Someone Thought of it First

[SH20]

Washed my car for the first time since collecting it and realised that the decision to have flush side glass x 4 pieces must have been decided possibly by just one person initially, chief designer maybe,  before he said make it happen to the Engineers.  None of the previous 5 Lexus cars I owned had flush side glass incl 3 ES300's and my first Lexus a LS460.    The tight 3-5mm vertical rubber separation seals  between glass panels are super flush fitting and all the glass is set within the chrome window surround.   This is where Lexus excel in my view as they could so easily have had normal vertical trims separating the glass which most cars have.    Now I find myself looking at other manufacturers vehicles for flush fitting side glass. How sad is that. 

Equally when I removed the rear wheels to fit some mud flaps I jacked the car up on a cast aluminum bracket of which there are 4 in the normal jacking areas of the car.   I first noticed them when the dealer allowed me to see the underside of the car on a ramp  just prior to collecting it.   I realised that the designer of these brackets felt the floor pan needed something better than normal sill flanges (see photo of a Toyota sill flange where the car is jacked up)  and maybe this was to do with the huge weight of the car.  The brackets are large and clearly cast aluminum and bolted to the floor with two large 14mm bolts.   These are ideal for the service dept  when two post lift swing arms support the car and although there is no jack or tools supplied in a LS500 because of the run flat tyres  my own trolley jack gave me  a real sense of safety when I jacked the car up on these brackets.   Again I suggest a design Engineer sat down and thought about this component.       I believe the LC500 shares the same architecture/floor pan and these brackets. 

I have repaired a few bent sill flanges in the past on different vehicles when the whole weight of the car was supported  badly (Trolley jacks when tyres were fitted,  swing arms on 2 post lifts not positioned correctly which forces the flange over)  A  conventional jacking point on a sill flange relies on a surface area of around 130mm  in length by approximately 8mm thick and when the whole car is up in the air they may be adequate in theory but hardly a huge surface area to support a car weighing up to a couple of tons or more.   

Hats off to the Lexus Designers and Engineers who keep thinking of how to improve the way their cars are built and look and the attention they give to components. 

 

 

    

[Malc1]

She looks nice 

Good you mention the jacking points ……. my first Mk1 Ls400 ….. fearsome wobble trying to change a flat rear wheel …… RAC to the rescue ever since 

Malc 

 

[SH20]

I still carry a scissor jack and tools for no other reason than I can't get used to having no equipment supplied by the manufacturer.  Never liked them though when you think the weight they support particularly when the scissor action has to be nearly at it's maximum extended position before the wheel lifts off the ground.  The only tool there is in a LS500 is a tow eye and a small screwdriver to remove the blanking plate from the front bumper.   I'm more confident now with the run flat tyres but if I'm at home and want a wheel off I use a trolley jack with a rubber foot that's grooved and the bracket fits the v shaped groove.  

[Malc1]

I hope you carry a spare wheel or spacesaver ? 

No good having a run flat and tube of gunk when a tyres  shredded in a pothole 

RAC have the necessaries to change the wheel sensibly BUT  can’t get you a new tyre often on a Sunday, at night, Bank Holiday ……. then you really are STUCK 

….. happened to my daughter in their Arbath ….. bit challenging 😥 

Malc 

[SH20]

I agree Malcolm there is no answer to a  shredded tyre other than a new one.    As you probably know run flats don't use tyre inflator goo as the side walls can carry the full weight of the car but this photo is why Lexus had no option but to use run flats on the LS500h unlike my first Lexus a LS460 which had a full size alloy spare wheel under the floor panel.  

Other than a space for a 12 volt Battery and a tiny slot for a cargo net there is no space at all under the floor panel for tools, tyre inflator kits, tool holders and no wheel well unlike the  ES300h I traded in.   This space saver was stored under the ES300's dummy floor but required a different polystyrene tool holder. 

I have a box of stuff I don't drive without and carrying an 18inch space saver would eliminate any available space for luggage or travel bags.  The boot floor area in a LS500h is about 25% smaller than a ES300h  which stopped me transferring the ES300's boot liner and so a new boot liner was purchased.      

[Malc1]

Dopey idea of manufacturers to abandon the spare wheel 

Ultimate Design Fault  methinks 

New Kia Carens 7 seater SUV bought for my “Boss Man “ in Delhi last month has, by virtue of the ultimate boss’s diktat ….. and Kia too probably in India, has a fully grown up spare wheel 👍

Malc