Kingsoup

Congrats! congrats on getting to the point in your life you can have a super nice/ultra reliable car that is safe as well.

Mods to think about

Your brain from worrying about breakdowns anymore!

Rebuilt they are 399$ online I believe, shouldn't be more then 2hrs labor at any normal shop to change it.

Blake, you note that this is easy to do. Is there a tutorial around on how to do this?

I don't believe there is. It's a 10 minute job at the most, and the gist of it is you unscrew the old one and put the new one in (kind of like changing a spark plug). The part number: 17630-16040 (it's $80 online). I noticed the white smoke mostly when I had it at WOT merging or passing.

Top Gear is all about drivers cars and fun cars. Lexus makes great cars. The LS is a great, reliable, smooth luxury car but it is not fun to drive. Lexus has always failed to take on BMW, Mercedes and Audi in sports sedans. The 3 series and M3 are still the bench marks, where as the IS and IS-F have fallen short.

Car reviewers always say Lexus is for people who hate driving. Every thing that makes driving fun is taken out of the LS, its for a different target group. My other car is a 3 series (wife drives it). The LS is a great highway cruiser but on the back roads it is the 325i for me any day.

Clarkson might just hate it because some British colloquial reason like some politician or celeb owns one. May be he was trying to prove the the LS wasn't bullet proof! BTW Top Gear put the BMW 3 series in the uncool wall too.

I have to get that DVD downloaded on the ASAP to see what its all about. I remember he said it was a boring, pensioners car in the episode where James May turns one into a police car. Generally he doesn't like toyotas and hondas either calling them old people cars in Britain, which I always found kinda strange!

I'm gonna have to agree that it must have something to do with reliability and bulletproof, it seems out of character for him to shoot and blow up a car he doesn't realy realy hate. That being said, he shot and blew up a Prius which really isn't a bad car at all.

I suppose the LS is not much of a drivers car, not a whole lotta feedback, 15turns lock to lock steering, but with big low profile tires and light rims, mine has great grip, just no real idea where balance and the limit is.

I'm dying to know the full story now, still pains me to see a nice car like that blown to pieces!

@ 55 seconds he appears to be shooting a 1st gen Lexus LS with a machine gun!!

WHY OH WHY!! I wonder if he calls it boring and horrible in his video? he usually only shoots cars that he hates.

How could he hate a LS? I can understand a unreliable Fiat or a poorly made Indian car, but the Lexus LS?

I'll be looking forward to seeing the full video *cough cough Torrent*

I looked it up, it seems stock offset is +32 +35 with 235/50/18's on them, I bet they'd fit perfectly and look awesome!

If you can get for cheap, do it! I bet they are super high quality as well, wouldn't bend or get pitted like some cheap aftermarket rim!

I smile everytime I drive this thing, makes me feel like a king! all in a 15yr old lexus!! good times!

Some booty pics, I haven't had a chance to clean the mufflers yet! I'm not into this VIP look, with bodykits and 22" rims, but this is just VIP enough for me!

ooks very nice!

Ah ... the joy of driving a RHD car in a LHD land. Back in the 60s, I remember having to tell a friend when it was safe to pass since he couldn't see around trucks while driving his RHD Jag XKE 3.8.

Which specification is your Celsior? A, B, C, C/F ? I assume it is a "B" or higher since it has leather seats.

Not that you will care, but does it still have the speed limiter?

I've attached a photo of something I think you need for your front seat passenger so he/she feels more comfortable. Might be fun if you are ever stopped by the police.

I certainly enjoy having a passenger when on two lane roads, I can't see anything to pass! other then that its been pretty straightforward, amazingly,I thought it would be much more inconvinient! We are so lucky in canada to be able to get 15yr old cars legally!

Its a UCF11, it just lacks the rear seat heaters and massage and the rear seat audio controls. I shudder to think how much this car weighs since it has so many electric motors doing things I don't understand. (example the AirPuri switch, high, low or auto, any idea? pollen filter?)

The speedo only goes to 180 so I'm gonna guess I have the limiter, it sure gets up there in a hurry if you stomp on it, if I end up keeping the car long term I'll see about a US ECU or something to remove it! (might sell it in the spring to buy a few more cars, another Celsior I hope and something else just to sell)

LOLOL at the photo! my GF feels a bit strange in the passenger seat! Its silly, but everyone seems really impressed with the car for the money. I feel really special driving this car, I just have this feeling its a special vehicle, not built to save gas, or be economical, but built to be the best!

I have to get some photos up of the rear with the coolness, I've never owned such a nice paint car before with Zero rust, I feel guilty being prideful of the car, but I do enjoy its prettiness!

OMG zippo awesome! the car has like 4 ashtrays, you think they smoke in japan much? hee hee

Wow thanks for the kind words guys! Everyone around here brings in Aristos and diesel trucks etc. but I haven't seen any Celsiors! Mostly beige 90 LS400's driven by ancient people!

I must admit to feeling a little awkward in the Wonder-Car as I call it, as if I'm not dressed well enough to be in it!

There are some strange japanese buttons that I still don't know the function of, including some kind of mini-disc, radar detector thing on the dash and a controller box, no idea how they work. Some japanese woman says something to me once in a while, what shes saying, I don't know!

I've never seen such complicated wheel locks, to get the caps off to even get to the wheel lugs (which are all lock nuts) you have to use a Torx driver and a allen key! I figure that most people look at first gen LS's as old cars and prob just pass it by!

Now all I need is some headers and exhaust and I'll be good to go!

Hey guys!

Lurking around here for a while, I'd dreamt of importing a RHD car for a long time! I was originally going to get a reliable daily, Soarer with a 1UZ but changed my mind to a LS400 for all the space and road trip duty! (I have a 93 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4 as a fun car!)

I painstakingly over months and months scanned the auctions and learned how to import a car myself! Nice modded Celsiors are few and far between but I landed this pretty girl! 5 Delays later and 2 months of me fidgiting over my pretty girl arriving and I finally got it!!

Celsior front

CElsior Quarter

The rear of the car is almost the best part with its cool junction produce mufflers and fat booty tires!

Well its quite the fun car, the touch screen climate/Nav/Stereo works great! Backup sensor, all the other cool lexus stuff.

Fun stuff:

18" 3-Piece OZ Futuras! 265/35/18 on the rear 235/40/18 on the front!

HKS supermegaflow Intake (sounds cool at WOT)

Junction produce Chrome mufflers with fancy VIP tips

Air suspension Height Controller with 4 settings (it works really great! lowest setting only for sitting!)

I don't have a pic of its pretty booty just yet, but I'll add one into the thread asap!

Well it drives like a dream, a little vague on the steering, lots of sway in corners but the tires hold it nice! Great brakes, seats are a little old man but comfy! Right hand drive, my first one, 85% the same as driving LHD, I was so suprised how easy it is!

I get looks from people in this car! Which is always nice!

OH!! and it has Dual Truck horns in the front! they are so loud, SO LOUD, I think its criminal to use them on people, only if someone in a car really cuts me off! good times!

It was everything I'd hoped for and more! Happy times!