mitymouse

One other thing Chaz -if the car you purchased is certified the absolutely should have made sure that the tires are appropriate for the car -not only the size but the speed rating. Speed rating of the tires is designed for the rest of the suspension tuning. If I were you I would threaten to speak with the Lexus coprporate office if they hedge on the tires. In fact, ask them to show the checklist for certification and I'm sure tire review is on there. They should be ashamed for trying to pawn off the car with those crappy tires on them. You see this kind of *BLEEP*e on ebay cars, not certified cars! Good luck and don't back down. A car wash...really...what do they think you are, an idiot? Sorry but it *BLEEP*es me off.

Don't get the H's, get the V's no matter what you decide. My GS handles like a Taurus since I out H's on it!

Remember, when deciding what series to get, "series" is a measurment of ratio, so 50 series is going to have a different sidewall height on a 235 tire than a 225 tire. At any rate, here is a great tire size calculator where you can plug in the original tire size, and then plug in the tire size you are contemplating an it will tell you the difference in all the dimensions, between the two tires. http://www.1010tires.com/tiresizecalculator.asp -It will also tell you the max/min wheel width you can use with any tire, so you should be set my friend. Just plug in the #'s! I just bought a set of 17x8's and am putting 235X50's on, and the total diameter is only .39% difference from the original 215/60/16's, so when my speedometer reads 60, I'll actually be doing 59.7 which is no big deal to me. I can use a 6-8 inch rim with this tire. I think you'll be surprised how wide you can go with a 7" rim... My recommendation -You could do a 245/50/17 with a 7" rim and the overall height of the tire would be about the same as your original 16's. Fit like a glove and speedometer read 58.8 at 60mph. I don't think the 245 would rub. If you really want staggared, do 245/50/17 in the back and 235/50/17 in the front and everything will be cool, and overall heights very close to the originals.

WHATEVER YOU DO, don't make the same mistake that I did and put less than "V" rated tires on the car. I put some H rated Firestone Affinity LH30's on and immediately lost my cornering abilities. The tires, otherwise are perfect; super sticky in all climates and EERILY silent. But I digress. Go to tirerack dot com and check out the Yokohama AVS dB S2. Yokohama's quietest Ultra High Performance tire, and still the are priced very reasonably with good reviews. BF Goodrich Traction TA/H (V Speed) are also an excellent choice (and carried by Sam's Club cheap!). I'm assuming you're going with something that is close to stock size. Tirerack is a great place for research, even if you don't buy them there.

One thing you might want to consider is resale value. I know I always check all the glass to make sure it is original when I look at buying a car. If there is a pane that isn't, I wonder if the car has been wrecked, vandalized, and painted somewhere also. It's a red flag for me. You also might want to check with Lexus regarding the properties of the glass. Lexus has a higher UV value than most glass, and a dealer once told me that it also has a "rain repellent" quality built in although this sounds a little fishy, but I could swear my GS winshield looks like someone has just applied Rain-X. You Lexus experts might be able to help with that notion. Good luck.

Chrome for $700/wheel? Whew! That is total craziness. I'm working with a ebay (probably the same one where you got the good price quots) dealer in Dallas and they are very reasonable. I'll have some chrome five spoke 16's for sale soon that are like new -literally. With the Chrome spare too.

I think many people haven't replied because the rims are so ugly. No -just messin with ya man. Seriously they are sweet. Have you noticed a big difference in the ride/performance? What were your previous wheels? Do the low profile tires beat you to death? What do you mean by "two part rims"? Any problems with wheel shuddering at speeds above 60mph? Keeps those beauties polished -I am jealous! ps -you really ought to consider slotted/drilled rotors and painted calipers since they are so reavealed now. Just a suggestion if you have the bucks...

I'm within an inch of ordering TRD 17x8's -Lexus L-Tuned SuperTurismos +50mm offset, which to me look a lot like Bimmer wheels, but thought I would check with you gentlemen and ladies for anything used with which you'd like to part. I attached the picture of the rim which I really like and think it will work well for the GS300 since it is Toyota designed for high speed. I don't trust just any old after market wheel maker since I've read a lot of stories about balancing problems with wheel and tire combo's. BTW, I'm going to put some 235 50V 17's on to replace the soft 215 60H 16's that are now on the car. Think I'll notice a significant improvement in handling and change in ride? I hope so! If you have some 17's you can also email me at cmerlin2@yahoo.com. I hope this post is ok -I haven't done this much. Peace, and BTW again, next week I'm going to KC to TD the new GS and hopefully the new IS as well. They both are getting me excited!

Yes, the kit include those pieces. You have to make sure to pick the right kit for your dash such as with or without NAV, Nakamichi vs Pioneer, etc. Unfortunately, the kit does not include pieces for the overhead console, but I believe that Sherwood makes a smaller accessory kit just for that. The kit is currently on sale for only $176 at CarXccessory.com. That's a darn good price. I paid $199 for my kit. http://www.carxccessory.com/carxccessory/w...xus-gs-300.html Here's a diagram of what the kit contains for a 2000 GS300 with no NAV and the standard Pioneer radio: http://www.sherwooddash.com/shadowsheets/1...if?Picture=1010 ← I go to the site now and unfortunately they now charge $245 for the wood kit. They must have caught on to the business they are getting from this site and raised their prices. Too steep for me!

I'd be pretty upset with the person that sold you the car. Chances are that he disconnected the battery and reset the engine light for your test drive. It usually takes 30-60 miles before the light comes back on, even though the problems are immediate. A shifty dealer did the same thing to me and I got home, 70 miles from the dealer and it came on. Turned out to be a $750 charcoal canister and the dealer says tough cookie. More of an answer to your question -I know the 2nd gen GS has over 70 sensors that can set off the light and yours probably has close to the same. Your plugs should definitely be changed if they haven't yet. And the timing belt. Wires are probably ok but might as well change them to be sure. The 96 has a rotor cap??? My 99 has seperate coils for each cylinder.

Droopy eyelids give the car a hangover -what were you thinking! Just kidding -nice touch. I'd do a eweie to chase you down for a better look. Thanks for the generic shot. Is your GS lowered? Lemme know as I am considering 18's with the goal of looking something like your ride. You've got a great car there.

This will take a little longer, but fill your tank slower: Use the first click on the pump handle. The slower the flow, the smaller the back-pressure from the tank. CA is a beeyatch w/ their recapture boots. MO has the same thing. I live in KS where we have good old fashioned pot-metal pipes but I've noticed even with these, I have less mid-pump shutoffs if I fill slowly. Fill your tank slowly, patiently and take refuge in the fact that you will have less high-pressure shut-offs, and more importantly, you will salvage your charcoal canister. Frequent high-pressure shut offs will kill your canister (like it did mine thank to the prev owner) and this will set you back $750. Forgive the cliche but when filling a Lexus tank, "slow and steady wins the race." pax

I'm think of upgrading my low-beam driving bulbs but want to stay within 55W as not to burn up the wiring. Sylvania Silverstars look great, no blue hue and 4000k white light. Anyone else out there tried any different bulbs that they are happy with? I don't care much about the blue hue, although a slightly blue hue might be nice. I just don't want it to look tacky. It's really a performance issue for me and the Silverstars show pictures of great results (whiter, cleaner, brighter light) with safe wiring loads.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...mMakeTrack=true I'd like to put these on my 99 GS300. I think they'd be a massive improvement in handling over the 16's I have now but 245 would probably be a better width. To bid or not to bid, that is the question. The 225's would still be wider than what I've got and I know the low profiles and W rated tires would whoop my H rated Firestone Affinity LH30s (balloons)... What do ya think y'all? I could keep the 16's handy for long road trips.

Already replaced the gas cap on the first dealer visit. The car runs perfectly and the Lexus dealer wasn't concerned about "rich driveability problems" but I'll keep an eye out for any performance issues. Gas mileage is 20 in town and 27 on the highway at 90 mph (hi flow air filter and 32 psi probably contribute to this). At this point I don't want any mechanics touching anything for fear of messing something up. The car runs like a champ. Thanks for you advice though. I may have to tackle the canister someday. Maybe I'll hit it when I throw in new plugs and a serpintine belt at around 100k. That is, if I don't swap for a GS4 or maybe the new style IS300 by then. I bought this car wholesale to resale for a profit but I can't bear to part with it. I'm a Lexus man now!

I'd love to fix the problem but the problems is this. The charcoal canister is bad and Lexus wants over $700 to replace it, Toyota $600. The replacement requires pulling the axle -something which I don't know how to do. The part is $500. What does the charcoal canister do? It recycles the extra fumes from the gas tank. The dealer explained to me that by not replacing the canister, the only damage I am doing to anything is letting some fuel fumes escape into the air. I can't justify $700 for this fix, personally, but then again, I am tight with the bread. At any rate -the tiny piece of tape is unoticable, except in a certain light. I'd feel worse about the $700 hit than the piece of tape. At any rate -it keeps me humble (wink)!

I have the exact same noise in my 99 GS3. It does sound like a heat shield rattling when acclerating at the RPM's you mentioned. It is getting worse. The sound seems to be coming from behind the steering wheel, but it is not like a dash-rattle. It is more metallic. If anyone knows a fix, I'd sure like to know too.

I have an easy solution (it works well for me). Tongue in cheek. Make sure the stereo is turned up loud enough so it drowns out the rattles. My 99 GS3 has three distinct rattle in the dash. one under the car and one in the sunroof. It is especially bad when it's cold out, but when the car warms up, it is tolerable. I doubt these cars have any more rattles than any other, it's simply that the sound is amplified due to the quitness of the cabin. I also have a fast easy fix for the check engine light, once you have determined that it is not a problem that is detrimental to the performance of the car. One small square piece of black electrical tape placed carefully over the idiot dash-light eliminates it's annoying glow and is never noticed unless one knows to look for it. If someone can tell me how to take off the dash, I'd love to just get in there and pop the bulb!

Yes I did mean 245/40. Those are great looking wheels but show a little more metal than what I'd like. I'm also trying to find something used so I can save some green. Thanks for the info.

I have a 1999 GS300, everything is stock, current wheels/tires are 215/60HR16. I'd like to go up to 245/24VR18's. Does this seem like it would be to big a wheel for this car? Would I lose a lot of fuel economy going from a 215 to a 245? Any other issues I need to be concerned with when wheel/tire upgradi? I found a tire size calculator on the net so I can make sure the size doesn't throwoff my speedometer. I realize I would lose some of the cushiony ride but I am willing to give that up for the tighter handling. I'd like to find a used set of Lexus 18's. The 16" Lexus wheels I currently have are chrome (including the spare) and I think I might be able to sell them to recoup some of the cost for the 18's. Anyway, if you have any suggestions on where to find a decent deal on 18's, or might want to trade, please respond. If you have a set of 18's for sale, please let me know. Thanks.