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wwest, you are missing the point. The distance required to accelerate to speed is a measure of the comparative traction of different types of tires on different types of vehicles. All the data shows is that winter tires have far more traction on hard packed snow. More traction = more safety any way you look at it. You are correct when you say that the most important instances are braking and changing the vehicles motion, however sometimes you may also have to accelerate out of the way, so that is important too. SW03ES, the data I show is for acceleration only. In this case AWD has a major advantage over FWD (and winter tires over all season tires) and this is what the data shows. You are correct and we agree that the type of drive has no effect on the braking ability of a car. When any car is braking, the traction on all 4 wheels transfers the braking force down into the pavement, and this is what stops the car. For braking, the type of drive (i.e. AWD or FWD) is out of the equation and the only thing that counts is the traction provided by the 4 tires (brakes are assumed to be in good condition). Incidently, this is why the first vehicles you see in the ditch every winter are 4 wheel drive. When a 4 wheel drive (or AWD) accelerates, they have such great traction due to all wheels being driven, that they have no clue how slippery it really is. Consequently, they overdrive the vehicle for the current conditions. When they try and stop, or go round a curve they find out how really slippery it is and slide off into the ditch, because their stopping and steering traction is no better than any other vehicle on the road (tire type excepted). Winter tires and all season tires have equivalent traction on bare pavement at 9 deg C. The reason that winter tires have more traction at cold temperatures (wet or dry) is because the rubber compound is specifically formulated to be softer at cold temperatures. They also have sipes that flex and grab the pavement better. I agree that the rolling resistance and noise level increases but this is a small price to pay for extra safety.

It looks like many RX300/RX330 owners are using all season tires in the snow. I believe this is a mistake and borders on dangerous. All season tires are a compromise between hot summer temperatures and cold winter temperatures. They are good at neither. Snow tires are formulated to have a softer rubber at cold temperatures which helps the tire grip better (remember that there are many days with cold temperatures and no snow). As well they have sipes in the tire to help grip ice and an agressive tread pattern for snow. If you check out the Consumers Reports December 2002 page 61, they run through some comparison tests of all season tires vs winter tires for AWD and FWD vehicles. They measure the distance it takes to accelerate on packed snow from 5 mph to 20 mph. Here are the results: 1. FWD with all season tires: 95 feet 2. FWD with winter tires: 63 feet 3. AWD with all season tires: 42 feet As you can see by the numbers, winter tires increase snow traction by approx 33%. If you use winter tires on an AWD, the 42 foot distance should reduce to 28 feet. This is exactly my experience! I have 4 Michelin Artic Alpine snow tires on my RX300 and the traction is terrific. The traction control rarely kicks in due to wheel spin, even at significant throttle in the snow. Stopping and road holding is terrific. Please remember that tires do three main things on your vehicle: 1. They provide traction to accelerate (this is where the AWD is an advantage since you now have 4 tires accelerating the vehicle) 2. They provide traction to brake (your AWD has no advantage in braking over any other vehicle...since all vehicles have 4 wheels for braking, they are all the same and depend only on tire traction). 3. They provide traction required to prevent your vehicle from sliding off the road during a turn or curve and again your AWD has no advantage over any other car on the road as they all have 4 wheels. To summarize then, every car should have winter tires for winter driving and installing 4 winter tires on your RX300/RX330 will provide outstanding winter traction (and safety).

It sounds like Lexus has the same problem with the RX330 as it has with the RX300. The dashboard clips (i.e. clips that fasten the dashboard to the firewall) click and creak and groan. They may try and ram some insulation between the windshield and the dash, or they may have to remove the dash and try and fix the clips. Good luck :)

I had this noise in the hatch area when my RX was about 1 week old. I took it back to the dealer and he removed the inside hatch cover and attached/rerouted one of the wires/cables inside there. The problem was fixed.

My experience with my 2001 RX300 in snow has been very positive. I do not have access to a dynanometer, but I do have my 91 LS400 for comparison. Both the RX300 and the LS400 have snow tires on all 4 wheels. When driving the LS400 (i.e. rear wheel drive) I experimented with turning the traction control on and off. I found I could get a lot more traction/acceleration by turning the traction control off and accepting a little wheel spin. One Saturday I took the LS400 for a drive in the snow. I then returned home and took the RX300 out. Comparing the two, I feel that the RX300 has 6 - 8 times the traction of the LS400. I do not know how Lexus splits the power front to back, but whatever they are doing they are doing it correctly. I never get stuck in the snow, have no problems with traction and the vehicle is very stable and secure. Incidently, do these RX300 owners who are using chains have all season tires or winter tires on their vehicles? If they have all season tires, I can understand why they need chains. If they have snow tires (on all 4 wheels) there are very few circumstances where they would need chains (maybe I would put them on for mountain roads).

Sorry, this feature is not part of the info package.

I have Michelin Arctic Alpine on my 91 LS400 and they are great. I have also discovered that I can get going a lot better in snow by turning the TRAC off and accepting a little wheel spin. Try Costco for the tires.

I had a similar problem with my 91 LS400. When I accelerated, I had a vibration. I thought that this was an ignition miss, so I had the spark plugs replaced. It made no difference. I then installed 4 new tires and the vibration went away. Go figure why the tires only causes a vibration under acceleration? Anyway, new tires fixed the problem.

Your right! It is one of the best kept secrets.

In the summer time, on a highway, at 60 mph I got 28 mpg, but this was when I was driving very gently. In the winter, with snow and stop and go driving I am getting 22 mpg.

I suggest you replace the rubber only, and you should get this from your Lexus dealer. Each rubber strip has two flexilble stainless steel pieces on either side. Take some pliers and gently pull the old rubber out. Now remove both stainless steel pieces from the old rubber and insert them into the new rubber. Take the new rubber (with the stainless steel pieces) and gently insert into the wiper carrier arm. There are two projections at the end of the arm that nest into the rubber end of the wiper. Hope this helps. Dan

You should absolutely go with 4 snow tires. Placing two different types of tires on a car is dangerous. Either install 4 snow tires or 4 all season tires, but never mix the two! Snow tires are not only used to get you moving in snow. When you drive around a curve or brake to a stop, all 4 tires must have the same traction. This keeps the car balanced for both driving and braking, keeps the car stable and is key in extremely slippery conditions. As well, many drivers will opt to use all season tires instead of snow tires in cold weather. This is a mistake. All season tires are a compromise between hot summer temps and cold winter temps. They are good at neither. Snow tires are formulated to have a softer rubber at cold temps which helps the tire grip better (remember that there are many days with cold temp and no snow). As well they have sipes in the tire to help grip ice and an agressive tread pattern for snow. Hope this helps. Dan

It sounds like you need to have your wheel (s) refinished. I did this with one of mine. They sandblast the wheel, repaint and reseal. It looks just like brand new. Check your yellow pages for aluminum wheel refinisher. Mine cost me $125.00 (CDN) Dan

Here is the reply I received from Lexus re Octane and the RX300. I interpret this response to mean I should be able to get an additional approx 10 hp by using 94 Octane gasoline. Here is the response: There is more than one "octane rating". Research Octane Number (RON) is a laboratory rating that manufacturers generally use. Motor Octane Number (MON) is another laboratory method of measurement. Anti Knock Index (AKI) is the number quoted at gas stations. It is an average of these two: RON + MON / 2 87AKI is equal to 91RON. The engine in the RX300 produces 220 hp on this "regular" fuel. If premium fuel is used (over 87AKI or 91RON), a slight improvement in power output is likely. The ignition system used on the RX300 continually monitors engine knock (detonation), and tailors spark advance to operate at where its peak performance can be obtained. Hence, the better the fuel, the better the potential performance (within limits, of course).

Take your RX300 into the dealer and have him lubricate the bushing at the bottom of the steering column. This will fix the noise. There is no safety issue with this...only an annoyance. Dan

You can get a bit better performance by using Sunoco 94 gas. The RX300 engine has a detonation sensor that automatically advances timing until it senses pinging. By using 94 octane gasoline, your engine will be retuned slightly. You can expect around 10 - 15 hp extra. Try driving with regular gas and then when the tank is empty, fill up with Sunoco 94 and test drive. You will see that it seems much "peppier" Hope this helps.. Dan

Here is some HP vs Torque info you may find interesting (some of this is from a newspaper article by Gerry Malloy in the Toronto Star on Saturday, August 30, 2003): The fact is, horsepower ratings, perhaps the most quoted of all vehicle specifications, are almost useless as a definitive measure of a vehicle's real-world performance -- unless your real world is a drag strip. What really dictates the performance of a vehicle is the engine's torque output. Power is the rate of doing work. 1 horsepower equals 550 ft-lb per second. In other words, for a car, power is simply the rate at which torque is delivered. While an engine's torque can be directly measured on a dynamometer, its power is calculated. As an equation HP = Torque x Engine Speed x some numerical constant (1/5252, in imperial units). Thus, power is always a function of torque and engine speed. Here is the full equation example that calculates HP for an engine that delivers 200 ft-lb torque at 5800 rpm: HP = (200 ft-lb) x (5800 rev/min) x (min/60 sec) x (2 * PI rad/rev) x (sec/550 ft-lb) = 220.86 HP Power is not measured directly, but is calculated from the torque curve, using the above equation, to create a corresponding power curve, from which the maximum power rating is derived. The real importance of that relationship is that power and torque are directly and absolutely related, and power is a function of torque -- not the other way around. Alas, all we have to work with in most cases are the maximum power and torque ratings, which can be misleading...very misleading. Take, for example, two cars with identical 180 hp ratings. One achieves that peak at 7600 rpm, with a torque peak at 6800 rpm; the other achieves its power peak at 5500 rpm, with a torque peak at 1950 rpm. The former, like many racing cars, derives its power rating primarily from the speed, not the torque side of the equation. At moderate engine speeds, in the 2000-4000 rpm range, where most on-road driving is done, it is a torqueless wonder. That means to make it respond even adequately, you have to keep the engine running in the top of its rev range, and that means you are constantly stirring gears. While that may be acceptable in a race car, the novelty wears off quickly on the street. The lower peak-torque speed and fatter torque curve of the latter example provides a more tractable package, and one with better real-world performance. That advantage would be readily apparent if you could simply compare engine torque curves.

I have them for the RX300. Lexus supplied them to me. I can send you a copy of my RX300 if you want, otherwise I suggest you send Lexus and nice email and request they supply this info to you.

You should absolutely go with 4 snow tires. Placing two different types of tires on a car is dangerous. Either install 4 snow tires or 4 all season tires, but never mix the two! Snow tires are not only used to get you moving in snow. When you drive around a curve or brake to a stop, all 4 tires must have the same traction. This keeps the car balanced for both driving and braking, keeps the car stable and is key in extremely slippery conditions. As well, many drivers will opt to use all season tires instead of snow tires in cold weather. This is a mistake. All season tires are a compromise between hot summer temps and cold winter temps. They are good at neither. Snow tires are formulated to have a softer rubber at cold temps which helps the tire grip better (remember that there are many days with cold temp and no snow). As well they have sipes in the tire to help grip ice and an agressive tread pattern for snow. Hope this helps. Dan

I had the same problem in my 1982 Toyota Supra GTS (I bought it brand new and kept it for 20 years) It turned out that I had to have the starter partially rebuilt. I believe the starter solenoid is integral with the starter. When you turn the key to start a magnetic field is created in the solenoid and a metal bar connects across two contacts. This metal bar and the contacts are worn so they may or may not work each time you try (i.e. intermittent contact like you are experiencing). Your symptoms are exactly the symptoms I experienced on my Supra. New contacts fixed the problem. Hope this helps. Dan

Thanks wwest. I will have my dealer check it out. It would be nice if this the fix for the problem as I love the car, but it really does need the traction control in snow. Dan

Here is some HP vs Torque info you may find interesting (most of this is from a newspaper article by Gerry Malloy in the Toronto Star on Saturday, August 30, 2003): The fact is, horsepower ratings, perhaps the most quoted of all vehicle specifications, are almost useless as a definitive measure of a vehicle's real-world performance -- unless your real world is a drag strip. What really dictates the performance of a vehicle is the engine's torque output. Power is the rate of doing work. 1 horsepower equals 550 ft-lb per second. In other words, for a car, power is simply the rate at which torque is delivered. While an engine's torque can be directly measured on a dynamometer, its power is calculated. As an equation HP = Torque x Engine Speed x some numerical constant (1/5252, in imperial units). Thus, power is always a function of torque and engine speed. Here is the full equation example that calculates HP for an RX300 engine that delivers 200 ft-lb torque at 5800 rpm: HP = (200 ft-lb) x (5800 rev/min) x (min/60 sec) x (2 * PI rad/rev) x (sec/550 ft-lb) = 220.86 HP Power is not measured directly, but is calculated from the torque curve, using the above equation, to create a corresponding power curve, from which the maximum power rating is derived. The real importance of that relationship is that power and torque are directly and absolutely related, and power is a function of torque -- not the other way around. Alas, all we have to work with in most cases are the maximum power and torque ratings, which can be misleading...very misleading. Take, for example, two cars with identical 180 hp ratings. One achieves that peak at 7600 rpm, with a torque peak at 6800 rpm; the other achieves its power peak at 5500 rpm, with a torque peak at 1950 rpm. The former, like many racing cars, derives its power rating primarily from the speed, not the torque side of the equation. At moderate engine speeds, in the 2000-4000 rpm range, where most on-road driving is done, it is a torqueless wonder. That means to make it respond even adequately, you have to keep the engine running in the top of its rev range, and that means you are constantly stirring gears. While that may be acceptable in a race car, the novelty wears off quickly on the street. The lower peak-torque speed and fatter torque curve of the latter example provides a more tractable package, and one with better real-world performance. That advantage would be readily apparent if you could simply compare engine torque curves.

Hello all, I have a 1991 RX300, and shortly after I bought it, I asked Lexus for some detailed explanations on horsepower vs octane. I think you will find their answer interesting. Here is my question: I have one more question I would like to ask about a fuel issue with my RX300 that is unclear. The owners manual states that the Octane rating should be 87 or higher. It says that for improved performance, the use of premium unleaded gasoline with an Octane rating of 91 or higher is recommeded (page 264 in the owners manual). The sales brochure says that the engine is rated at 220 hp. Is this 220 hp rating with the 87 octane fuel or with the 91 octane fuel? If the rating is 220 hp with the 87 octane fuel, what is the rating with 91 or 94 octane fuel (again, in the manual it says that for improved performance, the use of premium unleaded gasoline with an Octane rating of 91 or higher is recommeded). Is the engine detuned to run on the 87 octane and the timing advanced automatically to run on 91 or 94 octane? I would appreciate it if someone could provide a detailed comprehensive technical explanation. Here is Lexus's answer: Our Technical Group has provided the following information in reply to your question: There is more than one "octane rating". Research Octane Number (RON) is a laboratory rating that manufacturers generally use. Motor Octane Number (MON) is another laboratory method of measurement. Anti Knock Index (AKI) is the number quoted at gas stations. It is an average of these two: RON + MON / 2 87AKI is equal to 91RON. The engine in the RX300 produces 220 hp on this "regular" fuel. If premium fuel is used (over 87AKI or 91RON), a slight improvement in power output is likely. The ignition system used on the RX300 continually monitors engine knock (detonation), and tailors spark advance to operate at where its peak performance can be obtained. Hence, the better the fuel, the better the potential performance (within limits, of course). We hope this information will be useful. Summary: I use Sunoco 94 Octane all the time. This fuel us cleaner that the lower octane fuels and provides me with more hp. I tried the regular 87 octane fuel and then immediately after the 94 octane and there is a significant increase in power (i.e. the RX seems a lot more 'peppy', almost like it has had a tune up). I estimate that I am getting around 10 more hp (i.e. around 4.5 %) when using the 94 octane, and I certainly can feel the difference. A cleaner engine with the 94 octane is just a bonus.

My 1991 LS400 has 180,000 miles on it. I had to replace my lower ball joints (you may want to check yours soon), and I have an intermittent problem with the ABS/TRAC system, but other that that it runs just fine. I stitched my driver's seat by hand and then applied leather sealant to it, so it is back in shape again. You will find that your drivers side interior door lock switch will probably break shortly...mine did a few months ago. I took some duct take (a small piece) and placed it on the inside and then took a dab of silicon sealant (the clear kind) and placed it into the middle of the switch before gently pressing it back into place. The silicon flexes enough to still operate the switch and also keeps it in place (cheaper than a new one from the dealer :) . My clock is blacked out, my stereo is partially working (although the is another post in this forum with a link on how to remove the LS400 door panels and replace the speakers...I may try this soon). My remote entry still works, although the range is about 3 feet. You can try taking your key to the dealer and have him replace the battery. Also, may sure that the remote on/off switch (on the dash to the left of the steering column) is set to the on position. There is a manual trunk lockout beside this switch as well. If it is pushed in you will need your key to reset it to the out position. The lexus is a really great car and I really enjoy driving it. You made a good choice. Dan

Hi and thanks for the feedback. I am in Canada and there are some superficial differences between the cars sold in the US and in Canada. On my car the speedometer reads in KPH (i.e. kilometers per hour) with MPH in smaller numbers on the KPH scale. Also, US cars will read ANTILOCK while Canadian cars will read ABS (i.e. Antilock Braking System). Otherwise the cars are essentially identical. Regards Dan