NeoN

thanks for the heads up! how is your grill guard on the highway? does it skew the headlights at night?

http://www.tirerack.com/suspension/Susptab...=&brand=all thank you! I couldn't find that before but i'm very curious as to just how the RX would handle if you dropped it 1.2" and firmed up the suspension a bit. I just hope it wouldn't screw up the camber/toe settings and would eventually lead to my tires wearing prematurely. Has anyone tried out this lowering kit? I'm very tempted to give it a shot however, as the RX400h has copious amounts of body roll :( From what I've read about the Eibach springs, they are "progressive" which means they still ride good over the bumps (at least the smaller ones) but get progressively stiffer when pushed in the corners. Sounds good if they actually work that way. You would think lowering the car a bit and having firmer springs (when pushed) should improve handling. There's certainly plenty of room in our wheel wells for lowering 1.2". As these are not off-road vehicles, the loss of 1.2" ground clearance shouldn't be an issue. The parts are not expensive. Don't know how much labor is involved or if it's a DIY job. As RX400h said, an alignment would be needed. Probably also have to check on the possible warranty impact. I just checked the warranty book and it does not preclude the use of non-Lexus parts but it does say that those parts, or any damage resulting from their use, would not be covered. That seems fair. I'm interested in this, it is something I would definitely consider IF it didn't firm up the ride too much. Our Audi S6 had a firm sport suspension, it handled great but it could beat you up on a bumpy road. I'm going to call the dealer and ask if they've ever installed them on any RX's and what it would cost. yea i'm planning on taking my car by my performance shop where I get stuff done to my supra. My only concern is that this kit will ruin the camber/caster/toe on the RX causing premature tire wear without anything you can do to adjust it. Give me a couple weeks and i'll place an order for this kit and let everyone know what my reaction is. I wish lexus had an option from the factory for a "sport" package!!

You can all you have to do is a special order, and only order the exact options you want. I ordered mine on Dec, 1st and it is supposed to be here around the end of February, 08. I ordered everything just like they are normally equipped in the northeast with Navigation, Mark Levinson, premium plus package, wood trim, heated seats, rain sensing wipers, towing prep and 18" alloys. I also got a nice discount off of MSRP but did have to put down a 10% deposit. :whistles: yea but your in ohio, anyone in the NYC area doesn't even have access to the ML equipped RX400h's. They said it would require a 6 month delay which is ridiculous

http://www.tirerack.com/suspension/Susptab...=&brand=all thank you! I couldn't find that before but i'm very curious as to just how the RX would handle if you dropped it 1.2" and firmed up the suspension a bit. I just hope it wouldn't screw up the camber/toe settings and would eventually lead to my tires wearing prematurely. Has anyone tried out this lowering kit? I'm very tempted to give it a shot however, as the RX400h has copious amounts of body roll :(

I too have to chuckle when someone is willing to compromise on choices that impact their day to day lives out of fear of something that may or may not ever happen. Sure, having to take your car to the shop is a drag. Having front seats that are so uncomfortable that we can't take the RX on road trips because my wife's back gets too sore is a much bigger drag. Well said, i hate dealerships and everything they stand for, what a pain!

guys, My amp/subwoofer is far too powerful (1250 watts) and keeps draining my battery too much, so i've opted to run a Stinger SR200 battery isolater, so I can run two separate batteries. "Ideal for battery isolation, Stingers high current relays are the most reliable and efficient way to add secondary batteries to your system. Compatible with all types of alternators and charging systems, simply connect these relays to operate when the ignition is turned on. The battery systems remain separate while the ignition is off, preventing system drain" basically i'll always have a starter battery if I kill my secondary auxiliary battery playing my sound system into the wee hours of the morning. I'm working on mounting a Stinger SP800 battery in my trunk on the right hand side storage bin making it invisible to any onlookers/theifs (stealth mode). We'll see how this turns out. I currently have my Amp mounted in the cargo area, which has worked out perfectly thus so far, no overheating, no visibility. I had bass blockers installed in my rear speakers as well this weekend, and I can now say with confidence that my stereo system doesn't distort anymore, Although it was a pain in the !Removed!, everything is done (my sub provides the necessary bass).

hey how do you like your new tires? does the car handle any better? is the ride any firmer?

where did you find this eibach pro kit for the rx400h? I'd be interested in buying one to firm up the suspension a bit.

arg why can't we in the northeast get the ML system in our cars!?!? :(

4000 off sticker same here, whats the invoice for this car?

just wanted to revive this thread, whats everyone paying these days?

You might want to look at some reviews of VW's reliability. They didn't "make a car like that". low profile tires, low ground clearance, no low range 4WD. Its basically just a Toyota Sienna minivan you've got to remember. Its not really an SUV. At least not in the sense something like an Explorer or Grand Cherokee is. you make a great point. seriously, VW reliability? Is that intended to be some kind of joke or something?

Thanks for the tip!!

I can relate to this similarly as I came from an ML500, 14-15 mpg around town doesn't help (18-19 highway sucks too). The car was completely unreliable, I was sick of going to the dealer to get electrical problems fixed those retards down in alabama caused when they attempted to build a german car the american way. The improvements are vast over the ML500 as the lexus isn't as heavy and unreliable as the ML500, plus I now get 18 mpg on my daily commute compared to 14-15 in the ML500, plus 22-24 on the highway doesn't hurt (i've only put 350 miles on my RX400h so far, so im looking to get around 20-21 in the summer on my daily commute once i break in the engine and 24-27 on the highway). Just the joy I get when i pull up at the pump and can fill up with 87 (ML500 requires 93,) and only spend $37 compared to $60 to fill the ML500. Little things like that make me happy I purchased a hybrid, since im cheap and like to save money any way I can. I'm the guy who shuts off A/C in the summer and opens his windows to save gas and turns off his engine at stop lights to save gas as well. Anyways, I was a bit disappointed with the handling of the RX400h compared to the ML500, the suspension isn't as stiff and has much more body roll than expected. I also wish the steering rack had a lower ratio just to make handling tighter and the tires on the RX400h don't give me much confidence in the rain/snow/fast sweeping curves compared to the ML500. coming from a 275/50/17 tire equated to a significant loss of stability which I would like to fix with some wider tires that hold the road better. But first off I would like to stiffen up the suspension of the RX400h in order to dramatically reduce body roll to give me more confidence when cornering. the smaller tires also aren't as stable in the snow/wet along with the awd system of the lexus, which I consider far inferior to the RX400h. I'm not looking to go offroading, just drive 80 in the rain without any problems. Another knock I have is the Rx400h stereo sucks! I was very disappointed since I couldn't have the ML in my RX400h and it is almost pathetic compared to my old Bose in the ML500. However, I love the NAVI in the Lexus, one of the biggest selling points, fantastic system, Mercedes is in the stone ages for comparison. CVT + electric motors = just enough torque to be equivalent of a v8. All in all I love the Lexus, if I could just get a stiffer suspension and some wider tires I'd be quite please but I'm probably going to have to be content with what I have for now. I'll check back in at 10,000 miles

is this seat warmer thing actually true? how can it cost 1mpg to run the heated seats when the engine isn't require to run them? Correct me if I'm wrong but don't the heated seats run off the auxiliary power?

if your 12V Auxiliary battery is about to die, your radio won't boot up because the battery is that low I had this happen to me, as I was running off AUX power for about an hour and my radio shut off, that was odd, I went to start it up again, the car worked but the radio wouldn't boot up. Left on the headlights for another couple minutes ( I was adjusting the low beams) and i totally killed the battery). Off to the nearest advance auto parts to purchase a deep cycle battery!

well here is another thing you guys can try... take apart the air filter box, there is a first air filter, which seems to be highly restrictive, and remove the piece, there is a second air filter, which seems to be more than sufficient. I also saw a K&N Replacement air filter for the "second" air filter in our vehicles on ebay, for around $50. I'm going to try driving around without the first stage air filter and see how much louder it makes the rx. I will let everyone know of my findings, as im prepared to order the K&N if its not too noisy. -Brett

Well, at 0 rpm, the motors combine with the ICE to produce a whopping 650 lbs-ft of torque - enough to spin all four tires, if desired. The temptation is there, believe me....... anyone ever spin all 4 tires from a stop? is there a way to turn off traction control on our cars?

I talked to them and they told me that the Lockpick 3 DOES work with the 2008 RX-400h as long as you don't have the optional DVD system. I called twice and twice got the same answer from different people since I was really concerned about this. really? are you sure? let me know when you get lockpick installed in your car and I might just consider it. Can we watch DVD's on our front console with the lockpick installed?

shop around in jersey, nyc tends to be more expensive than NJ

anyone know how much the cat clamp costs? I can't believe thieves are stealing cats, what will they take next our hybrid badge?

anyone?

great write up, I dont really have time to do such an in-depth article, so i'll make it short. I had my stereo guy tap into the left and right rear door speakers, Ran the 12v+ from my battery through the firewall, and stuck the amp in the "cargo area" which was a custom fit, it looks beautiful though. We ran the hi-lo converter to the door speakers and ran the RCAs to the AMP then speaker wire from my amp to the Subwoofer. I have a giant JL 13w7, which is 13.5", and a Phoenix Gold 1200.1 amp rated at 1260W RMS @ 4ohm from the factory, this sucker will destroy your ear drums if you try and crank it up for more than a couple seconds. I utilize the luggage cover "privacy shade" over my sub so nobody can see what's back there, but surprisingly the subwoofer is not distorted/muted at all. We also ran a ground directly to the chassis right under the cargo box, which turned out well. The one problem I ran into was I killed the battery within 1 hour of running the system on straight battery, so I learned my lesson and purchased an optima yellow top the next day and haven't had any problems since. I'm installing "bass blockers" to block out frequencies below 75hz for the front door speakers this weekend since they distort at volumes over 40-45. I'm also looking into a remote amp control so I can turn down my subwoofer if I desire to. I don't have the ML system by the way and any other suggestions/input would be greatly appreciated, pics to come.

I have had the same issue in the winter, as I just picked up my car, but as soon as the engine is warmed up, it should NOT be running when your stopped at a light regardless of the temperature outside (32 is not too cold). Definitely speak with your lexus dealer regarding your hybrid system. My engine does run right when I start it up for a couple of mins, but once the coolant needle rises above C your engine shouldn't be running when decelerating or stopped

below you will find a link to a 40mm lowered RX400 from a german RX400 forum member. double click the pics to enlarge. he used springs and parts to do this from a german company. if you would like to get more infos on this i think i can get you a link to this companys web site. http://homepage.mac.com/kheldour/PhotoAlbum5.html regards willi that car looks sweet, I wish someone created a spring kit for the rx400h like that. dunno about the dual exhausts, were driving a hybrid not a v8