I think that says it all.

 

I'm too chicken sheit to take my LS over 100 mph. I lose my licence if I get caught 25mph over the limit. I've done 110 before and it felt like I was only doing 65. Give me a long enough stretch of road and I'll wind the old girl right out

 

With all due respect, are you telling me that at 85-95 MPH the car isn't stable? Really? The faster you go the more planted and stable it feels, the steering locks right on and knows where "center is". 110 feels better than 90.

I've driven mine 130 before, and I've said this before, the 430 is every bit the autobahn stormer any of the other flagship cars of its day.

I don't condone this, but you could drive it for hours at 120+ speeds (done it, thorough the desert), it doesn't even begin to break a sweat.

 

Recently there was a discussion of speed on another thread and how nicely the LS430 can achieve 150 MPH and above.
Of course it may be disaster to reach such a speed without the proper speed rated tires and all mechanical functions in tip top shape.
(Have made the expected 2 hour trip from Naples to Miami Beach across Alligator Alley and down I-95 in less than an hour myself in a 2 seat sports car with a 155 mph limiter....)
But, what may happen should one come upon some unexpected road hazard which damages a tire, or suspension part, or something which requires unexpectedly stopping or changing course.
After considering the physics, I began and continue making a practice of exerting less pressure on the accelerator....
Consider there are actually three collisions in a crash: the vehicle collision, the human collision and the internal (organ) collision.
(In order to understand the three collisions in a crash it is important to have a basic understanding of kinetic energy.)
Consider that at 65 mph one's relative risk of casualty in a collision is double that of a collision at 60 mph.according to the NHMRC Road Accident Research Unit
Consider that at 70 mph one's relative risk of casualty in a collision is double that of a collision at 65 mph and 4x a collision at 60 mph.
At 75 mph one's relative risk of casualty in a collision is more than double that of a collision at 70 mph, 5x more than a collision at 65 mph and 10x more than a collision at 60 mph.
At 80 mph one's relative risk of casualty in a collision is more than triple that of a collision at 75 mph, over 7x than a collision at 70 mph and over 15x a collision at 65 mph and over 30x a collision at 60 mph
(The upper limit of the casualty risk may be actually as much as nearly 10x the relative risk.)
In a collision of over 88 mph one's relative risk of casualty is infinite and the degree of damage rises exponentially as mph goes up.
(On the track one knows there is a chance one may not get out of the car. Should it be the same on the street? And, what about other drivers one may come across (or overcome) on the street who may expect to arrive safely to their destinations?)
At 3 min and 25 seconds one may see the results of a high speed (120 mph) collision

 

i have had mine up to about 120 on the express lanes with no other traffic and it was still like give me more!

 

I believe it’s limited to 132? Something like that...

 

155+ for mine, if something goes wrong that that speed it's fairly simple. You probably die, so make sure the car and tires are 100% good to go before any trip really since having a front control arm snap at even 50 is "fun" when you are inspecting a known issue on a car. Having something go unexpectedly is much more "fun" and can be very interesting when it does happen.

Speedo ends at 160 so no point going much more plus it takes a long long time to drag back down to 80 anyway and the brakes will be used up quickly at those energy levels

 

U have to know where to air it out. On 51 just south of Wausau there’s a long up hill I juice it up on. There is a decent stand of trees to block radar in the wide median. Over the top of long hill there is a crossover you can quickly see for cops. I pin it every time if traffic allows to 110 to 130. It holds its own drives smooth on v rated tires. I have a couple other hilly spots also. It’s an adrenaline rush. You hit one thirty the engine drops down gun it it cuts out again

 

It’s in top shape new tires inflation is right brakes are perfect aligned I pull seat belts taught or I wouldn’t do it

 

Huh. Weird, I think my car is stock ECU wise and it for sure let's me above 130 and I've confirmed it via gps that my speedo reads 2mph below actual. Don't know why but I'm seeing it's not normal

 

Not at all lol, I’ve driven many of these cars and have never even heard of a 430 being unrestricted. I have a video of my previous 05 pegged at 132 mph as proof lol, which is why I love my ‘98. But that is definitely a cool feature to have on your 430!

 

Don't think your taught seat belt may make much difference should something bad happen at 130 MPH.
Depends on the change in velocity over time. If a car hits something very solid and decelerates very quickly, one has not much chance, even with safety features. Safety features, any object(s) hit, and luck all factor, but casualty severity increases exponentially with increases in speed.
Three collisions in a crash: the vehicle collision, the human collision, and the internal (organ) collision. In a 130 mile collision a taught seat belt will not prevent internal collision which, among others, may rupture the heart, disrupt vital connections to the brain, or collide the brain with the skull.

 

I learned a couple of words when I was 19. Bell. Prison. Oh and the other one revoked. I can't imagine being middle aged and going through that. Imagine what one's spouse would say, can't take the kids to daycare and oh btw I lost my job because I can't get there.

Good thing back then we could have a license in multiple states or I wouldn't even be driving today. Imagine decisions we make at 19 could affect us the rest of our lives. To each his own.

 

My stock 2004 LS430 will do 155Mph before it hits the speed limiter.
At that speed it is as composed and stable and only slightly noisier than it is at 70mph.
If yours felt any different then you probably had other issues with it that the speed was showing up.
I'm not one for maxing out my vehicles but when on the Autobahn unrestricted sections it would be rude not to. :-)
http://www.zeperfs.com/en/fiche200-lexus-ls-430.htm
https://www.encycarpedia.com/lexus/03-ls-430-saloon
https://fastestlaps.com/models/lexus-ls-430

Not my video. Just one I found on YouTube.

As for the crashes, I ride motorcycles and am way more likely to survive any crash in my LS430 than on my motorcycles.
And no, I don't do it where I could crash into other vehicles or hurt other people.

It's entirely possible that the US models have a lower speed limiter, but I'd be surprised if they did.

 

Decades ago, a younger and more foolish version of me got a race-tuned motorcycle up to 130 for maybe a couple of minutes (on an empty highway at 2AM). At that speed on a bike you feel like you are partially airborne especially as the roads dips and rises.

Nowadays I try to keep even brief stints of top speed in the LS under 90 mph, even when passing cars. I have a much deeper and more grounded appreciation of basic physics than I did when I was 20 yo.