SW03ES

And that means they LOWERED the price on the 04, because my VSC Levinson/Navigation sunshade car WITHOUT AVS was $39,671 (the sticker was anyway). Something's fishy...

If it doesnt vibrate, its not hurting anything so I'd just leave it be. My Explorer has a bent rim, they just have to double balance it and its fine.

My bet is the waterproofing agent in the cover bled through staining the paint. What kind of paint cleaner have you tried to use? How much was the cover, what type of material is it etc?

Yeah, for ride the stock wheels are the best bet, the more sidewall, the smoother the ride. As for Continental tires being "discount tires", ask him is that why they're the standard tires on all Mercedes Benz and BMW cars, even the $100,000+ V12 sedans? He's just trying to get you to buy what he sells. See tires are like anything else, in order to sell them you have to apply to be an authorized reseller or dealer. He just didnt apply to Continental. There's a difference between a "discount" tire, and a tire thats rediculously overpriced. Michelins for instance. Good tires, but they're INSANELY overpriced. Good Years, crappy tires, but a lot are almost as expensive as Michelins. Continental is a great tire that is reasonably priced. Thats enough to earn my money. Before you buy the ContiExtremeContact Continental has a brand new one out meant to be the brother of the CEC, the ContiPremiumContact a touring tire. Its supposed to be smoother and quieter than the Extremes, and you see how well they do in reviews! They're so new TireRack has no info yet.

Eh, still not sure. Autofiend is just a rumor mill. I wouldnt trust the pic myself. Also, the IS is basically unchanged for 2004, thats already been released.

I run around 28, thats optimum ride.

Yeah, things like that are near impossible to get out totally by a do-it-yourselfer. You need a hot water extractor and then ozone odor removal.

Alan, He'll look at it, he'c comparing the LS430, new A8L, 745Li and I think the new Jag XJ.

Thats a FANTASTIC price on the 03, can't touch it for that here, even at the end of the model year. And no there are no color changes for 04. Like you I love that Graphite Grey pearl the GS, IS, and RX come in. It came on the previous gen ES, but not the current one. Oh well.

Thats awesome Steve, congratulations!

Oh yeah, I forgot about you having aftermarket wheels, that explains the price difference. Man, they're cool looking tires aren't they?

Oh man... If I were you, I'd take it to a professional and let him steam clean the interior and hit it with an ozone machine to get rid of any odors.

Lexstacy's thing is designed for the all in one key. Pretty much other than that I can't reccomend anything but a new key. if I were you I'd order a new key lol. You can get one from www.lexus-parts.com for $50. It comes precut.

Hey Deanski, great to see you over here (I'm GoodnClean if you didnt notice lol) You've been a member since May?!? How did I not notice? Deanski's right about the Autopia guide, definately lots of great information there. Autopia's a great place, and David's a great guy. Soon in the future actually there's going to be a joint venture between LOC and Autopia thats going to result in some great new information sources and product sources for our members. Keep a look out for it

Oh no, the 16s will bolt right onto the hubs, even with the sport suspension. The Sport suspension option just includes the 17 inch wheels. If it doesnt have the badges then I wouldn't worry. The sport suspension option is quite rare, much more likely that you'd have the basic suspension then the euro. If you drop the tires down to 30 It'll ride just like your LS400 did. Michelins are really hard tires, the rubber is pretty hard so the air pressure will make a really big difference when compared to something like a dunlop where the rubber is pretty soft. Thats partially why Michelin's last so long compared to Dunlops, harder rubber.

I agree with Lexstreme, lets end it on a happy note. I think we've thoroughly hashed through all of the issues lol

If I try I can make the car exhibit the hesitation, but it never comes up when I'm just driving. I suppose its my driving style. I drove an Explorer for 6 years, maybe I just got used to letting the car take its time lol. Hey Alan, is that the new redesigned A8? How'd you like it? My dad is thinking about replacing his LS400 with one.

Well there are three types of tires. Summer tires, which are soft rubber, give a great ride and great sticky handling, however the soft rubber makes them terrible in the snow. Winter tires (snow tires) which are hard, ride rough but give excellent grip in the snow, poor handling though. Then there are "all season" tires which are a mixture of both. Thats what the ContiExtremeContacts and most other tires are, all season radials. That is, they're smooth, quiet and handle well, but are also capable in the snow. You'd never need anything but summer tires in SoCal.

Okay guys. I've been in contact with Mark who posted above, he owns a Ziebart franchise. He told me all about the process and the product. I went out and did some research on Diamond Gloss, and I was not at all impressed with what I found. Far more negative experiences then positive ones. I searched some detailing forum archives, found good information from professionals. Many feel that the product is simply a polymer sealant like I'd thought because it can be removed with Isopropyl Alchohol. Many had really bad experiences with some franchise locations damaging cars. Quite distressing indeed. Then there's the issue of price, it costs upwards of $400 for their entire deal, and a good independent detailer will do the exact same thing, and more for $150-$200. I cannot reccomend Ziebart's system to our members. This is not to say Mark's franchise isn't a quality establishment, I found no info about his particular store that would say that, however on the whole I believe its far overpriced and far overhyped for what it is. If you want the full treatment with a good polymer sealant and you dont want to do it yourself, find a good private detailer. Save some money and be sure you get the job done right.

Well... You can use a dishwashing liquid, but it will strip off all of the wax on the surface, you'll definately have to re-wax afterwards. Depending on the type of shampoo you have, you can use it. If its a clear shampoo, like a baby shampoo or something cheap it will work. The main issue is the lubricity of the soap. Car wash soap is designed to surround dirt particles and make them slide right off the paint without scratching. The only household soap you have that does the same thing is a dishwashing soap like Dawn or Palmolive (make sure its clear, and doesn't have any "scrubbing bubbles" or whatever) however like I said, its really harsh and will strip off any wax. My vote is for leave it dirty until you can get some carwash soap.

Definately agree.

Hey Terry, congratulations pal! Does the car have the 17 inch wheels? You may be noticing the difference between the 17 inch wheels compared to the 16 inchers on your LS400. If it doesn't have the 17 inch wheels, then there's no way it has the Euro suspension by the way. Also, 37.5 pounds WILL make a difference. I run them at 29 for maximum ride. Lexus states 29-30 as the reccomended PSI. Lexus dealers ALWAYS over inflate the tires, all dealerships and mechanics do. Whenever I get mine back from service they're always like 40, makes me feel like I'm driving a truck home...

I thought I was the only person in the world that was anal about the car keys LOL. When I detail the car, I always get some metal and plastic cleaners and clean the keys too. When it starts to chip up (do you have the all in one remote/key?) and get nasty, some good metal polish will fix up the key part, and actually the metal Lexus symbol too. One of our sponsors Lextacy.com sells a foil sticker that goes on over the L to make it look better too.

My Explorer has an auxilliary blower for the rear, I guess it just kinda spoiled me LOL. I'll try the tricks with the fan speed and the front vents. Thanks guys!

I saw them for $80 on TireRack. I'm definately all over these tires come October.