codlord

I bought my IS200 with 19x8.5 wheels on it with 225/35 tyres. The rear arches have been rolled as apparently it rubbed at the back with a full load. I would say though that the wheels do stick out slightly, but not sure if this is becuase they are the wrong offset or becuase its the only offset you can make fit for wheels this wide. Also the 225/35 tyres do look quite stretched as it could do with wider tyres but I think wider tyres would (a) make the "stick-out" look of the wheels worse and (B) cause rubbing problems. There are some pics of it on this thread: http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/ind...showtopic=35724 Anyone else running wheels that wide with a better fit? I would be insterested to know if its possible to get a better offset for wheels this wide (i.e. if it would be possible for me to get the wheel offset modified and get a better look and potentially fit wider tyres?)

This place has a good alloy previewer, select Lexus, 2003, IS300. Can filter by size and finish and view most of the wheels in closeup (some have massive hi-res pics too), only trouble is its a US site so a lot of the brands wont be available easily here, but you can get an idea how different styles will look and then get something similar: http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/wheelbrands.jsp Also here I have used them for tyres before and although they have no search based on sizes/offsets they do have pics of lots of alloy wheels to look at: http://www.topgear.co.uk/acatalog/alloy-wheel-tyre.php

Obviously too late now but for others I would say instead of or as well as CCTV get a decent pin-controlled key safe and keep all your keys in it all the time. I do some work for the police and I see reports of key thefts or break-ins specifically for keys all the time. Something like this: http://www.selectlocks.co.uk/p192.html

Yeah its a sport. Here you go, slightly bigger pics... I bought the car with those wheels and tyres so I think they are 19x8.5 wheels (actually not quite the right offset, or more likely just a bit too wide for the IS and the best offset available to make them fit). Tyres are 225/35 which are actually a bit too narrow for the wheels, but again they could be the best to actually fit without rubbing.

Yeah, prob just cosmetic/personal pref, and the fact that 18's are so more common nowadays means more tyres available and not so expensive as they were when only a handful of 18's available. BTW mine is on 19's but not lowered at all. I think with the styling kit and wheels it does not need lowering, but I am sure others would disagree!

1. Yeah that would be nice. 2. Never really found the need for one myself. 3. Would be o.k. as a feature if you could choose to enable or disable but what about the times when parked on the side of a road and you need to use your mirrors when getting out of the car to see if anything is coming etc. If they folded in as soon as you turn off the engine then that could be dangerous. 4. Not noticed any problem, but I have my ipod sitting in the cupholder space so its perfect for me. 5. Mudflaps and stuff like that are usually dealer options. Personally I would not want them just cos of how they look really. 6. Mine has a warning bell alarm when you open the door with the ignition off and lights on. But generally keep them on auto anyway. Maybe your warning is bust?

Good choice, my other car is a 3.0 Surf too :D Although its never, ever looked clean since that pic as I use it off road a bit. I even have a website dedicated to the surf if you are interested: Hilux Surfing Used to have a 2.4 one until the head cracked and then after spending loads on a new head one of the pistons decided to disintegrate :o so I got rid and got a 3.0 which don't have the head problems of the 2.4 (also the 3.0 engine is much, much better than the 2.4). Lovely motor.

I got 19 inchers on my IS200 sport. Bought it like that, not sure I would have chosen them myself, although I have to admit they are growing on me. I really like the wheel style tho, just not the finish. I will see how they fair through a UK winter and if they start to look shabby I think I may get them stripped down and re-finished in a nice non-chrome laquered finish.

Not tried Meguiars but was advised by others on here to try the Klasse All-In-One polish: http://www.autopia-carcare.com/kus-kla-10.html And P21S Carnauba Wax: http://www.autopia-carcare.com/p21-127.html The polish is definately easier and better than Mer which I have used on other cars in the past. Not actually got around to try the waxing yet as the hosepipe ban meant my wash and polish took ages... I went for the all-in-one as I really can't be bothered with too many steps, wash, polish and wax is about the limit for me, and as I said, the waxing step can get dropped anyway!

Anyone here tried those dust shields? Sound interesting, but nothing on their site about availablity/fittings for aftermarkets alloys. I have 19" chromies so anything to keep the dust levels down would be good.

You could try moneyfacts to compare high interest savings accounts: http://www.moneyfacts.co.uk/ Or buy 7k worth of premium bonds from National Savings: http://www.nsandi.com/products/pb/index.jsp Your money will be totally safe, its tax free and you have the chance of winning £50 to £1,000,000 each month (which can be automatically added to your bonds). When I had several thousand in premium bonds I was quite regularly winning £50's so this can equate to reasonable interest with the bonus of being tax free too (unlike any savings account).

For number 1 you could do this: Boot Gas Strut Fitting

Maybe when they sort out all the problems with it :P

I recently bought mine - a 2001 but with only 11k miles. Been VERY well cared for with Lexus servicing every year and also had some mods done too, so I basically bought it as you see it. I would look more at the mileage than at the age of the car - mine really is more-or-less like brand new, and as long as its been looked after there is no reason why anything should go wrong on an older car if its got low milage. Deffo, go for the IS200 its in a different class to most cars let alone the Vectra/Mundane-o crowd. If you are worried about warranty issues and stuff you can always get a "warranty" on an older car from any number of third parties. Basically just insurance against mechanical problems but personally I would not bother.

I sent an email to my Local Lexus dealer (Reading) asking them to quote me on both types of dash tray, but never got any reply *sigh* (so much for Lexus customer service). So in the end I got the Altezza type from a guy in the US via ebay, he regularly lists them, just do a search for "is200 dash tray". Not cheap for what it is (worked out at £71.65 total) but much better than the standard thing.

Yeah, I totally agree, they should deffo have their own seperate forums. Please?

Won't a supercharger be a similar pain in the wallet from your insurance co (as well as costing well over twice as much as the 1k NOS system that is quoted above?) Anyway, any idea what sort of (real) BHP gain can be had from an aftermarket zorst along with removing the pre-cats - is it really noticable? I got a mongoose cat-back with de-cat pipe on my last motor (Mitsi FTO) and can't say I ever noticed any performance gains (did sound lovely tho :) - but can't help thinking I could have got that from a new back-box!).

Shouldn't/couldn't there be some sort of pinned faq/guide in this forum. I know the info is probably here somewhere, but would be good to have some basic stuff collated to avoid just these sorts of repeat posts. I for one am in the same position of wanting to know what my options are for replacing the headunit but not quite got a clear idea yet... Different models having different amps internal/external, different headunits with upper or lower CD slot etc etc... :duh: Just found this actually, exactly the sort of info I was looking for: http://my.is/forums/showthread.php?t=128656 :D

I have found a lot of traders (especially the importers) put very cheap cars up on Autotrader so they come up first when people do a search and order by price (lowest first) but when you call them its something like "it's just been sold, but I have x number of others..." but the "others" are all more normal prices. Basically just a slightly dishonest way to get people to get people interested and get them calling or looking at their web site or whatever.

Just wondered if any of those who had fitted aftermarket headunits to their IS had a DAB-radio one? If so... a ) what sort of antenna options do you have, i.e. do you have to have a seperate DAB antenna and if so what are the mounting/wiring options? b ) whats it like regarding reception compared with FM and RDS when you are driving around different areas of the country? Thanks

I had Rockford Fosgate speakers and head unit installed in my last car - very happy with the sound quality and the actual features etc, all good UNTIL the head unit back light started going wrong, then it started to refuse to play some media, then the physical motorised face plate physically broke. Suffice to say I would not buy another RF head unit. May have just been bad luck tho and I can't comment on their amps etc.

Use firefox with multiple browser tabs - that way you can have multiple home pages, I have 8 that come up by default including my web email, all the forums I regularly use, plus some work stuff. Firefox also has a (Google or any other) search box up the top so you don't need google or anything like that as a home page.

I've used autostyle before - got a set of mats for my last car (Mitsi FTO). No where near as "plush" or thick as say the official Lexus mats but good quality, and looked good regardless. Don't think they come with the standard holes for clipping to the floor like the standard ones either - they have grippy bases so you didn't really need clips but came with generic clips that you attach to the vehicle carpet, although the generic clips broke after being kicked a few times.

Actually, I correct myself, as this is what I read from another post: "the difference with the suspension is as follows, the sport model is 10 mm lower than the se and s before late 2001, after that the sport was lowered an extra 5 mm, hence 15 mm lower" Mine is a 2001 Y reg, so not sure if it sits 10mm or 15mm lower, but either way I would not say there is a great deal of difference in the handling - it's certainly not a sporty ride, still quite wallowy, certainly nice and comfortable, even with the 19" wheels, but personally I would prefer a slightly stiffer ride with less roll, hence why I am getting the adjustable TTE ARB's - hopefully these will go some way to improving the ride/handling without having to spend loads on new suspension.

I think the early sports were the same height, only later on being lowered slightly (but not sure when), and don't think this makes any real difference to the handling (my current sport certainly does not feel any better handling than the SE I used to have). Bought some stiffer TTE Anti Roll Bars off another member tho, so as soon as I collect them and fit them I should hopefully get a better feel in the corners with less roll than I currently have.