ScifiPaul

2001 118,000 miles and still brilliant !

I was lucky enough to get a cancellation today and so was invited to visit Dr Bones for a full Geometry on my IS200. The man is a master of his craft ! He explained what was out, how he would change it and then showed, step by step how he dragged all the wheels to point in the same direction. Brilliant ! Mine is a stock standard SE but even so, after his magic touch the tyres have been coated with limpet juice and it corners on rails ! No more wandering in and out of the lorry grooves on the M4 ! Just for the peace of mind in knowing that all the wheels are pointing the same way and are set up as good as they can be makes it worth the trip. Thanks Tony ! Paulk

Just fitted Falken 452s all round and I think they're quieter than the Dunlop SP9000s. Nothing will be quiet on a concrete motorway though Paulk

Aido, I've been to Bulgaria several times, but a few years ago now. I was up the coast at Golden Sands. That looks a nicer resort (hotels scattered about in woods up the hillside) as I passed through Sunny Beach on my way to Nessebar (a quaint-ish ancient village on a promontory just a bit further south) Yes, beer was cheap, food good with as good a selection as any British high street - Curry, Chinese, burgers, kebabs. A great family destination... in the day time. At night it all changes - from about 7:30 the young girls come out looking for trade, can get a bit tiresome saying no all the time. A few racy bars with strippers etc along the sea front too. I really enjoyed Golden Sands resort. there is a web site, check it out... somewhere http://www.goldensands.bg/ there it is. You'll love it with a bunch of mates. They all speak good English. Cheers, Paulk

Fitted the CK3100 kit myself after reading all the threads on the wiring for the radio. You can't run the car kit through the radio without the AUX IN kit advertised elsewhere in this forum but I used an existing Nokia speaker from an existing car kit (my car is ex-rep but still wonderful). Also used the existing Nokia mic as it was all plumbed in (but had to swap the connector). Anyway - easiest scenario; use an external speaker, use the Parrot mic, the grey wire on the stereo is the MUTE. Greatest thing I have ever fitted to a car, the sound quality is fabulous, you can call a number by talking to it and the quality on the other end is brilliant. Downside; if you are talking to passengers in your car as you go along it sometimes thinks you want to call someone, mutes the radio and says it doesn't recognise that name - swearing at it then just makes it worse Cheers;

Thanks Pip - that's kinda what I thought. I won't take it back until they sign off that it's OK. Cheers, Paulk

I have just taken a small shunt up the rear :duh: it only looks like the spare wheel well is pushed in but I remember from the pictures of the Drift Car that the rear suspension looks quite complicated. Is there anything that I should ensure the local garage checks over when it is sent for repair ? Thanks for your help on this one - hopefully it will be straight and shiney again soon... Paulk

Stock IS200 (2001) SE, full tank of fuel 17" stock wheels with SP9000 215/ 45/ 17 tyres @ 33PSI Front 370mm both sides Read 385 mm both sides

Success ! With the help of all the members posts on wiring the radio, removing the radio and where the mute wire is, I have managed to install my Parrot CK3100 kit today using the old Nokia CARK external speaker. I can confirm that the blue lead (number 4 as previously mentioned) is the mute and that the silver wire is the switched 12V from the ignition. Otherwise just some fiddly soldering crammed in the wheel well. Did no damage to the loom so that I can save up for the Prolex AUX kit later. I fitted the head unit to the tray above the centre console so it only required one hole for the lead and the bracket covers that. I have a picture but can't work out how to attach it here :( Cheers, ScifiPaul

Geoffers, thanks for the timely warning.... pretty tight around tha amp anyway Think I'll use a separate speaker until Prolex gets their box on the shelves. Cheers, ScifiPaul

The Parrot guide says you can wire the kit to the speakers on the output side of the amp (for the Sport and SE), is that how you have done it without the Prolex box Geoffers ? Cheers, ScifiPaul

Thanks to the help of all the members I now have my answer; The IS200 Auto has an overdrive top gear (0.73:1 plus diff of 4.1:1) giving 334.1 wheel revolutions per 1000 engine revs in top (4th) Standard 215/45R17 tyres have a circumpherence of 77.3" (checkout; www.powerdog.com/tiresize.cgi) Final answer; 24.4 mph per 1000 rpm in top My GPS is right, 3000 rpm = 73mph ! (and the speedo reads 80 mph) Now what happens if I pump up my tyres a bit ? Cheers, ScifiPaul

Perfect !! thanks RX-Men-8. I had tried searching - honest, but must not have tried hard enough. Now, where's that calculator ? Cheers, ScifiPaul :)

Thanks to all the members for your input; yes, tailgating a mate up the M4 is a possibility but I was trying to avoid the attentions of the law in the first place - still I will resort to this if I can't work out a preed from the gear ratio. Well spotted spOck, I think that the Auto final drive ratio must be higher than the manual - I get just under 3000 rpm at an indicated 80 mph (which is about 70 GPS mph) and would equate to about 65 in a manual ? Cheers, ScifiPaul

Thanks Mike, my old Prelude felt so different - just a but lower to the ground - but a choice of 3 on the speed front would put my mind at rest as I sail past the speed cameras. ScifiPaul