jpv7774

ok....might be a dumb question. I usually baby my car.....and then every so often I like to kick it in to gear and blow some carbon out. That being said I never jam the pedal to the floor. Today I was showing off my car to my brother letting him take a test drive and i told him " you wont believe the power this thing has...go ahead and hit it! " Well he hit it alright! We took off like a jet airplane and were up to 80 instantly.

Well it was fun...and it was very impressive. But my gal is old and tired 133k 2004............does flooring it put strain on the tranny.....or clutches.....or gears.....or whatever? Or are cars built to withstand a little tough love?

Thanks

JffGRY706

What is your transmission history? are you running 11 yr. old fluid with that mileage? overall you shorten the life of just about everything, but it is there to be used. next time use it to get out of harm's way .... no need to blow out carbon anymore....that is way old school

Lavrishevo

iTrader: (1)

No, you are fine. Just take care of her. I open up mine here and there when appropriate. After the first full tune up the LS is just getting broken in. I have nearly 128k miles and my engine and transmission feel great. She pulls all the way to the speed limiter. The car feels good at high speeds.

All the fluids chenged, new timing belt and water pump plus new plugs and clean the intake system. You are good to go. The other things that usually pop up is some rubber in the suspension and the mounts. If anything, opening it up here and there is good for the motor. You don't need to baby the LS power plants. Transmissions are bulletproof too.

gemineye

I don't think flooring it every once in awhile is a very big deal. When you are using the full capacity of the engine, it will generate more heat and generally cause more stress on the mechanical components, but it's just not that big of a deal.

Lexus/Toyota has tuned the ignition and fuel maps for increased engine longevity.......not on the ragged edge where there is a chance of detonation and blowing up your engine. If flooring it was that big of a deal, then Lexus would be flooded with warranty repairs and customer backlash for creating such a fragile car.

I usually "grandma" my LS around town, but every now and then I give it a good WOT run to do just as you say: clear out those carbon deposits!!!

airchomper

If your LS is old and tired at 133k something is wrong.

I'm at 90k and my engine is just starting to loosen up.

You'll hear us nag - maintenance before mods. The fact is that an LS430 in good condition with fresh fluids is more than ready to make its max power.

I'm a big fan of flexing the motor. First, the V8 is incredible. Second, I love how fat the torque curve it and how greedy the transmission is. When you give the throttle a healthy stab, and the engine puts its shoulder in it, and the transmission cracks off the shifts at about 3k rpm, I think I have the coolest car in the world.

There's something to be said for heating it up and making power, but I think the car i just too fast to do it effectively. If you keep it floored for even 15 seconds, you'll be in the 'go to jail if they catch you' zone.

I used to hang out in an engine dyno lab in school, and it takes about 20 seconds near redline to really get the engine hot.

1WILLY1

iTrader: (9)

I think its fine , to let it loose every once in a while.

These big fat tanks pull very well and seem to love being pushed.

I know it sounds weird and I cant figure it out, but I swear my LS is more powerful then my corvette (which has 60+ more horsepower and like 800 less pounds of weight)

Im guessing its because I rarely travel past the 4000rpm mark, and maybe that's where the vettes power band is, im really not sure.

But sometimes I wonder if the LS is getting more then the 290 rated HP.

bfg23

Ever since installing the TOM'S Racing TEC-II upgraded engine control module, I have found a new love for the power of this car.
Power comes on instantly now and changes are much quicker. I never go WOT but ill regularly go 75-90% on the throttle.

rkw77080

TOM'S Racing TEC-II upgraded engine control module? How does this work? Do you have to send your ECM to somewhere for the upgrade? or do you do a core-exchange? It sounds like a good bang-for-your-buck investment. This could be a worthwhile topic to start a new post, yes?

toddmorr

"upgraded ECM" nothing but snake oil. Save your money. There is no such thing as a free lunch, so even if it does alter the horsepower/torque curve, its doing so at the cost of gas mileage or some other factor.

XJSFan

Getting on the on-ramp to the freeway, I usually flip the power switch and let her go... Clean out the fuel injectors. LOL.

Tom57

At 257K on the clock, my '01 is nothing close to being tired. Actually, I think it has more horsepower / torque than my '06. It's grandpa's street-sleeper. The 3UZ-FE have been installed in power boats, so opening them up full throttle is engineered into them. If you manually shift though, watch the tach for red line.

Lavrishevo

iTrader: (1)

Toms Racing is the real deal. How much can be gained is up for debate. I tuned the hell out of my Mustang and tuning is where it is at for sure. On the LS, it removes the speed governor and advances the timing a bit from what I understand. I don't know if Tom's actually quotes HP gains. Maybe bfg23 can comment on it. I am hearing that they only work on JDM models as well.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...t-is-this.html

jpv7774

Thanks for the replies.......Ya old and tired were not the right words. She is tuned and running like a champ. Timing belt...water pump....cam seals.....tranny fluid ....oil........will check plugs and throttle body this Spring......but she looks like a brand new car...almost flawless and drives like one too. I often kick the car into gear when merging onto the interstate or just on an open road to give her some exercise....and she likes it...she really likes it. But I do not slam the pedal to the floor like my brother did....fortunately I made him get a 30mph rolling start before he slammed her home in power mode........Man that LS took off like an F15......very impressive. Note he only hit it for about 5 seconds then let her coast back to the speed limit. But after he was done I felt like I had just handed my girlfriend over to another man.......and I just sat there and let it happen...... Whacky analogy but maybe some of u understand. Bottom line is that will never happen again. Flooring it will be saved for the guy paying the bills and applying the wax.

campisi

You can count me as another one who doesn't believe that a wide-open throttle run here and there is going to hurt a properly maintained engine. I drive like my grandpa but on all of my cars I open them up once in a while just for grins.

toddmorr

it would be interesting to know the exact Toyota testing regimen for this car/engine. Surely they have one and I bet it remains fairly consistent across the years and might well specify a certain number of wot 0 to 60mph runs. For example, IIRC the chevy guys at GM have a regimen for the Z06 corvette that includes running it for 3 minutes solid at red line on a track...something like that.