Johnhav430

Today I dropped my son off at school, totally different roads.....was on a 55 mph stretch and tried varying speeds, up to 75 mph. Funny a lady passed me even at 75.

Smooth on this road at all speeds. A coworker said, it really depends on the road....his Infiniti is still under warranty and he did his brakes himself so pretty aware of his car, said alignment and balance are good. and some roads will just have a slight shudder, the road matters....tend to agree....

BTC89LS400

It does depend on the road. Roads around here in Maryland, depending on which county you're in, can either be a pot-hole minesweeper nightmare, or freshly paved roads birthed from the gods for your pleasure. However, right now for me, my LS430 is getting on its last treads of its tires. So bad that I recently blew out my front right tire and the spare, an actual spare, not a donut, looks so fresh with full tread. So its ride is still smooth, but I feel that the front right is more smooth than sitting in the other seats with the bad tires, and unless I replace the tires, then I'll probably know and remember how smooth it used to be.

But for roads, its easy, new roads = smooth. Bad roads = not smooth.

Johnhav430

Yeah I have a 2017 Pathfinder right now with 3,100 miles....not as much, and the roads are good here, but I can feel some vibration on the road once in a while. Nothing nearly as much as the LS, but also it's a 11 y.o. car, can't really be like a new car. But I'm convinced...rear LCA's, wheel balance, wheel alignment, car should be better than before. Maybe not perfect, but pretty good...

2KHarrier

I lived in Georgia for many years and my little Sonoma has the ZQ8 suspension, which is rather stiff.. The truck drove fantastically on the roads around Atlanta's suburbs. When I moved back home to Milwaukee, I immediately noticed how absolutely bone jarring stiff the truck drove. Every pot hole and uneven piece of concrete I hit, sent the truck bouncing. Even with taller tires and new shocks, the truck still is horrible to drive in.

So, yeah, driving on smooth roads is like heaven in the LS!

campisi

The air suspension is great for smoothing out reasonably sized imperfections in road surface. I like the smoothness and tolerate the 'drving a boat' feel of the air suspension. When the air does go out I have some steel all queued up and ready to install. It will be a sad day but that'll be IT for as long as we own the car after that.

Johnhav430

I'm driving a 2017 Pathfinder on business, and I am amazed how good the steering is, and it's electric power steering... but that tranny is not that good....and the fit/finish not very good either...LS is overall the smoova cruiser!

edit: As I drive this Pathfinder more, the steering is fine, and no vibrations except those from certain roads, and yes those roads appear smooth. The way that it accelerates and cruises (I believe it's a CVT) is what falls into the raucous category. That's where a 11+ y.o. LS shines. Hopefully Lexus doesn't get any bright ideas to drop V6's into their next LS, it's an imbalanced motor, and that's physics....

Legender

Too late...
Twin turbo V6 on the 2018 LS 500

http://www.lexus.com/concept/LS/

Johnhav430

had some lengthy discussion last night with someone in the auto industry, he seemed to believe that Toyota and Honda are two of the best when it comes to sourcing auto parts. Being candid, he placed Fiat Chrysler as the absolute worst (we all seem to think of the Patriot as how not to ever build a vehicle). He said that Japanese engineers tend to be quiet, and German very loud mouthed and dominating. But when the Japanese start talking, everyone starts listening. Apparently Americans' hands are completely tied, everything is absolute lowest cost.

So I guess in this case, the Japanese engineers didn't have a choice? Can you imagine, if Audi, or MB, or BMW, were to present a flagship, with a V6 twin turbo, or an I6 twin turbo? Would not fly.

JffGRY706

2017 BMW 740i and 740i xdrive both have a 3.0 litre twin turbo. 750i to get a v8

Johnhav430

Not sure but the 740 should be a N55 or B58, single turbo. By today's standards, it's underpowered for a car that size, even a LS430 has more torque, and it's 11-16 yrs. older. That's unacceptable. Unless you just want a roundel.

But, it appeals to those who need to have a big car but can't afford it. Like us! hahahahahahaha

My coworker had a A6 2.0T. Thing got lemoned, she said it was underpowered...

edit: I stand corrected. It has 322/332, both higher than a LS430.

I think these are the 340i numbers, you can tune a turbo motor as you like. But to relate, think about how a 2 liter 4 cyl puts out 250 HP and sometimes 280 ft. lbs. RAUCOUS. Inline 6 is smooth, but the flagship should still have the V8. imho.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_B58

airchomper

You know what else is physics? V8s are imbalanced motors as well. The 'burble' comes from an unevenly-spaced firing pattern. If you want to put my claim to the test - go put solid motor mounts in your LS430.

When it comes to engine balance, it's 12 cylinders (on a 4 stroke) or bust.

And for all your ridicule of turbo-4s, go drive something like a GTI with a DCT or a Honda 1.5 turbo and drive it back to back with a 1973 Dodge D series truck with an LA-series V8. You'll notice that engineering matters for a heck of a lot more than engine configuration.

That's interesting. I don't have contacts in the auto industry anymore but I'm always suspect of people who equate Toyota and Honda. Perhaps there were peers until the recession but Toyota is improving their quality at the same time that Honda's quality is falling. Frankly, it appears as though some Fords are quality peers of some Hondas and the C-max might actually be a more reliable car than any current Honda. Last time I was in the market for a car, I noticed that the extended warranty for a Camry was considerably less expensive than the extended warranty for an Accord (which was slightly cheaper than the warranty on a Fusion) - you have to imagine those are priced relatively efficiently.

Though there's a reason Toyota is usually 'best in class' in terms of quality and it's nice that are cars are known as remarkably reliable even for Toyotas.

Johnhav430

absolutely correct, V8 is imbalanced but has counterweights on the crank.

That's why I do own a twin turbo I6 N54.

GTI is sweet, spent a week with one in Hotlanta. Spent a week with a Golf R too. Thank goodness the LS430 saved me at least 30k in cash and loans. Because I was gonna buy a Golf R, then said I don't want a VW, I'll get a M2. Now I don't have to.

Turbo 4 other than Porsche and Subaru? Raucous.

airchomper

That N54 is a real peach - I drove an E90 335i with the sport package for awhile, nice car. My motor mounts are definitely worn and I can feel the engine in my LS at idle (heaven forbid!) so maybe I'm a little jaded but I really don't have too much of a preference when it comes to engines. I know you enjoy waftable torque and shockingly you own cars that provide as much.

But the 'fuel cost' of easy torque higher than I'd like to pay and I don't think the 3UZ is appreciably smoother than the 3MZ (I used to drive a Highlander with it). If it were available, I'd strongly consider an LS with a V6 and I don't think it'd break the character of the car - though I'm not sure the fuel efficiency would be much better and then I'd make the same decision as Toyota: put a 3UZ in it.

Though it looks like were coming closer to an age where you can have your cake and eat it too. I don't know if you've driven an electric car but the torque and throttle response are intoxicating, I drove a fast Model S once upon a time and the infinitely accessible well of torque emulates a powerful motorcycle. Though I'd prefer to get an electric Toyota.

If you have the chance to drive a Lincoln Continental, let us know your thoughts. It might not be jet smooth like a BMW 3er or a big body Toyota but it might be smooth as silk all the same.

Johnhav430

Yeah no doubt today's technology seems to save fuel....I actually like the stop/start feature when cars have it, and that 4 cyl 328i that I had as a loaner had it. I ran the car in ECO PRO most of the time, and if my 335i could do say 21.7 consistently, that 328 did about 26.5.

This 2017 Pathfinder that I'm driving, I think it is a unibody and FWD based. Since I got it on Thu., the mpgs are 21.5? WTH? I've had some Toronto stop and go traffic too. My wife's GM SUV would have done around 15-16 with the same type of driving....

p.s. If I could somehow I'd love to try the Continental and Caddy XT6. But my Emerald Club does not cover those cars haha

Umid0712

your new car is not pulling left? cuz when i leased new one steering wheel was not straight it was like leaned left and car pulling left, and very sensitive steering wheel