questions on driving habits
02-03-15, 07:46 AM
#16
Had my LS over 100mph this weekend on the freeway just as the sun was breaking.....smooth as silk. It's a beautiful thing. Someone mentioned long in first gear when cold. Is this the norm?
02-03-15, 09:18 AM
#17
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as for holding the gear, i think it's actually 2nd gear that gets held... the car always seems to want to shift out of 1st somewhat quickly. but anyway yeah the car will hold the gear till about 2500 rpm or so before shifting. this only happens until the coolant needle begins to move off its peg (at about 100℉ or so i think). once you see the needle beginning to rise it shouldn't be doing it anymore.
being in an LS at 100+ mph on an empty highway really does make you wonder what's so illegal about it doesn't it?
02-04-15, 02:04 PM
#18
it stays on the gear longer bc the car needs to warm up first including the transmission fluid. in my toyota tacoma, when cold, the truck feels like it's in neutral when taking off as the fluid is not thin enough to move through the torque converter as efficiently.
this is why i recommend warming up the car for about a minute before driving, and be easy on take offs until the oil gets to temperature (~30mins of driving). the temp gauge only measures water temperature.
this is why i recommend warming up the car for about a minute before driving, and be easy on take offs until the oil gets to temperature (~30mins of driving). the temp gauge only measures water temperature.
02-11-15, 03:42 PM
#19
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obviously i want my LS to last as long as it can, and if i could i'd just trundle around all slow like much like my grandparents before me, however the 1UZ vvti is just such a magnificent powerplant, the temptation to floor it every once in awhile is just too much!
main points of the thread coming up now:
so my questions are... will "exploring the performance envelope" every so often (maybe once in every 4-5 drives) have long term negative effects? should the pedal find itself touching the floor, it's only after the car has been on for awhile and is thoroughly warmed up, and i am INCREDIBLY gently for the first 10 minutes or so of driving. i also make sure to change my oil and trans fluid somewhat frequently, only with mobil 1 synthetic and type t-iv of course
another thing i find i can't help myself doing every once in awhile is putting the gear selector in L when i come to a stop, making the turn, giving it some, and then putting the selector back in D. my complaint is that it shifts out of 1st too soon, and when you want some acceleration its already in 2nd, so by holding 1st gear like that you can have much more acceleration on demand
so should i stop doing one, or both of these? i haven't noticed any issues and the car runs perfectly fine, i just don't want to find out that i did some major damage later on though
main points of the thread coming up now:
so my questions are... will "exploring the performance envelope" every so often (maybe once in every 4-5 drives) have long term negative effects? should the pedal find itself touching the floor, it's only after the car has been on for awhile and is thoroughly warmed up, and i am INCREDIBLY gently for the first 10 minutes or so of driving. i also make sure to change my oil and trans fluid somewhat frequently, only with mobil 1 synthetic and type t-iv of course
another thing i find i can't help myself doing every once in awhile is putting the gear selector in L when i come to a stop, making the turn, giving it some, and then putting the selector back in D. my complaint is that it shifts out of 1st too soon, and when you want some acceleration its already in 2nd, so by holding 1st gear like that you can have much more acceleration on demand
so should i stop doing one, or both of these? i haven't noticed any issues and the car runs perfectly fine, i just don't want to find out that i did some major damage later on though
02-12-15, 01:36 PM
#20
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
that makes me feel better, are you fastidious about being very gentle when the car is still warming up? transmission still shifts fine and there's no weird noises or anything? are you the original owner?
02-12-15, 05:28 PM
#21
Moderator
Ｓｏ you guys don't know how the AT wears the clutch. Aisin's engineers never touch the shift lever until they arrive at the destination because they really know how the AT works. Hope you guys don't shorten the AT life.
02-12-15, 07:48 PM
#22
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
i know shifting in and out of gear while you're moving is bad, but what about shifting into 4, 3, 2, or L?
02-13-15, 12:38 AM
#23
Moderator
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...trainer-3.html
Every gear uses one clutch or more. The 1st and 2nd gear use "Forward Clutch (C1)", 3rd and 4th gear both "Forward Clutch (C1)" and "Direct Clutch (C2)", 5th gear both "Direct Clutch (C2)" and "O/D Direct Clutch (C2)". Every time when a clutch works, it wears some and someday a slipping will start to occur. AT clutches never last forever like our life.
Last edited by Yamae; 02-13-15 at 01:33 AM.
02-13-15, 04:42 PM
#24
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Yes, I take it easy on the first drive of the day. Transmission shifts perfect, though I probably need new mounts. No strange noises from the drivetrain. I'm not the original owner, in fact I'm the third. The previous owner was a young man and he probably did get on it even more than I do.
04-07-15, 07:42 PM
#25
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04-18-15, 12:02 PM
#26
Lexus Test Driver
As crazy as this sounds it seems to be that one way to kill an Ls400 is to just putt around town in it. These cars love to be driven HARD. And as long as your fluids are good and it's running right it's good to throw it around and buiry the needle now and then. They have performance drivetrains and like to be kicked around. Let's put it like this. Treat your Ls400 like your girl. good but not too good cause she will run away if you aren't an ******* once in awhile. 
04-18-15, 11:49 PM
#27
As crazy as this sounds it seems to be that one way to kill an Ls400 is to just putt around town in it. These cars love to be driven HARD. And as long as your fluids are good and it's running right it's good to throw it around and buiry the needle now and then. They have performance drivetrains and like to be kicked around. Let's put it like this. Treat your Ls400 like your girl. good but not too good cause she will run away if you aren't an ******* once in awhile.
How often are Top fuel dragster engines overhauled? Yeah like after every run or so, that's a thousand feet. So yeah if you want to wreck stuff go ahead and beat it.
04-20-15, 12:00 AM
#28
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
Sorry they are not performance cars, and they are meant to be old granny cars. So what is performance about rubber u joints? If you want any machine to last, you don't put it to the limits.
How often are Top fuel dragster engines overhauled? Yeah like after every run or so, that's a thousand feet. So yeah if you want to wreck stuff go ahead and beat it.
How often are Top fuel dragster engines overhauled? Yeah like after every run or so, that's a thousand feet. So yeah if you want to wreck stuff go ahead and beat it.
take a look at the brochure down there and tell me that they're not basically telling you to make sure to leave that accord you pulled up next to in the dust
http://s1212.photobucket.com/user/St...?sort=9&page=1
they can't talk about an engine that "from 0 to 60, bests the mercedes-benz s420 and bmw 740li" and then make it some pig... also comparing a top fuel dragster to a street car? for a start top fuel engines make over 7000 horsepower, burn nitromethane (not gasoline) at a rate of over 11 gallons per second, and burn up their spark plugs mid way through the run. they're built to quite literally be the fastest accelerating vehicles on land, not durable luxury sedans meant to provide years of comfortable, worry-free motoring, which the LS just so happens to do brilliantly
Last edited by Stroock639; 04-20-15 at 12:21 AM.
04-20-15, 02:29 AM
#29
THE Top fuel comparison was to show what BEATING A MACHINE DOES. And what the repair requirements are when extracting way more from a machine than what it was meant for. Those engines are pushed to limits that are not sustainable, well I guess the ET's tell the story.
04-20-15, 07:42 PM
#30
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Yes I wouldn't call the LS 400 a "performance car" either but for a heavy luxury sedan it does perform extremely well especially at high speeds. I also don't feel that some spirited driving wouldn't hurt it one bit, but doing burnouts, donuts, drifting and what not is simply just not good for any car performance or not it will break. Theres a difference between flooring it getting on to a parkway or passing someone these cars certainly have plenty of power to do so and more than enough to maintain higher speeds without a problem. Theres a difference between beating on the car and driving fast as well as a time and a place. I do find it hard to keep it under 80 on the highway its just so smooth and quiet I feel like i'm going 40 
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