sparkyhx

*****................. don't for god sake put wd40 an a MAF sensor it will make it worse - use carb cleaner it evaporates. WD40 is ok on the connectors I know for a fact on the 200sx If the sensor is dirty it will under-read the air and therefore put in less fuel to match - this will cause lean running and DET and kill your engine ultimately.

I probably agree with the above - I have the 'old' LS430 (notsure how many gears) and that seems to hunt a fair bit when pottering - I have found mine is much smoother in 'performance' mode. It holds the gears longer and doesn't seem to want to downshift the moment the revs go above 1500. Its a much more manual in feel. Having said that, it probably ruins your urban economy. this is my first ever auto so I don't relly have any extensive experience of others, I've driven a couple of cars from work and once had the joy of the E63 AMG one afternoon. My overriding feeling is just the age it takes to kick down and respond unlike a manual - but I'm getting used to that.

"Front brakes- Nissan 300ZX 1991 on. Ventilated 280mm / 11” dia. 4-piston alloy. Rear brakes:- Nissan 300ZX 1991 on. Ventilated 280mm / 11” dia. 4-piston alloy." Is it me or are those actually smaller then the standard LS 400 brakes? or is it just mk3's? yeh but that thing probably weighs less than half of an LS. That setup on a 200sx is a good setup and I would assume the kit car is less weight still so will be more than adequate - having said that if you have a donor car why not use the donor parts? maybe the kit was orig a 300zx kit and the LS engine is an option.

Hi. No one that knows what he's talking about ever said LPG improves MPG !! Thats just not true. You would need to judge for yourself the personal value of a LPG conversion. This would depend on how much you drive and how long you'll keep the car. So, how long is a piece of string..................................................? I will also add that LPG's are sought after and will sell before a "normal" car of comparative make and model. They also hold their value better too. Most conversions are put on cars within the first few years of a cars life. All I've read about LPG (loads n loads) say that it takes about 3 years to get your money back on a conversion. I might agree that putting a LPG on an older car might not be the best idea because of the age of the car and its market value. You you can fit it yourself if you are brave enough and save on the labour costs if you want to. A sequential system front to back for an 8 cylinder is about £750+/- as far as I know. Volvo, Ford and Vauxhall that I know can all be delivered as new with factory fitted LPG. Jeff Payback depends on your milage but also depends on what consumption your car does. A car that averages 20mpg will payback twice as quick as a car that averages 40mpg assuming the same milage. I paid for my conversion on my LS430 and cost £1800 and do about 12,000 miles a year. So far in the past 2.5 months I have averaged 33 mpg equivalent, factoring in the petrol I use as well. I do very short journeys during the week barely enough to get onto LPG. My previous car a 2.2ltr Diesel Primera used to average 27mpg for the same kind of driving. On a run I estimate I will get about 50mpg equivalent, wheras my Primera used to do about 42mpg when driven like 'miss daisy'. I haven't done a full 'run' yet on gas so its hard to judge exactly what MPG I can get. I'm going to France in August so I will have a record of 870 miles each way on LPG to give me a better idea of the true MPG but even then I will be fully loaded, 4 up and with a roof box and probably air con so even that won't be a true reflection. For me its a no brainer, even without factoring in the increased saleability.

I ended up changing the battery as I had a spare one already - no joy the buttons still do not work but the 'proximity' mode does. Surely if the 'proximity mode' works then it can't need to be resynched? I also tried doing the diagnostic mode as per the manual above, but I couldn't get it to work with either key.

cheers - I range Lexus today and its only £8.50 and they do it for you - apparently if you are too slo9w you have to register the key again - so they can take the risk rather than me.

sounds like we have different keys

which key do you have ? one is self replacement the other says dealer only. mine is the big one where the actual 'key part' is slides back into the fob.

looks like one of my keys' battery has gone. It still works 'proximity mode' but the buttons don't open or close the car. (red light shows, but nothing happens) - other key works fine. The manual says dealer replacement only - is this right and does anyone know how much we are talking?

maybe a stupid question but can't aircon pipes be made up just like brake pipes? so would an 'aircon' specialist not do this? - its gotta be a damn site cheaper than £750 Being a refrigeration and air conditioning engineer is the reason I have done this....There is no way I would pay £750 for a bit of pipe unless there was really no other way, and if someone else was paying! so by the sounds of it Steveskeggy got a crap aircon specialist who couldn't make one up?

Wow - Fantastic link - Looks like I just needed to 'tug a bit harder' - warning only works with IE not firefox.

maybe a stupid question but can't aircon pipes be made up just like brake pipes? so would an 'aircon' specialist not do this? - its gotta be a damn site cheaper than £750

probably the second one for me, newer and less miles. however the recent cambelt change on the first is attractive

maybe a stupid question but can't aircon pipes be made up just like brake pipes?

as it says - last night I made a right hash of changing a bulb, resulting in me deciding it would be easier to remove the whole headlight assembly than to continue fiddling - I removed the two obvious screws but found that it was still 'connected' somewhere around the wing. In the end I managed to solve the problem without removing the headlight, but was wondering how you do it for future reference.

The LS430 is a lot of car, with your budget you will also get a lot of car. Like all cars you have to factor in maintenance, and with this class of car IF anything goes wrong its going to cost. For me the Lexus factor lowers the IF factor compared with Jag, Merc, BMW etc. Personally with the LS I think a lot of it is just luck - you could have problems with a 50k 4 year old model as you could with a 100k 8 year old model. The engine is largely bullet proof - so big costs you are looking at sundries such as 'air con', starter motors, alternators, brakes, power steering. Also cam belt change at 100k - may be cheaper to buy a 100k car than an 80k car. I'd be tempted to buy older and cheaper and put the rest of the money in the bank, 'just' in case - I bet over the life of the car you will not spend the money and you will save a on depreciation as well. You could also use the money for an LPG conversion which will pay for itself. I've just bought a 100k 8 year old for £6k, drives like new, I can't see how a few years less model could be any better (well apart from the reversing camera thing on newer models).

http://www.ambassadorcarmats.co.uk/custom2.php http://www.carmats4u.com/ both do custom fit in different 'qualities'

defo on the spongy side compared with my 200. its more solid if I brake, come off and go straight back on.

All good stuff, not quite my symptoms, the car runs very, very, rich, and the cats were glowimg red hot with unburnt fuel just had a good look at the American forum, top of the list is an HT coil failed Feels like it is running on 4 cylinders, and apparently this problem will cause both cats to overheat- ECU must get confused Thanks for responding good luck and keep us posted with the fix when you suss it. Nothing worse than a board full of half fixed problems.

Cheers - thanks for a helpful reply - I must say I hadn't actually factored in the 'automatic' aspect even though I was aware of it. I'll have a play at the weekend with 'harsher' braking.

Drop the box out of D and into 2 really helps with the aid of engine braking on this type of car. 200sx is a sports car which is half the weight of the ls and the clio is also really light car. Another fact is that the ls is a tourer not a sports car, Just get off the gas and cruise in comfort and relax. actually the 200sx is a tourer - way too soft as standard to be a sports car. Weight is about 2/3 the lex at around 1300kg (think I read the lex was 1800kg). I drove it for the first time this weekend for a month - first time I braked I almost went thru the windscreen, being much more used to the squidgy Lex. But like I said the 200 will brake from 130mph to 40 all day long without a whimper, so not really a fair comparison. I only drive fast in the 200sx and then only when I am in 'blast mode', all other times I drive like miss daisy. I rarely go above 70 on motorways - except to get out of trouble. I'll wait til I have the opportunity to do a test 'emergency style stop' maybe I just need to be firmer with the pedal. with regard to the relax bit I find I am driving even more 'smoothly' and 'relaxed' than I ever was. which, when I already drive like my Gran, is some going.

i'm new to lexus so don't know exactly - so only talking thru experience of other cars. Assuming they are not captive hubs it shouldn't be a big job - to be honest its a fairly easy DIY job on other cars. I would be surprised if its more than 2-3 hrs. Cost wise it depends on where you take it - It shouldn't be a challenge even for places like kwik fit, but personally I would take it to a local garage at around £30 per hour (well thats what mine charges)

did you get braided hoses? such as Goodridge? - I have them on my 200sx and it did make a difference.

Sorry nothing specific about these cars this is just general advice red hot exhaust can be down to running very lean (this will kill an engine) - I alway thought dodgy O2 would mean running rich which is still a problem but generally speaking not catastrophic like running lean can be. Also it could be the timing is way out. I don't know how timing is controlled on the Lex but it could be a dodgy connection to the crank angle sensor or the sensor itself (assuming these cars have them). - check connection if its running ok. check air flow sensor connection - clean with carb cleaner - this can cause a lean mix. Does the ECU have a limp home mode when it detects something bad? Have you reset it - just in case its a phantom problem. is it running rough on petrol as well? Personally i'd limp to a garage and get it seen too ASAP. Probably start with LPG guy to rule that out as they know their systems whereas a garage might not want to look at it until the LPG has been ruled out.

I think your right about black cars looking the best - but there are plenty of silver merc's about that look ok - so thats where I am coming from Having said that about 'looks' there are also the other advantages e.g. of S class s Class