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basher_boy

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Everything posted by basher_boy

  1. Learn a lesson here. Different cars have different lug nut torque requirements. Generally the more lugs a car has the lower the torque is for the same weight car and wheel. Alloy wheels require lower torque, than do steel wheels generally. If you over tighten or worse unevenly tighten lug nuts you can warp rotors, damage bearings, hubs, and braking systems, even possibly crack a wheel. My old 90 Jetta GLI with alloy wheels was supposed to be at 140 ft/lbs, The LS400 with alloy wheels is supposed to at 76 ft/lb (I believe). The only way to correctly torque these things is with a calibrated torque wrench. Impact wrenches can be set to tighten to an approximate torque value, but this will be inaccurate from nut to nut. (Our worst enemy is unevenly tightened lug nuts remember?) It would be better to over tighten than to unevenly tighten. My girlfriend has a 2003 Pontiac Grand Am SE--5 lug alloy with torque specs of 88 ft/lb I think. This model of car has severe severe severe problems with brake rotor warping. The service bulletins tell the dealers to make sure they tighten the lug nuts "correctly" to the correct torque. This is to torque the bolts to 30% of the tightened torque in a "star" pattern, than 75%, than 100%. I could not loosen the lug nuts on that car after the dealer had gotten done replacing the rotors, pads, and calipers due to a major failure. I was not using little wrench either. I got 75% of them loose with a 3/8" breaker bar, the others came off with my 380 ft/lb impact wrench, for one I had to borrow a 500 ft/lb impact wrench. (Impact wrenches are cheap and I don't know what I would do without them) If you think that your Lexus dealer would be any more careful I wouldn't count on it, not to mention Sam's club. My Lexus dealer replaced my brake pads without replacing, turning, or even burnishing my rotors. You can be damn sure that the Brake fluid has never been changed since the cars were new. Service manual on most cars recommend every 60K you have your full system flushed and bled. Water gets into the fluid, and can damage parts of the brake system, not to mention making brakes more prone to fade. Ever have a seized caliper? Often this is due to old water logged brake fluid. basher
  2. Don't be modest---everyone on these boards know you are the guru. :P
  3. SW03ES, I knew after I posted that I would draw your ire. I just don't want people to think that by hand washing their car they will never scratch it, or damage the paint. Honestly every time you wash a car you will damage the finish to some extent no matter who you are. The key is to minimize the damage through technique and experience. Little things like making sure your buckets are 100% clean, using soft water that is poured on rather than sprayed, using natural lambs wool wash mitts, not using harsh detergents, using drying towels made of a high pile 100% cotton (no polyester stitching), 100% clean towels with no fabric softener (best if hung to dry), start from the cleanest part of the car to the dirtiest, take into account the age of the paint, the type of paint (clear, urethane, lacquer) etc. etc. etc. In the real world keeping a daily driver clean and pretty to the point that some people would like would be more than a full time job, so it is important for people to realize that they will have to decide on some compromises. I don't care how perfect a finish on a car you put in front of me there are always imperfections. People look at my car and can not believe that it is a 13 year old car, but I think how can you not-just take a look at it. Finally alot of people do use glaze to hide imperfections, from car dealers, to auto body shops. You are correct in saying when done "correctly" polishing will leave no imperfections. In this day and age I rarely see anyone do the best job they can do. Usually a "good enough" job is all that is needed, and all that is done. Things that some people take for granted, as easy and with out challenge are for others a complete mystery. You are defiantly a master of car finishes and care, and you got that way after years of collecting knowledge and experience. I would certainly defer to you for this information. It is not that others can not learn from you, but they must know that it is not as simple as getting a power washer, a bucket and a rag to go clean a nice shiny black car with road salt all over it. There is also a chasm between reading how to do something on a msg board, or in a book, or being told how to do something, and actually doing it. ramble--ramble--ramble:P basher_boy
  4. # 1 the darker the color the more easily you are going to notice paint blemishes # 2 Automatic Brushless washes use such high preassure that they will strip parts of your car off (pinstripes. molding, even paint (I have had more than one rock chip double or triple in size in one of these things.) # 3 Brushless washes will scratch finishes if there is enough grit on your car # 4 Touch washes will of course also damage paint # 5 Many cars have a glaze put on as a final coat after painting/clearing. On any paint job that needs a hand touchup with a wheel to decrease orange peel or other unavoidable blemishes, this will leave very light swirl like marks that need to be filled with a glaze. A glaze can be washed off a car with exuberant high solvant washes (read car wash) # 6 You can also really up paint with hand washing. Those detailers that get big bucks to wash J. Lenno's cars are a world apart from us and hold on to many trade secrets. # 7 Some people notice these things more than others # 8 Some manufacturers use better softer/harder/brittle/resilient paint. German folks use thick coats of Glasurit paint and clear which is hard to apply nice, but a hardcore paint. I haven't found what lexus uses yet but from the way the factory finishes are glass smooth it is probably a lower solid clear, that is easier to spray. Ford uses Dupont (I believe) It is hard to spray smooth (just look at a ford finish) but is very resilient. I would like to know what cadilac uses because it the colors always look sweet, and shiney to me even though close up the paint jobs don't look that great. Ramble--Ramble--Ramble :P basher_boy
  5. The problem for me is when in NYC type traffic I often don't have the luxurary of leaving myself any buffer in my driving style. When this does happen it takes an extra foot or two to stop, and that has on many occasions made for a panic. I only hit one guy, in a Merc, and thankfully he didn't care. I had just assumed it was brake/gas interference (i.e. I mistakenly clip the gas pedal when I am on the brake). Problem is I am not the only person to have this problem in my car. Everyone that drives it for any time comes back and says to me "I almost rearended some one." It may just be the way the pedals are situated, and not a mechano/electrical/vaccuum type problem, but I have never been able to recreate the problem in a controled environment so that I can really pay attetion to it. It always happens during aggressive stop and go traffic type driving where a one or two foot mistake means a fender-bender, I have never had it happen when I am driving "nicely." When it does happen it is over in the time it takes me to make sure my foot is repositioned well over the brake pedal, so who knows--is it driver error or a problem with the car--I will probably never be able to prove it.
  6. I actually did break mine using the "pull harder" mantra. I was doing everything correctly, except for having the ashtray open at the time of extraction. Broke the latch that held it in. So after trying to jbweld, than buying a scroll saw and trying to make a new one, I broke down and bought a juncker off of e-bay for $25 and now it is back to new. Lesson---Make sure the ashtray is open first!
  7. http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...T&f=4&t=922&hl= here is the old post
  8. There was a post a while back about unintentional surging of LS400 cars a while back. My car does this. It happens to me mostly when I try to brake at low speed at a stop light or sign. It tends to last 2-3 seconds, and happens more often in the summer, while I am in stop and go traffic. Scary :o
  9. there is however a minimum safe tire preassure (ala ford explorer), and a safe maximum preassure (on the sidewall).
  10. The tire pressure in the glovebox is the pressure that is required for the original equipment tire on that car. This pressure is the preassure which results in even wear of the tire at that load rating. There are almost always two pressures, one at "normal" load, and the other at high speed/max load. As both the speed and the weight on the tires goes up the tires heat up more and the structure of the tire becomes softer, requiring a higher pressure. The main reason that people increase the tire size is to increase the contact patch and have more grip. This would neccesitate a lowereing of the tire pressure. If the car had 500 lbs per tire and the tire pressure is 32 psi, that the contact patch would be about 15 square inches. If you want a larger contact patch (i.e. more grip) than you must decrease the tire pressure. At 30 psi the car will have a 16.6 square inches on the road. Now every tire and every car has an optimum preassure and contact patch etc. for a specific condition. When I used to auto cross with grossly wide tires I used an inferred themometer to measure the temperature of the tire across the tire to find the pressure that gave even heating of the tire. This preassure was very closs to where the car handled the best. Bassically this was the preassure that wore the tire evenly at the average load that was applied at that run. Ususally this was quite a bit higer than the "street" preassure. This is not to say that the pressure is wrong on the car (that is the pressure that allows even wear of the tire at the load indicated. Now as an aside: If your car is oversteering, you have too much preassure in your front tires realative to your rear and just the oppisite if you are having understeer. This does not answer the original question, but should help pepople understant that there is no one right tire pressure. It is dependent, on weight, speed, tire size, lateral acceleration, etc.
  11. Hey Guys Maybe someone knows the answer to my questions! I was wondering what the little box is that is downstream of my subwoofer Amp? (If so how many watts at what resistance) A Crossover? (If so active or passive?, What frequency is the crossover point?) A combo. Let me know I would like to put a small powered sub in the car, in as hidden a way as possible.
  12. Here is my milage on my '90 LS Most of the miles are Highway with average speeds in the 80-100 MPH range :o (got a valentine one recently ) Miles/Gallons Range 18.00 404.92 22.26 500.74 22.47 505.49 23.26 523.24 23.40 526.60 21.66 487.35 20.99 472.23 24.43 549.72 22.01 495.27 21.07 474.02 21.54 484.55 20.98 472.09 19.23 432.66 20.09 452.01 19.29 434.03
  13. Personally when I drive the my LS400 a long way, I always get a lower back ache, and aches in my knees, not so in any of my other cars. Sometimes it gets so bad I have to stop driving. ;)
  14. Does anyone know what company's paint lexus uses, or used on the '90 LS 400?
  15. Using my boss's $300 HVLP Sata. I talked to a paint guy at a local body shop and he said he always has to tint the base coat a little brown or yellow, to get the paint to match. He says he always has to fight with the Toyota Pearl Whites, as they are never right from the paint code. No rattle cans here big jzz30 Actually my first repair was a small scratch in the hood, I tried to airbrush the paint on, and made an abortion of it. So now I have to do the whole hood and the pasenger side dogleg. Tricoats are just a pain in the butt. I will get a single coat on all my cars from now on.
  16. Yeah the rear hinge mount is completley broken through. The front one is still solid, but the hinge sticks because it binbs with the top of the door dedent. I ttok the whole unit out and tried to rig/repair it, but no luck. If it was steel I could just weld it. I have never had an old car that didn't have a driver's side door handle bust. It is a very heavily used part of the car, almost always made of plastic or white metal. I have found several handles, but none white, so I will keep trying, I had hoped that the handle might be shared with another car, so I could open up my search parameters. Thanks
  17. Hey guys, any auto painter's out there. I welded in a new wheel well on my car. It was rusting out, and preped it etc. I shot a diamont R-M paint on the quarter, and was not happy at all with the match. I have the Pearl white, they offered on the '90 models. The diamont pearl is too silver grey, compared with the factory paint. Anybody had luck with the pearl with another brand of paint? Basher_boy
  18. My outside driver's door handle broke on me. The white metal just gave up. I have been unable to locate a replacement handle anywhere for it, when I got to thinking that the ES series problably has the same handle, and maybe some other toyota types. Anyone out there know which cars might have handles that would work? Basher_boy
  19. VMF--how did you get caught at 110. I ask that because I have been driving way way to fast since I got a Valentine one for my Birthday. So is the speed in the 90 ls 400 electronically limited? I get to 130 than back off because I am worried about my old tires, and my driving skill. I am often over 90 for extended periods though.
  20. Does anyone know the top speed of stock '90 LS400s. Is it limited?
  21. Hey can anyone point me to a salvage yard that would have a fair amount of lexus parts. I live here in central PA, and all the yards I have called around here say, "Are you kidding, we don't have any late model cars like that." Keep in mind my car is a '90 LS400. Any leads would be apreciated Basher_boy
  22. You know I have had this problem in my '90 LS400. I always assumed I was clipping the accelerator while I was on the brake, but everyone who has driven my car has had a similar experience. It almost always happens in stop and go traffic, and I even rear-ended a Merc at the Holland tunnel tolls. Is there really an electronic/mechanical defect or is it just a design (i.e. pedal placement) problem?
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