RE: SOTW: Lexus LS400

[Escort Si-130]

Hmmm, well while your at ti, you can answer the following question lol.

What does KIA stand for, as I have no idea?

Schermerhorn said:

JayMan said:

Great Shed. Right up my street this one.

Did you know that LEXUS stands for Luxury EXecutives for the US?

Yup, I did.

But then again, I'm probably one of the biggest car nerds around and I'm in a job where I have to know such things (hence the high nerd rating )

[redtwin]

Korean Industrial Autos?

[Rollcage]

redtwin said:

Korean Industrial Autos?

http://www.kia.com/#/faq/

About Kia - What does Kia mean

Third one down - its a Flash site, so cannot C&P

[redtwin]

Thanks, but I didn't really want to know, just having a bit of fun trying to guess.

If they had a reputation for poor reliability I would have gone with "Killed In Action"

[GeeTeaEye]

Great Shed - I hear Limo stretchers despise these cars due to the thickness of the body panels!

[Villan57]

SimonSaid said:

wid77 said:

... but servicing and fuel costs would soon add up if doing a lot of miles.

Anybody have any experience of these cars - is servicing really pricey?

Surely nobody who is a piston head takes a shed costing a grand to a garage for a service? DIY

[thunderbelmont]

[BASIL FAWLTY]
No, Sorry.... this is a st shed. Acres of bland plastic, a barge for a Nigerian Diplomat, not for anyone with a pulse. Where's my branch, this needs thrashing.
[/BASIL FAWLTY]

Whoever came up with this as a SOTW needs to hang their heads in shame. Go to the back of the class, detention after, and 1000000000 lines for being a dullard.

They'll suggest a Hyundai Matrix next, you see, they will....

[jbi]

300bhp/ton said:

jbi said:

lots of aftermarket support for the 1uz-fe v8...

i'm currently putting one in a mk1 discvovery with a manual gearbox

Sounds very interesting, would you be able to pm me or post up any more info on this swap?

Yup... i'm going to post a build thread soon... waiting for the weather to clear a little, everything is currently under a tarp

[carinaman]

jbi, as you're doing that swap you may know if these are non-interference?

[manicmark]

They are bulletproof mile munchers, as relliable as a swiss watch do 32 mpg at 75mph love lpg conversions & every time you get behind the wheel you cant belive you have such agreat car for so little money. forget your mercs (bm trouble yous) & jags the ls 400 is the most over engineered car period. Just ask anyone who has owned one ( it will be the best car the have ever owned) ps I have one so am biased, but after over a 100 cars for me everything else is 2nd best.

[GeeTeaEye]

ManicMark - good point about LPG. check out this bargain bad boy:

http://manchester.gumtree.com/manchester/97/461686...

its for Shed money too!

[jbi]

carinaman said:

jbi, as you're doing that swap you may know if these are non-interference?

yes they are non-interference... unusual for a high compression engine, but there you go.

the later vvti engines I believe are interference, but there is some debate on that.

[Rollcage]

As an owner of many big barges in the past I have obviously felt drawn to one of these quite a few times, but have always been put off by an interior that I have never really considered "Special" enough. To me, it doesn't look sufficiently different to the interior of a top spec Camry (for instance). As a result, I have never even sat in one - this thread has made me think a little though!

Is the interior better than it seems - IE just, maybe, a little "Plasticy"? The interior of an E32 7 series has always seemed that bit better a place somehow. Are my reservations justified?

[XB70]

Rollcage said:

As an owner of many big barges in the past I have obviously felt drawn to one of these quite a few times, but have always been put off by an interior that I have never really considered "Special" enough. To me, it doesn't look sufficiently different to the interior of a top spec Camry (for instance). As a result, I have never even sat in one - this thread has made me think a little though!

Is the interior better than it seems - IE just, maybe, a little "Plasticy"? The interior of an E32 7 series has always seemed that bit better a place somehow. Are my reservations justified?

They are incredibly well put together interiors and, over time, you actually realise that they are supremely well designed and laid out.

[redtwin]

The interiors are a bit bland, but they are very well put together and are more solid than they may look. Even after 17 years mine is completely rattle and squeak free and nothing has come loose or fallen off. The cupholder flap is a weak point and has broken on some cars and of course the leather will show wear, but I have seen much worse, worn holes in some cases, on cars half its age.

I fit an aftermarket headunit in mine and just dismantling the centre console/dash to remove the radio impresses with how well it is built. Very solid fit and feel, which is more than I could say for my previous BMW E46.

[jbi]

agreed about the interiors.... nothing special to look at but function over form.

Mine is nearly 20 years old and is still completely rattle and squeak free, despite the dash being apart at some point.

Everything is logically places and feels "solid"... best way I think I can describe it.

Even the indicator stalks feel like they will last forever and have a nice heavy "click" action.

[hammo19]

We bought one of these with 142,000 miles on the clock to use as our Le Mans bus three years ago. It was fanstastic. Very luxurious, comfortable, effortless 4.0 V8. It was a 1990 model and had ever electric gadget you could think of even an RDS stereo - imressive for 1990. Brilliant - I would definately recommend one.

[WEHGuy]

manicmark said:

They are bulletproof mile munchers, as relliable as a swiss watch do 32 mpg at 75mph love lpg conversions & every time you get behind the wheel you cant belive you have such agreat car for so little money. forget your mercs (bm trouble yous) & jags the ls 400 is the most over engineered car period. Just ask anyone who has owned one ( it will be the best car the have ever owned) ps I have one so am biased, but after over a 100 cars for me everything else is 2nd best.

Don't get me wrong, this is a great shed but, to be your best car out of 100's? Your other cars must of been some very average ones

[manicmark]

Hi mine is a 99 mark4 with the vvti lump 286bhp 0-60 6.2 secs 155 limited top end.
Plenty enough go for me. The styling is a bit bland (doesn,t attract the kids with their keys or joyriders) & it doesnt handle like a sports car. On every outher front for me it beats anything hands down. I like quality & reliabillity, I drive to south Germany 4 times a year( I sometimes check the oil & water,it never moves) 150,000 miles on it & it still drives as new, no wear at all on the interior even the drivers seat, I stick the cruise on at 130mph on the autobahn & even at 145mph its still quiet enough to have a wispered conversation, while holding the wheel with finger & thumb, Has a fantastic stereo as standard also. It cost me £2250 18 months ago £1750 for the lpg conversion, Which has saved me £1400 already in fuel. Outher than routine mainternance ive blown 1 tail light bulb in 17,000 miles.

My previous car an e38 740 bmw was a money pit , I used to like my mercs but I wouldn't touch a later one the build quality isn't there anymore unfortunately.

What sold me on them was a friend of mine has a 93 mark2 ls400 which he has had since 2002 its got 212,000 miles on it now he bought it with 98,000 on it, outher than routine mainternance he has had to have the blinkey dash repaired £75 & it still drives as new (the drivers bolster has just worn in a patch, but he is a very large bloke,) It still has the original shocks, wheel bearings track control arms & front discs. It doesn't use a drop of oil or water & still wafts along with no knocks or creaks in silence.

There is also a great owners club.

to sum up if you want a sporty drive dont buy one, If you want to sit behind the wheel with a bit of a inner smug grin safe with the knowlage that you are driving one the most dependerble comftable over engineered cars ever. I can 100% recommend one

[Prolex-UK]

XB70 said:

Prolex-UK said:

jbi said:

Prolex-UK said:

In japan toyota offered a supercharged version............(twas badged as a Celsior)

Yup... I've got one, and no it was not supercharged

Only real differences are the rear light cluster and the jap spec radio...

Won't pick up on UK frequencies as they are too high for it's range...

No biggie... radio was one of the first things to be swapped out

Absolutely love my car... would have another in a heartbeat.

Edited by jbi on Friday 22 January 20:06

not all JDM are supercharged one specific model was....trust me...........there are a few people who have used those superchargers on V8 soarers

I am really curious which LS this is. In Oz, there is a massive following of the Soarers and, with it, interest in forced induction. This spills over into interest in the the LS's due to the oddball insurance market in Oz where an import (the Soarers) get slammed on insurance but domestic sold but still imported cars (the LS) does not. Anyways...

I recall speaking to THE Soarer/LS guru in Sydney (he took an LS400 in the Targa Tasmania then an SC in the next two Targa's I believe) and did modifications to Soarers from all over Australia. I asked him this specific question way back then since I wanted a supercharged LS400 and he assured me that no LS left the factory with a supercharger.

Tom's and C's used to do a kit for them but to my knowledge, there has never been a factory LS with a supercharger.

Would love to be corrected though so I can get one of these beasts

TOM's still do (am the TOM's dealer)

This was a normal Toyota Celsior

Pop over to the toyota imports forum where you'll see the supercharged V8's

also there is a 4 wheel drive toyota aristo (mk1) V8 with 4WD............would love to get one and slap a pair of tubbies on....possibly the ultimate sleeper