bartkat

Japanese cars made their first inroads into the US market because they were small, cheap and got good gas mileage. Some of those cars were genuine pieces of crap. Their quality moves came later on, in order to maintain the market.

Those are minor mods. To get that kind of mileage it almost has to be highway miles. Most of the people that do this kind of mods aren't idiot drivers. We take care of our cars better than most folks.

This information is incorrect and incomplete. Nothing personal.

wholesale $13,858 private sale $15,793 dealer retail $17,642 http://www.edmunds.com/tmv/used/2001/lexus...ntent..0.lexus*

I haven't done it, but I hear you need to change out the head unit, to do anything really big.

Since I pay $29 for an oil change with Castrol Synthetic Blend & Toyota filter every 5000 miles, it would seem conterproductive to buy more expensive oil and pay $32 for testing, just to get to 7500 miles between changes. It seems an interesting hobby, but for the average driver it doesn't make sense.

Hey, I'm new here, I also have an sc400, and I really want to turn it into a convertible.... I can't find that site.....do you know which site it is? Thanks. ← THANKS...that is the one I have been searching for... now.......does anyone know where I can get this job done, and how much it will cost? ← Just drive it real fast under a big truck.

Gas mileage not bad until you hammer down. Swift Racing Technologies also has a pretty good turbo that's a little less money, also a DIY kit. http://www.swiftracing.com/

What do you mean by "sythetic"?

Asking for a free Carfax on Saturday night and putting a Monday deadlne on it, seems a big much. I'd suggest you spend the few dollars, sign up and get your own.

exactly, remember, no work of art was created overnight in one sitting. Making your car perfect for you is an evolving process that takes times time and is best done one step at a time. Whatever you can afford when you can afford it. steviej ← Yep. Money is often wasted in trying stuff that won't ultimately be built upon to arrive at a goal.

How much money do you have to start with and where do you ultimately want to go wit the project? The best all around, full time bang for your buck is the SRT intake that comes with a a ECU piggy back unit that allows your engine to take full advantage of the intake without throwing CEL's. http://www.swiftracing.com/

After you check the fuse, the take the back cover off the headlight and make sure the plug in connector is good and tight, and not corroded. If that doesn't do it, then swap bulbs left and right. I doubt if it's the ballast, since if that was bad it probably wouldn't start up the bulb fully in the first place.

no worries about that, the fender well on my 250 is PLENTY wide...i couldnt beieve how wide it was... and if it will rub, then it wont fit on my rim... thanks for the input guys, ill keep you posted :) ← That's a hella good price, even after including shipping costs. I don't see how you could go wrong on that purchase.

If it's flexible and hangs down across the width of the bumper it's a air deflector.

V - 149 MPH The tire should fit your rim, but not sure about fender clearance.

The Fuzions are owned by Bridgestone.......and although I have nopt heard that many bad things about this line of tire, they are still made by the same company. Army, the Dunlop's are decent as well, but I'd put the Falken's on the very top of that list personally. ;) B) SW, I had a feeling you were going to say something like that lol. ← Feedback on Fuzions has been great. As a retired tire reinforcement engineer (for another tire company), I checked them out pretty thoroughly. I bought them even though Bridgestone did merge with Firstone. But hey, what do I know? ← after riding in my friends 91 ES on the same wheels as mine, but with a "50" sidewall, i have decided i want to go with a lower profile, the difference in ride wasnt enough to warrant skipping thwe good looks. can i get the falkens in a 45 or 50 sidewall in 195 width and 15 inch hight? the Fuzions i did look at, but none are in my price range here, they want over $150 per tire for the Fuzion XR (i think is what it is) here at Discount Tire. ← Darn. Prices really high there. I paid $80 each plus mount and balznce for 215/45/17's.

LOL, well aren't we a little bit elitist with our silver spoon? No offense (although I'm not real concerned about offending you because your comment was so offensive) but thats a pretty ignorant statement. High gas prices are bad for all of us, bad for industry, bad for tourism, bad for travel related businesses, bad for the economy. Just because you can afford the gas doesn't mean you shouldn't care. Keep that attitude off the LOC please, you're not better than anyone else here. ← I was kidding about the $5.00 gas, but I am permitted any attitude I choose that is not obscene or patently offensive. I grew up without ever having a new pair of shoes till 6th grade so I know riffraff. I am one leot ← I reckon when things level out, you can choose between shoes and gas, eh.

http://www.forbes.com/2005/03/07/cx_cd_0307test.html

The Fuzions are owned by Bridgestone.......and although I have nopt heard that many bad things about this line of tire, they are still made by the same company. Army, the Dunlop's are decent as well, but I'd put the Falken's on the very top of that list personally. ;) B) SW, I had a feeling you were going to say something like that lol. ← Feedback on Fuzions has been great. As a retired tire reinforcement engineer (for another tire company), I checked them out pretty thoroughly. I bought them even though Bridgestone did merge with Firstone. But hey, what do I know?

Aren't most of these Korean cars just older designs that they bought from the Japanese?

You all can do whatever you want. It's your car(s).

Check out Fuzions. They are within your price range and have great traction and run much more quietly than most. I put a set on my IS a couple months ago and I am very pleased with them in all aspects. http://thefuzionzone.com/ Also, you aren't going to save any money by taking your wheels to the tire store. Taking off and putting on the car is part of the deal.

What's it gonna break that you can't replace? I don't see the problem. If you can afford the $10,000 or whatever for Ltuned, then put em on and take your chances. It just doesn't seem to be that big of a deal.

Lexus dealers offered L-Tuned as a dealer installed option at one time, as I recall. Isn't it all body kit, bumpers, wheels, etc? I can't see where there are any mechanical or electrical parts that would fail due to its installation anyway. What they are telling you seems rather vague, but I just don't see a problem with it. I'd ask them for specific examples of what kind of problems it could cause that would void the warranty.