bartkat

California may be tough to get it CARB certified.

What part of Florida? It's a long state.

Probably anything over 100 miles one way, where most of it is freeway or interstate driving.

Idle speed should be between 600 and 700 RPM. You can find the TSB's for most any car at the following link. http://www.alldata.com/recalls/index.html

The tire sidewall will state the maximum load at the maximum pressure. You probably don't want to be running at that. 30 - 32 PSI is a good all around number for a lightly loaded passenger car. Use 30 for most of the time, and if you're going on a trip, maybe go up to 32 PSI for susatained "high speed" driving. That will also help your gas mileage just a little bit.

1. Check your engine idle speed. It's probably going too low with the A/C on and the car in gear and your foot on the brake. 2. If you have sludge, the oil pan can be removed and cleaned out, then run some new oil for about 500 miles, then flush out the pan again and put in the type of oil you want to run.

You can buy Lexus logo stickers that cover up the airbag labels. They come in different colors and backgrounds. Sometimes they're on Ebay.

If you spray paint, you'll need to prep and paint entire panels. Even a good body shop would still have trouble matching the paint on nearby surfaces. The stuff you get in a can is no way going to match your old paint that well. You could end up with the ony good fix being a complete paint job, and I doubt you want that.

That's about all it does plus it's supposed to give crisper shifts.

This site is partly down, but they have a more reasonably priced turbo. http://www.taabokyoso.com/ You might also check Swift Racing Technolgy and Peter Farrell Supercars. All of them make turbo kits for IS300.

I don't see how starting the car with the key is a test of anything. The red alarm light on mine starts flashing as soon as I remove the key anyhow.

From another forum. Here's an eye witness report on the result of running regular gas in a Lexus that requires premium fuel: "I just came from hanging out at the lexus dealer behind the scenes so to speak. I just got a look at a brand new crusty black carbon covered SC430 motor that got swapped out for a new one. Mechanic told me that the guy put 89 octane in it and ran it. THIS THING had thick filthy black carbon build up all over the pistons. He says that when carbon builds up the heat doesn't transfer away quick enough and it burns the rings and stuff.. Is anyone running low octane gas and has anyone heard of or had any issues like this with their IS300 or other lexus?. I run lo-octane occasionally and can't tell a difference except it kind of pings when you hit the gas but immediately goes away.. I had no idea that it builds crap up on your motor like that!!.. I could take a pic tommorow if you all want to see it?"

You car doesn't knock on regular gas because it has the ability to !Removed! (or not advance) the ignition timing prior to reaching a knock condition. I suppose that's all well and good if you are willing to sacrifice some performance. If your engine calls for regular gas, that's all well and good. However, if it calls for premium, sooner or later you could have problems.

Who were the idiots that put the wrong lug nuts on?

Also get a bag of children's play sand. Put it in a garbage bag so it won't leak. Place the bag of sand in the trunk just over the rear axle and strap it down with bungee cords. This will help the rear wheels get traction and, in an emergency, you can spread some sand near the tires to help get unstuck.

Could be just a loose wire or plug going to the ECU. If you can find the ECU, then trace the wires coming out of the box and look for a disconected wire or plug. Or just shove all the plugs you can find together to make sure they are tight.

Steve, what is so bad about the PotenzaRE92? I'm not trying to disagree...I'm just curious...I know jack s#$t about tires. Any safety issues? . From the sounds of things, it's quite unfortunate that I have 4 of them. I don't think there's really anything wrong with them, they just don't rate really high in most categories. Check the ratings here. http://www.tirerack.com/index.jsp

I'm not sure what location you are talking about, but some cars do have a "tape" strip at the bottom of the fenders near the wheel wells to protect the paint from stones, etc.

Depending on where you live, the all season tires should help. You just have to remember you have a rear wheel drive car, and drive accordingly. Mine has a "snow button" that reduces power so minimize wheel spin.

Not sure about yours, but the 2001 and early 2002 IS300 had a problem with hanging up on the 1 to 2 shift on the automatic trans. They issued a service bulletin and most owners went to the dealers and got their ECU reflashed to improve the shifting. You can go to this link and find out if there are service notices on your particular car. http://www.alldata.com/recalls/index.html

Most stuff on an IS300 is fairly easy to get to. The oil filter is a little akward, but with the right tool it's not that hard. Engine air filter, cabin filter, battery and all that sort of thing area all very easy to access. I find it easier to maintain than a Honda Civic.

You'll need to set your payout time. It probably should be the expected length of time you epect to keep the car. The ROI (return on investmen) would be the % returned. If you end up with zero ROI or any positive number, then you are ahead of the costs. CAI isn't probably going to help MPG. The K&N you already have ordered will help a little. You really need to test that as your only mod, till you have the data on that. Exhaust might help MPG a little, but it's an expensive item. I think the extended change intervals for Amsoil are over hyped. Using a Castrol or Mobil synthetic should do just as well, since your car already has some miles on it. Most of the premium oils are "gas saving", but the difference may be too small to measure. As for the dual oil filter, that's not going to help MPG, and with such an installation you are iinviting the chances for leaks and other problems. I don't know what it costs, but the payout may not be there, even if you do go with the extended oil changes. The only thing that I can see that would really boost MPG would be a change in the differential gearing to a higher (lower numerical) gearing, allowing your car to run at lower RPM on the highway and in top gear. I don't know if such is available, but that would be the biggest change you could make. IMHO

Sure it can be replaced. However, if the don't do a really good job it might leak. Maybe you can find the problem youself by watching and listening while someone opens and closes it. Also try to simulate the conditions while the car is sitting still and try and pin down the exact location of the noise. Since your car is pretty new, you might want to put some silicone spray lube on the trim edges of the glass and the slider grooves and run the roof back and forth several times to try and get it to settle in.

I think you'll get a better ride from the Falkens, being as they are all season, "touring" type tires. The at least claim a good quiet ride and also are 60,000 mile tires in the H rating series.

Not sure about the VSC, but a bad Mass Airflow Sensor in the intake will cause a car to either only idle, or run at wide open throttle. Sometimes the sensor is just dirty or has oil on it and can be cleaned with some electronic parts cleaner. It's worth a try as it's easy to find and easy to clean.