oliver261

Does anyone know at what stage the of starting the car the immobiliser steps in. if the ls400 is immobilised will a key turn get no response? or will the starter motor turn it over but it just wont start. Anyones experience appreciated Oliver

i used the tutorial on lexls as a guide. its even easier than shown, as there are no HT leads etc. easy enough for even me to do it in the car park at work over lunch (cant remember whether i was back on time though)

all sounds normal then. cheers for all the replies.

yeah ive had a phone chat with them but them a couple of times. (2 different lads there). the one who seems to do most of the spanner work is always mad busy so in a rush said the mileage was about right for a 30mpg car on petrol. other, whose more the salesman, said he'd had feedback from a couple other customers saying they didnt think much of the lpg spark plugs. seemed a bit inconclusive. as did googling info on other cars. i know conversions are popular on here, so was wondering if anyone on here had experimented with them. came about as when i picked the car up after the conversion the fella asked when the last time they were changed as lpg needs a particularly strong spark, and it will help economy. i didnt know offhand, but when i looked in the docs they were due, so i changed them. meaning i only did one major journey with the standards, im sure i remember gettign 320miles on my odometer though. now im rarley getting 260.

since ive fitted ngk LPG specific spark plugs i feel that my economy has dropped on gas. trouble is i jumped in too early and did it almost straight after the conversion, so didnt really get to know the system on the standard plugs. it quickly became the norm, but i did the maths the other day and at 70-80mph motorway drive im only getting 23mpg. lower than ive seen reported on this site. ive moved since so am miles away from the installer so not convenient to just nip in and have a chat about it. done some googling but anyone got any experience with them, or do you just stick to the standard denso's?

my service history doesn't cover how big the previous owners were, but looking at the bolster id say its had at least one fatty. i couldnt say my interior is factory new but it has worn incredibly well. i got mine with 160 on it and the bolsters just showed signs of wear and on the steering wheel where the leather meets the wood trim. what i judged to be par for its course, and this is what you are right to be looking for, - the car that your happy to spend your hard earned on. the big one for me, interior wise, is the central arm rest. i gave it a thorough testing as creaking interiors drive me up the wall and thought this would be the prime candidate.

I had the same. temp dependant, on warm days they had enough pressure and cold they didint. i used struts direct. the ones that came were slightly shorter than the originals but they work fine. the bonnet sits very slightly lower. not restricting access though. SGS engineering in Derby can regas your originals and can work out cheaper than buying new. Ive just used them to do some kitchen cabinet struts. only a few weeks old so too early to know how well they will hold their charge long term. but something for you to consider.

Ive always found my headlights pretty dim since i got my 400 (mk4 with HIDS), especially compared to some of the mega-distracting bat-lights you see driving around now. after some (not much) internet research i found no real consensus as to whether its worth replacing HIDs before they blow. general feeling seemed to be they change colour but not brightness, but as with all things internet theres a lot of opinion. i asked at the local dealer and they said they shouldnt degrade, but the lamps are the easiest bit to change to diagnose any problem. then he told me they were 44 quid+VAT each. (i know you can get whole hid kits of ebay for buttons but ill leave that for last) decided to first pursue my very dirty and discoloured lenses. gave them a good scrub which made a slight difference to the appearance. then tried Wolfgang Plastik Headlight Lens Cleaning System. there seems to be mixed opinion on the use of such products too. many say once you take off the protective layer from the polycarbonate youll just end up chasing your arse. as the sealant you get are never man enough. i thought as mine were already faded this point has less impact. there are many products about but i went for the product above. it is also expensive (although cheaper than the lamps so i thought a decent place to start) but seemed to get v good reviews. v easy to use. took minutes (not including re-charging the no expense spent, cordless drill i borrowed from my dad). get LOADS of product so could do several cars, or in the event it doesnt last ill hopefully get a couple of years out of it. The lenses have come up very well. i wont say as new as it could never be true, stone chips that would need a grinding wheel to smooth. these aside though, the surface is finger-nail-test smooth. as for overall appearance - totally transparent, although fine marks are still visible close up. it makes the car look MUCH better and less dated. although this wasnt what i was going for. if your of a meticulous nature so youll re-apply the sealant regularly - id already highly recommend it. on a quick drive out the light is noticeably whiter and they were more distinguishable amongst the throw of other vehicles' lights on the motorway. too many cars alongside to really tell if the improvement performance wise is worth while. also will hold out recommending it until longevity is known. didnt get any pics before the rain started but ill try and get some over the weekend.

agree wooksi. the ecology argument is a non issue in the ls case because lets face it, if someone was concerned they wouldnt have a 5l v8 back up, 3t of steel, acre of cow hide etc. its more about the 'silent' running, torque delivery, stop-start economy...

if your an in town driver then the hybrid much more justifiable than on the motorway when it is undoubtably ballast. id be interested to in the 4 wheel drive system too. im expecting a few 'moments' when i move back to scotland in jan, first winter driving a RWD car and guaranteed snow. i think everyone agrees they are both (460 600) nice cars. problem with relying on someone else to take the plunge - as you (OP) mentioned earlier, your in the realms of 'you can afford to buy it/ afford to run it' so i would expect it will be a very low demand on what is already a rare car. it will change the way you pick an installer (if the idea does in fact have legs), but could lead you to a better install as you may look for someone with a focus will be on engineering/innovation rather than a routine installer. (ive made this point very badly EDIT- infact reading this back ive not even made it!). please do let me know how your correspondence with the companies goes as i think its a very interesting project.

i was under the impression that the new direct injection kits forgo the vaporiser stage that the minifold based systems have. so this may be becoming more possible. exciting thought as what a luxury/value combo that would be. i dont really know much about the ins and outs of lpg, but when looking for my car i originally wanted a 460 when looking into gassing i found no one did a conversion for it but a company said that they were working on their own system (may have jst been management end) that they were hoping could possibly be applied to a range of engines which previously couldnt be gassed. at the time i dont think prinns had fully rolled out their system and it seemed that a kit needed to be developed for each particular engine. memory is hazy though and things may have moved on. im sure it was f1automotive i spoke to and he said summer-autumn development. i needed a car sooner so went for a 400. but it may be worth having a word with them as above, i think the hybrid issue might be seen as a barrier. just for info the problem with the 460 was that the injectors in the cylinders need liquid petrol for cooling. i believe this could be overcome with the prinns sys. but i think it also has manifold mounted injectors. i think the combination of the two threw up some engine management issues beyond that of a standard install. but i stand to be corrected on any of the above.

Agree with both the above. I think it looks fantastic, but dont think it should be sporty. However being primarily aimed at america - where a sporty ride is quite different this could turn out great. A sheep in wolfs clothing would be ideal, but this would be completely missed come professional review time. Would get a right slating for not delivering on the promise of the looks, even if it hit the mark where the LS should. Looking forward to some interior details.

Had to do a long moorway run last night. Don't know whether the prob is getting worse or I'm concentrating on feeling it. Was getting a light vibration from 80. Again not through wheel.it's very inconsistent and seemed to vary with road surface. So am I right in leaning toward suspension and more likely rear end Not got chance to have a poke round yet so just thinking stuff through. Would I be right in thinking the if it was prop shaft it would rev dependent rather than speed. So I'd get the vibration at 2600rpm through all the gears. Could this be way to narrow it down

definitely more money that taste

hello all, thanks for the replies. looks like this could be big/expensive if i dont do the work myself. ill start working my way through the possibles over the coming weeks. i may have been a bit hasty discounting the wheel balance, due to new tyres. particularly as ive not used the fella before. the car is well past 100k at 162 (i was hoping that it might hold out until the other side of 200). knew that suspension would be a prime candidate but thought it would have been picked up in the VSR to anyone who has had prop shaft issues, is there any tell tale signs or play in it on inspection, or is it a case of changing it once other things have been ruled out and seeing if it goes away? cheers oliver