SW03ES

You should be fine at that pressure, between the pressure on the door and the max pressure of the tire is all personal preference. My point was only that airing them to the factory specs won't do any harm.

Monarch- Actually no, 99% of 05 ES that come to the east coast ship with the 17" wheels. I've never seen one without them. Remember you live in CA he lives in NY, the packages are totally different.

First of all, you've got to take a deep breath and relax. They're just tires, no one is saying they're going to go flat anywhere, the disclaimer is only to say that the tread may wear away before 20k miles. $500 gets you a set of brand new tires in whatever brand or description that you may want. Doesn't have anything to do with the reliability of the car. The Bridgestone tires on your car aren't fantastic. No need to sell the wheels though, the Michelin MXV4 line (which also comes on the ES) come in that size so you can just replace the tires when they wear out with a set of tires with a longer treadwear warranty. The dealer isn't going to take your wheels as a trade anyways. The wheel size doesn't really make a difference in tread life. One thing to be aware of though, for some reason Lexus vehicles are more reliant on their tires to supply their smooth ride than something like a Lincoln, I have no idea about Infiniti. So, you want to shop for tires looking more carefully at things like smooth and quiet ride. Usually smooth and quiet ride are a tradeoff with treadwear (but not always) Jim- My dad had the 4000s on his 98 LS too when it was new and again as a new set and had similar experience. Unfortunately the 4000s are getting very hard to find and have been all but replaced with the 5000s which have MUCH shorter treadlife.

Its more expensive and its a higher line model.

Nothing against your Dad, but he's wrong. Thats not at all how that tool is supposed to be used. Its not a situation of people's panties being in a bunch, when you take responsibility for the condition of other people's vehicles you have a responsibility to make sure you know what you're doing. Like I said in the PM, they include LOTS of things with these buffers that you shouldn't use. The PC for example comes with a terrible pad. Please, do yourself a favor and go over to Autopia and read what the members there have posted on the subject. More info than you'd ever need, written by professionals and hobbiests that have more experience detailing than either of us have living.

Don't feel bad, Lexus puts terrible tires on their cars and even the tires that come on the 16" wheels (well, most of them) last less than 20k also. I personally think the 17" wheels, while they do look better, make the car ride harder and create more road noise. I drove an 05 and it seemed firmer and louder than my 03. Thats beside the point though. First of all go look at the tires, and tell me what brand and model they are. There's no inherant reason why the 17s dont last as long as the 16s, its just that Lexus uses several different brands of tires, Michelins which have a pretty long life, and Dunlops and Bridgestones that...well don't. Its basically just a "cover their butts" deal. I would have required that the dealer swap the 17s with the 16s on an older ES on their lot. You will find though that NO tires for these cars will last 60-70k miles. The tires that last that long are low speed rated touring tires that are loud and give a poor ride. The Ultra High Performance and Touring tires these cars are designed for don't last that long at all, 30k is good long life. Its just part of driving this type of car.

The stock tint is part of the glass, it can't be removed.

This is true, but most buyers only know what horsepower is.

And even on a 98-00 its extremely difficult. People HAVE done it though.

I wouldnt expect it to have 280hp, that would be in RX400h territory. If it gets the 3.5, it'll be detuned.

Honestly, you've gotten lucky. Aside from the rotary not actually doing anything to the paint when removing product, the risk is huge that it will burn through the paint. You also don't know how much paint you've removed by using the rotary in this way. Polishes work when they're APPLIED not when they're removed. By the time the product is ready to be removed all the abrasives have (or should have been) broken down and all thats left is byproduct. This you can just wipe off. Using the rotary onn a surface with no product is seriously, seriously incorrect. Please, go to Autopia and read the threads I directed you too. What you're telling me is akin to me telling you "I sand down the rough cut wood with sandpaper, then I finish up with my belt sander" you've got it backwards. The belt sander is akin to the rotary, its designed to knock off the big edges and make the wood take shape. The sandpaper is like the orbital, its used to clean up any scarring by the belt sander/rotary and to make the surface look perfect. If you need another analogy, its like saying "I started sanding with 300 grit (super fine) sandpaper, then finished with 40 grit". The steps are reversed. Think about it this way: Which is more powerful a tool, the orbital or the rotary? When finishing things it makes no sense to use the more powerful tool to finish a job started by the least powerful right? Its nothing against you at all, but if you are using the rotary in this way is not a sign of skill or experience. Thats totally improper use and you can damage people's cars to where they'll need thousands of dollars of repair work. Again, its nothing about you, I don't use a rotary because they're too dangerous. Thats so totally wrong though I can't even get by it, please be smart. Learn from people that know what they're doing, go to Autopia and read what they have to say.

But remember, Lexus chose the pressure that is on the door. They wouldn't choose a pressure that would crack a wheel. I've driven mine on 29 PSI for 45k miles in DC where the potholes will swallow you up and no cracked or bent wheels. My dad drove his 98 LS for 160k on 29 PSI, no problems, not sure what the spec on his LS430 is, probably 30 or 31 since they're 17s. If anything you're more likely to have problems at a higher pressure with poitholes because the tire can't absorb as much shock. Anyways at 29 the tires aren't low enough for anything to have contact with the wheel rim, they just LOOK a little low in the front, they aren't actually low.

I drove my mom's car through a shed :chairshot: No, running cars and kids are not a good match.

Very nice! I'm already planning my spring detail here in a couple weeks.

Do you guys have personal property tax/car tax in RI?

This could be considered a warranty job, but I could also see how it could be considered an adjustment. If your mirror falls off, its warranty. If you knock it off, its not. It depends on whether or not they believe that the looseness is caused by rough and improper treatment. I'd stay on them to make them pay it though, how much are they trying to charge you?

RUn a search, theres lots of discussion on here about having your car serviced at different places.

But hey, you're still here right! ;)

Blake's right, ML came out in 01. The 98+ navs only came with the base pioneer stereo, you couldn't get Nakamichi and nav together. I highly doubt it will work, even if it does it will require EXTENSIVE electrical wiring. Not worth it, but an aftermarket nav.

No, won't fit. They changed the wheel design slightly in 01, you'd have to get a wheel AND a bag and thats going to be expensive.

Sure they work, but they're not neccisary IMHO. As long as you pay attention no need.

Noooo, cars cost MORE in Canada than in the US. Far, far more. He means Japanese and Canadian BUILD.

So 5 years would put it at 2008-2009.

Exactly, children should never ride in the front seat. What would stop the children from turning the key or shifting the gears or pulling up the handbrake? Somehow we all grew up riding in cars with these things and we're all fine. I used to push buttons in the car all the time, my dad tells funny stories about it. Somehow I never turned the car off or shifted it out of gear.

Man, you've got it all wrong. NEVER remove product with a rotary. A rotary is meant to remove tough defects, using it on the paint to remove product does nothing but risk burning and marring the paint. Thats a serious, serious no no. You would want to work product in with the rotary and FOAM pads (wool is THE most aggressive pad you can use, also the most dangerous). Product can be removed by hand with MF towel or with an MF or terry bonnet on the orbital, but NEVER with wool and NEVER with a rotary. I can't stress that enough, thats completely incorrect use. Please, please don't attempt to use that again unless you have a true handle on how to use it and have proper pads for it. You could seriously damage someone's car, if you do then you're left on the stick to repair it. Stop by www.autopia.org and go to the "Machine Polishing" forum. There's a long thread in there about how to properly use a rotary.