soramad

imported good V8'S are getting rarer , tt's are more plentiful, this may change as time goes by , but getting more modern imports registered is becoming increasingly more difficult, i run a v8gt-l and am quite happy with it ,no mods yet but some in the pipe line , the tt is more readily modified and with higher power gains , but you do'nt get the power for nothing. the v8 in my opinion is more civilised , incidently i'm a lot older than you but my insurance is £400 a year fully comp, max no claims , with groupama . petrol consumption for the v8 anywhere between 18 -28 mpg depends on where you are driving and how hard

raz that small (in my opinion unsightly) grill on the front of the bonnet indicates that it is a post 98 , ca'nt really see what is on the side but if it is "limited" then its a V8 ,intrestingly there are no turning lights or badges visible probably due to the fact it has a new front ,this aside its a nicely prepared motor and someone some where has spent a lot of money on it .

hi raz from that picture it is very difficult to determin the year of that vehicle as it has been so heavily modified , the rear lights are post 94 but could have been added as a mod , pity that a frontal picture is not available . tt's and 3 ltrs are the easiest to upgrade performance wise ,the V8 can be modified but to a lesser exstent . i like the auto version as it is quicker off the mark than a manual under normal driving conditions . see you at jae later this month , keep smiling , and regards to your father

if you can afford them the lexus soarer owners club shop has them available

that is interesting do they do rads for V8's

would also suggest you post this request on the soarer threads rather than lexus in general

have a word with lexusmano1 he is breaking a tt ,and will probably still have the water pump for sale

marcus i went out looking for a ls400 and came back with a soarer ,the ls400 is probably as near to a jap rolls royce as you are ever likely to get ,they go well ,but look like a brick on wheels ,now the soarer looks the part and goes like it looks 2.5tt for sheer speed , the v8 ltd for speed and comfort , the uzz32 active v8 for road holding and comfort , there is a 3ltr a bit under powered but can be modified to a high degree the americans appear to like them for just that they seem to have every bolt on goody imaginable for a 3 ltr. so do'nt dismiss the soarer out of hand it has a lot going for it

carlos got the message but ca'nt pm you for some reason , so can you give me all the details via a pm

pleased you got your blinky dash problem out of the way ,now repeat after me ,DO NOT STAND IN FRONT OF CARS LEFT IN DRIVE GEAR DO NOT STAND IN FRONT OF CARS LEFT IN DRIVE GEAR AND REV THEM UP ,repeat this 500 times while limping to the doctors , just glad you are ok mate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

andytt how did you get on with your blinky dash repair ,i sincerly hope everything went well.

by the way the warny thing suddenly appeared on my postings and has been there ever since ,hav'nt a clue what its all about ,but i try not to be a bad boy???????????????

the shakey button only lights up when it is operating with the lighting switch on , the mirror retract button does'nt light at all . most of the other buttons in the door handle illuminate with the lighting switch on . the panel comes out quite easily as it is only clipped in at each end so prise the nearest end to the rear of the door gently upwards and it should lift up and if necessary do the same at the other end

this may be usefull to those people who have a soarer with blown lamps in thier switches i can only relate to a V8 but i'm sure that 2.5 tt and 32,s are similar having got a pwr/ norm switch which had lost its illumination i decided to take it apart to find out the type of lamps etc ,this was the most difficult part after removing the switch from the centre consul , i prised the switch apart using two small screw drivers , and found wire ended lamps which are wound onto bayonet caps which in turn are twisted into the base of the switch . i found some almost identical lamps at maplin , wire terminal type BTX 43 W 12v life expectancy 16,000 hrs , they cost 49p ea unwrap the original lamp from the bayonet holder, replace with the new lamp ,cover with the blue condom cover and bingo new lamp , screw into place and reassemble switch, incidently do both lamps .

i forget which leg is what polarity off hand but usually there is a strip down the length of the capacitor with - on denoting the negative connection have just been and checked mine the - neg is the short leg . the non polar bit is confusing as this would indicate that it can be inserted into the pcb position either way round , check what this means before instillation as the original capacitors are polarised +and - so i do'nt know what effect yours would have on the operation of the circuit , however if it does have a designated - neg strip then it should be ok .

once again i used 50v 47 mfd capacitors ,make sure you get radials and not axials and once again because of there size some of them have to be bent parallel to the pcb , the changing of these capacitors can be very frustrating and time consuming ,so if they do'nt need doing do'nt bother ,i have repaired dashes where it was not necessary to change the 47mfd , desirable but not essential . one other thing it is worth taking the white tube cover off and cleaning the tube which illuminates the clock ,gear position and trip meter. if possible clean all the interier plastic and visor with antistatic spray

bruceg ensure you use a higher voltage and better quality / lower leakage current capacitors than the originals , i use 50v rating this means that the capacitors are physicaly much larger than the originals and have to be bent over to lay as flat to the board as possible , ensure the leads do'nt short to anything , the board is double sided and the solder goes through to the other side so it is not imperative that the capacitor leads are pushed through the holes . have you actualy taken the binnicle out yet ? if you hav'nt and your car is a V8 then you will need a 14mm socket to lower the steering column, and be very carfull taking the binnical apart as there is a mirror in there which must be preserved at all costs , clean everything while you have it open , the difference is amazing i strongly recommend as carlos sc has said that you visit and print off , i think its called , blinky dash for idiots , or somthing of that ilk

my car is looked after by my local toyota garage who are very good at getting hold of spares , although some parts have to come via lexus now due to internal polotics if you are intent on having a soarer then there is the 3ltr model no difference to look at and has a lot of tuning potential ,a little slower than the others but still has style , the americans seem to like them a lot due to the tuning aspect , see clublexus you have got to look at, at least 3 to5 grand for a good motor, get it checked out

if you are going to be doing "heavy" milage then i would not consider a soarer as my first choice of vehical especialy a 2.5tt , i can only speak of the V8 which i suppose 28 to the gallon on a long run would be a good mpg, i never bother about mpg as i just enjoy driving it and i hasten to add ,hard . fidgets is right if you want a lexus then try an early 300 saloon or sport . incidently to set the record straight , a soarer is technically a toyota , but mine is badged as a lexus as i believe if they had have been sold in the uk ,it would have been under the lexus mark as is the sc 430

yes raz , we are going what time are you going to be leaving [dinosora ] :winky:

simonR this is where the overdrive on theV8 comes into its own ,high speed cruising in overdrive on the auto box ,drops the revs and returns acceptable fuel consumption ,and for those quick moves off the lights drop out the overdrive and click on the pwr switch and watch the cars behind grow small in your review mirror ,mainly because it suprises people that such a large/heavy car can be so quick off the mark

i have a V8 and its plenty quick enough , illegal speeds come up on you very fast ,i've had mine up to "mach 2" and it gets there with no effort , however the std 3 ltr would be sluggish in comparison ,but they are very popular in the states as there are more bolt on extras like turbo's superchargers etc , visit clublexus , the american site it might give you a better insite as to what can be achieved with a 3ltr

the soarer mechanics especially on the V8 are not so different from the ls 400 some of the electrics are peculiar to the soarer but a good auto electrician can trace most faults and replace if not able to repair ,this goes for most things from run of the mill brake pad replacement (which i do myself )to replacing a cylinder head gasket , after all the engine works the same as any car there is just more of it , not rocket science just good mechanics, most problems can be solved if its gone about logicly.

quitarman because of the length of the inside handle people tend to pull on the handle at about 1/3rd along it from the front ,this exserts tremendous pressure on the plastic pegs that hold the handle to the bodywork ,i had this problem when i bought my v8 but my local toyota dealer fixed it using some discretly positioned brackets under the handle and now all is well , but i make sure that when i now close the door i pull on the handle almost level with the seat back , a bit awkward but does ensure that the handle doe'snt pull off again and feels more posative in closing the door

000555000 i can assure you that the toyota dealer in cheltenham knows as much about soarers as any other reputable soarer repairer , and spare part aquisition is second to none ,i would say that you may have had a run in with a rather appathetic dealer,but i think "most" is a bit strong . i feel happier going to a dealer when needed , knowing that a toyota /lexus trained mechanic is looking after the car and not some kid learning the trade in a back street garage