Lexusfreak

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Welcome to LOC Dan :) Here is the info I was able to find for your 97 LS... http://www.ngksparkplugs.com/part_finder/c...?engineid=26667

Trans Am

I thought many folks here might find this to be a big help... From the Toronto Star 'Wheels' section (Written by Tire Guru John Mahler), Feb 16th, 2008... "Now, some readers rightly ask, well, what's the difference between snow tires and winter tires? Good question. For the longest time, there were very few standards in the tire industry. Any company could label any tire whatever it wanted and they did. The "M&S" on a sidewall meant zilch. And it still means zilch. Technically, if a tire has any groove, it can be marked M&S. That means you could take a Formula 1 rain tire and put M&S on it because it has grooves. So the consumer should ignore all M&S signage. Early snow tires carried this M&S marking, but competition actually made the companies create tires that did work in snow. Snow traction depends on several things: rubber flexibility, lots of biting edges and wide grooves. So that's what snow tires looked like: big chunky blocks with square edges and wide grooves all made out of rubber compounds that stayed soft in below freezing temperatures. These snow tires had decent snow traction, but their Achilles heel was pavement. But square-edged blocks surrounded by wide grooves tend to squirm a lot. So driving down the highway, the tires wandered. Under panic braking, they felt unstable. Since tread squirm causes heat and heat causes tire degradation, they wore quickly. And last, they were noisy. Over time this basic model of the snow tire was improved so noise got less, squirm was reduced, wear improved and traction was not diminished. Tire companies started using more complex rubber mixtures that had less squirm and through computer modelling, found that the tread blocks did not have to be big, square, ugly ridges. The tire engineers started to refer to the best of these as "winter tires," to help differentiate them from their noisy, squirmy relatives. The winter tires were dramatically better on pavement than the snow tires. Then worldwide standards started to be adopted. Transport Canada bought into this and so the new winter tire standard was set. Any tire that passes, gets to have the winter tire logo: a snowflake inside a mountain peak, on the side wall. Another upside of standards was it inspired the tire engineers to make the best of the worst conditions. Bridgestone came up with the multi-cell compound Blizzak, an amazing tire on ice, Yokohama upped the ante with their IG-10, while other companies such as Goodyear and Toyo added grit into the rubber mixture. Michelin, as usual, went its own way and produced the X-Ice, a snow and ice tire. Of course all this research and technology has improved snow tires, too. So with a snow tire, you still get chunky tread, a bit less stability on the highway and more noise, but you do get snow traction. With a winter tire, you get quieter ride, very little squirm, less noise than some all-season tires, good pavement ride and grip, long wear characteristics, and – last but not least – good ice and snow traction. Practical examples from real life: in the Bridgestone Firestone family, the Bridgestone Blizzak is the winter tire, the Firestone Winter Force is the snowtire; in the Michelin/BFG/Uniroyal family, the Michelin X-Ice is the winter tire, and the BFGoodrich Winter Slalom is a snowtire; in the Pirelli world, the Snowsport is a winter tire and the Winter Carving is a snow tire. So to legislate or not to legislate? Several readers pointed out my omission of school buses in my list of vehicles that should be mandated to have winter tires. Good idea. Car rental companies definitely should be included in a law. Studs, I'm less crazy about. On ice and hard-packed snow, the extra grip is amazing. On pavement, where most of driving is done, they can sometimes make stopping more dangerous and they do eat up asphalt. In Southern Ontario, we have so little pavement left to eat. All the 400-series of highways look like ads for "instant pothole patch." Instead of making winter tires mandatory, why doesn't the provincial government allow you to write off the cost over four years on your tax return. A carrot is always better than a stick, plus it would help stimulate our retail sales in Ontario. But what the hey, what do I know? I do know there are some tires out there that I like to call all-weather (I'm leaving the "season" word to Vivaldi and Glazunov). These tires can run in the snow and enjoy a day at the beach in July ....but Mr. Editor is tapping on my shoulder. It seems I'm writing a column not a book. So we'll talk about those another day".

What OE size does your RX have?

Falkens are indeed decent for the money. :)

^ Yes please read it.

I'll second the Michelins ^ Although the GY F1 A/S you mention look tempting.......I have no experience with them personally......they look good on the net, but I am not so sure you need an 'ultra high performance all season' on a vehicle like the LS430. You will be giving up a fair bit of ride quality. If your okay with that, then put them on your short list. Welcome to the LOC btw. B)

I've put all of my concerns down in writting & they have given me a 2006 IS250 AWD (with winter rubber) for the week as a loaner (nice ride overall, but I find the interior quite cramped if I'm honest & a tad underpowered). Nice handler too. I am dealing with the assistant service manager & he has been quite understanding & very apologetic. I will be checking in a couple times with him this week that everything is getting fixed & things are on schedule. Will keep everyone posted. They got the impression that if my car is not up to the Lexus CPO standards (Lexus Canada has this in writting & it's very clear) when I pick the car up next week.....there will be trouble (Lexus Canada is on my speed dial....so I have their attention now....beleive me). ;)

Trouser cough

Update I'm dropping my ES off at the selling dealer to address the concerns I have and THEY missed (it's only taken 2 weeks to get this appointment!) & leaving the car for a week (parts need to be ordered & paint work done). Getting another CPO inspection out of it too & I hope they get it right this time & have made that crystal clear. If not, I haven't played all my cards yet anyways (I find it sad I even have to mention this because it's a Lexus dealer!) so we shall see what happens. A goodwill gesture by them would be to provide me with a 2008 LS600hL as a loaner lol. :whistles:

Welcome to the club islandgirl :) Sorry to hear about your accident. Just to clairify, do you own an IS or ES model & what year? I ask because I have not heard of an IS250 in north america for the 2002 model year (as mentioned in your profile).

Agreed eatingipblacktop.......folks, we have to remember were all on the same team here so to speak.

Come on guys! Knock it off! See the reason why I closed the 'what oil type' thread. Once again......THREAD CLOSED.

Good question dc....I left for the Subaru camp....but checked in from time to time. Send the man a PM.....maybe he got married. ;)

I was under the impression that is the normal amount of fluid that comes out on a routine 'drain & fill'? I know it is at least on the ES. According to the Amsoil website (this is not gospel...just an FYI) it states that it's only a 2 qt drain & fill. Big, are there any details mentioned in your owners manual about this?

Guy's, I really don't understand why these oil (and tranny fluid) threads seem to turn into an arguement all the time?.....it's a broken record!!! All this info has been covered so many times that no additional useful info has been provided for anyone here. THREAD CLOSED.

I hear what your saying Mike.....The TT's have an 80k mile treadlife (with proper maintenance).......$59.95 for a 4 wheel alignment over that period is peanuts anyways. ;) It's the shops that try to get folks into getting one every 6 months to a year that gets me.

Windshield

Welcome to LOC USA How was the ride over the big pond ? Welcome! :) & Canada too. ;)

I didn't see it on the list.....might want to add Amsoil on there. ;)

Surgeon

Hospital

I've seen alot of them too (they were popular with Caddy's years ago....Bling....Bling! ;) ). Because they are gold plated, they will fade & look pretty gawdy after several years. Never cared for them personally.

Cool stuff. B)