Lapping The Nurburgring In An Rx300

[Teatowel]

.. although I didn't lap the ring whilst towing the car :D

I meant to post this up back in October, but was trying to get a photo of it first, but cannot find one :(

I took the RX on it's first cross European trip in October. My usual ring car (an E36 M3 with a few bells n whistles ;)) was left out there due to a mechanical problem, so I got a tow bar fitted, hired a trailer and then hammered (legally ;)) across Europe.

My first port of call regarding the tow bar was a Lexus dealer, as I know nothing about them, I thought it would be a good start. I phoned the two nearest dealers and they both gave me the same price - £1050, with a 24 hour delay to get the car in, and they would need the car for a full day. I phoned a mate and asked if this was really how much they cost, and he nearly had a stroke. A bit of searching round on the internet found me a place near Northampton who only needed a few hours to get the right tow bar in, saw me that afternoon and did the job in two hours for £330 fully fitted (looks smart too!).

Then on to a trailer company in Micheldever who were kind enough to hire me a car trailer (brand new!) for a week for £140. They were also good enough to wait 45 mins after their closing time to allow me to get down there!

The trip to Nurburg was dull and comfortable, towing an empty trailer.

Having picked up the car the following day, being near the end of October, it was a rare sunny day and the ring was remarkably quiet. Having done over 150 laps of the ring up to that point last year (best lap on a t/f day 8:30 BTG), I thought ... hmmm .... I wonder what the RX could do round there? So, I gave it a go :D

I did a total of five laps, unofficially timing the last one at 12 mins 10 seconds :D That doesn't sound like a great time, because it isn't, and, to state the obvious, a standard RX300 does not make a great track car :) It was huugely entertaining in an "I'm going to die" kind of way, corners like the Karrusell were remarkably smooth! I managed to get up to 125mph before Schwedenkreuz, just the lack of cornering ability!

The RX made an excellent tow car on the way back. Not masses of torque - it isn't a Touareg V10, but has plenty enough to cross the continent carrying a load at a reasonable pace. Fuel consumption took a hammering - somewhere between 12 and 17 mpg :o

Since then I've been across Europe a couple of times in the RX without a load, and it makes for the most stress free journey. On the derestricted bits of the autobahn, it accelerated happily up to 115mph before petering out - I saw 125mph on the speedo (120 on the GPS) when the needle barely moved higher.

So all in all, 13k miles into ownership (in 7 months!), I am as pleased as punch :D What an all round car, for £5k :)

Top tip - not a great car to lap the ring in :)

BTW, if anyone can help me with better braking HERE, it'd be hugely appreciated :)

Tt

[Monster-Mat]

good little write up....

regards the brakes are you just looking for upgraded pads discs etc etc, or a caliper disc change

[Teatowel]

good little write up....

regards the brakes are you just looking for upgraded pads discs etc etc, or a caliper disc change

Either mate. In the first instance, pads/discs/fluid and lines might be enough, but if there is an easy enough upgrade, along with better pads/discs, then that'd be better in the long run. This is a car I'm going to keep till it dies :)