So I recently bought a 94 ls400 and the other day I tried to do a burnout and I couldn't get the tires to spin it was like the car was regulating the rpms. I've noticed it when I take off from a stop too it's like I'm not getting my full acceleration at first and then once it gets some speed the car opens up would that be traction control? I don't have a Trac Off button I haven't checked under the hood to see if there was a fuse or anything I just know my buddies 91 ls400 rips with no hesitation so I'd like to figure out what's going on

 

The fuel injection computer "learns" from the history of driving, it appears that your
new LS400 has been driving gently. Try disconnecting the battery ground and waiting
10 minutes or so. You will need to refresh radio presets and the engine idle will be a
bit rough at first. Go out and drive and the system will learn your habits. Please write
back and let us know how it works out. BTW are you using Premium fuel?

 

Are the tires on the cars the same? Maybe you have sticky icky and your buddy has bald bike tires. My 98 has significantly more power than your buddies 91 and I don't find it wanting to rip burnouts in the dry at all. I put my foot down in all situations and it hooks, no traction intervention at all (my car has TC\ECS). At most it will just want to spin the inside wheel if you floor it on a tight turn in 1st gear. All the drifting I've done has been with water\snow aid.

 

Traction control was an MSRP $1,900 option on the 1994 LS400. It doesn't have traction control if there is no TRAC button. I drove a 1990 LS400 from new to 14 1/2 years and I don't think I tried to spin the wheels from a stop a single time. The 93-94 LS400 is actually slower than the 90-92 LS400 due to weight gain from having more standard equipment and larger wheels and tires. The thicker lower side molding might also have contributed to the weight gain. Auto magazines of the day complained about how slow and bloated the 93-94 LS400 had become compared to the earlier ones. The 98-00 LS400 is like a rocket compared to the 90-94 LS400. I drove a 2000 LS400 for 11 years and owned both the 1990 and the 2000 at the same time although I pretty much stopped driving the 1990 after buying the 2000..

 

"Diagnostics By The Burnout" method = DBTB

YLSNED

 

it's much easier to get the tires smoking if you're turning hard while giving it gas, with that long *** first gear it's tough to break traction in the dry... or you need to left foot brake while giving it full gas until a wheel starts spinning

 

many factors here but it's important to keep in mind all LS400s have an open-differential so if you don't have the right conditions, you will likely just do a "one-tire fire" burnout instead of two.
start with attempting it on a wet surface to see if it can even break traction. tires are also another factor.

lastly be careful as you are VERY likely to find the weak point on the driveline on a 30+ year old car

 

Yes I've only used premium fuel since I've owned it I don't know about the previous owner. That's an interesting idea I'll try it out and get back with you

 

Okay I'll be sure to try it out with some water and see if it'll break traction I drove a mustang before this so I'm used to doing burnouts on command 🤣. It does have some meaty tires I didn't really think of that

 

Good to know that makes a lot of sense he usually has bald chicken strip tires and I still have the stock wheels and tires his Lexus is the only other one I've ever been in so that's the only thing I could compare it too