Newbie1
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Everything posted by Newbie1
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which Falkens?
Newbie1 replied to harrylime's topic in LS 400 / Lexus LS 430 / Lexus LS 460 / Lexus 600h / Lexus 500h Club
Amazing the levels of grip available in the old things. I have Kumho Ecstas on which from previous experience are hard wearing but not the quietest. Good wet weather grip. -
Of course. I like being a back seat passenger :-) She's driven much larger machinery than the LS so it's pretty easy for her. Besides, having her on my insurance actually reduces the premiums. She's also pretty observant. Recently, I swapped out the rubber steering rack bushes for poly and she noticed straight away, commenting how much less slack there was in the steering and what I had done. She's also noticed the odd noise that my none-too-great hearing has missed.
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Ls 600 Batteries
Newbie1 replied to Alanmspice's topic in LS 400 / Lexus LS 430 / Lexus LS 460 / Lexus 600h / Lexus 500h Club
I'd thought the only reason for their existence was to provide similar MPG to a diesel, with urban cleanliness a bonus. -
Good luck in the UK. Places I spoke to only worked on a limited range of ECUs and wouldn't touch older Jap stuff. Rebuild services in the US and also guys down under. Good guy in NZ who did an LS400 ecu rebuild and others with the right capacitors. Shipping might be a hassle but it's quite fast from NZ and you'd be getting the job done right. https://www.facebook.com/soarersurgeon/
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A gripping thread.
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Good to know.
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Like Chris I noticed a big difference in battery drain if I used the key fob alarm setting as opposed to just locking the doors. I just lock them manually now; no-one is interested in the Lexus and the immobiliser would stop them driving it away if they did break in.
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Had the issue with an early Soarer 1UZFE not long after the timing belt had been changed. Managed to change the parts myself but would have been much easier done at the time of the timing belt. For my current car I got an Aisin tensioner and idler ridiculously cheap from Rockauto so it was a no brainer when I had the timing belt done. I do a lot of preventative maintenance...
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They've quoted for the serpentine belt ("auxiliary belt") but not the serpentine belt idler and tensioner (timing belt tensioners are different.) Not essential but nice to do when the front is stripped down.
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Get the serpentine belt idler and tensioner done, too, as if they're not squeaking now they will soon!
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On my Soarer I recently swapped some near-new Continental ContiSports and Pirelli P Zeros which were rated well in reviews but in my experience were awful on a powerful rear wheel drive car. In came some Falkens and they are much, much better.. I agree that cheap tyres should be avoided but I'm also wary of some of the big brands and the big prices they charge.
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Agreed. I also had Kumhos fitted to a track car I have and it finally tamed the wayward rear end. They wear well, too.
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Malc would you let me know the name of the place in Kent? I need to get a set of wheels done and that looks like a good price.
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I'm curious. Is this just preventative maintenance? I've never replaced an inner tie road as they generally don't wear much IME. May as well get new dust boots if you are doing the inners.
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I have Kumhos fitted to my LS400 and whilst not being the quietest tyre their grip in the wet is very, very good and the price quite reasonable (I got them cheaper than £97 per tyre; came to just under £300 fitted and balanced.)
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Plenty. BBS, Rays, Enkei, Oz Racing, 5zigen...
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henners: I've done it before but I will recommend Tech One Toyota in Sidcup for work on an LS400. They're OK with using parts supplied by you, too (but be nice to your car and only use Toyota suspension parts :-) On the subject of wheels, I just don't get the large luxury cars you see around with 18 inch wheels or more. Must be a terrible ride. I've changed my Soarer wheels from 18 inches to 17 as the ride was too rough. Much better!
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Pistonheads still having its "I can't believe a luxobarge doesn't empty your wallet" moment. The LC500 review fails to note that the roads in the UK are now poorer than in South Africa and other developing nations, and a car built for the US won't ride as well on them. Large wheels are a disaster for ride comfort across the board. Any heavy car will start needing suspension refreshes from about 60k miles on. The fact that the LS400 will still cope admirably if things are ignored is an amazing thing.
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Supposed to be great cars. All the best with clocking up the miles!
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Fortunately, diesels are depreciating like hell which will discourage people from buying the poisonous things.
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Squeeking from n/s rear
Newbie1 replied to PJD's topic in LS 400 / Lexus LS 430 / Lexus LS 460 / Lexus 600h / Lexus 500h Club
Those top mounts are very durable. Unless your car has huge miles I would be a bit doubtful. What bushes were done? When did you last change your rear ARB bushes? -
That's a good length of time he spent at it.
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Not the best site. I've spotted a few part number/car model errors in the past that doesn't fill me with confidence.
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Thumbs up for Wheels in Motion. The only guys I trust for my suspension work. I could tell them what I liked about how a car handled on the factory settings and what I didn't like, and they worked out an alignment spec that suits me perfectly.
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I've worked on freeing suspension on loads of older cars and it can take hours and hours if the bolts are frozen. Heating, banging, putting my entire body weight on extension bars...can be a really horrible job. Then you find when the bolts are free they turn the remains of a bush and you need to replace the whole lot. Not surprised the alignment place did a limited alignment. Anyway, Plusgas is much better than WD40 for freeing frozen bolts, if you are mad enough to try this at home.
