Lexuses71

For those of you who are freeway close to the South Bay area (south of LAX), I highly recommend Independent Repair on Artesia Blvd in Redondo Beach. I have been been using and recommending them to friends and coworkers for years, used them on 4 vehicles so far since '90 (a 87 Honda Prelude Si, my '93 Acura Legend Coupe, the wifes' '93 Lexus ES300 and now my '98 LS 400). They are fair, have a super clean shop, do NOT try to sell you something you don't need and are very courteous. The specialize in Honda/Acura, Toyota/Lexus and Nissan/Infiniti. However, this is not a "we work on any dang thing" shop. Independent Repair's niche market is high end Japanese vehicles. And they have a TON of very happy customers. This is the kind of shop you develop over time a relationship with. They use only factory parts and the money I have SAVED not going to the dealer has allowed me to be PRO-active instead of RE-active in maintianing my vehicles. Because of the relationship I have built there with the Manager, I TRUST this shop. And I have a very effective BS meter. I will not take my cars anywhere else. http://www.independentrepair.com/ Anybody interested in any more info on this shop, PM me, but I believe I have pretty much said it all here.

I found a site that has the 17" chrome seven spoke rims, the ones that come on 2001-2004 LS430. My car is factory 16" 5 slot rims mfd. by JIL. Will they fit, more specifically, will the lugs line up? Do I have to replace any studs like SK performance recently did? Right now, I am running 225-60HR/16 Goodyear Eagles on the 5 slots. Very smooth tire. Over all look is sharp, but I have my noggin set on something a bit different... What are the best smoothest yet decent handling tires to get, assuming I can go this route with the 17" rims? I've read the entire Wheels/Tires section and, like most forums, each member has a different take and opinion. Matter of fact, there is so much varying opinion, it's difficult to walk away with an overall decision, LOL! I'd think a 50-55 series 225 tire would be best. (+1 on the rim, -1 on the tire height rule). I have Falken 215-45/17 series on my Legend and they are fairly smooth, grip decent. Not top of the line, but not bad either. Right now, the LS rides so frigin' smooth , I hate to compromise too much and a 45 seems borderline in ride quality. Som of you may feel differently about that, and that's what I want to know. I want a decent compromise, but since I don't paln to shoot corners at 50+ mph, I'm willing to give up some performance to keep the ride smooth as possible. I live in So. Cali, so only occassional rain is a road grip issue. I'm also concerned with extra fuel consumption. Bigger rims seem to mean more gas. And we all know what prices are like these days. As nice as the 16" factory rims are, to me, they just do not set the car off as I envision it, yet, I want to maintan a classy look. Here is the URL that has the rim I am interested in. It's the 3rd wheel in the 2nd row. The ones on my car currently are right beside the 17" 7 spoke in the middle, same middle row. http://www.lakeshorewheelandtire.com/specials/ls430.shtml The 2nd question I have is can I take my 16" five slots and put them on my '93 ES300?? THAT would look sharp. I welcome all takes, opinions and critique. Thanks much folks. P.S. I just uploaded a front shot of my recently bought '98 LS400 w/20K miles on it. As I mentioned before, it is-far as I am concerned-still a new car.

DEFINITELY aftermarket...... Never ever seen Lexus factory rims like those.

I'm reading this thread and am now wondering, is air suspension standard on '98 LS400 models? I don't even know yet if my car has it. How can I tell?

Gorgeous, SK, simply gorgeous look. How is the ride quality at this point? 35's scare me, I'm looking at 18's & a 45 series tire at best, however I also am going for the lux/classy look overall, not sporty or a "baller/playa" look....Congrats, but dayam, that sounds like it was a lot of manual labor to install those studs. You're a better man than me, LOL!

Oh, you are married to one of those Miss Daisy types, too? ROTF!!! Nobody can get a 'nose' higher than my Mrs when she's sitting shotgun. I'll bet that if she had HER way, she'd be sitting in the rear! But Homey Don't Play Dat! <_<

SK, one more thing.... Looking at that 1st pic of the CL exhaust installation, doesn't the heat from those pipe tips tend to melt away the bottom bumper lip they are resting against ?? I would expect they get pretty hot after driving awhile.

SK, that's a pretty darn clean undercarriage. My question is, how quiet (or noisy) is that set up? I'm taking into consideration it's on a CL, so it may have a more 'sporty' purr...Regardless, I do see the pipe flow to the rear and that is the key item. Thanks much!

ROTFLMAO!!!!! You know, I wrote all that above and didn't even stop to think if that was anyone's car here, LOL! I can honestly say that subconciously, I must've hoped it wasn't, it COULDN'T be a Club Lexus owner's car! Because if I had known different, I would have been a bit more diplomatic..... On 2nd thought, NAW, These Rims Am Ugly, LOL! I stick to what I said above. nc211, I 'm glad i don't owe you an apoplgy, but I would have given you one had that been your car. Then I'd have asked you to PM me, so I could talk some sense into ya! LOL!

SK, I got your back on that point you made about "pay ATTENTION to me!" rims. So true, so true...In this forum, I have noticed with very minor exceptions, a more mature caliber of owner, based on the comments and sense of taste and logic that is shared in the posts. I know I am not a spring chicken myself, I am close to the average Lexus LS owner age demographic, and I took my time moving up into a LS series. When I drive this car, I do not feel like a middle aged dude out trying to pick up tenderonis, I feel like the guy I am, or would like to thnk I am. Having said that, reading this entire thread and seeing those monstrous rims tells me a few things about the owner-likely young, has a need to impress with the 'bling factor', wants to be noticed (which as you so well pointed out, these days can be a BAD thing), and most importanly, has no sense of refinement or taste. To that particular owner, those wheels are "smokin". And to each their own. But heck, they looked like 22's for an SUV!. Even worse, they are on the wrong car. Whih makes that poor LS look 'clownish'. To be fair, I have seen some 20's that were classy, subdued and enhanced the stance and overall look of the car considerably. At what cost, hey, I have no idea. But that's as large a wheel as I could possibly consider. Yesterday, I perused some websites for wheels and tire combos (after reading several threads in Wheels and Tires section here) just to picture how certain wheels might look. (Tirerack.com is one of the best for that purpose). Of all the rims they suggested for the LS400, they did have a chrome 20 inch rim that was sharp, stylish and I liked it for later consideration. I also like the OZ rim above. My concern with 20's is that also seems to mean you are stuck with a real low profile tire that could affect that exellent ride quality and I am not about to muck that up. There were tons of opinions and thoughts on what works versus what someone tried and didn't. But one thing I can say to conclude here, is that pic with the oversized rims looked pretty....rank and they cheapened a really nice classy car. If you are going to add specialty rims, they should compliment , not overpower the car. Just my opinion....

Obergc, that's exactly what I suspected. Had a friend who once had a '97 Avalon. Nice care, but I first noticed this phenomen on her car then, and the day I took my LA home, I wondered if these would shopw the same 'symptom'. Wll, sometimes you have to just weigh up the pros and cons of any car, and the pros on the LS outweigh this minor distaction by such a large margin, I am not going to worry about it. However, I do appreciate you giving me "the true bottom line". Anyone have a general idea how long these will last before they just go...blank? Car is a '98.

Personally, I listen to a lot of rhythm based Jazz, both mainstram and contemporary. I also listen t semi-Classical on occassion, which the Pioneer does well. The Pioneer, as I mentioned, is a more than adequate system for the size of the car, but the Alpine/Bose system in my legend is a bit superior, especially on bottom end, but I perfer to listen to my CDs without kiddy style "boom-boom". I do like my bass "tight". It just has more clarity and punch,a dn to be fair, it's a smaller area in the Coupe. Plus, it is 300 watts with a subwoofer. I think the Pioneer is 200 watts w/subwoofer. Betwenn THOSE two, I can tell the difference. I haven't yet heard the Levenson system, but I have heard excellent things about it. But, you are absolutely correct, it is an ear thang for sure!

Don't be afraid to ask any questions! If someone is going to mock you for asking a question, you wouldn't want their input anyway! The privacy handset is a Nokia accessory. It's just a like a phone, but it has no buttons on it. lol It's only meant to function to hold private conversation that you don't want anyone else in the car to hear! It's a fun little toy to have! The mount that I have isn't a cup holder type. Jim (1990LS400) should be able to tell you what brand it is! lol I pulled the ac/stereo controllers out and screwed it in to the dash right where you see it, but the screws are hidden behind the stereo and climate. I'm glad to help! ;) ← And I prouffusely thnk you for the pics, although a coupe I had a hard tie making out the image, that's why I asked about the cup holder type mount for te cradle as opposed to the kind that bolts to the side of the console. I'm tellin' ya, everyone here is just great, a very mature group of enthusiasts. And like yourself, I learn new stuff every day when I look to see what's new and being surfaced as onging owner issues. Thanks again, I really learned something here.

In my '98 LS400, I have noticed in last few days that when it gets warm inside the interior, the greyish background the temperature and clock LED starts to give off (for lack of a better description) a 'rainbow' effect of sorts. Makes me think something's about to go south. When the interior or outside temperature cools down, the effect dissapears. The readout area gets a bit darker around the edges also until the effect goes away. The car IS 7 yrs old.... Is something about to go out here??? And is it something I need to worry about?? Appreciate any responses from same year owners who have seen this themselves....

None that I know of. I think there was a big discussion about this a good while ago in which user "dogboy" was working on an adaptor of sorts to convert the Lexus phone to accept more modern technology. I'd just get a car kit from your phone's manufacture. They are quite easy to install, btw! ← PLEASE excuse what I'm about to ask , but a "car kit" is exactly composed of what? Is it a headset, wire/cord and dash holder for the cell phone? I have a Samsung A530S, an excellent little phone, and I'd suppose there is such a "car kit for it, ya think??

OK, I'm gonna do that recommended search and see what comes up.

Thanks to both of you guys for the responses. I suspected the car phone-due to the year of the vehicle-was likely Analog. That's too bad, most carriers (all my cells use Verizon) barely offer any kind of service for Analog. And the few that do offer limited service at best. Is there a Digital plug in version I can buy somewhere that would connet up to the cord/jack? Hate to have this nice looking phone just sitting in my console and it's outdated and can't be used. Oh well! As for the stereo, I assumed it likely was Pioneer built. I do not have the Nak, but a few folks I know that do, when I listened to their systems, I didn't realy hear that much of a difference, but I respectfully would love to hear from members with the Nak. Heck, my Acura Legend Coupe has a 300 watt factory 8 spkr Bose system that seriously out kicks the Poineer in the LS400. The Pioneer sounds nice and spatial due to the size and ambience of the car I had to really tweak my tone controls to get it right for my ear), but damn that Alpine/Bose can 'bump' with the best after market systems, especially at low volumes.

NC211, you are absolutely correct about the gas mileage factor. I've now had my '98 LS400 for 3 weeks, and compared to my beloved '93 Legend Coupe (which I managed to keep), I am astonished to say that the LS gets BETTER mileage than the Acura, which has a 24 Valve V6 and 4 speed auto tranny. Now, this Coupe is in close to pristine condition, I am the only owner, have all service records, regular service like clockwork, etc. I had the 93K service (the works) done just last year, and it runs like a Rolex, 96K original miles on it. But when I got the LS, I immediately noticed that this V8 got BETTER mileage than the V6! How embarrasing! I suppose Lexus just simply has a superior fuel management system. Another point I have to support is the Acura does shift much harsher. My 1st to 2nd is sometimes so rough, it chirps the tires, and its's FWD. Reminds me of a B&M shifter in my old muscle car. So these are two totally different cars for sure. I now drive the Coupe on occassions when I feel 'racy' (not that I do, but ya know) or hanging with my buds, and the LS when I take the Mrs. out for the evening or have company business to attend to. (Plus, she prefers me in the LS because the Coupe is black with black tint, chrome 17"s on Falken 215-45/17 tires and attention getting. The tires exactly meet the wheel wells, so the look is very nice and sleek, it is not lowered yet the wheels fill the cavity perfectly and the ride is still very good. I don't believe in overkill , like most of you folks. Plus I always garaged this car and the original paint is cherry. But since I got this LS, man, I am in hog heaven! (The Mrs. thinks the Coupe is too 'flashy' for me now, and doesn't like the tenderonis looking, LOL!). She has her ES300, also in excellent condition, so everyone's happy.

By the way, SK, our vehicles look almost identical, except my car is that deep Maroon, rims are same, etc. Oh yeah, you got that killa exhaust, LOL!

"This new way would work much better for flow. You basically replace the piping from 6 to 11 with A new y pipe with a less agressive angle to the outlets. Then use Stainless steel straight pipe to the rear mufflers with tips built on or just 2 canister mufflers with new tips added to be angle style and height you want. Price should be about 100 for piping 100-150 for each muffler and tip 50 for labour So about 350 -500 max for a better looking higher flow exhaust system which will incerase your power and gas mileage". SK, now that I better understand what you have diagramed and propose, I see that it's actually doable. I have printed out your diagram (thank you!) and will shop it around some local shops where I live. I like the look and especially like the idea of freer flowing exhaust, power and better mileage without a lot of noise. After all, it's the quiet that I love about this car! Thanks again, all you folks here are simply thee best!

As I mentione in an earlier post, the 'like new' '98 LS400 I bought had a tom iof extras, one being the console detachable factory phone. Now, lke most folks, I have a seperate cell phone, but the thought ocurred tome to look into possiblyactivating this car phone. It's in mint condition, however the dealer sales guy wasn't quite sure if it was Analog or Digital. The manual that came with it did not say either way. I'm asking because this is IS 1998 equipment. Anyone know for sure? Anybody curretly have their car phone activated? f so, what carier are you using? 2nd question, who made (manufactured) the stereo system in the '98 LS400? Were they all Nakamichis or were some made by Panasonic, like Toyota used to outsource to?? Appreciate any comments, thanks!