new2mud

No response from prior interested party... so.... grill still available!

There are 7 small bulbs easily accessible once you remove the control unit. 3 provide LCD backlighting and 4 provide button backlighting for ALL the buttons.

email replied!

I've got WRs on my 1LS and tire noise is unobtrusive, and ride harshness has not been impacted. Much better responsiveness on dry roads than other snow tires.

Good suggestions above. In these cases, responding with sugar rather than vinegar goes a long way. Especially if you keep your calm and explain how you have been let down by Lexus' own proclaimed standards of higher quality of dealership experience. Definitely point out the inconvenience it has caused you, and let them know that you "trust that they will find a way to make it up to you." These guys are professionals, and they respond very well to professionalism.

For those looking for that old-school bling, here is a very rare gold-plated grill for 1st-gen LS400. No broken tabs--all mounting points are in perfect condition. The gold is in good condition: the visible faces are just fantastic. There is some fading in the parts that you *can't* readily see, such as underside of the top lip. Can send additional pictures if interested. $200 plus shipping. Closeup of the golden shine: the spots on the rights side of the upper bar aren't pits, but are the reflection of recessed ceiling lights!

Until the introduction of the Nokian WR, this was true. The WR is a unique tire that allows the tire to remain on for all seasons, without ill affect. It still maintains the awesome extreme winter rating (designated by the Snowflake/mountain symbol). It is commonly known that "all-season" tires are horrible in the snow, at least compared to a dedicated snow tire. Yet most snow tires will wear extremely rapidly on dry pavement. Add to this the fact that a typical "good" tread pattern for snow involves large tread blocks to enable siping to work effectively, and you have a recipe for squirminess and poor handling response on dry roads. BTW, I live where there is an average of over 29 feet of snow per year--this issue is very real to me!

I, too, find it REALLY difficult to believe he could diagnose it as a cat if he didn't check what code the CEL was throwing. Another +1 for O2 sensors going LOOOOOOONG before cats.

I think these look slick on your car. How has the ride quality fared? (How rough are your roads there?)

I've read awesome feedback regarding these bushings for the 1LS. I will be using these over OEM and over Daizen when the time comes for me to replace mine.

I have a functioning CD changer, and did the mod last weekend. I completely cut the CD R+, R-, L+, L- wires before they go into the back of the head unit. I ran those back to the center console so I could wire into a 4PDT switch. With a simple toggle, I can switch from CD to MP3 player, with perfect clarity. This also eliminates the need to burn a blank CD for those with working CD changers. I think the key is to ground both sets of audio inputs, including the ones from the 1/8" jack.

For all those saying what a pain the air suspension is, etc. etc. they are somewhat correct. The rear shocks (brand new Lexus OEM) can both be had for less than $900, and replacement of the rear *air* struts is a simple job. Unfortunately you got less than full information before your decision. The air suspension offers the best ride. Period. Converting to standard struts will come at the expense of greater ride harshness. Some of us think it worthwhile to keep the air suspension up to date, and add a Japanese controller--voila: multiple adjustments, lowering, slamming, super lo, super high all controllable from within the cockpit, way beyond the standard OEM height settings. It rocks!

Do you have air suspension?

Remote start can be fit into almost ANY car. The dealer may avoid it due to "liability" issues, but any reputable car stereo installer can put one in. Even into manual tranny cars, even into diesels. It CAN be done.

I use a 6hp shop-vac. Don't mind the unwieldly hose--the power is worth it. I can't think of a hand-held vac I would recommend, due to the pitiful power on those little suckers. And definitely not a cordless vac.

I used Leatherique for the first time on my 1LS...loved the results, but the seats were already in great shape. Once it warms up I look forward to treating it on my LX450, which is newer, but the seats are in far worse shape: harder leather, dirtier, etc. Looking forward to the results!

What is JW and OC? Also, I have used swirl removers, and even fine cut cleaners, but do the clay bars get a little deeper in terms of removing oxidized paint?

My wax wasn't frozen this past week, but it HAD been frozen, and when it came out of the bottle the water was separated. I used it anyway on an aftermarket grill I put on and it seemed to work ok. I had heard you shouldn't freeze your wax, but dunno if it actually changes the properties of it functionally.

It's freezing cold where I live, and I just did the conditioner treatment. First, I warmed up the cabin until it was nice and toasty. Then *excersised* my arms and really worked the conditioner in really well. Then cover the seats with plastic bags and left them on for several days, to make sure they got enough heat/sun to eventually work into the leather. Wipe off. Worked awesome! (Couldn't wait for summer)

IIRC, the stock 1LS Nak sub is 2 ohms. What happens if you try to run a 4 ohm sub out of the factory Nak sub amp?

SC300 uses separate bulb for low/high. Unfortunately the HID retrofit option is not ideal for us 1LS owners due to the 9004 bulb and poor glass pattern design, which will result in blinding oncoming drivers if we put in HID. Still looking for good solutions, such as fog light replacement, etc. Anyone have an idea of what actual pattern the fog light housing produces?

I just did the MP3 jack install this weekend, and installed switchgear to toggle between CD and MP3 player inside the center console. This way you don't have to burn a blank CD to play during your MP3 usage. Works great, sounds great!

Thanks for the tip. I plan to Seafoam my cars this spring.

I'm considering going a route using an Eaton manifold sourced from Neil at RUSH, and then using some form of M90 blower, possibly a ported one from T-bird S/C applications, but would like to know what the limits are for the various stock components. What is the power limit for stock auto trannies? What is the consensus for limitations of stock 1UZ (1990 LS400) and power levels?

Aside from Lextreme's groundbreaking experimentations in LS400 forced induction, does anybody here have experience with putting a Roots-type blower on an LS400? I am considering buying the manifold plate and other hardware from Neil Rush in Australia and sourcing a used blower here in the states, but would like to see if any board members have experience with tuning a F/I 1UZ motor. It would be nice to not have to start from scratch in terms of tuning maps, etc.