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This has been a little while coming, so please bear with me. I'm a bit of a perfectionist (it's a curse) and never more so than with my cars. I have a bit of a history with 'refreshing' cars. This usually involves returning cars to a better than pristine state and then (lots of money later), getting bored, selling and starting again. Thus it's hard for me really appreciate my cars and to keep them for any long duration. Like I said, a curse. Anyway I'm hoping to change my ways with my move to Lexus. It just ticks so many boxes for me right now. The base car was a really good place to start: low mileage and a full service history from the original dealer. The car had been well looked after; the paint work original, in good nick and the mechanicals sound. However, as with everything that gets used, it picks up some perfections along the way. The first thing I wanted to do was sort the paint. The car had picked up some front end blemishes/marks and the odd chip. To do this properly required a complete front end refresh. The next issue is that nothing lets a fresh paint job down more than putting tatty trim back on. So new headlights, grills, and a plate mount later and we were looking good. I love the original look of the ISF, so while salivating over an amazing set of forged Vossen alloys, I chose to refurb the oem 10 spokes for now. I didnt want the car sitting on axel stands for a week, so i opted for getting another set. After sourcing a great set from a very helpful member on here, we got these refurbished and sent up to me. The wheels came with new Bridgestones, however I'd already bought some PS4Ss which had been in the garage, getting in the way of the Mrs. I really rate these, having used PSSs for years. New wheel centers finish these off well. Turns out the old ones were actually in very good condition anyway. The ISF's interior is in really good condition, if a little dark. Theres nothing i hate more than saggy seats with crumpled bolsters. It was also a nice surprise considering how badly my previous new Audi seats wore over 2 years of light use. I toyed with the idea of a quilted cream retrim, having seen how good the colour looks combined with an USB car. I'm going to sit (haha) on this for a bit as it strays from original and I'm not sure how well it resists dirt (i have a little one on the way). Ive settled for now with a new set of Lexus mats, Lexus boot liner and some replacement plastic trims (replaced some scuffed boot trays and sill trims). Finally, to tie everything in, the car came back today after several days away with a really nice man called Clark. His reputation preceeds him and im never dissapointed with his work. He treated the ISF to a paint correction, detail and a protective quartz coating on the body, trim and wheels. Next plans... well I'm currently trying to source a Jap s/s & titanium exhaust to help the v8 sound a bit meaner. Then I'll see how I feel about the Vossens and the retrim again. Big thanks again to Mr Rat and Sam at Lexus Cheltenham for helping me out big-time with the wheels. Top blokes. Right, ive prattled on enough, see what you think:

It is not a good idea to solder to the button batteries as the heat required can destroy the battery or even make it explode in flames similar to a welding torch. Lithium is a very flammable metal. The original tags are spot welded on with very localised heating If you cannot get hold of tagged batteries you can just fit standard button cells held in place by the cover glued on as long as the metal connecting strips are in contact with the battery . Or by using conductive glue from "The small battery company" in Leigh's post at the start of page two. John.

@PhoeNicks Always happy to help Nick there are some great people on here with a lot of knowledge of the cars and a few changes if that’s your desire that easily reversible all add to the ownership enjoyment, some I have experience of but not carried out myself so you you could have a natter with for instance @emjay82 for media upgrade and a switchable exhaust, or @Womble72 for a catback exhaust. Someone like @Peter P18 for carbon interior and exterior parts don’t let him lead you down the supercharger route though may be just to much extra thrust with that new baby on board 😂 Big Rat

Bagsy first in the cue when you ‘get bored’ of it! fantastic work!

Hi guys, Just wanted to say hi, Bought my first lexus last month and its awesome. Love this website looking forward to driving the car and reading on here. Cheers Keith

You bad driver, looks like you've scuffed the front bumper

@Comedian As I understand it the BIF for company car users is a sliding scale for tax reasons the high the co2 the harder the chancellor hits them, there are those who want these type of vehicles for both business and pleasure, though I accept a GT ‘F’ may not be the first choice. I agree with @Stuno1 the chassis and the power type delivery are there really look forward to the finished article. Big Rat

I think it’s great Lexus are going the gt car route with something like the rcf. It could look bloody lovely and has performance and chassi etc to deal with it. You can’t tell anything from spy shots

Maybe they've added a "launch control" Easy way to get the 0-60 time down.

Well i think the whole system is a bit of an attempt to help drivers who can't guess the correct speed limit of a road. The older system on my RX was much better. It was just built into the sat nav system and would get speed limit info from there.

@Big Rat Paul, i knew there was confusion somewhere when you mentioned the wrong colour 😂

@Tfp Absolutely Tim we’ve had the best of it and a few more years of it left so like you I believe just enjoy while we can. I know you are fully qualified to have a view on car pricing that is bourne out by experience by way of occupation and yes the future is changing us over to a silent or enhanced artificial ‘exhaust and engine’ noise but hey ho we can’t prevent that and like you I love what I have now and there is still a fair few who are still willing to pay for our pleasures..... Big Rat

Let's watch this space. My view, In a few years time I reckon you just wont be able to buy new cars like this, 5.0cc V8 monstosities with high C02 which make a nice noise. So although they may dip a bit in the near future I can see them firming up afterwards. I feel we are very lucky to be living at this point in time. We have some truly great cars available for us, sporty, noisy, naughty, gas guzzling monsters that make us smile. = fun Fast forward 10 years and I reckon new cars will be mostly electric in some way, quiet, governed speed, and power restricted unless you pay a huge tax for the privilege of owning one. Do I feel lucky?? Oh yes.

Thanks Paul. It's been a bit hectic trying to tie-in all these streams of new parts, refurbs, the car being away for a week, getting everything swapped over and organising myself around work (which has been has been crazy busy of late). Gladly it's all come together as you see in the pics and I'm really happy with the car now. Yeah I think I'm going to hang here for a while and explore things further with Lexus. Ive done BMWs to death and this feels like a fresh start. Im conflicted about keeping the car original or moving away down the modified route. I'm going to look at some areas where things can easily be put back to stock and see how we go. This is my daily so I don't want to upset the balance too much. I'll be sure to continue to seek advice from you guys as this is a great forum with plenty of knowledge and ideas 😎 👍

You do need to use hose clips to secure the hoses, but using jubilee clips allows you to get a driver in from the side, above or below to tighten them which is easier than using the old spring clips which are definitely attached before assembly. I did the trans flush this week. It took 9 litres of fluid to do. The gear changes have smoothed out since the change, but not as dramatically as some of the how-toos online suggest. On to the next job ....

@PhoeNicks Nick the car looks absolutely fantastic, most impressive let’s all hope you stay on board here with us, as that number plate may suggest you could easily pop over to the @Warrington guy Dave camp.😂 Thanks for the mention regarding the wheels and tyres and yes Sam at Lexus Cheltenham has done a great job on the refurb for you. Big Rat

Haha, sorry i feel like a bit of a charlatan now... sadly the workshop isn't my garage. The pics were taken just before I picked the car up. My garage is fairly normal and currently full of spare wheels and tyres. My workshop is also full of junk... Thanks for the comments guys.

A quick update on this. Kilen springs and KYB shocks working really well, zero issues to date, circa 1600 miles covered. I still think the front looks a bit high, but overall it rides really well and I can hardly tell the difference between this and the old factory setup. I plan to get the alignment rechecked as I prefer a little more camber in the front, again purely for aesthetics. Rides and steers really well, no regrets.

That plate WTF 😉..must be worth a bob or two Lovely car...lovely garage as well

Stunning.

Haha, hoping to hold onto this one a bit longer 😉

The creaking and rattling is a little surprising, but it isn't the end of the world. @Vlady It could very well be that it is because mine has done more then twice your mileage that makes the difference. Simon, I do think I am going to need to modify my driving style a bit to get the most out of it. I too would expect good mpg plodding along at 50mph

The fuel gauge is your only indicator and you will notice it says R not E at the end of its travel.This indicates you are running on reserve which as stated above is about 1.5 gallons,the distance left in miles is quite pessimistic i find,i have personally travelled another 65 miles when the display read zero.The american forum has an example of a CT owner who carried a can of petrol and managed over 100 miles on reserve.

Hello Sadek, I had a MY13 CT, now on my second IS300h. I am sure that there is nothing to tell you about the fuel remaining on a daily basis. However, when the Low Fuel light comes on there should be 1.5 gals of fuel left. I always drove for another 30miles , sometimes a little more, before filling up. { trial and error} I also filled to the brim as I do now. I think the CT has a 9.9 gal. tank. Give it a whirl, good luck. Best wishes. Michael.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and still got teeth M

Bit of a cheat really as I've done nothing to the car yet, until I get it touched up. But a nice bit of dew this morning.

I did and posted earlier in the thread - over 2k for shocks, springs, strut mounts, spring pads.