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Evening All,

Well, yesterday, I threw a deposit at a 2006 GS300. Picking it up Saturday morning and I don't think I'll regret it for a moment. Had a MkII (2001 facelift) GS300 several years ago, and it was solid, loved it. Cut a long story short, I have a 2001 (!) BMW E39 M5 which is truly a pride and joy, but unfortunately the powers that be dictate that we're not allowed to enjoy truly amazing uber cars like that anymore, so I decided it should become a weekend/special ocassion/track day car. I've been running around in a 1.0 Micra left to me by my late mother in September last year (unfortunately), and have saved a fortune in petrol money. 45p a mile for 15k miles this year alone was good :)

Anyway, the new car, great example, couldn't fault it, had to shake hands. Phone call this afternoon to say 3 tyres are past their limit. Fair do's, honest and all that. Did I want budget tyres. Simple answer, no. I have a friend with a tyre business.

Question is, what tyres do you guys run? I do a lot of motorway miles, hence the choosing of this car, but would appreciate some feedback on what feels good and what cuts tyre roar. I didn't but this car to track, it's for quiet mile-munching. Would you generally advise a tracking check, I remember when I had the GS before that the correct balancing method was vital for the wheel/tyre combo, is this still the case?

I will need to sort navigation updates. I've done some reading and am unsure about the best way to turn.

To finish, I'm looking at a Dice unit for connecting my iPod Classic. Thoughts?

Many thanks all, appreciate any feedback or ideas :-)

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Welcome and congrats on the new vehicle.

The old GS isn't too fussy on balancing, more on tightening the wheels nuts evenly and to the correct torque. This is the same for the series III

For nav updates:

http://www.lexus-mapupdates.eu

Best iPod integration units are the VAIS tech ones, but they are expensive. I've not been impressed with Grom. I haven't tried Dice myself.

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Cheers Colin, had a look at that site for the nav updates, looks good, just need to double-check exactly which unit I have when I pick the car up.

From what I've read, the VAIS unit don't search the iPod too well, is not true? Just want the most convenient integration with my iPod really.

Had a very persistent vibration with my MkII and read that for some reason Lexus alloys were much more difficult to balance properly and required a better machine than the average Kwik-Fit. Might be way off the mark, it's a while since...

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Yes you are correct about the VAIS unit, they work on playlist rather than full browsing of the iPod - certainly for older Lexus Nav units.

It's worth making sure you are clear about what features you will get with any of these devices. Features are vey dependant on the Nav unit generation your vehicle has.

I didn't have balancing issues with either of my MKII GSs. Balancing which was done at several places including an emergency visit to Kwik-fit. I would always loosen/torque the wheel nuts myself as soon as I could though. There have been many reports of issue on these forums but I believe most were due to warped discs, play in the steering/suspension and maybe wheels, caused by incorrectly torqued wheel nuts. I'm not seeing the same number of issues with the MKIII.

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Many thanks, all sounds good.

Anyone any views on tyres that suit this car. From a couple of reviews, I'm looking at Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymetric 2's, in the standard (245/40/18....?) size.

Any thoughts?

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I run Michelin Pilot Sport 3's. They are the best tyres I've owned. Not too noisey on the road, perform well both in the wet and dry. They are quite expensive, but have great ratings over the internet.

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Yep, Camskills have always been good for price. Lived my first 17 years in Workington, 20 minutes from Whitehaven, so local to me when I go to visit the little one.

Will price up the Avons and Falkens, are the PS3's a little hardcore for this car or do they suit it nicely, noise, ride etc? I'll be going for Michelin Pilot Super Sport's on the M5, but don't want to sacrifice comfort in this car.

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On a really big plus side, I picked the car today and it's superb. Love it, its SO quiet and relaxed, absolutely what I was after. I knew though I wouldn't regret this car though.

Seems the disc in the nav is the original though, 2005-2006, so I need to sort that.

One happy bunny :)

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