people get excited about lower mileage LX/LC's from California. Based on the gridlock in that state and some other locations I think you have to almost double the shown miles to compensate for the hours sitting and crawling through traffic, which are harder on any vehicle then driving down the road.
Hours on drivetrain versus miles? Opinion?
- Thread starter SWUtah
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Interesting thought! My lawn tractor has an hour meter and service is by hours. May be appropriate for vehicles stuck in traffic most of their lives
I just mentioned it since I am in Calif on vacation right now. Drove from Long beach to San Diego the other day took almost 4 hours to drive 90 miles on Interstate 5, what's that an average of 22 miles an hour. It was even worse in LA and San Fran. I never saw traffic like this in Nevada or Texas (Austin). Sitting in that type of stop and go traffic has to be hard on a vehicle compared to driving 40-50 mph.
A good thought... on high performance engines we would count cycles... how many total loaded revolutions on engine components and on gears and transmissions... ie: 500 miles turning 9500rpms vs 500 miles turning 7100rpms... plus heat cycles... we knew how many rpms a crankshaft had turned it's whole life... we knew how many times a valve & valve spring had opened and closed, we knew how far each piston & ring set had traveled ... just a reference point I pulled a 1998 landcruiser 4.7 engine with 305k miles and the hard wear surfaces showed all but no wear... I could still see the cross hatch hone marks... the crank thrust and rod side clearance were still good... if you are sitting in traffic and the engine stays cool and you are running good oil... the only concern I'd have is the transmission generating a ton of heat by way of the torque converter, I can't see anything stressed.... except the driver sitting in traffic... btw an hour meter is no better or worse than mileage... you could have 1000hrs on an engine and 100 miles on the truck? overall I think we all know a well cared for car/truck when we see it... knowing when anything mechanical is going to fail is an educated crap shoot at best
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I just think this might be a good factor to add to the equation when considering a vehicle. I would take a central Texas truck over a LA, San Fran, truck everyday. I think the last truck I would want would be one that lived in a northeast large city. Lots of traffic sitting for hours and salty roads in the winter.
It would be funny to find a high-performance car for sale with only 250 miles on the odometer..... seems like a great, low-mileage example!!!
Except that in reality it had made 1000 1/4-mile passes and spent it's whole life at the dragstrip running at WOT.
I wouldn't necessarily run from higher mileage, but I also wouldn't make any assumptions about a low-mileage vehicle being a "creampuff" either!
-G
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It would be funny to find a high-performance car for sale with only 250 miles on the odometer..... seems like a great, low-mileage example!!!
Except that in reality it had made 1000 1/4-mile passes and spent it's whole life at the dragstrip running at WOT.
I wouldn't necessarily run from higher mileage, but I also wouldn't make any assumptions about a low-mileage vehicle being a "creampuff" either!
-G
Agree, since we have members that have over 400k miles with normal servicing, buying a rig with 80k or 150k does not make a big difference. But you might pay $10k more for that 80k mile creame puff that needs a timing belt and water pump service and spent half its life sitting on the freeway in LA
True, the SF Bay Area does have horrendous traffic during commute hours. But I doubt most LC/LX's in the area don't see commute duty. 30% of commuters here don't drive their cars to work, their cars stay home in their garages. Many of those of own LC/LX's here own multiple cars... they would choose their Priuses and Teslas for commute duty. The Bay Area has the highest per capita of electric and hybrid vehicles. Electric and many plug-in hybrids vehicles are allowed to drive in carpool/HOV lanes with no additional passengers.
You can sometimes identify those stop-n-go commute vehicles by how worn the rubber is on their brake pedal.
True, the SF Bay Area does have horrendous traffic during commute hours. But I doubt most LC/LX's in the area don't see commute duty. 30% of commuters here don't drive their cars to work, their cars stay home in their garages. Many of those of own LC/LX's here own multiple cars... they would choose their Priuses and Teslas for commute duty. The Bay Area has the highest per capita of electric and hybrid vehicles. Electric and many plug-in hybrids vehicles are allowed to drive in carpool/HOV lanes with no additional passengers.
You can sometimes identify those stop-n-go commute vehicles by how worn the rubber is on their brake pedal.
Really? You think there are people here who simultaneously own a Prius and a LC/LX?
That's a tough demographic... Prius owners tend to be pretty "out there" when it comes to their environmental beliefs. Having a Toyota "LandSmasher" in the garage at home would be the ultimate hypocrisy, and the kind of thing they'd never want their tree hugging friends to find out about!!!
I love my LC, but I have no illusions that it's a "high end" vehicle some 14 years after it was built. People who are affluent enough to afford a Tesla as a commuter isn't likely to have a >$20,000 Toyota 4x4 in their garage as their "backup" vehicle.... Maybe an ICON-built FJ40 though.
My old AMG had a counter on the brake system that actually kept track of the total number of pedal presses (for liability reasons) to insure that the electric SBC controller would get replaced before it had a chance to fail catastrophically. I'm not sure if there is anything in the old OBD-II system that logs brake-related functions, but it would be an interesting data point to have when looking at an old LC/LX.
-G
Haha, yeah I'm sure there are a bunch of LC/Prius owners on here... most won't publicly admit it though!
But the demographics of the typical Tesla owner is changing, now that Teslas can be found used.
I agree with what you are saying... their Tesla Model S isn't paired with a 1998 LX470. When I made that comment, I was thinking of newer LC/LX570's that were purchased new and being unloaded after a few years for a LC300/LX670's. They 'need' these vehicles for when they drive to their cabin in Tahoe for the weekend.I love my LC, but I have no illusions that it's a "high end" vehicle some 14 years after it was built. People who are affluent enough to afford a Tesla as a commuter isn't likely to have a >$20,000 Toyota 4x4 in their garage as their "backup" vehicle.... Maybe an ICON-built FJ40 though.
But the demographics of the typical Tesla owner is changing, now that Teslas can be found used.
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I think I saw a photo online recently where someone did a Chevy LS motor swap into a Tesla!!!!
AWESOME!!!!
-G
I've seen that. That was a bit of a joke... although the actual conversion that did happen was also quite unique.
An LS3-Powered Tesla Model S - Say What? - LSXTV
An LS3-Powered Tesla Model S - Say What? - LSXTV
In Police Crown Vics the manual says 1 hour of idle equals 33miles of driving. Doesn't specify what kind of driving though. CVPI 2006+ have hours meter on the odometer as well. Folks who deal in that market ask this question first.
Some fleets go by the fuel gallons spent: number of injector actuations can be extrapolated easily, etc.
Some fleets go by the fuel gallons spent: number of injector actuations can be extrapolated easily, etc.
Really? You think there are people here who simultaneously own a Prius and a LC/LX?
That's a tough demographic... Prius owners tend to be pretty "out there" when it comes to their environmental beliefs. Having a Toyota "LandSmasher" in the garage at home would be the ultimate hypocrisy, and the kind of thing they'd never want their tree hugging friends to find out about!!!
I love my LC, but I have no illusions that it's a "high end" vehicle some 14 years after it was built. People who are affluent enough to afford a Tesla as a commuter isn't likely to have a >$20,000 Toyota 4x4 in their garage as their "backup" vehicle.... Maybe an ICON-built FJ40 though.
-G
Funny you should say that...bought my 2001 LX from a family up in Bellevue, WA. Sitting beside the LX? A new Tesla and a $120K Porsche. Bought the LX off of them for less than 14K. I think they were going to replace it with a newer Toyota SUV. Anyway, my guess is that a lot of people own a Prius and a LC/LX. I almost bought a new Prius before I decided that I would rather have a second LX.
Sorry, responded before I read this. Anyway, not so sure (see my post above). The guy I bought my LX from was a total gearhead...and really appreciated the 80 and 100 series. I would love to have a Tesla, just for commuting. I have seen several now in Eugene that have been getting used. However, with my two LX's and my motorcycle, I feel that I am good with capable versus high MPG conundrum.
Anyway, not to derail the OP. I would rather buy a higher mileage 100 than a higher hour 100, especially from the Southwest.
Really? You think there are people here who simultaneously own a Prius and a LC/LX?
(snip)
-G
I alternate between a 993, Hyundai Hybrid and my LC100. Hard to ignore the 45mpg from the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid when gas prices go up stupid amounts because of some silly geographical based supply concern. We are still at $3.50/gallon!
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Commiefornia, it now looks like Nevada, Taxes like NYC and you need a nice comfortable car since you will spend half of your life in traffic. As a bonus a house costing $250k in Texas will cost you $750k in Ca. But the pay is not any better in Ca. Then in Texas. Makes you wonder??