First time GS400 owner!
11-12-04, 06:28 PM
#16
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Originally posted by gottahaveit2
Here is a picture. It is running great. Nice mileage too, 18.5 and 19.5 so far. K&N is going in tomorrow and I picked up a new set of OE floor mats at Sewell Lexus in Dallas for a great price. I am having a bit of trouble getting the balance of the wheels, Discount has done them twice, first time worse, 2nd a bit better but not as smooth as they need to be.
Here is a picture. It is running great. Nice mileage too, 18.5 and 19.5 so far. K&N is going in tomorrow and I picked up a new set of OE floor mats at Sewell Lexus in Dallas for a great price. I am having a bit of trouble getting the balance of the wheels, Discount has done them twice, first time worse, 2nd a bit better but not as smooth as they need to be.
About the balance, don't bother with a Discount Tire type of place, they don't know how to handle high performance tires and lower profile rims. You need to get them done at the dealership or a better shop that has a Hunter 9700 or similar machine. I actually get my 19s done *ON CAR* at 130mph - it's the best possible balance.
11-15-04, 05:50 AM
#17
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Originally posted by bitkahuna
Congrats. Is that a K&N drop in filter you're getting or the whole intake? I've had the filter first and now the whole intake kit (FIPK II) - love it.
About the balance, don't bother with a Discount Tire type of place, they don't know how to handle high performance tires and lower profile rims. You need to get them done at the dealership or a better shop that has a Hunter 9700 or similar machine. I actually get my 19s done *ON CAR* at 130mph - it's the best possible balance.
Congrats. Is that a K&N drop in filter you're getting or the whole intake? I've had the filter first and now the whole intake kit (FIPK II) - love it.
About the balance, don't bother with a Discount Tire type of place, they don't know how to handle high performance tires and lower profile rims. You need to get them done at the dealership or a better shop that has a Hunter 9700 or similar machine. I actually get my 19s done *ON CAR* at 130mph - it's the best possible balance.
11-15-04, 09:21 AM
#18
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Welcome to the "Club"
Originally posted by gottahaveit2
Mild on mods. Wheels, maybe suspension, that's the limit. Thanks for the tips on the balancing.
Mild on mods. Wheels, maybe suspension, that's the limit. Thanks for the tips on the balancing.
That's what we all said at first.You might want to consider "road force" balancing if you still have a problem. I assume the rims are not bent or damaged?
BTW, that is a beautiful color on the GS!
11-15-04, 10:05 PM
#20
Lexus Champion
Congrats! I always wanted to buy a GS with the hope of fixing it up cosmetically ...maybe 19's or 20's, exhaust, lowering springs...that was all I thought there was to it. And then I bought my GS, and then I joined this forum...and now Im overwhelmed with information about cosmetic and performance mod's...(I still read people's signatures, and read the mod's on their cars, and still have no idea what most of those things are 
)....The one thing Ive learned though, is that even with the most mild of mod's, the GS remains a classy and beautiful car
)....The one thing Ive learned though, is that even with the most mild of mod's, the GS remains a classy and beautiful car
11-15-04, 10:14 PM
#21
Originally posted by jmjs23
Congrats! I always wanted to buy a GS with the hope of fixing it up cosmetically ...maybe 19's or 20's, exhaust, lowering springs...that was all I thought there was to it. And then I bought my GS, and then I joined this forum...and now Im overwhelmed with information about cosmetic and performance mod's...(I still read people's signatures, and read the mod's on their cars, and still have no idea what most of those things are )....The one thing Ive learned though, is that even with the most mild of mod's, the GS remains a classy and beautiful car
Congrats! I always wanted to buy a GS with the hope of fixing it up cosmetically ...maybe 19's or 20's, exhaust, lowering springs...that was all I thought there was to it. And then I bought my GS, and then I joined this forum...and now Im overwhelmed with information about cosmetic and performance mod's...(I still read people's signatures, and read the mod's on their cars, and still have no idea what most of those things are
)....The one thing Ive learned though, is that even with the most mild of mod's, the GS remains a classy and beautiful car
11-28-04, 10:56 AM
#22
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Well I spent the day on cleaning up the paint, using the Meguiar's system:
The clay bar took out lots of built up road grime and smudge.
The polish add 'vital oils and nutrients'.
And the wax added a layer of protection
Came out very well, before you could run your hand over the paint and it felt a tad gritty, esp the back bumper (exhaust dust etc) even when freshly washed; now, it is slick and smooth, and the color seems to have whitened up a shade, letting that pearl color show through a bit more.
I have to attribute a lot of the improvement to the Mequiar's clay bar, that really did some nice cleaning on the paint, which is in good shape overall. Just the years of being washed and not thoroughly cleaned left the finish slightly dull, until yesterday!
One area of the car I am still not happy with, however, is the nose, the plastic front bumper over the years is just showing its age and wear from highway grit and bugs. I wonder if I can order a front bumper cover prepainted to the proper Lexus white color code and just replace the entire nose here at home? I think painting the front cover off the car would yield a better paint job than if I took the whole car in...
And the rear tailpipe tip covers, they are in bad shape, brassy looking, never been cleaned, so hopefully some good metal polish will bring them back to life.
A question, I did a seach but did not find any way to disable the auto tilt steering wheel. This occurs every time you turn the key on and the reason I want it disabled is there is no reason to run that motor every time you get in, I don't want to have to ever replace the motor - so I would rather save it for when it is needed. My '94 LS400 had a button to disable the auto tilt, and per the GS400 Owner's Man they suggest visiting the dealer to have the autotilt disabled. Perhaps someone here knows how to do it.
The clay bar took out lots of built up road grime and smudge.
The polish add 'vital oils and nutrients'.
And the wax added a layer of protection
Came out very well, before you could run your hand over the paint and it felt a tad gritty, esp the back bumper (exhaust dust etc) even when freshly washed; now, it is slick and smooth, and the color seems to have whitened up a shade, letting that pearl color show through a bit more.
I have to attribute a lot of the improvement to the Mequiar's clay bar, that really did some nice cleaning on the paint, which is in good shape overall. Just the years of being washed and not thoroughly cleaned left the finish slightly dull, until yesterday!
One area of the car I am still not happy with, however, is the nose, the plastic front bumper over the years is just showing its age and wear from highway grit and bugs. I wonder if I can order a front bumper cover prepainted to the proper Lexus white color code and just replace the entire nose here at home? I think painting the front cover off the car would yield a better paint job than if I took the whole car in...
And the rear tailpipe tip covers, they are in bad shape, brassy looking, never been cleaned, so hopefully some good metal polish will bring them back to life.
A question, I did a seach but did not find any way to disable the auto tilt steering wheel. This occurs every time you turn the key on and the reason I want it disabled is there is no reason to run that motor every time you get in, I don't want to have to ever replace the motor - so I would rather save it for when it is needed. My '94 LS400 had a button to disable the auto tilt, and per the GS400 Owner's Man they suggest visiting the dealer to have the autotilt disabled. Perhaps someone here knows how to do it.
Last edited by gottahaveit2; 11-28-04 at 11:11 AM.
11-28-04, 01:45 PM
#23
don't bother with the balancing of the tires...
Congratulations on the new ride. The GS4 is seriously a slick ride.
You mentioned you've gone to have your wheels balanced, don't bother. Pretty much every GS car on here has some vibration between 60 and 80mph. (read: go faster)
It's just a characteristic of the car. Not sure why but almost all of us have that issue.
c.
You mentioned you've gone to have your wheels balanced, don't bother. Pretty much every GS car on here has some vibration between 60 and 80mph. (read: go faster)
It's just a characteristic of the car. Not sure why but almost all of us have that issue.
c.
Originally posted by gottahaveit2
Here is a picture. It is running great. Nice mileage too, 18.5 and 19.5 so far. K&N is going in tomorrow and I picked up a new set of OE floor mats at Sewell Lexus in Dallas for a great price. I am having a bit of trouble getting the balance of the wheels, Discount has done them twice, first time worse, 2nd a bit better but not as smooth as they need to be.
Here is a picture. It is running great. Nice mileage too, 18.5 and 19.5 so far. K&N is going in tomorrow and I picked up a new set of OE floor mats at Sewell Lexus in Dallas for a great price. I am having a bit of trouble getting the balance of the wheels, Discount has done them twice, first time worse, 2nd a bit better but not as smooth as they need to be.
not true
11-29-04, 12:55 AM
#27
Re: don't bother with the balancing of the tires...
Originally posted by cliffud
Congratulations on the new ride. The GS4 is seriously a slick ride.
You mentioned you've gone to have your wheels balanced, don't bother. Pretty much every GS car on here has some vibration between 60 and 80mph. (read: go faster)
It's just a characteristic of the car. Not sure why but almost all of us have that issue.
c.
Congratulations on the new ride. The GS4 is seriously a slick ride.
You mentioned you've gone to have your wheels balanced, don't bother. Pretty much every GS car on here has some vibration between 60 and 80mph. (read: go faster)
It's just a characteristic of the car. Not sure why but almost all of us have that issue.
c.
11-29-04, 05:44 AM
#28
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Odd thing on the vibration. I did have Discount balance them as mentioned. Even on the 2nd try, they had a vibration about 60 mph. That was a few weeks ago, and I was going to have them rebalanced somewhere with a better machine. Now, the vibration is very much improved. No changes, just driving the car for a few weeks and 1000 miles or so. Maybe since the car sat a lot (previous owner didn't drive regularly) some wearing back in helped smooth things out. Not sure.
How about the auto tilt on the steering wheel, anyone out there disabled the auto tilt?
How about the auto tilt on the steering wheel, anyone out there disabled the auto tilt?
11-29-04, 09:01 PM
#30
Originally posted by gottahaveit2
Odd thing on the vibration. I did have Discount balance them as mentioned. Even on the 2nd try, they had a vibration about 60 mph. That was a few weeks ago, and I was going to have them rebalanced somewhere with a better machine. Now, the vibration is very much improved. No changes, just driving the car for a few weeks and 1000 miles or so. Maybe since the car sat a lot (previous owner didn't drive regularly) some wearing back in helped smooth things out. Not sure.
How about the auto tilt on the steering wheel, anyone out there disabled the auto tilt?
Odd thing on the vibration. I did have Discount balance them as mentioned. Even on the 2nd try, they had a vibration about 60 mph. That was a few weeks ago, and I was going to have them rebalanced somewhere with a better machine. Now, the vibration is very much improved. No changes, just driving the car for a few weeks and 1000 miles or so. Maybe since the car sat a lot (previous owner didn't drive regularly) some wearing back in helped smooth things out. Not sure.
How about the auto tilt on the steering wheel, anyone out there disabled the auto tilt?
and yes, you can disable the steering wheel tilt. it can be done at dealership, it's one of the CBEST settings. they might charge you a bit money for that though
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