SRK

Actually in modern engines, or even older ones rebuilt by newer methods, break-in periods are no longer required. The surfaces in the old days that tended to scuff were the piston ring and piston to cylinder wall areas. With modern honing techniques and the surface finishes they achieve, the wearing in needed at this point is really zero. As far as bearings and valve guides are concerned, no break-in at all. The factory warrants these engines quite happily without concern, and puts rev limiters in the ECM simply to prevent overspeeding, which is dangerous at any time during an engine's service life, and more so as it ages. With modern oils, no engine should develop any amount of deposit internally, and in all of the engines I have rebuilt, none have shown this unless truly abused through lack of oil changes. Some folks even think that deposits have some sort of good function, and that removing them can "hurt" the engine. No such evidence exists for that belief. A crankshaft spinning at 3k is as invisible as one at 6k. Both are fast, but these engines are designed to take it all day long, regardless of who drove the car before you.

That is mostly an old wives tale. Many years ago when engines (domestic V-8's) developed a substantial ring ridge in the bore, or the rings were stuck in the piston grooves, some damage could result if the engine was revved hard and fast. But mostly the damage resulted from young kids buying old peoples car and thrashing them, and then blaming the old people. These engines don't develop ring ridges - in fact most modern fuel injected engines don't, or do so very little. I am sure my LS400 was driven very gently by the first owner, and I have thrashed it at times just to see what it can do. It seems to burn no oil at all, and runs perfectly. And at 48 some would think me an old people. Drive the car as you like. Don't worry about it, and as I say, "Don't save it for the next owner".

You can replace the cats until you are blue in the face. It's not like you will find a cat that runs "cooler" than the ones you have now. The reason the cat (s) are overheating is that far too much unburned hydrocarbon is reaching them. That means a serious misfire, which would have produced a code probably, or something else that is causing too much fuel flow, like an O2 sensor. Take Joe's advice and mine, and have the engine diagnosed properly. That's what needs to be done first.

I am sure others will have more to say than I on this Paul, but my extensive automotive experience, combined with a limited experience with Lexus, tells me that these LS models are ALL great cars in every respect, and they only get better as they get newer. I have a '92, and it is amazing. So newer is more amazing. Simple as that. As far as life expectancy of the engine and trans - I haven't heard of, or met anyone, including dealer mechanics, who has rebuilt either. Canada's top Lexus technician works in my town, and he says he has never had the heads off one, or pulled a trans out. Of course that's good, as Lexus doesn't supply overbore pistons....replace the block is the service manual advice. Lots are approaching the half million mile mark. No oil burning, no noises. Buy one and forget you ever owned a Benz. If I can recall, I owned two Mercedes once upon a time.....Last week I drove a pal's 560SEC, which I thought for years was a great looking car. After I drove it I said "You just burst the bubble" He thought it was a compliment. I explained to him I no longer want one - I'm a Lexus fan and that's it. Good luck with the purchase.

I stand corrected. I will watch him with that in mind.

I agree with Goss on this one, but I can't believe he is a "master mechanic". Some of his little "demos" are full of mistakes. Sam Memollo, now he is a mechanic, who obviously worked in the trade.

In the old days when carburetors were the norm, the engine was best started and driven gently to get the choke to turn off as quickly as possible. If idled, the choke would stay on too long, causing an over-rich mixture, which could foul the spark plugs and dilute the engine oil. With modern fuel injection those problems no longer occur. On the other hand the engine will warm up more quickly when driven gently straight away. A very cold start might cause me to idle the engine for one or two minutes, any other time I just check all the gauges, get my seatbelt on, and drive the car. Maybe half a minute, that's all. With 5W-30 oil, lubrication in all parts of the engine is nearly instant, even in cold weather, so no problems there either. So the Toyota manual is right, just drive the car after a short pause to check everything.

If the vibration is past 60 MPH then get a print out of the alignment that was done - before and after angles. The alignment is critical, and no amount of new tires or balancing will help.

TRAC was standard equipment on Canadian market LS400's, so my 92 has it. It certainly works in the rain to prevent wheelspin. Turn it off and the thing will spin a tire for a city block! I haven't tried the LS in the snow we have right now, as I am busy abusing the old Volvo I bought for my daughter. Now that's a great snow car. I had to get into the LS at the first freeze up, and I had to heat the key with a lighter to get the door unlocked. Then the door wouldn't latch when I shut it. Had to wait for the sun to warm the door panel. I couldn't believe it. The amount of salt on the roads right now is incredible, so I am trying to avoid contaminating the LS - the Volvo is quite rusty already, so it is the designated road warrior. Big studded snow tires. Scrap steel in the trunk. Park it anywhere, don't even lock it.

Well you don't sound too standoffish to me Sebastor. I am well aware that there are all sorts of reports written by owners of the tires on TireRack. They make some interesting reading. They are also quite contradictory, and the best one can do is find a "trend". Some Michelins are a bit squishy. Not the Pilots though. I have XGT H4's on my 94 Camaro. (yes, yes, I am prepared for all the slagging for owning that car along with the Lexus, and I can handle it) I had XGT Z4's on the Camaro before, and the ride was too rough. Michelin is also expensive. I read all kinds of reports on the Bridgestones, but what I found in terms of steering response (squishy) and road noise (high pitched whine) was not mentioned. Turned out I just didn't like them. Maybe the RE950's are better. Bridgestones look good, but that is not so important to me. The H4's are outstanding in the dry and wet, and we get a lot of wet where I live. They are quiet, and ride well. The ones I bought today are my fourth set, on as many cars. Other Michelins I will never buy again, but these ones are good. Keep in mind that some Michelins are made in Japan. Buy the Yokos. Let us know how they are. But you have been asking for opinions from this board for over two weeks I think, and you have got them. Take them and do as you will. Just calm down a bit, eh? Vbdenny, I had Goodrich tires on a 427 Cobra replica I built a few years back ( I used a 460 Ford in that one....) and they were great. Excellent all round tire, and like you say, a good price.

Nothing is the "best" - everything is a compromise. That Yoko is a small coupe tire, not designed for cars like ours. Today I had a set of Michelin XGT-H4's in the 215-65/15 size installed to replace the Bridgestone RE930i's, and they are far quieter, steer better, at a small cost in ride. You get what you pay for. Costco took the Bridgestones back at what I paid for them - excellent service - and let me move up to the Michelins for a lot less than I figured. I haven't found a tire manufacturer yet that says their tires are noisy, or wear quickly, or ride hard, or have poor traction in any weather. They all heap the praises on their product, and hope we won't compare. The only way to know is to drive them.

Hi Craig; I had my car aligned locally by a shop that does all of my and my customers cars. They even let me help. The result was a car that felt like it was on "tip-toes" at highway speed, to one that feels planted and stable. A four wheel alignment, done properly (and I can't stress how much properly counts) will transform the car. There are lots of shops that advertise "four wheel alignments" and they simply center the steering wheel. Phone me if you still have my number or mail me off the board to get the name of the shop and an intro to the owner. Rhys

Did you read my post earlier? I have ordered XGT H4's for my Lexus. I am getting them because I have a set of 245-50/16's XGT H4's on my other car, and they are excellent. Good choice.

Tell me more about this wheezing and white smoke when a timing belt breaks.

Apparently Lexus approves the 215/60 and the 215/65 15 inch tires for the early cars (I have a 92), to replace the stock 205/65-15. I have had a set of 215/60-15 Bridgestones on my car for the last six months. Next week I am trading them in at Costco, where I bought them, to move on to a set of Michelin XGT-H4 215/65-15, as I have found the Bridgestones to be a bit noisy, although great in other respects. I believe the wheel width is a bit small to allow a good fit with the 225 wide tires. The 16 inch wheels of the later cars is about 1 inch wider than the 15's I think. Also you would have to lower the aspect ratio to keep the same rolling diameter, so a 225/60 or a 225/55 would be in order.

LexusPete - you are hoping to keep others away from these cars, so you will have a better choice? Or do you really believe that Volvo and VW are better? I sold my last (of eighteen) Volvo to buy my LS400. I had had enough of Volvo water pumps, intank fuel pumps, main fuel pumps, shoddy interiors, oil leaks, driveline vibes, water leaks, heater fans, the works. Tough cars, durable, but not reliable. Two different things. Drop by your local VW dealership sometime and check out what passes for warranty work. Whole engines and transmissions being replaced or repaired. Stuff you will never see in a Lexus dealership. In 1970 VW sold 535,000 cars in North America. In 1990 they sold 30,000. There is a reason for that. As for Honda, they make a nice little car. I don't fit them. I fit Volvos, obviously, and the Lexus. And I won't own a front drive car. Never have, never will.

Cross drilled rotors are not required on a street car. Water is flung off the rotors at any kind of speed anyways by centrifugal force, one of the biggest advantages of disc over drum brakes. The reason for cross drilling originally was to vent the gases created by the pad as it heats. Modern pads don't gas very much, and in street use not at all. Cross drilling looks good, and seems impressive to those who don't know better. As mentioned, they can be a source of cracking if not properly located, and they also reduce the mass of the rotor, which reduces the heat sink effect. I have found that the Lexus wholesale price for rotors is actually mid-way between the aftermarket wholesale price on a couple of brands. I think the fronts for my '92 were about $115.00 Canadian, so around $85.00 US. That's quite reasonable considering the quality of the factory part, which appears to be ground to a final surface, rather than simply machined. Certainly they work well.

Craig I wasn't trying to be sarcastic, and if you took it that way, my apologies. My point was that if you drive both cars differently, then your feet are trained to respond in two ways, and that in itself could be dangerous. And yes there may be times when accelerating is an option, but for me, I haven't found one yet, and I think we would agree that braking is the better option in most cases.

So Craig, when you drive the NSX, assuming it is a manual trans, do you cover the brake with your left foot? In all my years of driving everthing from buses to semis and trucks of all sorts, I have never encountered a situation where accelerating got me out of trouble. If you want to see if you have a dominant foot, run the hurdles. I am not a jock, but those that are tell me that you will figure it out very quickly running the 100 meter hurdles the first time.

What you describe Craig is called "covering the brake", but it is best done with the right foot, as the car coasts through the intersection. It is a very big habit of professional drivers, who drive, as I once did, large vehicles whose brake reaction times are longer due to air brakes, which have a lag period. There is also enough variation in modern cars between the placement and relative heights of the gas and brake pedal to cause problems while one adjusts to another car. That's what NHTSA found in the Audi case, and a few others.

Actually, we are all here to advise each other. Accurately if possible.

Doiturself, do you own one of these cars? If you do, get under the rear axle sometime and note that both the upper and lower control arm mounting bolts incorporate eccentric adjusters. The rear axle, which is independant, must be adjusted for camber and toe-in. All wheel drive has nothing to do with it.

My 92 is a non-interference engine. That has been established. Engines either are or they are not. The camshaft installation procedure listed in the shop manual depends on the engine being non-interference. When the change occured to interference I do not know, but the first years of the 4.0 litre engine are N-I. It is possible make even 4 valve engines N-I by using valve reliefs in the pistons deep enough to avoid contact at TDC at full valve lift, and that is what Lexus did. If anyone had stripped a timing belt, and the engine was interference, we would have heard about it for sure. On the Volvo 16 valve 8 of the valves will hit, and the valves bend, the guides crack, and the engine is essentially unrepairable. Those who have had that happen squawk quite a bit, and I am sure Lexus folks would too.

When a gallon of gasoline is burned, about one pound of water is produced, which among other things leaves at the tailpipe of course. A large exhaust system will condense this water to visible vapour on its way to the tailpipe until the system heats up fully, when the vapour leaves the tailpipe invisibly. The LS has a huge exhaust system, and there will be times when the vapour is condensed even after a long drive. Here on the west coast of Canada a twenty mile trip is not enough sometimes. If the exhaust smells normal, then it isn't antifreeze causing it. When a head gasket does admit coolant to the combustion chamber the exhaust odour is changed for the worse. Smells terrible, and you can't mistake it.

The problem with left foot braking is that when we all learned to drive, we probably learned to brake with the right foot. So the ingrained psychological response to a "startling" event, like the car moving off inadvertently, is to stab the pedal with the right foot. If the right foot is over the gas, and the left over the brake, the result is obvious. Research into this confirms that standard transmission cars do not experience unintended acceleration. Only automatics. This means that the "foot habits" of those driving automatics are different. When one considers the options that are available to stopping a car which is TRULY running away in an unintended fashion, like switching off the ignition or shifting to neutral, that are NOT used by people in these situations, we have the evidence needed to indicate that in an emergency people react in ingrained ways, without thinking. If you teach your brain to leave your right foot over the gas pedal, after the right foot was trained to stomp the brake in a "startle" moment, you are asking for trouble. The worst incident I listened to was a woman owner of an Audi 5000 who claimed that she sped down a California highway for over twenty miles (and about ten minutes) with the car running away in an uncontrollable state. Did she think to switch off the engine? Shift to neutral? Or even put her foot on the brake pedal? No. She went into dinosaur brain and stayed there. Her car was inspected and found to be in perfect working order, brakes included. And the Audi 5000, even in turbo form, had an enemic engine that could be easily overpowered by its braking system. I know, my father in law had an '88 turbo 5000 and I checked that fact (without telling him) as the "unintended acceleration" stories became newsworthy. Cars do accelerate a bit faster than expected every now and then. As jmblimo stated, the start-up idle flare, designed into every fuel injected car with an IAC valve to limit starting emissions, can produce a faster creep speed in gear. And that, among other things, can startle a driver.