Rabbers

And it can only strike on as crazy that this is the speed rating of the Pirelli SottoZero winters in the approved sizes for the RC300h F-Sport. It is even crazier that, providing they are of the approved size, a speed rating of Q i.e. >160kmh is the acceptable minimum for winter tyres for any car.

John, I wouldn't want to give the impression that I habitually hurl my RC300h around corners or break speed limits as a result of having the 19" staggered tyres. I will admit, however, that the feeling of having performance tyres underneath may occasionally add a little verve to one's attitude. I will further admit that the prominence of the Z speed rating on the SC7s sidewalls was initially a slight source of embarrassment insofar as some people might think I'm pretending to drive an RCF, but I soon got over it. Staggered 19" tyres with a minimum speed rating of Y are the only sizes homologated for the F-Sport version in Italy, and figure accordingly without alternatives in the car's registration papers. Fitting other sizes on either axle would result in a heavy fine, insurance invalidation, and automatic MOT failure. Like some other early customers back in 2016 when the car was launched I expressed concern at this lack of regulatory flexibility, pointing out that several size alternatives were available for the non-F Sport version. There was talk of Lexus applying for a change of specifications but if this was done nothing came of it. My concern was purely about prices, especially for the 265/35 rears, as well as limited brand choices and possible availability problems. From a technical and aesthetic standpoint I was, and have remained, happy in the knowledge that the fat rears improve roadholding while emphasising the car's good looks.

Having now completed 1000km on a set of 19" Continental SportContact 7s (245/40 front/265/35 rear), I can offer an initial opinion, at least as regards handling and comfort. The weather has been quite warm and mainly dry except for a few heavy showers that caught me on the motorway. I should admit that my very positive opinion may have been influenced, initially at least, by the seasonal switch from a well-worn set of winter tyres (Pirelli Sottozeros). Braking distances, for example, were so much better with the Contis as to have almost startled me at first. Pleasantly, of course. The summer tyres I have previously had on my F-Sport RC300hs (MYs 2016 and 2019) were Dunlop SportMaxxes, Bridgestone Potenza RE050s, and Pirelli PZeros. Having now tried the Contis I would almost certainly go for them again in future, though this would ultimately depend on prices and size availabilities at the time of other premium brands such as Michelin and Goodyear besides Pirelli. Certainly, the SCs and the PZeros easily outclassed the OEM Bridgestones and Dunlops, which by comparison were on most counts no more than adequate. The grip of the SCs in bends and fast curves in the dry is impressive, the complete absence of deviation from selected trajectories and during sudden changes of direction translating into a permanent invitation to drive a little faster. I felt much this same level of confidence, albeit duly mitigated by lower speeds, on a long stretch of soaked motorway during and after a series of violent rain squalls. While the SCs in these conditions in no way relieved my feeling of helplessness during aquaplaning - not that I expected they would - they did seem to "bite" with more force and immediacy than the Pirellis upon regaining traction. The RC's balance and stability at sustained speeds on winding roads are, together with its precise cornering and general agility, among the car's best features. These are undoubtedly enhanced by the SCs but, then again, I recall feeling much the same level of enthusiasm with newly fitted PZeros. Because my preference on motorways, and often on any roads with prospectively easy overtaking, is for SPORT or SPORT+ modes, I am personally not unduly concerned about the extent to which the hardness of my tyres may be adding to the firmer ride and putative loss of comfort resulting from the stiffened suspensions. However, to judge by a bone-shaking stretch of cobblestones I negotiate several times a day in NORMAL mode, I would characterise the SCs as being of a more rigid construction than, say, the PZeros, so much so that I would hesitate to recommend them to anyone who dislikes a firm ride or suffers from a bad back. In terms of acoustic comfort, the SCs are tolerably quiet at all speeds, though no better or worse in this regard than Pirellis or, for that matter, any other premium UHP tyres I have had in the past. As regards looks, the SC is to my eye a more handsome tyre than most, the tread pattern and sidewall graphics combining into a purposefulness of appearance well suited to the RC. In summary, the SCs are hard to fault, and if time also shows them to be slower to deteriorate and more resistant to wear than my hitherto favoured Pirellis, which are somewhat disappointing in this regard, I would judge them to be close to perfect.

So it wasn’t a Russian hacker attack then?

I just saw a message to the effect that I am no longer permitted to view the “What’s The Problem With Conspiracy Theories” thread. Don’t know why that should be. Is there a conspiracy afoot?

I thought I'd revisit this old thread with fresh photographic proof of the liking of flies for silver - in my case Sonic Titanium - paintwork. I took the attached photos this morning at 0700 CET. Most of the flies had already flown off upon my approach, so I'm guessing that the remaining ones could, like me, have been groggy from the loss of an hour's sleep. I should add in the interests of science that my car hasn't been waxed since November and not shampooed for ten days, so carnauba-based flavours and candy aromas are clearly not the attraction. There is, however, a bit of early Spring pollen about and it is therefore possible that the flies were partaking of some for breakfast before being rudely disturbed.

Based on my OP about my 2019 RC300h’s speedometer’s over reading of actual speeds by 9-11%, my advice would be to confirm the relative figures for one’s own car and then memorize them with a view to taking full advantage of the protective margin they provide, small as it is, against the chances of getting a speeding ticket.

Even if it took him most of a morning time is not an issue for the laid-back citizens of Malibu.

No question about it, but I reckon a lime-green Lamborghini or something like that would have been more appropriate.

I think you may need to download the file before being able to open it, though I daresay you’ll find the same news item elsewhere simply by googling Van Dyke and Lexus.

This is a very upsetting item of news. I had been planning to buy myself an LS500 when I turn 90. But now I won't. ***** Van Dyke Behind the Wheel in Single-Car Crash - TMZTMZhttps-::www.tmz.com › 2023:03:22 › *****-van-dyke-c....webloc

For some reason or another apparently to do with currently reduced manufacturer inventories, my trusty tyre guy has been unable to locate matching pairs of 235/40/19 and 265/35/19 tyres for immediate delivery in my first and second choices of Pirelli PZeros and Goodyear Eagle F1s. However, he has been able to source Conti Sportcontact 7s at the Price of €925 (fitted), which is around what I would have been expecting to pay for the other brands. Not ever having had Sportcontacts of any generation on any car despite hearing nothing but good things about them I am quite looking forward to the prospect.

R.I.P. John. We are the poorer for your passing.

Don't ask this man to drink and drive, but check out the hypnotic guitar.url.weblocurl.weblocurl.weblocurl.weblocurl.weblocurl.webloc

Yes, however hard I try to relax with somebody else at the wheel, I never really succeed. I have learned under threat of being made to get out and walk to remain silent when the driver is my wife but my instinctive tendency to simulate braking in the footwell and cling white-knuckled to the armrests inevitably transmits my nervousness anyway. To be perfectly honest I don’t know what I can do about it.

As the result of a bruised ankle I spent the last week with my wife at the wheel of our RC and myself as the passenger. Of course this was not the first time our normal roles were reversed, but the drives had always been much shorter. Apart from a few frights due to my unjustified belief that she was driving too close to the kerb or was going to hit a cyclist, I must admit that I rather enjoyed being chauffeured around. This was because I felt free to fiddle at will with the infotainment system via the touchpad (albeit to my wife's irritation), to adjust the seat position according to my whims and needs at any given moment, and generally to admire the nice design and construction of the cabin and controls without the distraction of constantly having to focus on the road. Although I was happy to get back behind the wheel I think I'll probably surrender it more often in future.

I have sometimes been irritated by screeching from my brakes at low speeds, particularly audible with windows not fully closed, and since the sound disappears after a while, I simply attribute it to dirt or grit on one of the pads. This might be evidenced by visible scoring of the relative disc, though not so severely in my experience as to perceptibly affect braking performance.

Don’t know if it rusted in later life. Showed no signs of it at three years and approx. 90000km in all manner of weathers evenly split between Italy and Scandinavia. Never had engine problems, regularly serviced, one proud and careful user, namely me.

Yes, a lovely car in its day, and surprisingly reliable. Raised a few jealous eyebrows when I chose it as a company car. It was light metallic blue, tan leather, spectacular in direct sunlight, preferably Mediterranean quayside. Must rank as one of Pininfarina’s best designs.

Strangest thing, I had two Deltas, MYs 1982 and 1985, as wall as a 1985 Gamma Coupé, all with the system you describe, and don’t recall any such problem. I’ve never thought about it before now but, looking back, I don’t think I’ve ever had cleaner rear windows.

Andy, if by “extra attention to detail” you mean a higher level of conscientiousness in carrying out given tasks than might generally be found among their Western counterparts, I would personally tend to place greater trust in Japanese workers, individually and collectively, and therefore in the products they make. I base my opinion not on any dealings I have ever had with Japanese car factory personnel, which are none, but on the imagined extension to them of the excellent professional memories I retain of their “white-collar” colleagues in the commercial and administrative areas of other industries. Levels of reliability and punctuality were in my experience so high as to be almost taken for granted. Whether these and other related business virtues primarily derived from the local culture or an educational system that fostered receptivity to training in trades and professions I am unable to say, but they were an immediately observable phenomenon in Japanese managers and staff.

Casio with its Oceanus line of premium auto-synchronising watches may well have taken its marketing cue from Seiko with its Grand Seiko line of mechanical ones. The latter continue to be entirely made in Japan and were launched with the declared intent of matching the best of Swiss horology. While their excellence is universally acknowledged (and reflected in the prices), their desirability to connoisseurs is more debatable, mainly, it is said, because of the absence of a long background tradition. I have heard it said that Toyota's creation of the Lexus brand may have been in some measure inspired by the Grand Seiko philosophy, and it is interesting to note that such following as the watches have acquired is also largely in the U.S.

Historically, one of the reasons why goods manufactured in Japan deservedly acquired - and have maintained - a reputation for quality was the government’s active encouragement of high standards as the basis of export-driven post-war industrial reconstruction. Whereas it took several decades for other Far Eastern countries to overcome a reputation for producing shoddy goods, Japan aimed from the beginning to at least match Western quality levels, initially unashamedly imitating them but subsequently adding improvements and value. So important were exports collectively understood to be for rebuilding the national economy that, provided that most or all of the goods deriving from any new manufacturing venture were not sold or consumed within Japan, investors could count on subsidies of up to 100% of necessary capital as well as tax exemptions for agreed long periods after start-up. Lexus is itself a major example of this kind of deal, no cars produced under the Lexus name at purpose-built facilities within Japan (e.g. the Tahara plant) having by negotiated agreement been sold to the domestic market until 2005. Fundamentally, the export-or-die mentality instilled into highly disciplined workforces within an equally disciplined society has earned the country and its products a lot of respect.

I was initially surprised by the OPs since I have always been quite impressed by Lexus’ rear window/side-mirrors heating/defogging function insofar as it seems perfectly synchronised, I.e. there is no need to wait for a second area to clear after the first before switching it off again. The clearing effect generally also seems sufficiently rapid to reduce battery strain on cold winter mornings.

For private use over the better part of two decades I have never had anything other than various generations of a MacBook, an iPhone and an iPod (the latter now commercially defunct but still fine for the car). I once also had an iWatch but was never comfortable with it, not least because it made me feel nerdy. While realizing full well that I am locked into an Apple ecosystem from which there is no easy escape, I don’t resent my captivity for the simple reason that I have always found each and all of the devices easy to use, totally reliable, and aesthetically pleasing. Maybe there are competitors with equally good and functional products, but I have never felt any urge to go out and find them.