now... will you have to PROVE you own an LFA to get a replacement CF hood prop, or will any schmuck (like me) with several hundred dollars be able to walk into their friendly lexus parts dept and buy one? #lexuslfa
Gas struts are totally the wrong thing for this car. For one thing, you can't easily make one in carbon fiber. But here's the clincher:
Gas struts wear out. Just sitting around they slowly lose their charge over time. That's physics, can't change it. And just sitting around, the prop rod keeps on being a prop rod. It weighs about the same as a single gas strut - a carbon fiber one probably weighs less - and right there you've got a weight savings. One prop rod displaces two heavy, fallible gas struts.
Is a prop rod fallible? Sure. It can rust into nothingness - oops, not this one. It can bend and break under load - oops, you'd have to do something stupid, like bend the car around a phone pole to do that. It can pop out of the catch hole and drop the hood on your head - oops, that's gonna leave a mark. But with $400K invested, you're probably not going to lift the hood outside of your climate-controlled, hermetically sealed, Mafia insured eighteen-space garage. So no wind. The Mafia wouldn't allow it.
At 88 miles an hour, the two solenoid cases pop out of the Alien intake and start eating the oil coolers. #lexuslfa
@Ryanrule: Any car that cost more than $20k shouldn't have a prop rod. That is one of the things that really pissed me off about the wife's Trailblazer, a $34k (sticker) vehicle that uses a damn metal broom stick to hold up the hood. I've driven GM vehicles built from 1973-2004 and it is the only one that can't hold the hood up. Even the lowly G-bodies got proper hood hinges with springs. #lexuslfa
@skaycog: I'm personally a fan of the matte black look. Mainly because I can apply it with a rattle can to my freshly ground, previously rusted 1991 civic hatchback.
@livinlvis: I don't know about the scratching easily. I think matte paint is still in its babyhood with improvements being made. I've heard that it's easy to spray on, but hard to keep the matte finish. We'll see if it's just a fad, or an everlasting thing.
I guess that looks nice-but if I was buying a 400k car I'd expect a bit higher tec to hold up the hood than the CF version of a broom stick. This is like having forged titanium handles for your hand-cranked windows. #lexuslfa
@ProstWest: An F40 owner is tugging his rope because he bought and paid for a racing car with license plates, i.e. virtually no human comforts that might sully the power/weight ratio. Plexiglass windows (the early models had sliding door windows), no sound deadening, no carpeting, no power steering or brakes, full racing seats, and etc.-basically no amenities other than AC.
The LFA is designed for and marketed to someone looking for high performance as well as all the highest-tech and greatest creature comforts that his 400,000.00 can buy. Your analogy is like comparing a Veyron to a Le Mans Prototype. Other than that, it was....perfect. #lexuslfa
@powermatic: No, my analogy was like comparing an ultra high performance street car to an ultra high performance street car. Is it perfect to invoke the zenith of Maranello's efforts when discussing a car from the company that brought us the Paseo? Likely not, but let's face it- the Toyota buyer who just left 400 large at the dealership is not checking his own washer fluid. Therefore the engineers made a smart, easy decision and spec'ed the epitome of lightweight engine-bay access technology: the prop rod. Enzo's boys came to the same conclusion, albeit as part of a package that compromised a great deal more than the LFA in areas that actually affect the driver's comfort. #lexuslfa
@powermatic: All right, let me try again, with your gracious encouragement. The car should have a prop rod because it's faster that way. The prospective owner is not negatively impacted by economizing both weight and expenditure in this design area. #lexuslfa
@bzr: Wow. The transparent hood would be a great canvas for some frosted glass etching. Maybe "turbo" tastefully etched diagonally across the entire hood?
@tempesjo: dear god no. im not a fan, of transparent hoods. heres an idea, take your regular hood off if you need to show off your engine bay to the world. #lexuslfa
@autocannibal: But your idea wouldn't cost any money, and goes against the whole foundation of this industry, which is tricking people into buying ridiculous "performance upgrades" for their cars. #lexuslfa
Toyota is like that nerdy science kid who volunteers to do extra credit stuff just for the pure love of learning. None of it is on the test and it won't bring him anything material; just the smug satisfaction of doing it. I wish I could give Toyota a swirly.
From all accounts the thing sounds as if it drives pretty much perfectly. Everything is neat, tidy, in place, efficient and completely predictable. The center of gravity is optimally placed to blah blah blah. The hideous front end is perfectly design to channel air yada yada yada.
I don't remember reading a press release explaining to me why I need a Ford GT (or a Halle Berry for that matter); why must I read one to convince me I need an LFA?
It's about the experience, I know. But from all that I've read, I've basically concluded it is very fast, and very easy to drive. That's it.
If Toyota wants to build something to fund R&D for cars I can actually buy, I'm cool with that. And I'm glad they did.
But if I had $400,000 in my pocket, I would be buying something that smokes in the upstairs bathroom and starts a fight for spilling his tray in the cafeteria. Something with edge, with personality. And yes, something that can get the girls.
But if you wanna hang out at the science fair, hey, to each his own. #lexuslfa
Demand for car-sized freezers in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia has increased by a factor of 20 after the recent news that Toyota are going to produce their new overpriced supercar in limited volumes in ice, and that it is the new "cool" thing to own for Sheikhs and if you didn't have one, you couldn't hang out with the cool kids. #lexuslfa
@stinkycatfish: Hey, alright now
Alright now fellas, (YEAH!)
Now what's cooler than bein' cool?
(ICE COLD!) I can't hear ya'
I say what's cooler than bein' cool?
(ICE COLD!) whooo... #lexuslfa
If only for the confusion factor, I'd have used Lexan. Which, when the wacky-named brand was first introduced, is what I kept finding myself calling Lexus.
11/04/09
11/04/09
Gas struts wear out. Just sitting around they slowly lose their charge over time. That's physics, can't change it. And just sitting around, the prop rod keeps on being a prop rod. It weighs about the same as a single gas strut - a carbon fiber one probably weighs less - and right there you've got a weight savings. One prop rod displaces two heavy, fallible gas struts.
Is a prop rod fallible? Sure. It can rust into nothingness - oops, not this one. It can bend and break under load - oops, you'd have to do something stupid, like bend the car around a phone pole to do that. It can pop out of the catch hole and drop the hood on your head - oops, that's gonna leave a mark. But with $400K invested, you're probably not going to lift the hood outside of your climate-controlled, hermetically sealed, Mafia insured eighteen-space garage. So no wind. The Mafia wouldn't allow it.
At 88 miles an hour, the two solenoid cases pop out of the Alien intake and start eating the oil coolers. #lexuslfa
11/04/09
+1 on the gas struts.
Nothing like having marginal ones and finding today was the day it was too cool to hold the hood up when a 2 mph breeze touched it.
/learned not to place hand in hood's travel without a broomstick as a backup hood prop...the hard way #lexuslfa
11/04/09
Supercars are NOT reliable.
11/05/09
This was done for weight alone. And it passed the cost-benefit analysis algorithm that Toyota doubtless subject the entire car to. #lexuslfa
11/05/09
11/04/09
11/04/09
pfft
11/04/09
11/04/09
11/04/09
Civic dx?
Is there any other kind, baby? #lexuslfa
11/04/09
11/24/09
11/24/09
#tips
11/24/09
#tips
11/04/09
11/04/09
11/04/09
The LFA is designed for and marketed to someone looking for high performance as well as all the highest-tech and greatest creature comforts that his 400,000.00 can buy. Your analogy is like comparing a Veyron to a Le Mans Prototype. Other than that, it was....perfect. #lexuslfa
11/04/09
11/04/09
vaya con dios #lexuslfa
11/04/09
11/04/09
Wow. #lexuslfa
11/04/09
11/04/09
11/04/09
11/04/09
11/04/09
@tempesjo: No, you'll have to get the transparent hood for that! Adds madd street cred too, yo. #lexuslfa
11/04/09
11/04/09
11/04/09
11/04/09
11/04/09
10/26/09
From all accounts the thing sounds as if it drives pretty much perfectly. Everything is neat, tidy, in place, efficient and completely predictable. The center of gravity is optimally placed to blah blah blah. The hideous front end is perfectly design to channel air yada yada yada.
I don't remember reading a press release explaining to me why I need a Ford GT (or a Halle Berry for that matter); why must I read one to convince me I need an LFA?
It's about the experience, I know. But from all that I've read, I've basically concluded it is very fast, and very easy to drive. That's it.
If Toyota wants to build something to fund R&D for cars I can actually buy, I'm cool with that. And I'm glad they did.
But if I had $400,000 in my pocket, I would be buying something that smokes in the upstairs bathroom and starts a fight for spilling his tray in the cafeteria. Something with edge, with personality. And yes, something that can get the girls.
But if you wanna hang out at the science fair, hey, to each his own. #lexuslfa
10/26/09
10/26/09
You're willing to sacrifice our love
You never take advice
Someday you'll pay the price
I know #lexuslfa
10/26/09
Alright now fellas, (YEAH!)
Now what's cooler than bein' cool?
(ICE COLD!) I can't hear ya'
I say what's cooler than bein' cool?
(ICE COLD!) whooo... #lexuslfa
10/26/09
@stinkycatfish: #lexuslfa
10/26/09
10/26/09
10/26/09
Mr. Freeze, you are now ready to do battle with the Batmobile. Please be careful around the flamethrower. #lexuslfa