"TeenageCarNut" (1995lexusls400)
07/26/2015 at 12:38 • Filed to: None
9
22|
"TeenageCarNut" (1995lexusls400)
07/26/2015 at 12:38 • Filed to: None | 9
| 22 |
Hello, Oppo! My name is Andrew and I am a 17 year car nut who just purchased his very first vehicle. Yes, you read that correctly. After about a year of minimum wage toil, I saved up roughly $7,000 and bought my first car. Choosing which vehicle to buy was very tough. I was expecting my budget to be closer to $4,000 than $7,000, but I worked extra hard and managed to scrape up the extra three grand.
The story of how I decided on which car to buy is a tale for another day. For now let’s just get into what I actually purchased.
I paid $5,600 for it. It is a 20 year old, two owner car with 82,000 miles on the odometer. It has a four speed automatic transmission and rear wheel drive, a four liter V8 producing 260 horsepower and 270 LB feet of torque. The interior is absolutely draped in leather. It weighs less than the current Mustang despite being a full sized luxury sedan. It is known internally as the “UCF20”.
* DRUM ROLL PLEASE*
As I’m sure many of you had already guessed before seeing the pictures, the car I bought was a beautifully maintained 1995 Lexus LS400 with hilariously low mileage.
But the point of this thread was not just to show off my new acquisition. I am actually in need of your help. You see, now that I’ve bought the car, I’m not really sure what to do with it. The car has a couple of very minor issues that I’m not sure how to take care of, and I do not intend on keeping the car stock.
These are the car’s issues:
Tachometer and speedometer will occasionally not function properly unless given a firm tap
Minor catalytic converter trouble
Some of the plastic liner between body panels is showing signs of wear
Very minor corrosion on about 4 inches of the roof
Very long pedal travel when breaking
Here are the modifications I’d like to make:
LED/BIXENON head lights (maybe even LED taillights)
Restore any of the horsepower the car has lost (it’s probably making much less than the 260 it made in 1995)
Update the engine to the facelifted 1998-1999 model specifications (290 horsepower and 300 lb-feet of torque vs. 260/270)
replace some exterior/ interior trim with higher trim / facelifted LS parts
replace the wheels with higher trim LS ones
Black out the grille (maybe the badges and wheels as well, but unsure)
replace some interior components with higher trim / newer LS ones
Replace tires for ones with more grip
find some way to improve the 0-60 time, as 260 horsepower and 3650 lbs should be much faster than 7.9
If any of you could tell me how I could go about fixing these issues or applying the aforementioned modifications, please please PLEASE leave a comment letting me know how. Otherwise, please leave a comment letting me know what you think of my car and the overall purchase.
Here are some more pictures
Thanks- Andrew
TheJWT
> TeenageCarNut
07/26/2015 at 12:42 |
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Damn, tht’s an awesome first car, congrats!
themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
> TeenageCarNut
07/26/2015 at 12:45 |
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1) Seafoam the car. This involves using the solvent “Seafoam” to clean out the combustion chamber of your car. You can also add some to the oil right before you do an oil change (idle it for 10-15 minutes) to clean out some gunk in the crankcase too.
2) Check maintenance. Spark plugs? Air filter? Battery? These are the things that can cause major problems or lack of power if neglected but are cheap and easy to do and find the parts for.
3) Find a lexus forum and describe your tach/speedo issues there. Or just search the threads and you might see others had the same issue
Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna
> TeenageCarNut
07/26/2015 at 12:45 |
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GREAT CHOICE. Totally jealous! Look great now!
Nibby
> TeenageCarNut
07/26/2015 at 12:48 |
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LUXURY
Congrats, but I am sorry to say you did not buy a car. You bought a land yacht.
StoneCold
> TeenageCarNut
07/26/2015 at 12:50 |
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find some way to improve the 0-60 time, as 260 horsepower and 3650 lbs should be much faster than 7.9
Your answer to this is gearing. What sort of differential is it running? What are the ratios for each gear in the transmission? Be aware that going to wider ratios will affect your gas mileage negatively, heavily increase wear on your tires, and make it harder to keep the car in the power band during spirited driving.
TheD0k_2many toys 2little time
> TeenageCarNut
07/26/2015 at 12:55 |
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this is not matt farah’s million mile lexus
No Prius Needed
> TeenageCarNut
07/26/2015 at 12:56 |
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Welcome to the lexus as first car club!
Alex B
> TeenageCarNut
07/26/2015 at 12:58 |
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It looks so clean! Congratulations!
FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem
> TeenageCarNut
07/26/2015 at 13:02 |
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Awesome first car. I want one.
jkm7680
> TeenageCarNut
07/26/2015 at 13:03 |
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Looks clean, just take it easy on the engine mods haha. Those can kill the reliability of an engine.
SlickMcRick
> TeenageCarNut
07/26/2015 at 13:03 |
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I must say I initially was shaking my head when you mentioned you wanted to modify the car. After reading your list however, I now have much hope in you. Very sensible modifications. More of an update than changing the purpose and complete look of the car.
dogisbadob
> TeenageCarNut
07/26/2015 at 13:06 |
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Congrats on getting your first car! ANY car is a good first car, but a relatively good condition LS400? Just awesome! I wouldn’t have spent that much on a first car, but still good, though.
Bilstein HD shocks are available for that generation LS, best shocks for any daily-driven car they’re available for. Instead of black badges, get gold :)
I used to have an ES250 and an ES300.
7.9 second 0-60 isn’t slow at all. It’s fast :)
Awesome color combo too.
BReLp7dzHM3ytYsE
> TeenageCarNut
07/26/2015 at 13:14 |
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Great buy man! Can't say I have any advice to offer, but I can say that it's definitely something to be proud of. Congrats
Boxer_4
> TeenageCarNut
07/26/2015 at 13:15 |
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Sticking speedometer and tachometer needles seem to be a common issue on these cars.
This appears to be the solution to your gauge issue.
PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
> TeenageCarNut
07/26/2015 at 13:17 |
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awesome first car dude! you got twice the cylinders on me (although I do have more torque, ha ha!)
the stuff you want to do to it, these are my suggestions...
-to black stuff out, use plastidip. I know, it’s a spray thing, but for $7 a can, you can’t get much more bang for the buck (make sure to watch a tutorial on how to spray a grille, and how to mask/peel properly)
-to get power back, I suggest just do a big service on it. replace the old stuff.
-to make more power, i’d go with a freer-flowing exhaust of some sort. let that V8 sing.
-interior trim should be exact swap for the most part.
-for the wheels, make sure you know your bolt pattern and the dimensions you need. I always recommend Michelin tires on whatever you have. they’re simply the best ones out there IMHO.
sincerely, another 17 with a first car that he's doing stuff to (that he very much doesn't deserve because 17 in a pretty new, quick car... :P )
Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies
> TeenageCarNut
07/26/2015 at 13:23 |
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Nice choice! I do believe the facelifted version of the engine is more than just tuning, it is a VVT engine vs. A non VVT engine. The modification I suggest is opening up the exhaust, they sound amazing.
71MGBGT Likes Subarus of Unusual Colors
> TeenageCarNut
07/26/2015 at 13:33 |
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Congrats man, it looks good! The mods you described sound very reasonable, so go for it! She’s a beauty, stay safe out there.
AdverseMartyr
> TeenageCarNut
07/26/2015 at 15:40 |
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Congratulations on the car!
Unless I missed it, no one has addressed the long pedal travel on braking.
Check the pads and make sure they are not very worn, and bleed/flush the brake lines. If the fluid looks brown when you bleed the lines then keep pushing the old fluid out until you get new clear fluid (this means you need to keep filling the reservoir so that you don’t introduce air bubbles into the system.)
(I doubt it has drums on the rear, but if it did the self adjusters might need advanced to put the shoes closer to the drum.)
JGrabowMSt
> TeenageCarNut
07/26/2015 at 16:31 |
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1) Do not do LED or BiXenon unless there is an OEM headlamp for it. This topic has been beaten to death several times, but long story short, the housings will not reflect light the same way if you just swap the bulbs. Also, don’t do LED because every other driver will hate you for it. Get good bulbs and be happy with that. I suggest GE Nighthawks if you can get them (I got mine online, and am extremely satisfied with them).
2) Those engines have good power. Don’t modify it until you’ve gotten very used to it. You may find in a few weeks it’s running sluggish. Change all fluids and all filters and see how it performs. I would move that car over to completely synthetic fluids. Oil, trans, brake, washer and rear. Don’t think twice about it now, fluids are cheaper than major repairs. Mobil 1, Rotella, Redline, I don’t even care, just change it all to synthetic. Do the oil filter and trans filter as well. The trans will liven up immediately, the engine should idle smoother. Don’t trust seller to have actually done any of this before listing it.
3) Tires are a very important thing, I’m really glad you recognize that you need something better. Given the size of the car, performance tires are going to be few and far between to fit on the stock wheels. I put my Magnum on Firestone Firehawk WideOval AS tires. I’ve been very satisfied with the quality and wear. They’re decently cheap as well if you want to consider them.
4) For the dash, find a guide for removing the gauge cluster so you can make sure the connectors are firmly seated. In your search for a removal guide, you’ll stumble on major threads if the cluster not working is common. If all the connectors are solid, you may need to learn how to solder so you can fix any potentially weak or broken connections.
5) Have fun with your car, but do not fall into the power trap. More power is not a major concern because you need to get a feel for what the car is going to cost you on a regular basis. More power is more money, be it at the pump or just for parts to get that more power. Enjoy the car as it was designed, and as you fix it up, learn what you want more of and address those things in a logical order. I’ve talked to many people (as my Magnum is in a long slow rebuild that will end with a big motor and trans swap), and something that they’ve all liked about my progress is that the motor is last. You need to make sure the car can handle the power you’re feeding it. Parts get old, and things do break. You need to make sure the essentials are in good working order before beefing it up at all. Everything is happy together right now, you change anything now, no matter how small or large, and it will have a chain reaction on everything else down the line. And as with anything else, pace yourself. You simply aren’t going to appreciate the transition if you do it all in a month. Take your time with it, because you need to account for everything you don’t have planned. A CV boot could tear, you could need a new motor in a month, you don’t know what’s going to happen in the future, only what you want to do. Just make sure that you’re as prepared as you can be.
Most importantly, love the car.
sm70- why not Duesenberg?
> TeenageCarNut
07/26/2015 at 16:38 |
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Beautiful car. I looked VERY closely at an LS400 for my first car, they actually make excellent firsts in my opinion. Welcome to Oppo!
Schaefft
> TeenageCarNut
07/26/2015 at 16:58 |
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That a very nice first car, should last you for another 20 years easily with a bit of maintenance! Pls no plasti-dipped grill tho.
Connqr
> TeenageCarNut
07/26/2015 at 18:21 |
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For the horsepower restoration, I would recommend using JDM Stickersers. Each one adds like 5 HP bruh! Just kidding. Whatever you do DO NOT ADD JDM STICKERS!!!!!!!!!! There is one sticker you need. Add one oppo sticker and that is it. Also, replace all fluids and order thesee items http://www.knfilters.com/mobile/mProduc… httphttp ://www.knfilters.com/mobile/mProduct.aspx?prod=HP-1002 02