PrinceAli132

How much more clearance do you need? That should determine if your new wheel setup will work with stock springs. Remember that if you get larger diameter rims, you make have to get thinner profile tires which can lead to a harsher ride since they have less flex. Not sure what kind of insert the rim shop is referring to, but two things come to mind. The first being helper springs and the second being a plastic/rubber piece that can be inserted between the coils of the spring. In regards to helper springs, I have only seen them used with coilover setups. They are really soft springs so they will not affect ride characteristics, but are used to help shorter length springs so when a car is jacked up and the suspension is at full droop the spring does not loosen from its seat. The other method that I have seen is for cars that come lowered from factory and have a hard time fitting on to the transport truck. For example, I know the Honda S2000 came with a plastic/rubber piece inserted between the coils of the spring to help the springs from compressing all the way thus resulting in raising the car so it can be loaded on to the truck. But once the cars arrive at the dealership they are removed. I would never use something like this on the street because it will greatly affect your car's handling. Personally, I would replace your springs with a used set of OEM springs, remember to get an alignment afterward. Usually, cut springs tend to give a crappy bouncy ride as well. Ali

They look too big, IMHO. How much do they weight? Personally, I wouldn't "upgrade" to a heavier wheel combo. Remember that if you change to a larger diameter rim you may have to run a smaller sidewall on the tire to maintain fit. With that will come with a stiffer ride also if you do not stay too close to the overall diameter your speedometer will be off. Use can use this to compare tire sizes: http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html Ali

This does not apply to the '95-2000 brakes, as they use a fixed caliper. Only the earlier model floating calipers need this to be addressed. Thanks for that, I am not as familiar with Lexus as I am with other cars I work on. Ali

What kind of hankook is it exactly? Tires usually have a tread wear rating. They are not an exact guide but help it determining the expected life. Also, making sure have your alignment in spec, proper tire pressures and tire rotations every 5,000 miles help with even wear and promote longer life. Tire Rotation info - http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/tec...?techid=43& http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/tec...?techid=48& http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/b...ingSidewall.jsp More info on tread wear ratings: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treadwear_rating Other places to get tires: www.discounttiredirect.com - their prices may seem higher than tire rack but their prices including shipping. They also have great specials. www.tirerack.com www.vulcantire.com www.bigbeartire.com Ali

How long has it been since this motor has run or been turned over? If it has been a while, it wouldn't hurt to put some oil on the cylinder walls or even some WD-40. Ali

No problem. Ali

A trick is to use the car jack handle (granted if your using a regular size floor jack). It should provide more than enough leverage. Remove it from the jack and slide over the ratchet. To help fit the breaker bar since its bigger turn the steering wheel to one side and it should give you enough of an opening in the wheel well to break the bolts loose. Also, please remember to regrease the slider pins that connect the caliper to the caliper bracket. Just be careful not to rip the dust boot that covers the slider pin. Autozone sells the little pouches for $1 each but just go in the grease isle and they sell a container of it, which will last you a few years for $8 (if i remember correctly). Ali

How much oil is it leaking? Do you know if it is motor oil and not tranny fluid or power steering fluid. Buy a few cans of brake clean and carefully spray down the engine to clean any oil laying around. Drive the car around. Place a clean piece of cardboard under the engine for the night. In the morning slide the cardboard out and it should help give you a rough idea of where to start looking. From there get under the car and attempt to follow the oil leak. I am not as familiar with Lexus motors specifically. Two common areas could be the valve cover gasket or the oil pan gasket. Ali

Here is an alternative for measuring brake pad thickness: http://www.etoolcart.com/brakethicknessgaugekdt3962.aspx It seems simple enough. Just line up the plastic tool above the backing plate next to the pad and see which one measures to about the same height as the pad. When replacing either just the pads or rotors it is always a good idea to "bed" the pads in. In your case you want your old brake pads to maintain its full contact patch with the new rotor. Sometimes, pads will not wear uniformly therefore one area might be a bit higher than another. So when you put on your new rotor the "higher" part will only come in contact with the rotor. Here is a better explanation on bedding brakes and a how-to: http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp_bedintheory.shtml Ali

Not to nitpick but brake fluid is hygroscopic. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=d...mp;aqi=l1g7g-m1 To add to this, manufactures of brake fluid provide us with two temperatures for their boiling points. One is for its dry boiling point, dry meaning with no water/moisture mixed in. The second temperature provided is for its wet boiling temperature, for which the fluid has absorb more water. From what I have heard better brake fluid (higher temp ratings) tend to absorb more water when compared to "normal" fluid. Since I tend to over do maintenance, I usually just bleed the brakes around every 6 months and will probably flush i after the second or third bleed. If you track your car or go through some absurd heavy braking then periodic bleeding and flushing is recommended. Ali