New Ls400 Owner

[clayq]

Gday all,

Just purchased a 92 LS400 Aus-spec in great condition, was a nice long drive home and it drove really well. Very impressive for an older car.

Just after some advice on a few things, maybe some of you could point me in the right direction.

The few minor things wrong with mine are the recline mechanism on the front seat isnt working, all other directions work. What would be the best way to get this fixed? The seller mentioned it could just be a loose plug but I'm just not sure where to take it. I'm too scared to take it to Lexus

Also there is a minor rip on the drivers seat where stitching has come out due to wear. I'd really like to get this fixed, I think an auto-trimmer could fix it but open to suggestions. Also I'd like to refresh the leather as it is a bit old (16 years) and thus getting a little hard - if there's any way to put some life back into it i'd love to know eg. leather restoring polish etc.

Also would like to do some mods short to medium term, nothing major mainly cosmetic, just to freshen the look of the car up a bit:

1 - Suspension - I would like to lower the car, mainly for looks but also hoping this will take some of the body roll out. I am thinking of just putting in some king springs lows, this has worked great on previous cars for me but just wondering what the consensus is amongst people who have actually done suspension mods on these cars.

2 - Exhaust - Someone told me there is 6 mufflers on this car, is that right? I'm going to jump under the car and have a look tomorrow when its light and see. I'd like to unlock the V8 burble without making the car sound hideous or rasp. Does any body know a cheap way? I'm thinking if I take one set of mufflers off and run straight pipe it might do the trick.

3 - Wheels - I'm thinking 20" might be the way to go on such a large car, anyone got any for sale? I imagine the price of a new set of 20s would be over the top.

4 - Minor exterior mods - Replacement front grille, clear indicator lenses (front & side) - anybody know where I can get my hands on these?

Thanks in advance, I'd love to hear from other owners on the above.

Thanks

Clay

[Leadfoot]

congrats, the car should serve you proud if its been looked after. I just discovered a design flaw with the '92 drivers seat. I reclined it recently all the way down and when I tried to lift it back up the little teeth on the aluminium shaft that transfers torque from the motor side to the other side stripped and the seat back twisted and would not lift. i had to open the seat back up and release the cover to get at the mechanism and manually lift it back up. Now it doesn't work so I have it set were I want and I leave it alone. Maybe didn't happen in your case but then again who ever completely tells the truth when selling a car?

I use the autoglym leather cream every 4~6 months and it sucks right into the seats. With NZ and OZ heat and UV it does pay to maintain the leather suppleness.

On all the other stuff I have no experience, but I don't mind the frigate class handling. Post some pics when you have lowered it, always good to see the results.

Cheers!

[clayq]

Thanks for the tips, the seat is actually reclined in a perfect position for me so it doesnt really bother me, would be nice to get it fixed though.

One more thing I found is the LCD on the rear view mirror is slightly smudgy on the left side, I've heard you have to replace to fix - will decided whether its worth it depending on price.

Apart from that shes sweet though! I will give that leather treatment a go and check out the results ;)

[clayq]

Just an update, got clear front and side indicators, and new rear tail cluster from ebay us and uk - not too expensive and car looks a lot younger. Recommended if you want to replace that 90s 'yellow plastic'. Also got a quote on an exhaust, still researching to see what the best option is.

Cheers

Clay

[Barcode]

Lowering will depend on the type of suspension. Do you have air struts?

If you look thru the forums you will find that many owners say that 20" wheels are very bad for the suspension. Part of the suspension is the rubber in the tyre so when you reduce it drastically you put a lot more load on the rest of the suspension. This probably applies more to air suspension. Also check out regulations in your state. Some states wont allow you to go to 20".

Will be interested to hear how your exhaust mods go. I would like to do mine but am worried that it will ruin the quiet ride.

[fauzer]

Hi, Congratulations on your new Lexus.

Are you still looking for wheels? We do new wheels and tyres, you maybe pleasantly surprised at the prices.

Let us know if you really want to go 20" or maybe 18" or something. And I will send you some photos and prices.

By the way where are you?

- Fauzer

Auto Japan, Perth

[ryan_locho]

hey man i have a celsior have had the cats removed and from the cats back replaced with 2.5 inch twin system with one muffler each side. it is currently (nearly 2 yrs now!) dumped just past the diff due to replacing the rear bar with a body kit and i unbolted the rear section as it didn't fit. the car now has a very nice v8 note to it although if u dont want it too loud in the car i would suggest one more muffler each side to tone it down a bit.

i have 20's on mine but had to pump the guards to fit and when i fitted the aftermarket air bags i cut the wheel arches completely off lowered them an inch and widened them 2 inches so that the wheels tuck under the guards without hitting

[nforsa]

I know this is a old Bump, but I was wondering how the car was going after reading the post...

I have 20" Shorelines on my Celsior and don't get any rubbage unless I am turning into a driveway with the wheel turned left or right, but then I have some old soft springs in there that I was hoping to replace with some nice kings springs LOWS to basically just stiffin car up.

Exhaust wise yes there is 6 mufflers under there. I got my exhaust done at the Muffler shop I was just replacing the rear exhaust until they done a sound test on it and I said I wanted it a bit louder so they took out another 2 mufflers and replaced it with straight pipe...and now it has a nice grunty sound to it, no gargle just a good deep V8 HUMM.

(I thought you weren't allowed to remove the CATS here in AUS?)

Apart from that only other mods I have done is tinited it out, swapped out the panel filter for a pod.

The only other things I have done are replaced the old sterio with a double DIN 7" DVD player, replaced the speakers in the doors and wired it up for the amp and 2x 12" subs in the boot.

[Rach]

Just make sure with the pod is sectioned off from the engine so it doesn't intake hot air :)

The same thing was done to my exhaust before i bought it, an two of the mufflers replaced with pipe, an the sound it makes is one of my favourite things about it (there's heaps more)

And you're right. Having no cat is against Aus emissions laws

About how much would i expect to pay for the clear indictors?

[UCF10_Celsior]

hey man i have a celsior have had the cats removed and from the cats back replaced with 2.5 inch twin system with one muffler each side. it is currently (nearly 2 yrs now!) dumped just past the diff due to replacing the rear bar with a body kit and i unbolted the rear section as it didn't fit. the car now has a very nice v8 note to it although if u dont want it too loud in the car i would suggest one more muffler each side to tone it down a bit.

i have 20's on mine but had to pump the guards to fit and when i fitted the aftermarket air bags i cut the wheel arches completely off lowered them an inch and widened them 2 inches so that the wheels tuck under the guards without hitting

Hi Ryan,

Just wondering, is that your car in the profile pic?

If so, who engineered your suicide doors?

Cheers

Dean