VBdenny

Looks like a pretty sweet place to rip around in California. I really like it there but being an east coaster, I'd miss my Atlantic too much. . Went up to the track in the finger lakes region of NY to Watkins Glen a couple weeks ago. Some of my boys from upstate New York take part in Chin Motorsports where they can take their cars on the track for a couple days. Yes, you can go as fast as you want but no, you are not allowed to race or crash as they make you pay for any damage to the railings et al. Fun, but very responsibly managed and a most impressive and educational organization. I told my wife ans she said "oh no, how much will this cost?" Guess that depends. My friend Chip has an Audi S4 with RS4 twin turbos and exhaust as well as track tires. Very cool ripping around in that, especially through "the boot." My other friend Jack has a 2014 911S which is just incredible and fast as furious. Also met another friend of Jacks, Ken who had a very sweet Audi R8 which I swear is an $125K race car incognito. Just amazing to me how well the cars held in the corners. I promise the experience will cause me to lose about 1/2 of my previously estimated tire life.

Think of this, improved traffic flow, less wasted time and fuel in traffic and all done without building one additional highway or road. Impossible? not at all. Having driven hundreds of thousands of miles (true amount unestimated) I have come to several conclusions about why Americans experience so many intense traffic issues. Naturally the heavy volume of traffic is the easiest target but that is not exactly as I see the problem. Yes, volume certainly increases traffic density however the is another problem which is at the very root of the problem with our highways. One which most of you know but is never acknowledged by any authorities when exploring causes of traffic delays. Amazing to me that with all the high tech monitoring equipment that not one has named the true reason we all move slow. Drivers are the problem. Not all drivers but most have declined into a pathetic level of mediocrity and drive like drones. In a previous writing, I mentioned about how cops are out there, and they are however I find it astonishing that a state trooper would ride on someones tail in the left lane then pass on the right and not ticket the driver. We can start by asking the boys in blue to do their job and ticket people who impede traffic. Next issue is traffic lights. Yeah, nobody like them but they do serve a purpose and we have to stop for them. The problem arises when the light turns green as the first driver in line is startled away from their facebook checking and after 5 seconds moves. Of course when the drivers do move, they accelerate at a rate that would make a turtle proud. What this means is that at least 10 people behind them must now wait for another light sequence due to the inattentive driver. On the Interstate I see people driving at 45-50mph. Why? seems to me if you don't like going faster, stay off the Interstates. My new Lexus might be the most dangerous car I've ever owned mainly to the huge number of built in on-board distractions. I've actually gotten a little squirrely a few times playing around with the mouse. Enough said for today. VBD

For $280 and no aggravation, I'd sure go that route. Pads will cost $70 aggravation is much more expensive.

Interesting question. I kind of assumed all the limited slip differentials on the 400's were the same. I know my 90 LS had posi. I don't know enough about the specific models to be of any help. Sounds like you want to put a differential from a Japan supra into a SC400?

Ahh steve, when you can drive on simple two lane roads with huge green trees on the sides and enjoy the twisties, all is well. Kind of a long run to VB from Cali anyway. Took a few back roads one was spectacular. An empty road with no homes, no businesses, no farms, nuthin' except a forest with a nice IS type road. Dropped into the sport mode and hammered. Becki, thanks for the accolades. Just wanted my friends (who tend to drive aggressively at times) to be aware. Made arrangements to race my friend with his BMW 330. Might as well get it over.

Hey Folks, Drove my racecar (what I call my IS) up to Baltimore yesterday to drop off my daughter and her husband's cat who stayed with use while they went on vacation. Cat likes riding, so all was good with that. Since I retired, I dropped pretty much off the high speed travel circuit mainly since I'm no longer in a hurry anymore. Of course I very much make a point of keeping out of the way of traffic flow. Drove back today. As I see people leaving lights into a 55 and accelerate like snails, I find it very aggravating being behind as they try to nurse a few more miles per gallon out of some dirty, POS 20 year old Crown Vicky. Catch a break sometimes if one is actually slower off the line than other so as you approach a RED on a two lane, and there is one car in each line ahead, you must select which is better. Make the wrong choice, and you are lane locked as the traffic flows past. Avoid Buicks, older Camrys, cars with Delaware tags and cars with Handicapped parking. Look for construction looking trucks all dirty and with ladders and equipment hanging off. Don't be fooled by regular F-150's and Chevy 1500's, especially if old and dirty because they are driven by old slow moving guys. Always look for a Jersey car for a rabbit if you need to stretch your legs briefly, SUV's are best as they can block LIDAR better and Radar pretty much.Perhaps my favorite habit is flooring it off a light and taking it to redline until I get up to speed. Love giving the slow accelerators some pipe. Cops swarming all the way from Virginia Beach to Baltimore. Not more of the Troopers, rather it seems every small town had jumped on the "make more money" bandwagon and have obviously spent considerable time "reformulating" the speed limits (for safety reasons no doubt) and imposing SPEED ENFORCEMENT ZONEs (also for safety reasons) where fines are doubled. Where once there was an empty highway, now there are zig zag speed limits and cops armed to the teeth with the latest LIDAR guns (courtesy of your insurance company which provided them for safety reasons). I'm telling you folks, the good times are fading and it is now very dangerous out there. All the new RADARs and LIDARs and it is a field day for the boys in blue. Easy picking and they spend their time making money for their employer by targeting regular drivers who drive faster than the unrealistically low limits imposed. I did not get caught because I drive a 8-9 over the limit. If they give me a ticket for that, then they can also kiss my assets, but I did watch many other people get caught. Saw a new orange Porsche Caymen get bagged by a new techniques I've never seen. Cop with LIDAR then a cop 10 miles down the road in the median, pulls the Porsche out of a slower moving pack I was passing. They are out to make money, big money so you be smart and don't get caught. Be very careful because even with the best detectors and WAZE, you only true line of defense against the cops is situational awareness. Come to think of it, that is something I saw maybe 3 or 4 drivers do today and the way back. Huh, how about that? Denny

Not going to argue about the service, kind of what I got before I quit that dealer. I had my sunroof tinted with limo tint, pitch black from outside. Try leaving your vents on circulate, not recirculate.

I've used the navigation in my IS250 a few times and have never found it to be accurate or straight forward. Went up to Baltimore and back and of course looked over regular maps prior since I haven't driven on some of these roads. Of course the navigation insists on using the I-64 to Richmond, then I-95 to Washington and Baltimore. Looks good on a map but anyone who lives in the region would laugh. Traffic is always insane. I took the Eastern Shore route up RT.13. Once I was on the shore, the navigation accepted the DeMarVa route but frequently took me off the main route onto way, way back roads. I did not have any avoidances on so not sure exactly why it works like that. Best button I've found is the one that lets me say "end navigation." Google maps works significantly better so not sure why I paid for the basically useless option.

One thing on your statement was misstated I think. "It looks like it was hit at a high speed without breaking" sure looks like it broke to me? Drive around your area and look for cars (you may be able to determine the color of the perp's car) and look for cars with right side damage. Best place to look is at local bars around the time just before you were hit. Worked for my neighbor. Found the DUI dude, car was parked in his driveway with a fresh strike and matching paint. Dude was not happy one bit when 5-0 arrived.

You may be able to call up the exact pressure in each tire on your screen. Not sure when this option was added but it is very handy.

For a speedometer, simply use a GPS. For the other thing, way over my head.

Pretty impressive project. Lot's of car mods here on the EC. I actually expected to see more in California but most people there seemed to drive dusty looking cars that obviously had never been washed (by looking at wheels). Yeah, I saw some nice but most were not impressive. Coronado and Santa Barbara both had many nice cars but LA, just traffic and dust. I am rather excessive about my car cleaning so it's probably just me.

Cloudy is different from the darkening problem. Strange but my ES330 did the darkening thing for awhile then has been fine. Cold weather seemed to cause it to be worse but now it's been fine for several years. Haven't ever seen many things fix themselves but...

I bought my 2004 ES330 in 2007 with 17,000 miles (27,379 klicks) and now with 115,000 it is still perfect. With reasonable and regular maintenance, they last a long time. My neighbor now owns my 1990 LS400 and even with 25 years and over 200,000 miles on the clock it is still great. I've never been a front wheel drive car type of guy so the ES wasn't my favorite but it still is a great car.

Could just be my bad attitude about Lexus dealers (which is about 180 off my opinion of the cars) but I can't believe that when you walk into a Lexus dealership to buy a $40K-$90K vehicle that they don't kneel down and kiss your B-Hind. Instead, they treat you terribly. I blame this directly on LEXUS itself for allowing these "exclusive" dealerships where the dealer knows they they are the only game in town. They lie, they do poor quality work, and worst of all, they don't care. I certainly don't understand it one little bit.

Regarding the confusion over the indicator lights I guess they should just have one that pops up a $ sign.

ah didn't know that. My LS had a low level AND a low pressure light. One was a yellow oil can, the other red.

I rather like the electric assist steering on mine. Very responsive. A battery that is heading south can cause all kinds of issues. I guess we all have something to learn about electric steering though.

Ahh, well just a thought. As you know, Lexus is better at selling vehicles, than fixing them.

When you sell Lexus cars, it seems the dealers can do whatever they want to people. I haven't been kicked out of my local dealership yet, but I made myself a promise NEVER to set foot in there again. Par for the course with Lexus dealers. Sorry about your experience.

Hey Ted, I have found synthetic oil is much quieter on start up, especially when it is colder outside. Maybe use an automotive stethoscope to track the noises. Yes, most think it is the fuel rail but I always consider every option for noises.

Are you all using synthetic oil?

Say what you will about Lexus dealers but in my opinion they are overpriced and incompetent. I doubt Lexus cares anyway. Toyota dealers charge much less and actually do the work you request. My opinion remains the same, stay far away.

tintlaws.com Maryland allows a tint on all windows (except windshield) that must allow 35% or more of the light to pass. That is a pretty dark tint. Virginia allows 50% on front sides and 35% on backs. NY is at 70% and in NJ you can't apply tint to front sides at all. My dermatologist suggested (after looking at my left arm) that I have the windows tinted. Regardless of the %, most of the UV light is filtered out. All of my vehicle windows are tinted to Virginia legal. Best move ever.

None of these repairs are really very expensive. Toyota brake pads for the LS400 are available online (I'd paid $70 US) or at the parts department at a dealer (worst option). I would use only real Toyota brake pads. Certainly there are many fine options on these but sticking with factory is the best option I've found. I will also point out that aftermarket pads do not come with the factory shims which causes many shade tree'ers to dump them altogether. You actually reuse the same shims (2 on each outboard side) and the wishbone spring. Some service people take the time to clean the part, apply the proper lubrication, clean and lubricate the slide pins (they are easy to remove) and reinstall everything to factory specifications. Being rather heavy vehicles, it is not uncommon to overheat the brakes on these cars. Once overheated, the rotor is pretty much done for those that like smooth brakes. Like Bob suggested, check the rotors carefully. I've found Lexus brakes to be pretty easy to work on with basic tools. I replace my brake pads when they reach 5-6mm