smooth1

Hahahahaha!!!!!!! It's " revved up like a deuces motor in the night." Hotel California

It's a good thing you all have day jobs, cause that sounded terrible!!!! Manfred Mann,,,,,,

I've changed out the LED bulbs for like dome lights and parking lights etc.. before... All the stuff on my car now is all new stuff... he haven't updated on his site.... He said it uses all high power SMD type LED... some are flux type.... that's all that I know.... He installs them at the local car meet recently and I see the big difference in brightness and better color output Oh, okay, they just made more knowledgeable decisions. An SMD LED is a surface mounted display LED, and the flux LED is the style they used in your dome light because it has a 90 degree light emission pattern. Then there is the super flux LED that has 120 degree light pattern. If you have white LED's there is bad news that comes with that. If you have true white or "super" white LED's, they produce an utraviolet light that causes photodegradation to the resin that makes up the LED, also, The "Stokes shift" is longer and requires more energy and hence is less efficient, and creates more heat than an RGB LED, which is how it creates a whiter, and brighter LED. That's why white LED's don't last that long. It has nothing to do with the "quality" of the LED. An RGB LED will last 3x's longer, and the new amber LED's will also. I have a feeling that is why Lexus used a color LED for those displays, as they are very inaccessable for replacement. The instrument cluster LED's are much easier to access and therefore they felt ok with using them there. But that is only an opinion. The only answer I know of that addresses this problem just came out, but it's not a true white LED. In fact it looks more like an incandescent light somewhere in the 3000-3500 K light spectrum range. ( which would have a faint yellowish to it.) But even so, the life span of a white LED or NUV LED, is in the practical range of 50,000 hours of continuos life, a little shorter in a car where voltage fluctuates and spikes. If you want to make your LED's worry free and also make all your other electronic equipment last longer, you might want to consider a Hyper voltage system. You can check it out for yourself. My opinion???, still looks great, and I would do it anyway also. I just finished getting the right load resistance for the NUV LED's or white LED also. It's 3.2 volts. HHHHmmmmm, maybe in a few weeks....

Most of the bulbs are plug and play, but for the center console, push start button, all the green lights on the dash needs to be custom installed... using soldering iron.... So that leaves the two dome lights that are plug and play... I guess that voids some warranty. Any parts that you modify or change them out will voide the warranty.... What could it go wrong with change the light bulb with LED bulb.. other then blowing a fuse... I know LEDmod.com has been doing this kind of work for like 4 years, so I trust him.... Specialize in Toyota and Scion cars... first time for Lexus IS, but results were great..... I was told that red LED won't work well on IS center console, unless if you add some resistor or change out the resistor on the stock circuit board... Blue and white would be just swapping them out on the stock... I've tried all the superbrightleds.com stuff... some of the LED bulb starts to flicker over time and most of them aren't that bright.... He hooked me up with all the new LED bulbs, and it is brighter then all of the bulb I used to have..... So I guess you have me curious now. You did an LED dashlight conversion before? I have been in the biz for quite some time, so what new technology are they using on the best of the best LED's? I went to the LEDmod.com website and they are selling superbright LED's. You mean they don't use what they sell?

Hands (Seinfled) :P HellOOOOOOO

I agree. You can get Power Slot Cryo treated rotors for around 160 bucks each and they are way better than the stock ones you have on there now. You can also get some EBC pads for around 70 bucks an axle, and drive away with a way better brake set up than you have now. And putting the rotors on yourself is nothing. If you can change a tire, you can change rotors. There are also plenty of step by step threads here to do the brakes yourself also. It really isn't hard at all.

You need the stock shims. Those are anti-squeal shims designed for the caliper. When you pull out your old brake pads, use a turkey baster and pull a small amount of brake fluid from the reservior. Then use a c-clamp and a piece of wood and re-open the caliper all the way by squeezing it with the c-clamp. That will give you all the room and more to re-fit the anti-squeal shims and new brake pads in. ( I would also use some anti-squeal goop back there also for further protection from brake squeal.

silk

Congratulations on the addition. I hope you and your family experience all the best it has to offer. As for the tires, because of where you live, do you switch to snow tires during the winter? Or do you use the same tire year round? Also do you have the 17's or the 18's on your RX? I am a HUGE Michelin believer, but only for the correct application. The RX can actually benifit from a more stable tire, and the stiffer sidewall actually helps the suspension react better and hold the tire on the ground. So if you want a great ride and use different tires for the winter, then yeah, the Michelin's are the way to go. But if you use the same tire year round, then I would go with the Continental, or Yokohama. They both offer great snow traction, while balancing the sacrifice you have to make on the performance end very well. And btw, if you use dedicated snow tires, get Blizzacks, and for the Michelin's step up to the Pilot's. That tire is amazing. The feel, feedback and response is in my opinion one of the best on the road today.

Yeah, definately no warranty on the dash lights any more, but if they used the proper inline resistors and so forth, there shouldn't be a problem. I know that there have been alot of issues with LED burn out's in the after market conversions. Apparently you need a different amount of resistance for each different color. So red LED's may take more resistance than white LED's. That's mostly why I have been waiting to do it. I haven't found what that amount is for white LED's yet. For anyone who want's to convert their own, you can go to :http://www.superbrightleds.com/mini-wedge.html and buy the LED's yourself. One of the pages there has all the conversion recommendations. Using Superbright LED's, I found that 4 bulb is the smallest you probably want to go. They have universal conversion LED kits that will convert any style bulb to an LED in any size you want also. To do my dome light, tag light, glove box, map lights and all the LED bulbs for the dash cost me around 50 bucks.

fantasy

sound

expanded vertical trellis

A&P

T

I think it looks awsome. Great job!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm looking to do the same in my IS 300. I also converted all the courtesy lights to LED's. For the dome light I used a 12 bulb white LED and I used 6 bulb LED's over the plate. What a difference they make.

Exactly what jwink said.

Aphrodite Twiggy

Your friend is correct in that you burned your clutch. I would imagine that you only surface scorched it though. The vibration your feeling is the pressure plate hopping on the clutch plate as it re-engages. When you burn or scorch the surface of your clutch, what happens is it glazes the surface of the clutch on some areas. This reduces the friction or grip between the pressure plate and the clutch plate. It should only be temperary depending on how bad you burned the clutch and how you drive. So, let me get this straight, you have a 2002 with less than 5000 miles on it???? If that is so, then you might mention the clutch incident. the car is out of factory warrenty, but the mileage wouldn't indicate wear on the clutch. Also, I wouldn't be overly concerned about it, 5000 miles on aclutch means you have plenty of life left on the clutch anyway. Once the clutch wears thru the burn marks you won't know it ever happened. By the way, when I park on a steep hill, I like to use the hand brake. I lock the brake up, push the clutch in and start the car, then I press real easy on the gas and as I release the clutch, I "feel" the car move forward as I release the hand brake. It eliminates the need to rev the car up and use the clutch to stop the car from rolling backwards, which can lead to that "jump to the gas pedal" feeling and over revving the motor by accident. Just a tip.

Maximillion ? is that how it was spelled?

The Bridgestones rank over the Michelin's on what car? Wouldn't you say that weight bias, initial torque and power distribution play a significant role in tire performance? Not to mention suspension set up needs. To use a chart as a blanket statement is just not realistic. That chart is for the novice tire buyer and used as a sales tactic. The IS 350 has a very precise suspension, with real acceleration, but the weight bias is off, and needs more help in cornering. The stronger shoulder design on Michelin makes it a better tire for the IS 350. If we were talking about the BMW M3 which is a 50/50 weight biased car, then I would agree with the fact the Pole Position is maybe a better choice for that application.

it's the same.

I have found in my years of business, no matter what your selling, if you want to be able to sell well, you have to believe in it yourself. Walter Dill Scott, one of the greatest industrialists of all time once said; " Any person that can perceive a product or commodity in such a way that it becomes a level of emotion to him and to whom ever he imparts his picture, hence creates the feeling of desire, rather than the mere thinking of ought." In the beginning of the industrial age, manufactureres were struggling to sell the products they made because nobody had changed the way they thought of fulfilling their needs. If they needed a new dining table, they would go out and just make a new one, nobody thought to "buy" one. So how society thought about products needed to change. Hence, marketing. And in fact, what he is talking about is the fact that we all have needs. We need to eat. But we fill that need with steak or Lobster. Today, we mostly need a car to get thru life, but nobody "needs" a Lexus, or a Lamborghini. ( Actually, I do think I need a Diablo.LOL), which is why I think that Hyundai is on the wrong track with trying to break into the luxury class market under their own name. This type of buyer is not buying to fulfill a need of any kind and they are not masking it either.They are a patron of desire. It's not about the car, it's about the stigma of class, luxury, image, and reputation. I am not debating whether or not Hyundai puts a quality product on the road or not. I have never owned one. I only know what my perception of the company is, and what everyone I know around me thinks as well. I'll get off the podium now.

nebula

Hit me with your best ad. slogan: I guess what I have come up with so far is something along the lines of : The commercial would start off with Robert De niro who just heisted the lost crown diamond of King Tut, and as he was making his way out the back door of the museum, a cop turns the corner and sees him coming out and yells " Stop!", De niro takes off running and the cop gives chase while talking into his radio calling for back up. The camera switches back to De niro as he turns down an alley and jumps mid wall into a parking garage, and there, before him is a line up,,,,Mercedes Benz C350, Infinity G35 sedan, Lexus IS-F,BMW M3, and the Hyundai Genesis. He casually walks the line of cars, then jumps in the IS-F and screams off into the night. And as a kicker, the camera could switch to the cabin of the IS-F and Di nero would turn and say," What,,,did you honestly think I would take the Hyundai?"..... Well? what do ya think?