Cotswold Pete

Any ideas on what is causing odd wear on front tyres. Been on the motor for about 14kmiles, and the photo shows about 2cm strip where tyre is scuffed bald. Good tyre photo is rear one fitted at same time, and it has plenty of life. Tyres are Nexen N Blues. but this problem looks like suspension gear problem to me. Had a full re-alignment done 30 months ago (after both front tie bars and Near Side rear suspension arm done), and had basic alignment done about 4 months ago. Service in May 2017, was told UCAs looked good, but not had them done, and car is on 180K, and bought at 120K, my mechanic said he thought they may have been replaced before I got the car. All ideas welcome. Pete

I have spent some more time thinking about all of this, and realised that in 7 years time I'll be in a position to be chauffered around in a stonking great diesel powered beast. In other words I'll be able to get my bus pass, sell my LS and spend my life (a bit like my dad now does) being driven around while admiring the view from the back of a bus. Who needs a electric or hybrid when you have a belching diesel bus

Why are there two threads on this?

The future is electric, however the future will be to tax electric. The only reason a Tesla is cheap to run is the lack of fuel duty, which the government needs to pay for building bombers, House of Commons drinks bill, etc. If you applied same rate of duty to electric a Tesla (or anything else) then they make a lot less sense. The one thing about a Tesla is it is dead quiet, and as battery tech (and magnetic drives) improve then they will become more efficient, but the problem is most of the rare earth materials are in China (sort of stable) and other countries (less stable) so same old problem as oil, who the yanks are gonna want to bomb to ensure supply. So even if we all have solar panels etc, the politics is not going away. For sure 4litre monsters will be unlikely in 20 years time, but petrol is going to be around for a while yet, as it is energy dense and easy to transport, where as batteries are along way behind being that energy dense. Personally Hybrids make more sense, especially if the electrics are used to get the car moving to 30mph, where the energy requirement is high, and causes the most pollution. One other point someone pointed out to me years ago, is the fact that the making of a car generally uses more fuel than the car will burn in it's lifetime, so a Tesla probably creates a fair bit of pollution being put together, so the hollier-than-thou hogwash is not going to please the tree-huggers. I'll be looking down from heaven (maybe) in the future trying to spot the few remain LS hanging on in there.

Given how long it's taken some of us to find out all the subtle bits in our 400's I agree with you, I will not live long enough to play with everything in a 500.

Is their a expert in sound who can explain why the V8 sounds is so nice. I used to like the V6 sound of my Omega, and the wifes Jag sounds okay, but the LS sounds so nice and way nicer (IMHO) than the bosses V12 - which just sounds like a V6 with clogs on.

It is a lovely sound, but not sure I would want it to accompany me all day long. What we need is a switch on the exhaust to flick into 'Race a yank tank from the lights' mode.

Edward, I know exactly what you mean, had many a near accident when I tried to tweak a MP3 forward/shuffle/backwards button. I download a lot of Radio 4 and Radio 6 programmes, and pretty sure some of them have been like listening to an audio version of 'The Curious Case of Benjiman Button'. I've got over 400 cassettes in my study, so a lot of listening to be done in the LS, just need a bigger glove box.

Glad to see Analog still rules - I use my LS400 tape deck now and again, last time was for a John Peel compilation from around 1995, had Wire, LoopGuru, Woody Guthrie, TransGlobal Underground to name a few on it. Also good for Alan Bennett reading Winnie the Pooh (still a kid at heart) Bought one of these earlier this year - as my original 28 year old deck had stop working - Yamaha Deck I also use Cassette Adaptor to hook my £23 MP3 player into car audio, and load up the 6pack CD, with anything from Mediaeval Baebes, Blue Nile, Massive Attack, O Brother Where Art Thou (soundtrack). By the way Rich, I have one of those stereos in my workshop, CD packed up, but the cassette player still works a treat. Maybe 78's will be making a comeback some time, but i think I'll give them a miss.

If you use a sealer, I assume a quick hand wash is good enough over the year. Does any old seal do the job, or is there a recommended one

Steve, do recall your story from a few years back, and your trouble with VW sounds like a horror movie. I had a Passat Diesel drank oil like I drink tea. I have never been in a 460 (430 I have been in, but do not like body shape), but completely get why you want another 400. On the rust front, I have a few small problem areas, but even on my previous Mk3 there were some bad bits of rust, but in the 4 years I owned it, the rate of rust growth was negligable. Also rather than 5 grand on a respray would a vinyl wrap be cheaper. By the way the rear window aerial is that for a DAB radio, if so where does the cable run to it.

I also have a large tin of non-mission-critical screws, always useful for when need to sort out another DIY job.

I did mine with T-cut about 6 months ago, but only as temp fix, as they are now clouding over, and really need a proper cut and polish before UV sealing. I know this one has been recommended before - Sealant , but not tried it myself (yet).

Not sure I like the front end at all, but the interior and dash seems nice and clean compared to other high end marques. But sure looks like a lot of expensive tech to have fail in years to come. (though no doubt will last longer then other brands) My LS400 is not too worried about being replaced.

VSV is the Vacuum Switching Valve, so not stability, but something to do with air control. http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic/51687-p1651-code/ Could be a valve problem by sounds of it. Though outside chance of ECU Best of luck, sounds like it does not affect running of car, and getting sorted might be a little on expensive side. (Just seen Brendans post, fingers crossed that does the job)

A lovely finsih, and some products I have not heard of before to give a go. I've had a clay mitt for a while, but never got around to using it, so maybe will now give mine a clean, knowing it will expose all the bits of the bodywork that need attention. The plan has always been to get it looking like your, then take it to a spray shop and get a quote to sort out the scrapes etc. Just life gets in the way of sorting the car out!

I had no idea about this, but just found them. Spamspeed Motorsport - they say £65 for they check output, when I have some spare cash and time I might pop along, but likely to be 2018 before I have the time.

It would be interesting to see how many BHP a LS with 200K miles on clock is actually delivering. My guess is not too much reduction since car was new, so long as it has been looked after. These engines are so lazy no need to thrash them so surely less wear compared to trying to squeeze 400BHP out of a 2 litre Ford ASBO motor. Wonder how much the charge would be do get onto a rolling road for a measure?

Just given my LS a bit of an internal wash, care of leaving the roof tilted and along came one heck of a shower. So rushed out of office and closed the tilt, and could see a drip taking place at rear of sunroof, so then slid the roof forward for a micro-second and closed it back up. The drip stopped. Made me wonder if you always get a better seal as the roof closes upwards, as the closing from a tilt when the seal is moving down. No doubt get a bit of condensation in the car when the sun comes out. hey ho

Must confess never been a fan of the 430, though one of my uncles had planned to get one when he retired, but now he is retired his missus got him to buy a campervan, which no doubt is bit more comfortable for a nights kip. All the possible issues with the roof motors would put me off as much as anything else. The only open top for me would be Triumph Stag (but one with proper rebuild on cooling system), but this will remain a pipe dream until I had some garage to keep it in. As to the LS400 insurance issue, I would rather have a car that if hit would be worth s*d all as far as the payout, rather than have a Beamer / Audi which may be worth more, but would have burnt a naffing great whole in wallet keeping it going. Given I probably need to spend over £1K getting my Mk4 back into tip-top, I see that as fine, given it only cost £2.2K four years ago, and has cost a heck of a lot less than my wifes 10 year old X-type to keep on the road. And if someone wrecks my LS I would still be quids in, but pi*sed off about not being able to find a replacement. Hopefully after last 20 years of having no one hit a car I owned, this will remain so for a few more years.

Cycle Carrier Boards, did not realise they are as cheap as chips (not too solid in engineering terms). £20 from Halfords - 2m cable £18 from Screwfix - 4m cable plus cost of number plate

The Thule does not seem so stable (to me) in the way it is put together, and also the Saris works well as it has the two hooks that go right down to the rear eyelets right by the exhaust boxes and really hold it on along with the side straps. In old days used to have roof bars with bike carriers, but you need to be a ruddy weight-lifter to get the bikes up that high and so that was why Saris appealed to me. Enjoy going to Penberth, I intend to get out to the Forest of Dean and Afan Forest near Neath. Just need some nice weekends when the missus is not expecting me to clear out the shed or paint a window or two.

I have had a Saris Bones for about 12 years, but only just got around to using on my LS, once set up takes about 5 mins to fit and remove. Have had 3 MTB on the rack, and solid as they come. Only thing I need to do is get a plate/light bar to put on, as I have tow bar electrics, and probably blocking the brake lights a little too much, but so far only used the rack to carry a few miles at a time. This rack works well becuase the back bumper is darned solid and deep, where as on my Omega of old, it never felt quite so stable. Agree that it adds a certain look of menace to the back of the car without adding the length problems with a bike rack mounted on the tow bar ball. One thing to be careful of is the pedals catching the metal work, and I like the idea of bubble-wrap, will use that next time to be safe.

If I was spending that much on an LS, I would be more tempted to put another £2K-£3K in the pot and get an LS460. But I'll be sticking with my Mk4 for the mo.

Blueprint cheapos did this to me, got worse and worse - God know why I kept them for 2 years. Had Pagid in for last 4 months, no squeals so far.