Paradroid

bought my lex a year ago which had avon zv5's fitted all round , the tread is still deep on them , their quiet and iv never had any grip issues ,after searching on the net looking for more info on them they are a premium tyre with good reviews and i have not seen a bad word said about them , they are asymetrical so more versatile than a directional tyre and are normally £90 each but black circles.com are selling em for £73 each , cant complain at all tried and tested good all round premium tyre which i will always stick with.

Cheers mate I might well look into them, price is about right, I'd like to pay less but think it's risky to go below £70 a tyre for something like the IS200.

Nick - which Goodyears and what sort of price are they?

What's on your spare - the same?

It's a Conti - a SportContact2 I think, but it's part worn. I don't think they make those any more either lol, although the tread pattern is much more conventional than the Vredestein.

You could go for newer Vreds? Personally I would keep matching tyres on each axel.

I'm getting a full set of Goodyear Eagle F1 Assy this week, had them on another car and they were great.

I was thinking the same as you, trouble is the new Ultrac Sessanta's have what looks like a very different tread pattern. Grrr!!

I've got a full set of Vredestein Ultrac tyres on my IS200. I've been very happy with them, they are grippy and are good in the wet (they are specially designed to be). When I got the car it originally had a mix of budget tyres and worn premium branded and it was lethal in the wet, the back end was all over the place. So I'm a bit wary of tyre choice.

I know have a puncture that cannot be repaired and they don't make the Ultrac tyres any more. They have quite an unusual tread pattern (see picture). They cost about £90 each.

Any advice what to do? Should I replace both rear tyres with something different or just replace the one that needs doing - does the matching of tread patterns really matter that much? Any recommendations what to buy?

I have a temporary fix for the creaking sunroof. Slide back the blind, and put your palm on the glass and push upwards a bit. Gently - obviously not too hard! You will probably hear a few clicks, and for me it seems to stop.

The other area that makes noise is the courtesy light but that will take a bit of faffing to sort out.

Why does it have to be a 2005 model? The 04 and 05 models are the same on spec I'm sure. My 54 plate sport is available :)

From the independent dated 1999, here's something interesting:

Yet the Lexus rides over bumps quite smoothly, too. Unless, that is, you go for the Sport. This car is a caricature of itself: that stiffer rear anti-roll bar makes the rear wheels thump and fidget over uneven surfaces, and exaggerates the IS200's eagerness to turn into a fast corner, spoiling the fluidity. Go for the SE.

I was surprised to read this, I thought the Sport drives pretty much the same apart from the slightly lower suspension. I didn't know the anti-roll bars were different.

Who's driven both - and what differences did you notice?

Here's the rest of the article if anyone wants to see it - http://www.independent.co.uk/money/spend-s...un-1093605.html

I've thought a few times the car drives better with the traction control off but wondered if I was imagining it.

I tend to be able to avoid the clutch judder most of the time by using a bit more power when pulling away.

The thing that annoys me the most is the crunchy gearchange going into second, that ruins what would otherwise be a brilliant gearbox. I think it seems to get better with some motorway driving, as if the oil gets round the gearbox a bit more.

Every time I've had the gearbox oil changed the second gear crunch goes away, but comes back after a couple of weeks. I reckon it's to do with the oil not getting round properly.

Great piece of work!!!

I've had a key snap and it's very annoying. It happened to me at a motorway services on the way back from WIM. The only thing that saved me was the pliars in the boot, which I could use with the blade to start the car, but not exactly safe.

My local key cutting place did a repair with glue, and it's holding very well, its stronger than standard.

When I encounter a bump my steering wheel will shudder and reverberate violently, almost like there is no damping in the steering.

Is there any key areas I should check first?

I should also mention the car is a 1991 Toyota Celsior import with air suspension (that I suspect is going bad) and 55,000 miles on the clock.

There is also a hefty thudding and clanking coming from beneath the car.

my IS had a broken anti roll bar drop link and it made the steering feel light, and the car felt wobbly on sharp corners. These and the ball joints are the components that seem to wear out most often. I'd start by checking those. Hope that helps

On the original topic, I think it's unfortunate, a bit of messing around there, but I don't think it's that big a deal, I agree with Mat.

As for that IS250 F-Sport, well that is stunning! I want one!

Any ideas what are a set of late model IS200 alloys are worth - the 11 spokes - rims only. They are not mint, two have been refurbed.

I prefer manual boxes but am getting sick of disappointing ones.

I had a Hyundai Coupe V6 which had a nasty snatchy clutch, also my IS200 is hard to get a smooth change sometimes and it's very notchy going up into second, I've tried loads of different shifting techniques and two different gearbox oils.

The trouble with the IS200 is the auto box really dents performance, otherwise I'd have been tempted.

I think if I can afford an IS250 next I'll seriously look at the auto, the manual box is supposed to be even worse than the IS200, and the manual has shift paddles too. That sounds good.

But I'd stick with a manual IS200 unless you really want an auto box.

I think the new IS is a great looking car, but it looks like a completely different style of car to the old IS, so the old IS still looks good. The side profile of the old IS is great.

The new IS looks great from all angles though. The interior styling is not quite my sort of thing but its very high quality in the ones I've looked at in the showrooms.

The IS220d's seem to be very cheap used now, but I guess the reason is the problems people have with them. They don't sound very refined to me at all. I think i'd have to get an IS250 but I'd have to try the auto and see if it suits me because I've heard the manual gearbox is not very good.

Hi just brought a 04 IS200 SE on Friday, firstly i would like to say hello and was just wondering how to turn off the buzzer when engaging reverse as i am thinking about installing an aftermarket set of reversing sensors as i think i would get confused with two buzzers going off at the same time.

Any help would be appreciated, as the first of many questions to be asked.

Phil

I can see exactly what you mean I thought the same thing when I got mine. It has sensors fitted.

You do get used to it and I would recommend keeping the reverse warning buzzer. I didn't think I'd ever need it but once at the lights I went for first and used too much force and got reverse. Without the warning I'd have gone backwards!

Ooops sorry folks I put this in the wrong forum, it should be in the lounge - can a mod please move it :)

Just picked this up on a blog post:

http://www.tokyomango.com/tokyo_mango/2009...rios-death.html

It's a bit strange but I laughed when he disappeared down the sink!

My car had budget tyres "Semperit" and it was lethal in the wet, the back was skipping plenty.

I replaced them with Vredestein Ultrac, very underrated tyre with great wet weather performance. Cost me about £320 for four I think.

Ha ha classic! I thought it was usually BMW's involved in this sort of thing lol.

I thought at first it's a pity he got in trouble for bad Lexus geometry - but then if the cars full of drugs he wants the book throwing at him.

kallabungo - you're right I should really have got the other side done, but am on a tight budget at the moment, plus the drivers side has probably gone early because the suspension was damaged on that side when I got the car. It feels good now anyway, so I think the other side is ok.

SINGH182 - hard to say exactly mate, but my car has slightly loose steering, it would wobble slightly turning 90 degree bends, and there was a dull sounding clunk from the suspension on low speed bumps. It sounded like metal but not high pitched if that's what you mean.

My suspension started clunking quite a lot a few weeks ago (more than the quiet clunks I've had since getting the car). I've had the quiet clunks checked over the the garage weren't able to find anything. Well after the problem developed they traced it to an anti-roll bar drop link, on the front - drivers side.

I got a replacement fitted and it's made a massive difference to the car. It doesn't wobble in slow sharp corners, and the steering has firmed up, it was too light for my liking. Also the car feels much more stable on the motorway.

I'm really pleased, the IS200 does actually handle well when everything is 100% :)

If anyone with an is200 has clunks and thinks their handling is not what it should be, it might be worth getting the drop links checked.

Cab + 90k + radio is exactly what I thought too! Glad it wasn't just me.

There's a Lexus IS220d on autotrader, an 08 plate with 9,000 miles on the clock for £9150. It's the cheapest one on there - too cheap I would say. Mileage is obviously a lie.

Here's one of the interior shots - what's that in the drivers footwell!!!!!!!!!!!!

Auto Express review here (3 stars):

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/carreviews/fi...s_250c_sel.html

They didn't make much of a big deal about the price, which I was staggered by. I didn't know they were so expensive, massively overpriced given that the performace and economy are not great. You can forgive a car for high running costs a bit if it's cheap to buy but this is dearer than the competition who have better engine technology.

Oh dear :(

I agree, the IS200 was a good deal new especially compared to the 3-series. When you look at pricing for the new shape IS it looks more like 5-Series BMW prices :(

There is a car on the road already that reminds me of this design concept - the Alfa MiTo. I know the headlights are not popular with everybody but it has a very nice side profile and looks quite a bit like the Lexus drawing.