Neil E

That's a silly price for a lock + fitting and I doubt it's just caused by the lock for it to be raised by 8 mm all around. I presume you have carefully opened and closed the roof to check it's not something to do with the mechanism getting jammed before it finally closes.

John a few questions. Can you add some pictures? Does the folding roof still work properly? If the boot is raised that much all around, it is as if the roof hasn't completely finished its closing cycle. Can you see any physical damage or bow to the boot lid or the struts?

No worries. To be honest there's little risk in and around the gear selector area but as some circuits are permanently live there is always the possibility of shorting something out particularly when removing parts for the first time without knowing what else may have been done before. e.g. fixes or additions done by previous owners. With regard to the power drain, I will take some readings from mine and let you know how much it loses.

The most cost effective way is to repair the cones. Replacing the speakers with aftermarket units is tricky as you need to be careful to match the ohm rating of the original drivers to avoid damaging the amp. I was fortunate enough not to have to replace the door bass drivers but I did swap the sub. I think Polk, Alpine and others make dual 4 ohm car speakers that can be wired as 8 ohm drivers.

The LS430 AFS lights are some of the best I've used and have an excellent dipped beam pattern. The auto levelling system should be setting the Xenons up correctly when you first turn them on. Motors in the lamp assemblies move them up and down according to the info sent via the ECU that controls them. Height sensors are attached to the front and rear suspension. If the lamp motors are working (i.e. moving them up/down as you turn on) it may be that one of the height sensors needs attention.

Yeah, looks very good.

Neil' the fact that the battery died in the short space of time that you had the courtesy light on is telling you something about the capacity of the battery. Before you go looking for the remains of a tracker, if you really think there is an open circuit, why not take Colin's sound advice and try to identify it by pulling the fuses one by one whilst reading the voltage drop on the battery? One other point (and please shoot me if I'm teaching you to suck eggs) when disconnecting and reconnecting electrical components, it's good practice to disconnect the negative lead on the battery.

Swapping the run-flat tyres for proper rubber transforms the car. The later models have a tyre repair kit or it's possible to fit a small space saver wheel if preferred.

Fitting is easy and takes 10 minutes tops. Simply lift off the plastic strut covers, undo 3 nuts each side, place the brace over the studs and secure with the 3 nuts on each side. (The plastic cosmetic covers won't go back on) If you are near to Gloucester, I'm sure the seller would fit it free.

Sounds like a good hifi plan. I will be envious of the air ride too. I'm not easily convinced of the benefits of some of the intakes I see constructed. I've done my exhaust. Looks good, makes a nice a sound and it feels more eager through the gears but as expected, the dyno confirmed no significant power increase over standard. It's worth doing a bit of research, there are different ways of modifying it.

I doubt any harm will come to the head unit, its the amp that's taking the load. It may be possible to save the sub with a repair kit as a cheap fix. If you go down the route of replacing the head unit and installing multi amps or a 5 channel amp I shall follow that with interest. I would really like to swap my speakers and amp for JL/Alpine/Rainbow/Genesis but I know if I get started it will quickly go from spending hundreds to thousands so for now I am resisting and making do. I replaced the head unit with an Alpine double din multimedia unit so can help with the cabling if you do go for it and want to use the existing amp for a while. On the subject of air, that would be good use of the rear seat space, most of the tanks I've seen are fitted into the boot. Air is definitely the best option for our roads but again the favoured Accuair solution looks great but it's too rich for my pocket.

Take care with the stock amp at high levels with the 4 ohm speakers. I don't know how robust it is. I am aware of several failing in the US. The 8 inch free air sub fires at the rear seats from the boot and considering the power constraints it does pretty well. I've seen a few custom sub installs on the back seat and in the rear side panels that look very good. A pair of proper 8 inch subs on either side might be enough, the hardest part will be installing the O gauge cable from the battery to the boot.

Okay, well I haven't seriously looked into swapping drivers on mine yet but you may find the sub in the boot is16 ohm so take care. I can't confirm it first hand but a quick search suggests the door speakers were originally 8 ohm. I assume the new Focals present a 4 ohm load to the amp. At some stage I will probably swap the sub but use a separate amp with separate power taking the bass frequency range directly from the head unit. That should be a 'relatively' cost effective solution.

Well if it's the door motor/actuating mechanism it's not too difficult to replace it. I know there are a few tutorials around already but if you need help with instruction on how to get to it and replace it, let me know. I have a few pictures and can add a few quick notes for clarity. The gear surround, heater controls and radio unit come out quite easily. The tricky part is pulling off the wood facia on either side for access to the nav unit. There are some concealed screws and then it just pulls off but requires force and control to get it off without breaking the securing tabs.

Captain Fizz Reflected sound, yes agreed it can't help the sound stage, road noise, what's that? The LS has electric heated and cooled sofas in the front. Wish I hadn't sold mine. The SC is really nice but not the same. At cruising speed, the LS is so quiet you hear more from the car ahead. I would definitely be accepted into the dinosaur club but I'm not familiar with Alice in Chains. (Quick check on you tube.....sounds very interesting) If I had to choose one album it would be too difficult - Pulse maybe? Tomorrow it would be something else.

Indeed it wouldn't be wise to become distracted whilst driving. Crime of the Century. What a great piece of work. I recall doing blind listening tests to some of the tracks on there (including some in cars but not whilst driving) testing cables, amps, CD players....with younger ears of course, when I really could tell the difference. I haven't visited it for a while but I recall Talk Audio was the place for all car audio matters. I haven't been on LOC very much for some time until recently and had forgotten how good it is. I've followed the Soarer community mostly, those frequently overheat.... the forum threads, not the cars.

Sorry, going off topic a bit but yes I do like technology. With a bit of effort I replaced the head unit with an Alpine and managed to integrate it with the existing controls. The ipad / iphone can plug into that as well.

Not at all, a list to be proud of. Looking at it has prompted me to dig out some Supertramp. Yes agreed, it's extremely difficult and costly to create a balance of sound with depth and clarity in the car. ML/Pioneer/Fujitsu10 kit is very good as a factory system, particularly the ML set up in the LS I found but there is a small minority that chase the dream.

Good work. Yes I later read about that seat fix too, never heard of it before, you never stop learning about these cars. Wow did you really need new seals, £310 sounds a lot?

Great taste in music there Steve. Does your love of high end audio extend to the components in the car?

One of mine. Just a bit of fun 11 OUT is how I see it.

Hi John We need a little more detail in the description so apologies if you have already checked these or I haven't quite understood the issues. If it's just the memory function that isn't working for the seats and the steering wheel, perhaps the battery has been disconnected and the seats and steering column just need resetting on the memory button. If the seats and steering wheel aren't working at all then it may be a blown fuse. From memory, it's possible to adjust the boot lid slightly with the 2 bolts with rubber covers on either side but first check that the rubber weather seal is fitted correctly. I can't check on my car at the moment as it's being painted but I do know that it is very easy to disturb the rubber seal whilst cleaning and that might be stopping the boot from sitting just flush.

Hi Yes there are various products that can be attached to provide USB, Bluetooth, Ipod, Iphone, etc connectivity for the SC430. Vaistech and Grom are two of the most popular 'plug and play' solutions but there are others, It's also possible to replace the radio cassette with an aftermarket double din unit that incorporates a USB digital interface but that would involve a bit more effort. If you are competent with car electrics it shouldn't be too much of a problem whichever route you choose.

Lol, I like it. Good answer. The last mechanic to drive my car said to his mates it was like flying a plane. It only had its usual dash that day but sometimes I run the OBD software to an Ipad just to see what's going on.

I think Colin has covered this very well already but if you think logically, the only circuits that are still live when you leave the car are those that provide a constant 12V supply. That's the place to look. I can tell my RX battery is beginning to fail. In warm weather it will start after being left for a week or more. In the cold it's sluggish, after 5 days. It will start but the cold cranking is noticeably weaker. When I buy the biggest new battery I can fit in there, I'm sure it will be a lot better and I would expect it to retain 12V for 3 weeks or more. When I bought it, the dealer said it wouldn't start because it hadn't been used in 2 weeks and sure enough it didn't. He said it's common with Lexus, I agreed and explained it didn't bother me, I would buy a new one if it needed it but its been okay until recently. It was a similar story with the SC, I've just replaced that one and it's much better but I can't say how long it would last as I try to keep using both cars. I'm satisfied that both cars do not have any electrical faults but I know the battery will eventually discharge if left long enough. That's been my experience with LS430, GS430, Soarers and IS models to different degrees and none of them had any faults to cause a battery drain. Some even started after I left the boot open or an interior light on for more than a day. I agree it's right and reasonable to expect a car to be capable of being left for say a long holiday and start without issue. My experience suggests it does very much depend on the condition and capacity of the battery.