2001 Es300 Braking And Ride

[nicksan]

2001 ES300.

While my car was at the dealer I was able to drive the 2004 ES330.

I noticed that the car felt noticebly "smoother" than the 2001. Bumps on the roads were muffled more, interior was quiet, brakes were sharp.

Questions:

-I bought my 2001 CPO at 22k miles. Time to replace tires?

-Would replacing them with Toyo Proxies TPT provide me with plusher ride?

-The brakes are softer on my 2001. In fact they are VERY soft and I needed to get used to them. Is it supposed to be soft? What about compared with newer ES models?

Man, driving my 2001 after driving the 2004, I can feel the difference. I don't know if it is just an inherent difference, or if I can do anything to improve the ride quality of the 2001...as mentioned above, getting Toyo's. I believe the tires I have are original issue.

Also, the 2001 engine seems to "scream" a little louder than the 2001. 2004 seems to be more "refined"...???

[SW03ES]

Its just an inherant difference, the 02+ models are heavier, ride smoother and are quieter. They also have a lower coeficcient of drag which helps to make them quieter. As an aside though your 01 has better handling...

[nicksan]

What about the brakes?

Did the 2001 brakes feel softer than the 2004.

Today, I drove to the dealer with the 2004, which was the loaner.

Drove back with the 2001.

I had to be extra careful b/c the 2001 had much softer breaks (takes a lot more press to stop) than the 2004, which was sensitive...a small push was effective.

I wonder if this is some kind of setup issue or the way the 2001 was built.

[SW03ES]

That may be a braking issue. How many miles are on the car now?

[nicksan]

I got the car 5 months ago as a CPO from Lexus.

It has 22k miles on it.

Have felt this way since day 1.

Thought it was just the way the 2001 is...then I drove 2004 and it felt very different.

It's very soft...airy, not punchy or reponsive...so you need to step on it a lot to get the same braking effect you would get on a 2004.

Do you think changing the tires from origial issue to Toyo Proxies TPT will improve the ride some? How much can a realistically except for it to improve with tire changes?

I really liked the way the 2004 rides.

But I'm "stuck" with the 2001 for now. 1 thing I like about the 2001 is that it fees lighter...

Thanks

Nick

[SW03ES]

Well, a lot of the ride in a Lexus is dependent on the tires. What kind of tires are on there now? The Toyos are good tires but they're not the holy grail, they wont turn a poorly riding car into a great riding one and the most noticable change will be in tire noise not in ride. At 22,000 miles if it has certain brands of tires on it they may be ready to be replaced. As for the brakes, one way to know for sure is to drive another 2001 and compare.

I think the ride feeling is based on weight, the 02+ is several hundred pounds heavier than the 01 and that makes a big difference in the ride. Thats partly why the LS series rides so well, its a heavy car.

[nicksan]

SW,

So what do you recommend as far as tires are concerned.

I've done a search in these forums and it seems like a lot of people like the TPT's.

As for ride quality, yeah, I'm not expecting any miracles, what you said about the car weight makes sense.

I noticed another thing...it seems like the accelerator is kind of "lite"...I don't know how to describe it, but it has considerably less resistance than the 2004, and it's a bit jumpy. I don't get consistent smooth acceleration...I mean if I am real careful with the pedal I can get that smooth accel., but if I just step on it normally, it's a little jumpy.

My wife noticed that today.

I don't know if stuff like that (soft brakes, lite accel) can be adjusted for? Is it possible to make the brake feel a bit tighter?

[SW03ES]

I think that the resistance in the gas pedal can be adjusted, the brake may be possible too.

As for tires, can't go wrong with the TPTs, I have them and like them. Michelin just redid their MXV4 line and they're supposed to be excellent as well.