Sharkman

So true, our unfriendly neighbours from former Jugoslavia, Poland, Rumenia and Russia continue their motherland habits. That is: carry weapons and don't hesitate to use them because even if it means death, prison is worse. guy I know from Germany got shot at by Polish thieves trying to steal his Audi A8.

We've definitely come to a turning point. Most expensive stolen cars over here end in up driving around in eastern Europe (including Russia). Mine was found there too. Finally they got an interesting car driving around in Russia and someone over here decided to retrieve some of the losses from the past :duh:

think Jeremy isn't that wrong, I do like my Lex and it does have a lot of good points but I have to be fair and there are a lot cars that beat is on other points. Alfa's are great cars that with some attention proved (at least for me) to be very reliable (All four of them never let me down which isn't too bad with the reputation of the old sprints and 2.5 gtv's). Thing with Alfa's is that even old ones (in original and good condition) still are nice too look at and drive in where allmost all older jap cars, (there are a few exceptions) I wouldn't even want to be found dead in........ My best combi would be to an alfa with the reliability of a toyota.

True carbon fibre is black but not in the way most people think. The carbon weave pattern that looks so nice often isn't much more than a top layer just for show. "white carbon" is covered with the same layer only there have been Aluminium threads woven in (in the same way you get red bluw of yellow "carbon"). Real (or nude) carbon is black, not very attracktiven and looks far from perfect.

Hi, Meccatune is cheap good value for money and works perfect. Installed over 50 sets (all plug & play no problems so far). You could order over here: http://www.meccatune.nl/shop/MECCATUNE/XENONVERLICHTING.htm but I believe Prolex does meccatune as well.

Don't forget to fit spigot rings (mazda's centre hole is bigger). Will the offset of mazde (believe it was ET 50) won't be a problem? Don't forget these wheels aren't cheap for no reason: they corrode even faster than lexus factory alloys. If you for them look for the type 2 RX8 rims. They are slightly better and dont have the massive center on the inside (5 big holes are cnc'd on the inside, in this way allowing spacers to be fitted). http://auto-diversen.marktplaats.nl/access...WL3%2F16wdLW27H

If you went for the TTE ARB's you could try to get the stiffer perfect fitting Eibach bushes. TTE Arbs are so cheap it was impossible to invest a bit in extra fitting bushes (Eibach offers them as extra). As for the knocking sounds I got these after fitting TTE ARB's and lowering springs± I changed just about everything and still have them. Only comment from TTE was to return the springs and money refund if they showed production failure. Not what I would call service, will remember that next time I consider a new mod.....

Did the same route early this year and at approx. the same speed and came to 9.6 / 100 km. with my IS 200 sportcross. Thinks the 300 will really start drinking in city traffic.

Do you use aircon a lot (and does your relative too?). 15-17 seems ok for a sporty driver and 19 is nothing out of the ordinary. Much more can only be achieved with the less powerfull IS 200.

Hmm, driven both compared cars and imho. both suffer from too much weight. Use to own a few 205 gti's, 306 gti and 405 mit16 which where very good in their segment, comparable cars nowadays weight 300 till 500 kg more. The lexus will win on most points exept on the motor. however Hdi's and the 3.0 PSA petrol are much nicer motors to drive than the ones toyota produces.

I don't: since I live in Holland I paid 90 Euro's for an almost new set. Steel rims are way cheaper over here whereas for Alloys the Uk has better prices....

True about the celica, Avensis diesel however does have 5 x 114.3 (purchased a pair yesterday coming of a 2005 D4d yesterday.

Every good tyre center over here can supply you with a set of steel rims for Is (approx 125-150 Euro/4). Must be possible in the UK too. Cheaper would be to find some Avensis diesel (from 2004 or later) or Corolla Verso (>2004). sold several sets of the last and they fit perfect on Lexus IS (with 2005 55 16 winter tyres). Not steel but these should fit (guess they are 5 x 114,3) http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Genuine-Toyota-Celic...1QQcmdZViewItem

Problem ist folgendes: Habe ein IS 200 Sportcross aus 2004 mit 28000 km. Immer zeit den Einbau von die TTE Stabi's und Federn habe Ich Probleme mit geräusche am vordere fahrwerk. Dealer hat alles super eingebaut und Achsvermessung laut Foreninfo gemacht (Wagen fahrt super_. Inzwischen ist den wagen schon 3x zurück zum Dealer gegangen und ist alles mögliche ausgetauscht für neue Sachen. Inzwischen hat den Dealer ausgefunden das den Feder/Dämpfer kombi einfach nicht funktioniert (Federn sind laut TTE die Richtige). Was passiert is das die neue Originaldämpfer (schon die dritte satz) und abwechselend rechts und links die erste 15 minuten bei einfedern geräusche abgeben (lärm kommt eindeutig von die obere Seite der dämpfer). Sieht so aus als ob die Dämpfer zu schwer belastet werden. Laut TTE sind diese Geräuscheprobleme überhaupt nicht bekannt, gibt es keine Lösung und sollten die Federn wieder ausgebaut werden (Kenne jedoch mindestens 1 Sedan mit die gleiche Probleme). Was denkt Ihr? sollte Ich mich weiter bemühen um diese Kombi gut zu kriegen oder besser zum Schraubsatz von Biltstein greifen (TTE kommt bei diese Serviceleistung leider nicht mehr im Frage :tsktsk: )

The audi was a Demo real Aluminium with polished plating (had to be polished almost every day. the mirrorchrome paint in an italian invention first used on a pinarello Dogma Ego (expensive italian racing bike + 7000 pounds). Later it was done by an American painter on a Bmw M3 (presented in some tuning magazines, paint costs where something in the region of a small famaly saloon)

As a hobby car I owe a low mileage 2001 RS4 estate. If you want a tuneable car the bi turbo is the way to go. I importet mine from Germany and it was full option without a single performance mod. In the meantime I did a big turbo conversion, added new software and added Posche carbon brakes (now 420 bhp). As a standard the M3 is the faster car on dry roads, everywhere else the RS4 has soo much more grip that it is way faster. RS4 doesn't have the best front brakes, alloys are weak en turbo's won't last much longer than 60-70.000 miles for the rest maintenance is everything without a good one the car isn't worth much.

Friend of mine own an IS300 which was converted to a G3 Lpg installation (with Flashlube). Does approx. 1 ltr. per 7.8 km (on petrol it does 1 ltr per 9 km). So on lpg it drinks a bit more..... Few rules you got to keep in mind: motor gets extremely hot and this is no problem but you can forget about the combination with a Supercharger. General consensus over here is that it's possible but the heat is hard on the internals and revision after approx. 150.000 km will most likely be needed. And last: I'm not a big lpg fan, but since Lpg has a high octane levell (up to 110) there are some unexpected possibilities. Guy I know converted his 1.8T Audi TT to LPG and it has 310 bhp on the wheels. Car is only used for track day's and so far did over 20.000 km without a major problem.....

damaged alloys can be repaired. And believe me hitting a pothole at the right speed can cause the steerer to get out of center......

the Sx is a good car and I needed a (semi) estate. If I wanted a saloon with no room at all I would rather import a IS350 or buy me something like the Nissan 250Z which is much more fun for the money (for the time being my hobby car will do which at the moment is a 2001 RS4 estate).

Not much weight difference (the rear of the SX is made of aluminium). The little bit of extra weight in the back makes the SX a better performer in tight corners/roundabouts (breakeouts are rarer). So far I couldn't find any difference in performance with the Se. My Is 200 SX

Looks nice, Are those tinted windows original (look good). Tip: fit some winter tyres to those 16" alloys and buy something bigger in the spring....

7.5 j was fitted on the rears of the IS 300 not on the IS200. Not everything the manual says is correct and there could be differences between countries. Mine should have serial alarm and cruise but unfortunately the first was only for UK and?? the second only for automatic.

If you want to save money on one of the most important parts of your car (and like to live dangerously) buy used tyres (seen some very bad examples....). Bridgestones are good tyres but have a serious aging problem (some series more than others) and tend to crack after a short time.... Dunlop Sp 2000 is a good option (think the tyres is no longer produced) and can be bought for a good price.

Friend of mine has them under his subary. Nokians are from finland and more a snowtyre, they are good and can be compared to Kumho etc. Compound is a bit soft, see how good they are in snow (where wintrac will fail to perform). Apart from the higher noise (very rough surface pattern) they are a good choice (but wouldn't be mine on a Lexus). Onother good choice would be Goodyear which was an overall winner last year.

Well I do a lot of miles on winter tyres (travelling through Germany/Austria/Swiss during the winter time) I and with me a lot of people like the Vredesteins (good value for money). Best choice is 16" but I use 18" Vredestein Wintracs on my Is but not everyone will like that..... Had some other positive experiences with Conti, Good year and Dunlop. Michelins are way overpriced and not as good as the previous. I hated Toyo's and cheaper brands which wherent worth the money. By the way these are all mud and wet conditions tyres that perform good at low temperatures. Real "winter tyres" as in snow tyres come from other brands (Kumho, vredestein Snowtrac is sowhere in between) and are only of use in Scandinavia etc.