u/FlatLightYardSale

Little P&S rinseless and beadmaker. Actually, I overdosed on both.

Ow, she's a brick, hooouuuse

2024 LS 500 F Sport
TTV6

Is it likely that this gouge on my rim from striking a curb at parking lot speed is only cosmetic/aesthetic damage? Or should I be concerned that it potentially caused damage to the steering, structure, ride quality, or something else?

How it happened: I was driving in the second story of a parking garage I had never been in before. I was driving up the ramp from the first floor to the second floor so I had a big blind spot in front of me since the ramp was at a 10-15 degree angle. You turn right at the top of the ramp to go toward the first bank of parking lot spaces. Well, I turned too far to the right and I ran my front right tire over a curb island that I didn't know was there. It was really quite jarring. I was not going at excessive speed, about 5mph. But since I didn't see the curb at all I ran over it at a pretty abrupt angle; i.e., it wasn't like I scraped the curb, I drove right on top of it. After I realized I made contact and my tire was on top of the curb island I cut the wheel left and continued going forward to drive off of it.

I got out and was mildly happy that the only damage appears to be cosmetic on my rim, and I took a little chunk out of the tire. The car is not driving any differently that I can tell, still, the situation makes me wonder how can I be sure that all this repair requires is some sanding and a paint pen on the rim? Or is it something more serious that caused damage to the cars ride?

If it's just cosmetic damage my plan is to use my wheel and tire warranty when I take my car in for its next routine maintenance. I've used it once in the past and it was pretty painless. However that time I just scraped the rim when parking, this time was a more direct impact.

Thanks for the help!

Follow up to my widely acclaimed post last night with new locations

Fresh handwash + photo at golden hour

Found a pass in the weather—after the rain but before "oppressive" heat—and did my normal hand wash routine (products below). I am curious, though, since there aren't many posts about it on this forum: how do you wash your car?

1. Automatic car wash (swirls be damned)
2. Touchless car wash
3. I wash it at my place
4. I have someone else wash it

BACKGROUND: I’ve gotten pretty efficient at washing my car and can do the full monty—windows, panels, trim, rims, and tires—in 1.5 hours. A hand wash, in my experience, pops more and lasts longer than an automatic or touch less wash. You can use more product than the diluted amounts in commercial car washes and can get deeper. Obviously, though, the main reason folks hand wash is to avoid the swirl scratches from an automatic wash. Or, get that deeper clean that touchless washes just don’t offer.

Still, I think about how if I got a $40/mos subscription to an automatic car wash that would be perfect were it not for the swirls. Were it not for the swirls, I would buy that in a heartbeat. With an automatic wash, I would have my car 95% clean every day of the month instead of 100% clean 6-8 days a month and having to invest 1.5 hours twice a month to wash it.

What do you guys do? BTW, I realize there are hybrid options, like automatic/touch less wash followed by park and do your tires or add some spray wax. If you do that put it in the comments, I didn’t make those separate answers because I want to know your main answer. I am not requesting “good ideas” or things you saw/heard about on social: I want to know what you do.

My Current Products:
P&S Absolute Rinseless Wash (recently switched from ONR rinseless)
Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions Wet Wax
Armor All High Gloss Tire Shine

Happened upon a pre-2026 facelift IS 350 F Sport in ultra white and parked next to it. Since LS 500s are rare in the wild figured folks may want to see the difference (if any) in size with all other exterior characteristics being equal.

Uh oh! I noticed this ding on my left rear bumper when I was washing today. I don't know what caused it--its location is not in an area that another vehicle could reach. While I hate having a blemish on my car, I am curious, what would you do?

1. Nothing, let it ride as is.
2. Take it to a body shop and pay for it out-of-pocket.
3. Take it to a body shop and pay a $2000 deductible to get it repaired and possibly get damage on my CarFax.

Just curious, thanks!

It shines your tires. Let it marinade overnight to eliminate sling.

A week after a wash and still sticking out like a sore thumb in the parking lot

I am shopping for S8s and the only one with the spec I want does not have the black optics package. At first, I thought it wouldn't make a difference to me, and that I actually preferred the chrome over the blacked out look because it looks more luxurious and premium. But after polling some friends, and doing my own research with an open mind and discovering that most S8s come with the black optics package, about 80%, and that that look will age well, I am now uncertain. Understand it is my decision, but I'm curious what you all think?

Chrome, or blacked out? Reference the pictures, please.

Do you think this ROM counts for dumbbell bench? Sides of the dumbbells are touching my chest so I can only go lower by increasing width/stacking wrists over elbows or by not tucking my elbows as much.

Every couple of weeks or so I start to second guess getting a white car. Then I wash it.

ONR (wash) + Turtle Wax Ceramic Wet Wax (drying agent) + Chemical Guy Galactic Black Dressing (tires and black trim/spindle)

Tell ya what, there’s nothing more iconic for the F Sport cars than Ultra White.

I'm getting pretty close to trading my LS500 for an S8, the more I read/watch about these S8s the more flabbergasted I become at how much car/performance you get once these cars are 3-4 years used. 560 ponies, sub-4 second 0-60, quiet, lux cabin, and can be had for less than $70k. Below are the two cars I'm comparing:

The 2022 with 43k miles for $63k seems like a steal, and the fact that it has predictive active suspension seems to seal the deal. I test drove the second one, the 2023, today. Drove great. Just have two questions:

1. I highly prize great ride quality. Is the predictive active suspension something that I should be explicitly seeking out? The 2023 S8 I drove today that didn't have it drove great. Just curious if this option is worth me specifically filtering my search to only include models that have it.

2. What am I possibly missing with the 2022 S8? Clean car fax, very low price, has the predictive air suspension. Seems perfect. FWIW, I do plan on purchasing an extended warranty, so that will add some to the cost.

https://www.audikirkwoodmo.com/en/inventory/vehicle/?isdealer&market=usuc&vehicleId=WAULSAF8XNN000346&adobe_mc=MCMID%3D80039684374791983380182194778311775031%7CMCORGID%3DA3A01F4264BFE8B00A495FA3%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1779568658&adobe_mc=MCMID%3D80039684374791983380182194778311775031%7CMCORGID%3DA3A01F4264BFE8B00A495FA3%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1779569075

https://www.audiwestcounty.com/en/inventory/vehicle/?isdealer&market=usuc&vehicleId=WAULSAF83PN014947&adobe_mc=MCMID%3D80039684374791983380182194778311775031%7CMCORGID%3DA3A01F4264BFE8B00A495FA3%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1779549355&adobe_mc=MCMID%3D80039684374791983380182194778311775031%7CMCORGID%3DA3A01F4264BFE8B00A495FA3%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1779549373&adobe_mc=MCMID%3D80039684374791983380182194778311775031%7CMCORGID%3DA3A01F4264BFE8B00A495FA3%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1779549402

What do you think of this form ya'll? I made a conscious effort to be more upright and controlled rather than leaning forward. Can't move as much weight this way, but it felt like an effective set that accomplished the goal of the exercise. Thoughts?

Obviously I have to lead with a pic of my car.

What is actually germane to this post however are the results when I took a gander at Lexus's website this evening. Case in point are photos #2 and #3.

In the "Sedan" category we have:
- No full-size sedan
- Only hybrid or EV mid-size sedans
- Only one conventional internal combustion sedan; and it is a compact model

In the "Performance" category we have:
- The venerable IS 350 F Sport with a potent NA V6 that makes 311HP and teleports from 0-60 in a blistering 5.9 seconds
-LC 500 (legitimate performance car; IYKYK)

When I was shopping for my LS this past September I went on Lexus's website and it showed the 2025 model line. Less than a year later the 250-model limited edition 2026 LS 500 has come and gone and now Lexus no longer produces a full-size luxury sedan. This is ironic because Lexus's first vehicle--the vehicle it started its company with, and subsequently beat the germans with--was a full-size luxury sedan: the LS 400 in 1989.

Lexus made business decisions. Just like Audi and Infiniti. SUVs are in. Electric vehicles are in. "Old school" boat sedans are not hip.

It sucks, though. There is still a market out there of those who want opulent cars that excel not in carrying cargo or kids to soccer practice, but in carrying a spirited driver, or a small tight-knit group or family, and doing it in luxury, speed, and maneuverability (i.e., without body roll).

I'm not asking them to make a car strictly for enthusiasts, but dang, some of us still enjoy the art of driving without having to sacrifice road presence or comfort. For me, there's nothing more enjoyable than cruising in comfort in a car that makes 90 feel like 60, and being able to hustle said car around like it's smaller than its size.

Wax on wax off

Luxury Flagships: '22 German vs '24 Japanese

Who. Ya. Got?