julian2002

i own a '91 ls 400 with about 155k on the clock. i did 15k miles last year and it cost me 200 quid for 2 new tyres adn some front brake pads. it's just sailed through it's mot for the princely sum of 170 quid - some headlight bulbs, adjustment and brake bias adjustment. it was 1 owner when i bought it with 140k and flsh. after another 11 months it will owe me exactly nothing. probably the cheapest car in servicing i've yet owned. petrol's a bit of a bugger though when you've got mu leaden left foot. just make sure whatever you buy it's been looked after and that the records match the general condition. cheers julian

just renewed it today.. cheapest was with the aa!!! :duh: 621 quid for a '91 LS 400 and only 1 years ncb (third party though as i've had nothing but grief trying to claim from insurance companies in the past so i'll give 'em as little as possible thank you and have enough in the bank to replace the car earning ME interest thank you very much) last year it was 1200 as i had 0 ncb (thank you the idle little tw*ts who broke in to my last car for a laugh costing me 3 years ncb) and the renewal quote was nearly 900 so a big saving to change companies. cheers julian

danmc, bought a 91 ls400 about 8 months ago. so far i've needed new rear tyres and some front brake pads. the engines are bomb proof as has been stated but i find mine is starting to drink a bit of oil ( 1 liter top ups every 2 - 4k miles)... that said i do like to give it a bit of right foot and i do some loing mileages. car has 160k miles on it and is going strong... find a good one with flsh and buy with peace of mind... one advantage to the really old ones is that they have a non interference engine. this means you can snap a cam belt and it doesn't lunch the valves / piston, something to bear in mind perhaps? cheers julian

on my ls there is no indicator light to tell you if the front fog / driving lights are on or not. so it's really easy to turn them on when conditions dictate and then forget to turn them off. my understanding of the difference between fog and driving lights is that fog lights are below the bumper's horizontal center line whilst driving lights are above. e.g. the old 80's xr2 / xr3i had driving lights whilst bmw drivers have foglights with the switch superglued to on. i'm with those who think that a fine for this kind of thing is a good idea. i drive up to birmingham on a regular basis and in the rain some sections of the m6 are a nightmare. no road lights, rain, and idiots with fog lights on. i can hardly see the road infront of the car never mind accurately judge the distance to other cars. they are FOG lights not drizzle, rain or pose lights. cheers julian.

oh *** he now drives a lexus... what can we do... the horror... the horror. cheers julian

hi, i remember reading the first review that fast car (the 80's evo) did of the ls 400. clarkson took it up to yourshire and let his dad try it out back to back with a jag. his dad preferred the lex hands down and jezza grudginly said that although he found it a bit boring i believed that smart people would choose a lexus over a jag or merc so he cant think too badly about the marque. missed the first tg but watched the one last night and thought it was great. his mg / bmw diatribe complete with brummie and german accents was marvelous and had me in stitches. was the stig's identity revealed in episode 1? if not i reckon needeles' moonlighting. cheers julian

thanks stevie, i've not got the bass whacked up (it's at about 2 o'clock i.e. just past the mid point) so i doubt that the amp is running out of puff (unless it's a cr*p amp!!!) i'm checking out the site you recommended looks top so far.:tumble: cheers julian.

Hi, i'm presuming that the large speaker in the middle of the parcel shelf is indeed a sub? if so can someone give me some info about it? i.e. what size is it? (i'd guess at 8 inches but??) what sort of standard amplification is used? (the head unit is branded as a pioneer) and where is the amp (if there is one) hidden? also what would people recommend as a replacement? should i change the amplification? at the moment bass seems to tail off the more i turn the volume up so at 1/2 way it's starting to sound a bit mid/toppy. cheers julian

i use a recaro kiddies seat for my daughter. cheers julian

hi, slightly off topic here but i've heard that a pre 93 ls 400 can snap a cam belt and not lunch the engine. is this true? cheers julian

i only noticed it on one side as i was walking back to the car after doing some shopping. it may have been on the other side too but i didn't check.... silly really. cheers julian

hi, last night i noticed water running from just behind the passenger side (uk) front wheel arch. i am presuming this is to do with the a/c and harmless as the only other things would be the coolant system or the washer system. no warning lights are illuminating and the water wasn't sticky and didn't smell of any sort of aditive hence my assumption but can someone confirm this or offer an alternate expaination as to what this could be... cheers julian.

thanks for the suggestions i'm going to have a poke around the local motoring stores this afternoon.... cheers julian.

hi, one of the headlight bulbs on my '91 ls 400 has popped so i'd like to replace all of them (to be on the safe side) however i'd also like a bit more 'oomph' to the intensity of the light produced. has anyone got a suggestion as to what to replace them with? the funky coloured bulbs are out as they are actually dimmer as well as being illegal a slight over wattage is ok but huge wattages that will melt the car in front;s bumper and blind drivers in the next county are also a no-no.. also what type of bulbs are standard? cheers julian

it also helps the catalytic convertors warm up and be more efficient quicker so that the car will pass US emmissions tests (even if you're not in the US). i doubt it does any significant damage to the engine... if you were reving it over 3k in the first minute or two of driving then you;re inviting premature wear but 1800 should be ok. my '91 starts off at 1200 rpm in the mornings and settles ar about 500 after warming up for a few minutes. i expect this to go higher in the winter. maybe you have winter settings kicking in in the summer? cheers julian.

fast cars i've been driven in.. lamborghini diablo... original tail light melting version.. lotus esprit turbo... ferrari testarossa.. porsche 944 turbo. gmc typhoon (mpv 0-60 in 4 secs 0- 100 in 12 --- with 4 passengers and room for more!!!!) fast cars i've driven.. dodge stealth (mitsu 3000gto) lovely looking car and v fast. '93 camaro z28 6 speed... straight line rocket ship corners like the cart it really is. ford sierra cosworth (unknown bhp but lots) turbo lag, turbo lag, turbo lag, ***** there's a corner..... v8 chevy van...nothing lives with an empty one up to 50mph.....and oversteery as hell. fun fun fun peugeot 406 coupe 3.0v6se... fast (0-60 in 6.8 and 150+ top end) my previous car and gone at the end of the month 8¬( 135 mph and then bottled it as there were cars ahead. ls400 efortless power but does the hooligan thing to a t....close to perfect. the daddy though was a metro 6r4 which i drove for 5 minutes whilst looking after it for a friend on holiday. the noise from the gearbox was unbelievable and the acceleration was shattering top speed was immaterial...however i was on 3pf&t insurance and the bill would have been big had i driven it any more. cheers julian

i've owned a lexus for a week and already i'm thinking about my next car... it's no reflection on the lex and at least 2 years away though..... most probable is a 1980's bentley turbo R mmmm torque... or if i can find one a gmc cyclone/typhoon a truck / mpv that does 0-60 in aprox 4 seconds is ok by me:lol: lhd though... cheers julian

hi, thanks, i'll try to make it along. cheers julian

thanks for the replies, the dealer that did the inspection is actually the closest dealer to me (milton keynes) even though i bought the car in london...go figure. so i'm gonna give them a ring about the problem - if there is one. cheers julian

the car is absolutely immaculate 142k miles, full lexus service history - with reciepts and old mot's meticulously filed, interior is imaculate even the lcd is 100% - it was replaced at about 90k miles. Seats are a bit saggy though... while browsing through the reciepts i spotted the following ... slight play in off side rear axle carrier... in an inspection made at 140k. i can find no further mention of this so must assume that the slight play is still there. for what it's worth there are no ominous rumblings or shudderings at any speed or rpm that i can tell. can anyone tell me how serious this is? is it a FIX NOW YOU'RE GONNA DIE problem, or a, you can wait another couple of k miles while you get some cash behind you deal. other than this slight blip the car is perfect and all for 4500 ukp....result. cheers julian