still have a HiLux (the one in my avatar) but all my buddies got rid of their 4X4s so I don't go off-roading now. The truck that had the V8 was a much nicer looking one than I have now. Steve

Hello Kristoff, I used to run a Rover 3.5V8 in a HiLux (Mk3) and I used to get about 15 MPG on 33 inch tyres. I am not sure if the 4X4 system on your HiLux is the same but I had manual locking front hubs. If I left the front hubs locked up then the MPG used to go through the floor. If yours is the same it might be worth checking that the hubs are unlocked, and if they are unlocked, actually checking that they have unlocked by jacking up the front end and spinning the wheels. If the front wheels are unlocked then the front propshaft should not turn. I hope this helps. Steve

I laughed out loud... Then I cried!

Hello Stu. If you click on your Edit tab at the top of the screen you can click on Paste from there . You will have to allow the webpage access to your clipboard though. Hope this helps. Steve.

Hello Guys, last June my wife and I along with some friends went on a road trip from Norfolk, down past London, along the south coast, up through Wales and back to Norfolk via the Peak District. We covered 1000 miles in 4 days and the LS400 behaved perfectly for the whole trip. My friends were in a Honda S2000 and they broke their record for the most consecutive miles with the roof down, they did the whole 1000 miles without putting the roof up other than to park at night. It was a great holiday and we plan to do another trip this year. Steve.

Hello Stu, I did one a couple of years ago. I got to drive a Lamborghini Gallardo for a few laps and it was amazing (that is me in the pictures below). The day started with a quick briefing and then 3 of us were taken for a lap of the track as a sighter in a Scooby, the driver didn't hang about and showed us the braking and turn in points. We then got to drive the car which we had pre-picked when we booked. Although you are driving the car the instructor that sits with you tells you when to change gear so you are always going into the corners one gear too high to stop you from getting over confident and running out of talent. That being said they do let you go flat out up to the corners and brake quite late. It doesn't feel as dramatic as you might think as these cars are built for speed so are very stable at high speed and under braking, they corner like they are on rails. My wife bought me the drive as a Christmas present so I am not sure how much it cost, this last Christmas she bought me another one but this time it is a triple drive so I get to drive a Lamborghini Gallardo (500HP V10) a Ferrari 360 (400HP V8) and an Aston Martin DB9 (V12) and then I get a fast lap as a passenger with a pro driver. I am so excited. My advice is, if you get the chance to do it, then go for it. Steve

I wish the staff at my local B+Q were so customer focused. A few weeks ago I went to buy a bucket. I thought I would get to the store as soon as it opened at 07:00 as I was in the area anyway. At 07:05 they opened the metal roller doors and at 07:09 they "unlocked" the automatic entrance doors. I know these times are accurate because I was sat in the car listening to the radio while I was waiting. So at 07:10 I walk into the shop, past 3 young lads leaning on the Returns counter chatting amongst themselves, and go and find the buckets. It didn't take me long to find what I was after and make my way back to the till. I tried to pay via the self serve till but they hadn't been switched on yet so I made my way over to the 3 lads at the Returns counter to ask if I could pay there. They said that would be fine but I would have to wait until they turned the till on. It is now about 07:15 and I am waiting to pay and leave the shop. After a few more minutes the till was up and running so I paid, picked up my new bucket and headed for the exit. One of the lads then told me I would have to leave via the entrance as they hadn't "unlocked" the automatic exit doors yet! It was 07:21 according to the clock when I got back in the car. I was not happy with that shopping trip, however, the bucket was good. Steve.

It may be that you drained the battery. On my MK IV there is a sticker near the battery which tells you to insert the key into the ignition and turn to the ON position, leave it for six minutes, turn it to the OFF position then start the car. This has always worked for me after having a flat battery or disconnecting the battery. I hope this helps. Steve.

Maybe an airlock in the cooling system or the AC system?

LOL, that is exactly what people say to me. They always look shocked when I tell them it is a 4.0Lt V8 but not as shocked as they look when they find out it does 35 MPG on a good run.

Hi Rudy, not sure what the revs are at 70MPH but according to my satnav 60MPH is exactly 2000RPM, (the speedo reads 63 though). Steve.

That is so much more professional than my idea!

Hello Guys. I have suffered with the same problem in my 2000 LS400 but I put it down to a damp interior due to the fact the boot seal had been leaking. I replaced the boot seal and put a biscuit tin full of granule cat litter in the boot and another one in the rear footwell to draw in the water in the air. Since I have done this I have no more condensation running down the windows, just the normal misting when I get in the car and start breathing on the cold glass. Steve.

Hello W4SIM. I am not sure if this will help you as you state that the car with the problem is a 1997 but this link works for cars with the built in sat nav. http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic/52295-ls400-1998-with-satnav-unlocking-code-needed/?hl=%2Breset+%2Bradio Good luck. Steve

Hello Chris, there is a recess on the left hand side of the number plate inside the boot lid for you to pull the lid shut without you getting your fingers dirty. Steve.

Hello guys, when people tailgate me I tend to slow down a bit to hack them off and also, because I seem to spend more time looking behind me, it's safer for me to be driving slower. The thing that seems to work best for me to get them to drop back is keep washing the windscreen every few seconds, the spray will also get on their windscreen but it will be so fine when they try and wipe it off they will find they have to wash their screen too to get rid of the smears. Steve.

X Factor

Hi Guys. A couple of weeks ago a buddy of mine and myself (along with the better half) went on a road trip from Norfolk along the south coast, up through Wales and back home again via the Peak District. We covered just over 1000 miles in six days with no problems whatsoever in the old LS400. My friend was driving his Honda S2000 and managed to travel the whole distance with the roof down as the weather was fantastic. We did the whole journey with the sunroof open which was great apart from the fact I got a suntan on only one half of my face. I used about £200 of fuel which I was really surprised about, I expected to use much more. We kept to the speed limits and weren't going mad but we still had lots of fun. It was a bit hairy going down some of the mountain roads as by the time we were getting to the bottom I was suffering from brake fade before I woke up and started to hold the car back on the gears. I would highly recommend going on a road trip with friends, long hours enjoying your car followed by a nice meal and a few drinks to wind down in the evening. We were really lucky as most of the roads in Wales were almost deserted, we could drive for an hour or more without getting caught behind another car. I am going to try and convince the better half to do it again next year and persuade more friends to tag along too. Steve http://www.youtube.com/embed/MREz4Nv6fKA

Nope, there have only been two cars down the road today, the postman and the farmer on his way to spray his fields. London would drive me insane!

Hello Guys, I thought I would take advantage of the good weather and the fact I have a day off to get a bit of gardening done. I have the mis-fortune to have Elder bushes growing in my hedge and, as they grow at about ten times the speed of the trees, they were getting out of hand. I am not known for my patience so I thought I could save a bit of time and effort by using a bit of petrol power. It only took about two hours to get all the Elder out of the trees, this was just one of the many bushes that were attacked with my chainsaw and truck. http://www.youtube.com/embed/TW0Cb6qGoDE

Hello guys. Yesterday I went to an open track day with a few friends. One of them has a track prepared Peugeot 205 1.9 GTI which is the only car we use out on track. It has uprated brakes including brake bias control, adjustable suspension, custom intake and exhaust, full roll cage, racing seats and harnesses, stripped interior and slick tyres However, this time we thought we would all have a go. There was also a Honda S2000 and my 13 year old 195000 mile LS400. Anyway, to cut a long story short, my friends (and other people at the track) were staggered at how fast the LS was. They all expected it to be quick in a straight line, I managed 148 MPH slightly uphill before I had to brake for the corner, but nobody expected it to be quick round the corners. When we all came back to the pits the guy with the 205 said he was only just keeping up with me in the corners and the S2000 was just as quick as I was in the corner but he could get better drive out of the corner. I think I could have improved if I had kept at it but I didn't want to destroy my tyres and after 4 laps my totally standard brakes were useless. I had no idea my LS would perform as well as it did through the bends, I thought I would be the laughing stock of the pits. I have no intention of driving any faster round bends out on the open road than I do now as lumps and bumps can make a huge difference to the handling of the car, but on a track it is great fun. The other guys I was with took some video so when it has been edited I will try and post it for you all to look at. Steve.

Thanks AM, I have found and read the archived tips and I think I have a good understanding of what needs to be done. All I have to do is source the bushes and wait for an opportunity to get the job underway. Many thanks for your time and help. Steve.

Thanks for that bit of info. This is turning into more of a job than I thought it would be! Royt has found me a supplier of the bush that I need but it is listed as fitting up to 1994 models, do you know if it will fit my 2000? Where is this link bar that you mention, can it be seen in the picture I posted? Many thanks for your help so far. Steve.