Manolo1

more info on synthetics: ...As more vehicles come with synthetic motor oils from the factory, oil change interval recommendations have begun to increase. It looks like 7,500 miles is the new adapted standard. The synthetic oils experience less thermal breakdown and evaporative loss over time compared with conventional oil, which allows for less frequent oil services. Some vehicles have even forgone the traditional dipstick in favor of sensors that determine oil level and adjust the service interval in real time based on your driving habits. However, the decrease in oil changes also means a decrease in service business for dealerships. Dealers rightfully fear a reduction in customer retention and are unsure of the long run effect. Many have found solutions in prepaid maintenance contracts and complete service package deals such as combining tire rotation with your oil service. Also, despite their fears, dealerships won't completely lose out on regular customers as there will always be those reluctant to change their 5,000-mile oil change habit. Plus, there are many people who know the abuse they put their engine through, or don't trust electronic sensors and like to ride on the safe side with frequent oil changes. [source: Automotive News]

Mobil 1 is factory fill for many top brands, including Porsches (exclusive) so I would seriously recommend it. Go to this website and find all answers regarding Mobil 1: http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorO...rformance_FAQs2

What about the environment? Changing the oil too often does not damage the engine but adds unnecesary pollution to the planet. Even without considering the use of a fossil fuel which is the basis for most (if not all) oils.

"The car knows which sensor code has low pressure, but I don't think it knows which wheel the particular sensor is installed in." I just rotated my tires switching rims, there is no way any sensor can know which tire is low after you do that. How can the "Z" tell you which tire is low? fn: of course I also rotated the tires within the rims and switched rims to the opposite side

Why would Lexus insist in using the "dirtier" brake pads (and continue to receive customer complaints) if the "cleaner" pads would eliminate the problem without any performance or "other" effect? It makes absolutely no sense... I am still convinced the "cleaner" pads are less effective. Autocrossing does not test pads at all... just a one minute run with few, if any, hard braking... Most braking in autocross is from 50-60 mph down to 20-30 mph and only three or four in one run. Try that in a race track with braking from 120 mph to 60 or 40 and many, many times, with no fading, etc. and then tell me that again... Yes, that is not real life, but you'll probably only need the higher efficiency of the better braking pads once in your life... but that could be the difference, to put it mildly, between a fender bendr and nothing... Once I had to emergency stop and ended up one inch behind the car in front of me... a lesser pad would have make a hell of a difference, for the worse... It happened once, yes, but that is enough of a reason to stick to the better pads. I agree, the best pads in the world have no influence if you are not wearing also a good brake fluid and a very good tire, plus many other issues, i.e., correct alignment, quick reflexes, good shocks, etc., etc.... all of that is part of good maintenance habits.

Welcome to the forum

My computer is right on all the time (less than 0.5 mpg difference)

I would never trade cleaner wheels for worse braking performance...

My dealer uses synthetic blend for all oil changes. If I wanted full synthetic the cost will be almost double... Blend does it for the time being...

The Garmin nuvi 660 has a 4.4-inch LCD screen. Notable features include an internal battery, Bluetooth, MP3 player, photo viewer, and preloaded maps for the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. The TomTom Go 910 has a 4.0-inch LCD screen. Notable features include an internal battery, Bluetooth, MP3 player, photo viewer, and preloaded maps for the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, and Europe. The Garmin StreetPilot c580 has a 3.5-inch LCD screen. Notable features include an internal battery, Bluetooth, MP3 player, and preloaded maps for the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico.

Your salesperson did an awful job if you came out from the purchase of your car and were not fully aware of that fact...

How many do you want? You can get them even below that here in Florida... Just contact JM Lexus in Margate.

The amber is inside the headlights... probably a difficult hack...

this is what Tirerack has to say from an abbreviated test on which the Sumi came up first: Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Position (Max Performance Summer): The Potenza RE050A Pole Position with UNI-T Technology tire was developed for sports car, sports coupe and sport sedan drivers. The Potenza RE050A Pole Position is designed to provide exceptional dry and wet road traction. Continental ContiSportContact 3 (Max Performance Summer): The ContiSportContact 3 is Continental Tire's tire developed for the drivers of powerful sports cars, sports coupes and luxury sedans. The ContiSportContact 3 is designed to combine outstanding braking capability and agile steering precision. Sumitomo HTR Z III (Max Performance Summer): The HTR Z III (High Technology Radials-3rd Generation) is Sumitomo's tire developed for sports cars, sporty coupes and high performance sedans. It is designed to showcase Sumitomo's technical resources by providing high-speed handling stability along with traction on dry and wet roads. Yokohama ADVAN Sport (Max Performance Summer): The ADVAN Sport is Yokohama's tire developed for some of the world's most prestigious sports cars, sports coupes and high performance sedans. The ADVAN Sport in the 275/35ZR20 size has been chosen as the exclusive Original Equipment (O.E.) tire for the Bentley Motors Continental GT equipped with the Mulliner Driving Package, the world's fastest four-seat coupe in 2005 with the maximum speed of 197 mph (318 km/h).

Does anyone have feedback on the new Sumitomo tires? this is what Tirerack has to say from an abbreviated test on which the Sumi came up first: Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Position (Max Performance Summer): The Potenza RE050A Pole Position with UNI-T Technology tire was developed for sports car, sports coupe and sport sedan drivers. The Potenza RE050A Pole Position is designed to provide exceptional dry and wet road traction. Continental ContiSportContact 3 (Max Performance Summer): The ContiSportContact 3 is Continental Tire's tire developed for the drivers of powerful sports cars, sports coupes and luxury sedans. The ContiSportContact 3 is designed to combine outstanding braking capability and agile steering precision. Sumitomo HTR Z III (Max Performance Summer): The HTR Z III (High Technology Radials-3rd Generation) is Sumitomo's tire developed for sports cars, sporty coupes and high performance sedans. It is designed to showcase Sumitomo's technical resources by providing high-speed handling stability along with traction on dry and wet roads. Yokohama ADVAN Sport (Max Performance Summer): The ADVAN Sport is Yokohama's tire developed for some of the world's most prestigious sports cars, sports coupes and high performance sedans. The ADVAN Sport in the 275/35ZR20 size has been chosen as the exclusive Original Equipment (O.E.) tire for the Bentley Motors Continental GT equipped with the Mulliner Driving Package, the world's fastest four-seat coupe in 2005 with the maximum speed of 197 mph (318 km/h).

Get one of this for navi and foggetaboutit: from CR: Prices for Global Positioning System navigators are dropping, and features such as internal batteries, touch screens, preloaded map databases, MP3 players, and spoken street names ("Turn left on Maple Street," not just "Turn left") are trickling down from pricey models to lower-cost ones. Real-time traffic alerts can also be had from less expensive GPS units, but expect to pay a subscription fee. ... All three models have text-to-speech technology, which means that they say the names of streets rather than simply say "turn left." Each can also report traffic delays, but the TomTom Go 910 must be paired with a compatible Bluetooth phone to get traffic services. The others have built-in receivers. Of the three, the nuvi 660 is the most compact, yet has a good-sized screen allowing larger icons and keypad letters--a plus for entering addresses. The Garmin c580 performs as well as the nuvi 660, but it has a smaller screen and its larger size makes it a little less portable. The TomTom Go 910 is another strong performer. It is less portable with a screen size between the nuvi 660 and the StreetPilot c580. ...

I have almost 12K miles on my IS350 and the tires still look good. At 10K I fully rotated all four tires (turned them around in the rims and switched them to the other side). I expect them to last no more than 20K miles. I drive fast (that is why I bought the 350 for...). Any experiences you can share? I plan on switching to either Potenza PP s03 or the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 which everyone consider to be the best (including CR). Feedback?

You should start calculating premium at 30 cents over regular which is the route most stations are following and will soon be the standard! If you are comparing an IS250 to a 4 cyl Accord then you are just looking for transportation, as both cars are drastically different, and if that is the case, the Accord is the logical choice. Other new choices are the Altima and the Malibu.

All you want to know about clear shields: quote I just thought that I would clear up some misconceptions regarding clear paint protection. I have read alot of posts on this board, and being in that industry I thought I would explain some things. I am the sales manager for a large global distributor of paint protection films. We currently carry 3M, Venture Shield and Llumar. I am not trying to sell anything here. I could not sell to any of you even if you wanted to buy from me. We deal in large bulk rolls. I just thought that some industry backround and insite would help all of you make an informed decision regarding this product. First, at the present time there are only two reputable brands of paint protection. 3M and Venture Shield. Avery, Llumar & Clear Shield are the other players, but they are way behind 3M and Venture. There are advantages and disadvantages to both of those brands as well that I will explain below. 3M This is the grandaddy of this industry. They invented the product in the early 1990s to help the US Military prevent erosion of helecopter blades in the first Gulf War. When the helos started in the desert, the sand would literally sand blast the leading edge of the blades. So, this product was developed and applied to the leading edges of those blades and that fixed the problem. For the military, long term appearance did not really matter. So, when this first started to be used on cars it would turn yellow after 2-4 years. Since then, the product has been re-engineered several times in order to maintain the appearance for many years. The product is considered 8 mil thick, however it is really 6 mil with 2 mil of adhesive. The 3M product comes with a clear scratch resistant top coat. This allows the product to be very scratch resistant and seals the pores against staining from insects and dirt. The downside to this hard coat is that it has a slight orange peel look. Venture This product has been out for roughly 6 years and is the up and comer in this industry. The product is very clear and applies much easier than 3M making hard cars and more elaborate kits possible. This product is the only paint protection product that Scuderia Ferrari recognizes and authorizes. This product is also a 8 mil (6 mil material, 2 mil adhesive), but it does not have a hard top coat. The benefit to this is that the product has virtually no orange peel and looks fabulous on the cars. The negative is that with no hard coat it is easier to scratch and stain. Because of this, Venture requires you to clean the car frequently and protect it with a wax or Plexus type product to stay looking good. Many that already take car of their cars very religiously would appreciate the better looks of the Venture. All that being said, I have 3M on my wife's Touareg and Venture on my 996. Both are great products, it just depends on what you want. I would especially recommend Venture on non-matallic paints though like Guards Red or Speed Yellow. On those types of colors the orange peel of the 3M becomes very noticable. On metallic paints, both 3M and Venture should virtually disappear if installed correctly. Finally, please do not try and install this yourself! This product is very difficult to install well and why would you want your 996 looking less than it's best. You will pay anywhere from $500-$1500 for a good install with either of these films. The range is to take into account amount of coverage and skill of the installer. Do not try and save a dollar here. A bad job is worse than not having it done at all in my opinion. === At the end of its life, how difficult is 3M to remove and/or replace? Does the old adhesive cause any issues with the finish? The only way that it could cause issues is if it was applied to a fresh paint job that was not yet fully cured. Other than that, it comes off quite easily and leaves behind some adhesive residue that can be cleaned off with 3M adhesive remover. Follow that with a coat of wax and your back to square one again. === Are there downsides to putting this on a 2001? Do I have to prepare the car differently than on a new car? No downsides at all. Obviously, if the paint is already damaged you may want to have it repaired or touched up first. The material will not hide any damage that already exists, so if it is not fixed first you will just have a protected damaged bumper. === It's my understanding that there are various grades of 3M film. Do you have an opinion as to which is best? I've heard some talk that the "aerospace" grade is the best. Thanks. It has no hard coat, so it installs easier and has no orange peel like Venture. However, it is not designed to maintain the appearance long term like the original helo tape, so it will discolor in 2-4 years. Not only that, it is more expensive. If you like the look of the aerospace film, have Venture installed. My recomendation is to stear clear of the aerospace film for car applications. By the way, 3M thinks so as well. That is why they are doing everything possible tpo keep installers from using it. unquote

Wax the whole car, including the shield, it's good for it too, although you will not need to do it so thoroughly...a lighter application... my installer suggested using the light detailing spray after each car wash...

CR Quick Recommendations Ultra-high-performance [uHP] tires The all-season ultra-high-performance tires did reasonably well in wet and dry braking and handling, and some were quite respectable in snow and on ice. Higher-scoring tires provided the best balance. Most summer ultra-high-performancetires did well in three-season performance. The top-rated Michelin and Pirelli summer tires set high standards for traction and grip. The Ratings rank summer UHP and all-season UHP tires by overall score. The Quick Picks below suggest models that offer specific strengths that might be suited to your needs. Quick Picks Best all-season UHP tires overall: Falken Ziex ZE-912, $123 Nitto Neo Gen ZR, $92 These were essentially tied, and both offered impressive wet and dry braking. While only fair in snow, they're far better than any summer tire. The Nitto is a relative bargain. For more winter traction: Continental ContiExtremeContact, $106 Sumitomo HTR +, $86 These trade ultimate dry and wet grip for better traction in snow. The Continental and Sumitomo did as well in the snow as a dedicated winter tire used as a control in our test. Best summer UHP tires overall: Michelin Pilot Sport PS2, $209 Pirelli P-Zero, $234 Nearly tied overall, both provide stellar dry and wet grip and handling. The Michelin excels in hydroplane resistance; the Pirelli had an edge in handling. Other good choices for summer tires: Bridgestone Potenza RE 050, $167 Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2, $158 Continental ContiSportContact 3,$182 Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3, $164 All were very good to excellent at braking and handling. The Bridgestone was excellent in hydroplane resistance. The Michelin scored very well in tread life. Excessive noise for the BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW2 and average dry braking for the Dunlop SPSport Maxx eliminated those tires as Quick Picks.

I just "rotated" my tires (turned them around in their existing rims and mounted them in the opposite side) and the technician found out the rims were full of tar on the inside. I commute through an expressway that is being resurfaced... That may be a possibility in your case. Check the inside of your rims if you recall ever driving over recently paved roads.

One of the bad points comes at selling time... If there is new technology out there you are selling a car with an obsolete nav on it. Just remember what is happpening to all GM car owners that have the old OnStar analog system...

I bought mine for $38,195.09 all included (yes, TTL included, tax is 6% down here) with premium package ($1,290, heated/ventilated front seats, wood trim and perf leather upgrade) 18" wheels ($720) , HID lamps with adaptive ($875). I got an excellent deal, but I am sure it can be repeated. Especially if you are willing to add $500 to that price. MSRP was $39,305.

6% to 7% depending on county