My Day Of Fun In An Ls400

[Spottedlaurel]

I know someone on here has used his LS400 at a previous event, but I imagine my day of driving a Lexus was a little different to what most of you were up to this weekend:

Lexus ready for the track by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

RAF Marham charity trackday. An excellent, relaxed day of driving quickly on a long, wide circuit with lots of run-off ideal for a novice like me.

140+ MPH by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

A long straight of 1.8km/1.2 miles allowed my £500 Mk3 to get up to well over an indicated 140mph :-)

Beforehand I'd had it checked-over by my garage, with the front discs being skimmed/new pads fitted and an oil change. The main issue of the day was the PAS fluid getting hot, but it was fine after being allowed to cool down for a few minutes. I was manually shifting up and down the 'box, quite interesting dropping down to 3 then 2 at well over the ton but it will only change down when the rev's are right. Gave me a useful bit of engine braking that way. I hit the rev limiter several times when I wasn't quite quick enough changing up, and it was an interesting experience it going from 3 into top at 130-odd then still accelerating quite strongly.

The garage had noted that the flanges between the back of the cat's and the exhaust system were rotten, and by the end of the day it was sounding rather mean but luckily they don't worry too much about noise at this event....

In total I did 156 miles out on the track and used a tankful of fuel which would normally do me for well over 300.

Handling and grip were surprisingly good, probably helped by the 245-wide tyres on 18" GS300 Sport rims. There was only one bend with a mid-corner bump where it seemed to want to oversteer, if anything understeer was the main characteristic. Tyre wear was pretty good, I managed to drive home on the 18's whereas on the FWD stuff I've used before on trackdays I've had to change them.

It acquitted itself remarkably well and if it passes next year's MoT I might even treat it to a cam belt change!

[Ruud]

And you even had the A/C on? :)

[Spacewagon52]

That is impressive. Well done!

[alien1974]

The A/C looks off in those pics? would love to do that in mine though

[Malc]

........ these are now proven to be not just classic Grand Touring cars but Sports cars too ..... what a marque ........ can't believe any other " normal " car comes close to the versatility and prowess of our Ls400s

Malc

[madasahatter]

Very good bet you had a big smile on your face.

[ambermarine]

I have seen the 400 being raced as a drift car in Florida and it was well ahead of the opposition which were mainly coupes .

[madasahatter]

see the lights were taped up bet she sounded good.

[Titch LS]

Brilliant. Over 140 mph on the race track and then drive home...... and all on a £500 quid car! Considering the age of the car too, I think that's pretty amazing.

[moriwaki]

That is a great adventure with your old 400....a few years ago I took my 97 400 to a " Run what you Brung " Drag race weekend....

got special and very kind permission to take my 84 year old Dad down the strip with me too...

Gave a few of the young lads a run .....once she was rolling ....204'000 miles on her mind you....great craic.....and put a big grin on my Dads face which was priceless.

These cars are truly Special indeed....I look for my old one P939 UHR every day all over the Net....

Daftest thing I ever did was thinking I was " upgrading " to the 460.

Get that exhaust and the cam belt replaced.....and treasure every mile....you will NEVER find a car built like the 400s were...

they quite simly dont make cars like that anymore.....and never will again.

[Foeux]

This is what owning a cheap, fun car should be all about.

Well done that man.

[madasahatter]

Just goes to show how well built they were, has not lost much horse power either.

[Spacewagon52]

That is a great adventure with your old 400....a few years ago I took my 97 400 to a " Run what you Brung " Drag race weekend....

got special and very kind permission to take my 84 year old Dad down the strip with me too...

Gave a few of the young lads a run .....once she was rolling ....204'000 miles on her mind you....great craic.....and put a big grin on my Dads face which was priceless.

These cars are truly Special indeed....I look for my old one P939 UHR every day all over the Net....

Daftest thing I ever did was thinking I was " upgrading " to the 460.

Get that exhaust and the cam belt replaced.....and treasure every mile....you will NEVER find a car built like the 400s were...

they quite simly dont make cars like that anymore.....and never will again.

Do you not like the 460? How does it compare with your old 400?

[madasahatter]

I must admit i love the look of the 460, but as you say the 400 was lexus first. So no cutting corners on fixtures and fittings.

[Spottedlaurel]

Thanks for the comments.

Of course it was never going to be as capable in the corners
as the Caterhams, hot hatchbacks etc, but there were a couple of large radius bends
where I could put full power down in readiness for the straight and the way it
hung on was very impressive. Not sure on speed there, whatever full rev’s in 2
equates to.

A RWYB on the quarter-mile would be interesting. From
experience at the track day I reckon initial pick-up would be a bit slow but
the V8’s ability to keep producing power in the upper half of the rev range
would see it run a decent time. A Mk4 with its VVTi and extra ratio would be
even quicker.

Having owned five Camrys and a Carina E I’m firmly of the
belief that 1990s Toyota (and Lexus!) build quality is about the best there is.
I previously used these, they did a couple of events each:

1997
Toyota Camry 2.2 Sport - Marham trackday by
Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Camry,
924S and Rover 200 trackday toys by
Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

So, by rights the Lexus needs to do another one! They’ve
already suggested they will be holding it again next March/April and I’m
thinking how to prioritise the work needed, go back to 16” wheels for the
winter so I can conserve the 18’s, etc. There’s a limit to what I can spend as
I purchased another Datsun this year which needs a few jobs doing on it, but I’ve
got to get it out there again…

[Spacewagon52]

What Datsun have you just got? On your Flickr page I saw a red Datsun CJJ 211W, Laurel? Did you own that one?

[Spottedlaurel]

What Datsun have you just got? On your Flickr page I saw a red Datsun CJJ 211W, Laurel? Did you own that one?

Still do. The Laurel flew through its MoT earlier this month and I used it for work yesterday.

Here's the other one, with a bonus Lexus that isn't mine:

#6 On the road again by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

After three years of being stored in the previous (and only other) owner's garage it also went straight through its MoT. Free tax too! It does need a clutch and tyres ideally, and a service, but I use it every so often.

And all of my non-daily drivers together:

Toys by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Horses nothing to do with me! Camry estate was written-off with rear end damage, I have a tailgate and bumper to get it repaired as it was such a handy old thing, but while the Lexus is on the road as a second car to my Avensis Tourer daily driver there's little point. And I have another Camry as a project/spares car....

[Spacewagon52]

My wife is so pleased we do not have more parking space! I am limited to two cars now!

[oldhazey]

Nice spread of Motors there Nigel,man after my own Heart,would like an old Laurel or cedric,also an old Cressida would be nice too :) There are a few lads at work that are well into the JDM Retro stuff

Give uz the nod when there is another track day like that,would love to stretch the legs on my 460 quid LS :D

[moriwaki]

Wow...a Datsun Laurel too.......my first car was that exact model in your picture....but mine was Gold in colour....had in in 1985....I loved that car....but went to change a wheel one day and the trolley jack went through the rusty floor....I panicked and sold it to the local Taxi firm... who ran a fleet of them....any more pics please ?

And David....no I did not like the 460 at all compared to the 400....I apologise to the lads on here who like their 460s....but my almost new one drove terribly....wind noise, tyre noise, impossible to judge brakes and mysterious steering were just a few of the big disappointments after the Sublime 400 mk3 with twenty times the milage on...

Oh.....and as for this Mark Levinson bloke ?......400 was even a better Stereo.

BUT.....in its defence....The 460 was Beautiful to gaze upon......

Anyway....that Laurel ?....give us a gander pal.

[mikeyv]

I can recommend clicking on spotted laurels link to his flickr album, as an ex laurel, crown, 280c estate, bluebird, camry, etc, etc owner and fan, I've just spent an hour browsing it, and many happy memories came flooding back, as well as a few less happy, corrosion related ones!!

[madasahatter]

When i first left school my boss had a laurel massive luxury car in its day, and even now.

[Spacewagon52]

£500, 20 year old Lexus LS 400 – 140 mph! Lexus owners on
the forums come from different financial angles. I saw an old Top Gear (2011? repeated
last night) showing a yellow McClaren
MP4-12C that cost around £180,000. They also showed a Nissan Pixo, which
at the time was the cheapest new car, at around £7000. For similar money Hammond
and Clarkson purchased a second-hand 8 series BMW 850Ci (£6700 17 years old)
and Merc CL 600 (£6695 9 years old).

http://www.topgear.com/videos/jeremy-clarkson/new-vs-used-part-12-series-17-episode-3

The argument against owning the older cars was the cost of
repairs. When considering a Lexus LS400/430 – they are actually much better
value AND more reliable than an old BMW or Merc. Driving my 1998 LS 400 is
still a lovely experience and far better than many newer vehicles I have owned.
I would rather put more fuel in my Lexus than spend half that amount running an
Austin Metro (one of the most uncomfortable and rough cars I have owned) for
example. The Lexus experience puts Bangernomics into a different league.

[Spottedlaurel]

Having enjoyed the last Marham trackday so much in my LS400, I thought I'd do another one!

 

Cheap and Cheerful Trackday Toys by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

 

Pictured here with my friend's Rover 218 Vi (quick, but suffering the inevitable K-series cooling/HGF issues it would seem).

 

No action photos of any sort I'm afraid, too busy driving. Managed about 150 miles again, having great fun at 12-13mpg. Had a front brake smoking at the end of the morning session, maybe a sticky caliper? Was fine in the afternoon however. PAS system also a bit noisy until it was topped-up (the fluid was low, I suspect mine does leak a bit).

 

Found somewehere locally who sold me a couple of part-worn Falkens, which I put on the rear. They seemed to give less grip than the Chinese-made budget tyres I had on before, but within the limits of the "no drifting" rule they did make for some extra entertainment in the tighter bends.

 

During the day a couple of lads in a BMW came up and were admiring the old thing, saying how they'd been hoping to get one themselves. One of them has a GS300 on the road. Hopefully they'll have one in time for the next time the RAF run this event in September.

 

As an aside, I bought this one-owner, low-mileage Sunny earlier this year:

 

New Addition to the Fleet by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

 

A bit of difference to the Lexus or anything else in my fleet, but just as satisfying in its own way.