Hiroshi12

iTrader: (1)

Those of us living in SoCal are already aware of this but others may be surprised to hear that we had monsoon-like rain all week. And while "we really do need the rain" is everyon'e mantra around here...getting 2 inches in an hour is "no bueno" for California cities whose roads and drainage systems are not capable of withstanding that much volume. As a result there was major flooding throughout my city - San Diego.

As (bad) luck would have it the heaviest rain started when most of us were commuting home from work between 3:30 and 5:00. On any other day I usually go straight home from the office but last night there was a time-sensitive errand that I had to run and I found myself driving around on streets which had been turned into raging rivers.

Since my car is static and lowered, the deeper the water got the more concerned I became. This is not an exaggeration - there were some areas where I am sure the water was up to the bottom of the door (which is approx. 6" from the road surface) but what could I do...I had to get home. I tried to stay off the shoulders and ride on the crown of the streets yet there were some points when I thought the car was going to start floating. And despite the cold, I turned off my fan/heater so that I wouldn't inadvertently suck water into the engine somehow.

So, after about an hour, my harrowing journey was over and I was safely back home. The car seemed totally fine this morning and I'm just wondering if I should be concerned with any potential issues from driving through deep water like that?

python

iTrader: (4)

change all fluids that could be effected..check ur engine oil for signs of milky like substance.. i would also be concerned with the differential fluid. no water got inside of the car?

Hiroshi12

iTrader: (1)

No, thankfully no water got in the cabin...but it was close.

tradosauru

Another reason not to lower you car.

9000revs

Lowering or not lowering would not make that much difference unless it was dumped cause you could hit a big pothole when driving through standing water and the car would go deeper into water (even a stock car). There are always naysayers about lowering, but I contest lowering slightly (< 2") and putting better (lighter) wheels and tires makes for a better ride and handling.

dicer

Right on.

If you need to have goofy moded looking car go to a model shop and get a plastic model and have fun.
It makes no sense to ruin a decent car by lowering it. Also its like throwing money away. Its better to hand the cash to a homeless person than to do goofy mods.

Hiroshi12

iTrader: (1)

Dicer, stop typing right now. I think there are some of those "damn kids" on your front lawn.

Stereorob

had some absolutely torrential rain here about 2 years ago that lasted a few days. almost a foot of rain on the ground in some areas. I came up on a flooded intersection that I really misjudged thinking it was only an inch or two, and floored it.... and had water spray out of my ac vents. my 95 almost drowned that day as I went through 13 inches of water. if I had been going any slower that would have been it. really screwed my car up. it corrected itself but it drove like crap for 2 weeks after that.

tradosauru

Dicer, i believe most feel the way you and i do about turning luxury cars into clown cars. If more people would ridicule these modifications them less people would do it.

Hiroshi12

iTrader: (1)

Wow that sucks. Thankfully, nothing that extreme happened to me yesterday. The only odd thing so far was that when I turned on my defroster this afternoon there was a slight musty smell which was never there before. But after a few minutes the smell went away. I also checked my oil this morning and there was no water or foam present so...I think I'm good.

Hiroshi12

iTrader: (1)

Maybe yes, maybe no. Forgetting about the extreme rain for a moment I would say the REAL reason that lowering my car was impractical is due to constantly bottoming-out on the crappy roads here. Either way, it was my choice and I'm ok with the difficulties that come with driving it. Form over function my friend.

Now back to the rain...while I made it home safely last night with no damage to my car (fingers crossed) one of my co-workers was not so lucky. Last night as he drove home he gunned his engine and charged across a flooded intersection. The result? His 2014 Chrysler 300 (not lowered) now has a blown head.

Hiroshi12

iTrader: (1)

I think you are incorrect, Tradosauru. "Ridiculing" members about mod'ing their cars won't achieve a thing other than you being viewed as a small-minded person lashing out for no reason at people (and their cars) because they are different from you.

Let me ask you a question. When was the last time you read a post from a member on CL that said "yea, those guys who keep their luxury cars stock are a bunch of fools. They're losers so let's make fun of them". C'mon man.

Stroock639

it's not lashing out for "no reason," Dicer's 100% right. there's almost nothing good to come from lowering a car, i would know. aesthetics are the only thing improved, and that's really the only reason i lowered my car. it rides worse than stock, i have to worry more about clearance, and having a car full of people becomes more stressful. maybe handling will be improved by 0.001% with the lower center of gravity but you're honestly fooling yourself (not you personally just generally speaking) if you're lowering your car to drastically improve the handling.

while i think Dicer might be a bit extreme sometimes lol unfortunately his sarcasm is sadly lost on the majority i feel. and the reason you never hear "yea, those guys who keep their luxury cars stock are a bunch of fools. They're losers so let's make fun of them" is because there's nothing dumb about keeping a car stock that was so meticulously obsessed over and perfected to be exactly what the LS 400 is that makes it so amazing. on the contrary, there's a lot of reasons why lowering and modding your car is dumb, but i say save that for the cadillacs that were never as good as the LS so who cares what happens to them. i haven't done anything to my car that isn't easily reversible, and that's my justification. i think it also looks pretty stock so it's not like it's making a scene or anything...

dicer

There are so many VIP LS400's for sale on craigslist. It is so much cheaper to get one of them, than goof up a non modified car. I saw one with 85K miles for 3000. And I'm sure they would take less. You can not get an LS and buy the parts and wheels tires, let alone the installation for even close to that.

Stereorob

no doubt its fun to slam and mod these cars, but we are at a phase now with these cars that the numbers are dwindling, and we need to go into Preservation/Restoration mode at this point. they are right around the corner to being classic/historic/antique status. we need to keep them around for future generations to enjoy. a world without Ls400s would be a sad place, and the early ucf10s are in real danger now of becoming extinct.