Ninety-Eight

Thanks for that! I only want the screen to go into "night vision" when I put the headlights on, not all the time. I think maybe my sensor is a bit tempremental or something because if I put my lights on in the early evening when the light begines to fade (about 3 pm this time of year LOL) the screen doesn't go black, until I go under a brridge or pass a bus or something or turn a corner by a tall building and then it flashes into black as the shadow hits the sensor and then back again after which is most distracting. So I find I don't put my lights on until it starts to get properly dark which isn't as safe in a dark coloured car...

the only one I'm not a fan of looks-wise is the LS430. That said I've seen a couple of modified ones (on Japanese websites) and they had given the car the "attitude" the factory styling lacks. I like the LS460. It works for me and the performance modifed editions done by WALD et al look even better.

Indeed. I've bought and sold some good cars on evilBay. Sure the place is full of idiots but so is the rest of the world. For some reason people will buy a car unseen off eBay? Blimey. There's trust. Or something.... Could be a knockout buy at £1700.

it looks very clean for sure. I wonder what it will sell for? Only 2hr left to go so we'll find out soon...

Might be a report, dunno, but this is simply delightful. Its WALD International's tuned LS460 Not just a styling and suspension package, the engine is also upgraded. http://www.tuningnews.net/photo_preview/07...ld-lexus-ls460/ Maybe in 10 years I have one. :D

Most learners are petrified of big cars. My wife has been driving years and found a Mazda 626 "too big". Her sister thinks a Focus is a "Big car". Big psychological barrier with car size. Auto or not. And again my wife "can't" drive an automatic. Won't even try. Psychological again. Theres a reason most driving school cars are Corsas and Saxos and whatnot. Now in the USA they have roads wider than ours, way wider, way straighter and in many locations much less traffic (and in some way more) plus the average car size is much larger. So driving a big auto in the US is a different proposition to driving a large car here. Now maybe there is a neat niche market for people who want to learn to drive in an LS400. In which case good luck to the chap doing this!

I'm not sure if I'm giggling or what! if you pass in an auto you can only drive an auto so I assume its for people who don't want to learn manual or maybe just as a "promo" thing for his driving school business.

thanks for the suggestions :D

I have Mk4 LS400 DHP and in twilight the "automatic night mode" is really really irritating as it flicks from day to night and back again depending on the light, shadow, etc. I wondered if I can set it so the dash goes into "night mode" when I put the headlights on regardless of the light conditions. Cheers. Also - how do I reset the clock, I'm still on BST!

there was a guy selling a comprehensive LS400 service repair and operations manual on CDROM on eBay. Worth a look. Are you sure your dash/console lights have gone out or are they in "Night mode" - they flick into this automatically with a photo optic type sensor. The satnav screen goes from grey to black background when this happens and it dims everything else. As said the boot opens if you press (and hold) the boot button on the remote. The "hold" bit confused me at first too. Also I think you can lock the boot on the master key to stop it opening with the CL or something. To stop thieving valet parkers from nicking your golf clubs or whatever. Check you haven;t got it in some sort of secure mode.

They are specified as part of the DHP package on the Mk4 so they were definitly a factory part offered on at least some models. You can buy both silver and gold ones off eBay so many owners may have converted one way or the other. I think it depends on the colour of the car. My Mk4 is purple (yes, really, although the log book says it is red) and the gold badges and aerial look neat on that. I saw a lilac one (yes, really) and the gold badges looked awful, silver would have suited it better. Same with black ones. All IMO of course. It seems to me the gold is more common than the silver finish. Maybe thats because the gold ones catch they eye more, I dunno. I'll echo the "buy the best you can" comment as you'd spend more fixing a bunch of electrical faults, bushes, etc. than you would pay extra to buy a good one.

Adrian Flux are really good with oddball imports. I had a couple of my more modern Americans insured through them.

I've seen some of those aircooled cars. Mental. flat 4 is a great one to watch. 1960s Beetles launching with the front wheels in the air... Some of my pics from last year. :) The Lexus V8 4.0 is a tremendously over engineered engine. They are popular in Australia and NZ where they usually have forced induction and/or nitrous. The bottom end is all forged steel and it has 6 bolt main caps! Factory spec they can withstand something like 1000 BHP. I hear of a few cars being built with the engines from wrecked or scrapped LS400s here in the UK but have yet to see one at a show, on the road or at a race meet.

I'venot read the thread you mean (yet) but never let a single bad example of a car put you off the lot of them. Some cars have been through their own circumstances which have caused issues. If it seems a car is famous for a specific problem thats another matter. EG I was scared off a Jag because of the nicasil bore issue and the appetite for coil packs. Sadly these aflict a fair number of the Jags I was looking at. I've never heard of the ride height sensor thing before, if I were you I'd check its not a common fault. I suspct its not. But I've been wrong before LOL. I would say the Lexus DHP ride is same quality as a Jaguar XJ6 or XJ8. The firmer side of soft. I understand the regular Lexus is more pillowy. Try both and buy which you like best. :) I have to admit my Lexus is the first Lexus I ever drove or even rode in. As soon as I turned the ignition key the first time I knew I was buying it. :)

Priviledge insurance are the cheapest for me. I'm afraid nothing beats phoning around and hitting the comparison sites. :(

my previous luxoride was this: 1984 Cadillac Sedan DeVille. I also ran 2 Chrysler Fifth Avenues before that. So I am aware what "soft sprung" means LOL. I don't find the DHP to be harsh at all. Its a Lexus. Its not going to give you a ride to vibrate your fillings out. Its a big, comfy car which handles nice. I slow down for speed humps and have found if you line it up right the LS400 passes right over those awful square ones with a wheel either side... Test drive one at least before writing it off as an option.

I don't know why people expect (older) cars to be unreliable or troublesome. My parents bought a Mazda 626 in 1992 and I inherited it, gave it to my wife, she ran it until last year. At 16 years old I know it had had 2 sets of tyres, a replacement back box on the exhaust and only the routine servicing. It never even had a clutch or a battery in that time. It needed welding for its last two MOTs with us. if you buy a decent car and keep it properly serviced it should not let you down. If I'd been on the ball with the rustproofing it might not have needed the welding. I hear tales of early LS400 covering 400,000 miles with no bother and only routine maintenance.

personally I would never let a quick fit "technician" near my Lexus, nor any car I own. You should be able to find a reputable independant garage to work on your Lexus for you.

that is GREAT info. I have the sales brochure for mine and its a little vague as to what the DHP is.

I have the LS400 Mk4 and I get 22 MPG from it on average. Maybe as good as 26 on a run. So more thirsty than what you run now. However I would imagine insurance costs are more painful for you at your age than the petrol. There is always LPG... I have also found that "big" cars do "big" MPG, "small" cars do "small" MPG. I don't know you'd see a lot of moneyin your pocket for the difference between an LS400 MPG and an LS430 (or compare a Focus to an Astra in the real world on fuel cost). Funnily enough I didn't buy an LS400 as an economy car so its not somethign I give a lot of thought to LOL I always say, people never design a newer model to be worse, but sometimes if it comes down to the last year of production of a model been in production 10 years vs a car which is all new and the first year it was made, then the older car may well have less "bugs" in it. Certainly value for money favours the LS400 right now. I really don't think you'll go wrong what ever you buy. Just buy the nicest example you can afford.

My LS400 is completely standard. I think it even had the baby seat in the back (but no baby). Getting 12s would require a lot of work, more work than I could afford or justify and would probably mess the car up. Its a nice, powerful luxobarge. That said a supercharger would tempt me if I had the money and other resources to make it work! You can never have too much power... I'm only messing about with the Lexus on the track as my Plymouth is in bits in the garage.

Yeah, I'd noticed the cost of those tyres. Luckily mine came with a set of brand new ones on! Typical price online seems to be about £220 each. Pirelli and Bridgestone do them. Pirelli are the cheaper ones! The OP was interested in getting an LS and fitting the DHP wheels, if you are going to suck up the price of those tyres you might as well have the rest of the package and make use of them! My DHP is plenty comfy and goes like whatsit and handles nice too. IMO best of both worlds, and you pay for the extra I guess. You "makes your choices and you pays your money" accordingly.

Indeed. The car ran 15.1 @93 MPH on the 245/60x17 Pirelli P-Zero Asymetricos but 1. they are a fairly hard compound tyre 2. they are an expensive tyre, and I'm kinda nervous about burning out on them due to replacement cost! (although heating them up does cut nearly 3/10s!) 3. best 60' is 2.33 seconds, and the car feels a little heavy off the line. I reckon a shorter tyre will reduce gearing and give it a bit more bite off the line 4. I cross the final light in 3rd gear with some RPM to spare so I shouldn't gain a gearchange by doing this 5. Even if I gain a gearchange in "PWR" mode the box shifts hard and fast anyway so I have minimal RPM drop (5 speed auto FTW!) So a 15" wheel will take an inexpensive soft compound tyre which will offer better start line traction and won't have me fretting so much with big smokey burnouts LOL. Its a fast car for a heavy saloon.

don't just buy the DHP wheels, buy a DHP equipped car! :D Thats what mine is. Lovely ol' beast. DHP is "Dynamic Handling Package" and gets you those nice alloys, wider tyres, lower and uprated suspension and maybe some other stuff.

sat nav being inaccurate or inoperative while running on the 15" wheels would not be an issue. So long as it works OK again when I put the 17s back on... I am thinking I knew the answer would be "no" on the wheel fitment. I think I had forgotten the Lexus shares the same bolt pattern as my Plymouth Fury so I can borrow a wheel from there and see if it goes on OK. I suspect it won't, but its worth a go.