Is200 Stability And Handing

[Paradroid]

It's been a bit worrying reading about quite a few IS accidents recently on here. I guess the worsening weather conditions has a lot to do with. Sorry to anyone who's had an accident in their Lexus :(

Anyway, I was wondering how people rate their IS for handling i.e. grip, especially in the wet - in particular, if you've had a spin or scary moment in your IS?

My reason for asking is that going off my experiences the IS200 seems very sensitive to the type of tyre fitted and having the right pressures. When I got my IS it had a weird mix of cheap and decent but worn tyres. I thought handling was poor, it pitched in corners a lot and it was quite easy to get the back out in the wet - and I wasn't trying. I changed my tyres all round for new ones, and run them at a higher than normal pressure, and I have to say my car feels very stable. It's very well balanced and doesn't seem obviously RWD. Sure if I boot it mid corner, the back pushes the car round the bend, unlike FWD, but it hardly ever loses traction.

Since changing the tyres I don't get any unexpected RWD handling nasties. Have I just been lucky so far though? I know it's a mix of the car, the road and the driver, but I was just wondering how much difference things like tyres make. What about sport vs. SE suspension - is there much difference?

[kweilo]

Well I've only been driving mine for a month, take this with a pinch of salt. Then again, I've racked up 2000 miles in various conditions, so I guess I've got a feel for the car now.

I've only really felt the car go a bit wonky once, and that once was enough to get the traction control light flaring up.

Wet day, running at about 25mph, kicked down a gear and gave the accelerator a nudge just as I was passing over two manhole covers. Back end went a bit sketchy and the the traction control did it's thing.

Other than that?

I've felt planted and safe the whole way through.

I'll certainly say that the IS200 feels a lot more planted than me old 318!

[DJ Wozza]

get the car's GEO sorted by Wheels-InMotion and you will be much better off,

also 35psi all round on the standard 17's helps too.

[sparkystav]

I've had mine two winters now coming up to the third.

And i've found decent rubber helps to start with and just being gentle with the car. Dont go tonking it into corners and treat roundabouts with care and *touch wood* you should be fine.

Though i've added an aftermarket Traction control instead of the **** standard one to assist me as well after i had an incident a couple of years ago.

Stav

[Nocturnal]

Another thing to remember is that it can be worn suspension after 100K miles

My Altezza was wobbling all over duing accelation in mid corners, and it is just due to old and worn dampers.

I fitted some new coilovers to the car and it transformed the car.... You wouldn't believe it is the same car.

[kallabungo]

I hate the handling - it always feels wobbly into corners and feels like the car is lifting when you slam it into a corner really hard.

I had a peugeot 406 sri turbo before this and i can honestly say the peugeot would out handle the IS200 in all conditions.

[Steviewevie]

I hate the handling - it always feels wobbly into corners and feels like the car is lifting when you slam it into a corner really hard.

Has your IS been WIM'd ?

[kallabungo]

I hate the handling - it always feels wobbly into corners and feels like the car is lifting when you slam it into a corner really hard.

Has your IS been WIM'd ?

No not 'yet' unfortunately. I live in lowestoft - which is miles away from WIM but after hearing the reviews it does seem like it needs to be done.

Does WIM'ing stop the lifting? I feel when i come into a fairly sharp corner about 70 - 80 mph one side of the car will compress really nicely and feels quite planted but the otherside where the weight is coming off feels dangerously light and like its about to start skipping 3 wheel style across the road - i've had some scary situations but luckily have managed to hold it but this scare has reduced how much im willing to push the car.

[Steviewevie]

No not 'yet' unfortunately. I live in lowestoft - which is miles away from WIM but after hearing the reviews it does seem like it needs to be done.

Does WIM'ing stop the lifting? I feel when i come into a fairly sharp corner about 70 - 80 mph one side of the car will compress really nicely and feels quite planted but the otherside where the weight is coming off feels dangerously light and like its about to start skipping 3 wheel style across the road - i've had some scary situations but luckily have managed to hold it but this scare has reduced how much im willing to push the car.

I'm not really qualified to say much on handling specifics, although I do wonder how many miles your car has done, and whether you have some suspension components that need replacing ? I imagine that some of the more expert members here will be able to give you some more specific advice.

As for WIM, it definitely makes a big difference. I took my IS down a local road of "twisties" soon after having it WIM'd and I was amazed at the transformation. The WIM settings are available (either on this website or via Tony) and you could get someone local to set up the geometry, as long as those local people are competent enough to set it to those WIM parameters (e.g there seem to have been cases before where some garages don't really understand it).

Perhaps someone on the forum might be able to recommend a decent place to get this done near to you ?

[kallabungo]

No not 'yet' unfortunately. I live in lowestoft - which is miles away from WIM but after hearing the reviews it does seem like it needs to be done.

Does WIM'ing stop the lifting? I feel when i come into a fairly sharp corner about 70 - 80 mph one side of the car will compress really nicely and feels quite planted but the otherside where the weight is coming off feels dangerously light and like its about to start skipping 3 wheel style across the road - i've had some scary situations but luckily have managed to hold it but this scare has reduced how much im willing to push the car.

I'm not really qualified to say much on handling specifics, although I do wonder how many miles your car has done, and whether you have some suspension components that need replacing ? I imagine that some of the more expert members here will be able to give you some more specific advice.

As for WIM, it definitely makes a big difference. I took my IS down a local road of "twisties" soon after having it WIM'd and I was amazed at the transformation. The WIM settings are available (either on this website or via Tony) and you could get someone local to set up the geometry, as long as those local people are competent enough to set it to those WIM parameters (e.g there seem to have been cases before where some garages don't really understand it).

Perhaps someone on the forum might be able to recommend a decent place to get this done near to you ?

I have a local garage close to me which have all the laser alignment tools they hook over your wheels for toe, caster, camber etc. The car is X reg 2000 and has done 84k and about 6 months ago had some springs put on - the car was re-aligned after the springs were fitted but not to Tony's spec. Do you know where i can find the Geo details at all...?

Cheers.

[reganlives]

so which tyres are the best for the IS anyway? Theres currently bridgstone potenza's on mine at the moment and for some reason I think they're the original tyres from new as the car is so low mileage lol.

[Steviewevie]

For the settings, send Tony a PM, ask him very nicely, and I'm sure he'll do his best to help you out.

If you get it done, make sure you get a printout of the new settings, and then again if you ask Tony nicely, he can probably tell you if they've done it correctly.

Whilst Tony is potentially helping you, you might like to consider this thread to help a very good cause in Tony's name :winky:

[Steviewevie]

...

[edeath]

On the Tyre front the Falken 452's are recommened by a lot of LOCers though the Dunlop SP9000L was the OEM tyre but they are like Hens teeth. I'm running Dunlop SP9000s on mine (though they are not recommened as the have a ply layer missing compered to the L's) and they are fine.

[sparkystav]

I have a local garage close to me which have all the laser alignment tools they hook over your wheels for toe, caster, camber etc. The car is X reg 2000 and has done 84k and about 6 months ago had some springs put on - the car was re-aligned after the springs were fitted but not to Tony's spec. Do you know where i can find the Geo details at all...?

Cheers.

I could be wrong but i dont think laser alignment is the same thing as the stuff Tony uses.

[kenfoxy]

The IS 200 is a typical rwd car which needs careful handling in wet/slippery conditions. Judging the limit is part of the fun of this set up. When all cars (many years ago) were rwd there were no problems. However these days they are rare so coming from a fwd or awd can be a dangerous experience especially if you switch between rwd and fwd.

All I can say is BE CAREFUL WITH AN IS200.

Incidentally do other members think that the TCS punishes you for overstepping the mark by causing the engine to shut down. I think that this might cause some accidents were the power cuts suddenly in mid corner. Surely the power should shut down gradually.

[Paradroid]

I hate the handling - it always feels wobbly into corners and feels like the car is lifting when you slam it into a corner really hard.

I had a peugeot 406 sri turbo before this and i can honestly say the peugeot would out handle the IS200 in all conditions.

Pity you don't live a bit closer, I'd be very interested to compare your car against mine. Like you I was worried about the handling of my car to start off with, and my previous car definitely outhandled it. But now the gap is a lot closer.

I think what happens with some IS's (not saying this is yours) is people get the tyre wear problem and after a while get sick of paying a fortune for expensive tyres that get shredded in no time, so they end up buying budget tyres. This then ruins the handling of the car completely. This is what happened with my car anyway.

If anyone in the North West is not sure about the handing of their IS give me a shout, I would be interested to compare to see if mine is spot on now or whether it could be better :)

[reganlives]

When mine is all sorted and on the road then I wouldnt have an issue comparing the handling with yours mate. Where abouts in the north west are u?

[SUPERCOUPE]

On the Tyre front the Falken 452's are recommened by a lot of LOCers though the Dunlop SP9000L was the OEM tyre but they are like Hens teeth. I'm running Dunlop SP9000s on mine (though they are not recommened as the have a ply layer missing compered to the L's) and they are fine.

Although I'm running Dunlop SP9000s on mine now, IMO you won't get much better than Goodyear Eagle F1's for performance, in wet or dry. GSD3's were top but the newer version is even better.

[Paradroid]

When mine is all sorted and on the road then I wouldnt have an issue comparing the handling with yours mate. Where abouts in the north west are u?

Wigan mate - not too far from Manchester at all.

[coolrides]

maybe some could be to do with not being used to rear wheel drive and its characteristics. i raced karts from i was 16 so i guess that was a good learning curve, but many people do the wrong thing at the wrong time. i.e trying to engine break round a corner in a rear wheel drive is never a good idea. ir taking foot of gas at wrong time. sometimes its the completely wrong thing to do in a rwd if the tail was to break out. taking foot off gas can act like a handbrake depending what revs your at.

i feel my is200 is great at handling since it had tein basic couilovers put in. but even before it was controlable only thing i dont like is the over sensitive traction control so i keep it off. and i would like a lsd too.

but if your new to rwd cars i can only suggest that you invest in maybe a skid pan day or a drift day. any of these would help your driving skills and confidense.

[kweilo]

I've seen a lot of comments about the handling being hard to get to grips with.

This doesn't make any sense.

As I've always maintained;

1. A good driver will push a car to it's limits.

2. A bad driver will get pushed to his/her limits by a car.

If you are shredding tyres *that* quickly then something is seriously a-miss with your driving style.

[coolrides]

I've seen a lot of comments about the handling being hard to get to grips with.

This doesn't make any sense.

As I've always maintained;

1. A good driver will push a car to it's limits.

2. A bad driver will get pushed to his/her limits by a car.

If you are shredding tyres *that* quickly then something is seriously a-miss with your driving style.

well to a certain point. i use tyres quite hard to be honest but touch wood never crashed apart from a motorbike. but shedding tyres could be allignment problems with caamber/castor. or a track day can see the end of 2 or 3 sets of tyres (and brake discs as i found out before)

just stay within your limits and if you dont know your limits get proffesional driving coaching to help you learn to control your car or join a club and go to track days and build up slowly and get advice from others at the track. they usually will be glad to give advice fo free.

[Paradroid]

well to a certain point. i use tyres quite hard to be honest but touch wood never crashed apart from a motorbike. but shedding tyres could be allignment problems with caamber/castor.

That's what I was referring to, not driving. I was saying that a IS200 with standard geometry can eat through tyres.

I can see this thread seems to be turning into people thinking driving styles are to blame, all I'm trying to work is how good should the handling be on a 100% IS200, and how many people could have cars that are below 100% for whatever reason. I know of 3 people on this forum who have not been happy with IS200 handling (including myself), but after a full set of new Vredestein tyres my car is now fine.

I'm getting my geometry done to Tony's spec on Saturday, so will let report back with an update about how different it seems.

[coolrides]

well to a certain point. i use tyres quite hard to be honest but touch wood never crashed apart from a motorbike. but shedding tyres could be allignment problems with caamber/castor.

That's what I was referring to, not driving. I was saying that a IS200 with standard geometry can eat through tyres.

I can see this thread seems to be turning into people thinking driving styles are to blame, all I'm trying to work is how good should the handling be on a 100% IS200, and how many people could have cars that are below 100% for whatever reason. I know of 3 people on this forum who have not been happy with IS200 handling (including myself), but after a full set of new Vredestein tyres my car is now fine.

I'm getting my geometry done to Tony's spec on Saturday, so will let report back with an update about how different it seems.

is it possible to get a car that handles 100% lol mine felt fine even before i got new suspension but to me a car that handles 100% would be a r34 skyline ect.