um those are 18-in G-Spider alloy wheels ...you could add them as an option when ordering the car...which means its an OEM part, not aftermarket.

 

Man, it sure pays to know people in high places (in this case, my very good friend who is GM of a Lexus dealership here).

This morning I told him how much I HATED these Turanza EL42 Runflats and that I wasn't crazy about the wheels either. He basically told me that the hybrids are equipped with run-flats bc they don't have a spare tire due to the battery taking up so much space and that Lexus doesn't really want them to switch to non-runflats on a CPO hybrid vehicle. That being said, he told me to drive on over there and gave me new wheels and new Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus tires.

What a HUGE difference in the ride along with a big noise reduction. Plus I like the look of the 5-spoke wheels so much better. Also aligned it for free and gave it an oil change.

Next up - Nano tint, the correct wood-grain shift ****, and XM. Then my project this weekend is to put in my 2500K fogs and my Garax 8000K low beams.

 

not true, my GS450h comes with a small donut spare, and my stock tires were not run-flats. not 100% sure on this, but i think whether one gets run flats (and spare tire) or not depends on what region you are in....

 

Storm, you're probably right. I guess he was maybe referring to the Southeast here. None of the 450h vehicles here have the donut spare. Perhaps the ones that don't have the spare get the runflats.

 

The first thing I'd do before anything else is figure out a way to strip those pinstripes off the side of the car. I can't stand those things, and it's baffling why they are on such a nice car like this.

 

I know, I HATE that...and the problem is IT IS PAINTED ON. I'd bet it was some kid who owned the car before I bought it. It looks so friggin' bad. Awful.

I am taking it to a body shop next week to see what they can do. It's funny you brought that up, I've been griping about it since I bought the car on Saturday. I just loved the car so much that I wasn't going to let that deter me from getting it.

 

they are painted?! that's very rare! i thought most of the time they are just stick on

 

congrats on the ride!!! i love the exterior color, like you, my wheels gotta go!

 

They are probably painted on top of the clearcoat. The paint is probably really thin, I wouldn't be surprised if you took a small razor blade and gently rubbed it it would come right off. But, barring extreme measures like that, it's worth a try to get a cutting pad and a porter cable and some compound and try to just polish them right off. Either way, if you scratch them off, you'll want to polish the area anyway.

If your shop says anything other than the above, try polishing them off first before spending any kind of big money on whatever they offer to do.

 

Jay, you beat me to it. I was going to ask the CL members if they had any ideas on how I could remove those hideous painted lines. And there are even more under the "450h" badge. Ugh I can't stand this!

 

Congrats!

I noticed your shift **** is chrome and not wood so that was changed as well.

I love my 450h.

 

Oh that didn't get by me, believe me. A new wood-trim shift **** has already been ordered

I'm loving my 450h also.

 

that's what i think too. if they are painted on, they have to be on top of the clear. maybe try aggressive clay bar and also mild to aggressive polish to take them off. that's almost like wet sanding already anyway

 

OK, I am so anxious to get these ugly paint stripes off that I tried the razor blade. No dice. Next up is the clay bar suggestion.

 

tint the windowns ..the back should be limo tint and the front 30%
it makes a big difference in apperence
does it have a navi???
other then the tinting the car look really nice
congrats