Paradroid

I would agree with everyone else except for one point - I've heard of people phoning their main Lexus dealer and getting a good quote for the timing belt to be done on the older IS model. I think it might be worth phoning them just to see, but if the price was very expensive then I'd leave it to the independent places.

Oh right, thanks mate that could be very useful. I'm having to avoid spending any more money on the car at the moment (until I can sell my old one privately) but as soon as that's sorted I'll look into getting the geometry done. Hoping it'll make a big difference as everyone seems really impressed with the change!

Sorry for not replying sooner Jamie. Basically about two days after I saw the thread and posted about coming along, work told me I needed to be in on the Sunday of the show, but I wasn't told when and for how long. This has been the case until today when they cancelled it!!! So I will now be coming along. I think bearing in mind it's short notice I'll just come along as a visitor now. Look forward to meeting folks on Sunday :)

Just thought I'd update this thread as I know people like to hear tyre recommendations. I put two Vredestein Ultrac tyres on the rear of the car, and moved one of the Semperit tyres so both fronts are of the same type of tyre. The difference is massive. The back has never stepped out since the Vredesteins were fitted, wet or dry. For those who don't know this make of tyre they are optimised for wet weather so are pretty much unbeatable in the rain, but they are pretty much as good as anything else in the dry too. They cost me just over £160 fitted for the pair, and I'm really happy with them so far. They are apparently becoming very popular with Civic Type-R drivers, and quite a few of the MG ZS180 drivers I know have gone for the same tyre. The MG owners have noticed a bit more road noise but this isn't an issue on the Lexus! I haven't noticed any noise on mine that's for sure! I just can't wait till the weekend when another two go on the front. At the moment the front of the car feels a bit iffy but I'm sure it's down to the rubbish Semperit tyres, when the car's got decent tyres all round I've got high hopes for the handling improving as it's been slightly disappointing so far. Then after that I'd really like to get the geometry done of course to improve things further :)

Seeing as it's 70-80mph I'd check wheel balance first because it's normally that speed where problems show up. Hopefully it's nothing serious.

Normally I don't like debadging but the idea of just keeping the logo in the middle and removing the lettering either side is a really good one, it looks great :D

I always thought it was best to take a wheel off the back and put the space saver on the rear. On times where I've tried a space saver I'd not want one on the wheels that steer the car. But then I'm quite new to RWD. Maybe it's not much good on the back either!

If you're considering the spacesaver tyre, be aware that you shouldn't put them on the front anyway, so again not ideal at the side of the road in the rain if you get a front tyre puncture. Also, spacesavers sometimes won't fit over the top of big meaty brake setups, so check first.

I've only had my IS200 sport for a few weeks. This is what I had before. Somewhat quicker it has to be said, but not as refined of course :)

I would like one of those I have to say! Don't think I'd use it with Scratch X though? I'd just use that on localised areas to get rid of noticeable scratches. Or were you thinking of trying it to get rid of swirl marks? Maybe try something like the three stage Meguiars process, shouldn't be that tiring with the machine :)

@markoose - I thought the new IS was supposed to have great handling. Does it not? What are you comparing it to? @dave1 - he probably didn't get the chance to push it on the test drive :) I got caught out with this a bit too. When I test drove my IS200 I thought it felt very sporting, but that was driving at normal speeds. The suspension seemed very good and the steering felt sharp. When I pushed it hard on a back road at the weekend I wasn't too impressed. Things might improve when I get new tyres all round on Saturday...

I've been wondering this question too. One of my door pillars has a funny stain on it. Probably some nasty bird **** that ate away at the lacquer. Needs repainting really. The black painted door trims look very glossy to me, but I guess that's the lacquer - the actual colour used doesn't matter too much?

Sounds familiar, I just got mine and have already fitted new tyres, sports grill, and hoping to get geometry done soon too! Congratulations on the new car :)

Hmm, nigh on identical CO2 output and MPG to an IS200, yet propelling a big barge like that to 60 in 5.9 seconds. That's amazingly impressive. I don't mean to be harsh on the IS200, it's a much older design, and an old engine, but the BMW engine technology is always ahead of the competition, they do a very good job there. Now if they could just get the styling right!

Sorry for the delay on the piccies folks :) Finished job Fitting 1: Fitting 2: Fitting 3:

Ah I see! I didn't think about whether it might not be genuine. It didn't seem to fetch much interest on eBay so maybe not then.

Thanks for the replies folks. The reason I wasn't sure about the grill was because the auction didn't show one and it wasn't mentioned in the description. The item number was 280248203057. He did relist it, but checking "sellers other items" shows he's not selling it any more, so maybe he's had a buyer. I would really like the TTE bumper but will have to wait until I've got the cash. At the moment I've not had any interest in selling my old car privately. If I can't sell it, I might have to let the Lexus go instead :o :o :o

Hi folks. I'm tempted by the idea of a TTE bumper, although I can't do anything for a few months yet (which is a shame as there's a nice one on eBay at the moment!) Anyway, I was wondering a few things: 1) Can holes be cut in the bumper so I could keep my headlamp washers? 2) I could get it painted by a good bodyshop I know of but then would it be best to get it fitted at a Lexus dealer? How much would it cost? 3) What do you do about the grill? Do you have to just make it out of mesh or does it come with a piece ready made up?

Sounds like a nice car, any piccies I can nosy at :) !!!

As long as they don't call it a BS - that would be a bit of a silly name :o

Well the new leather boots arrived so I fitted them Saturday afternoon. What a nightmare! The leather is really nice and they're well made, but essentially you have to rip off the standard leather which is glued on, and then glue on the new stuff. I used a fabric adhesive aerosol which was a bit awkward, a liquid would have been better. The gearstick boot wasn't too bad to fit, although you have to pull up the whole panel with the cigarette lighter on then unscrew the gear gaitor from underneath. The handbrake boot was a real pain to fit because the new boot seemed a little bit too tight and it took quite a few goes to keep removing it and glueing it back in place, trying to get it to look right. I did try to take some pictures as I went along so will post them up soon. Overall opinion, a bit tricky to fit, handbrake boot seems a bit too small to be honest, but the finished look is good, especially the gearstick one which looks much better than oem - IMO of course :)

Cheers :) I do know of one very good place in Wigan where I live, but they don't do mobile stuff so I'd have to book a day off and take it in, but it would be worth it, he does do a very good job.

Well it's really good to know that the geometry changes can make such a big difference, maybe that on it's own will be enough for me to be happy :) @Wozza - I've had a look at the TTE ARB's as they sound really good. They are expensive though aren't they, I could only find them for £300! Then got to get fitted. Might get them one day! I like the fact that it won't ruin the ride, just stop it rolling in corners. I couldn't get my new front tyres for today as I only ordered them Friday morning, so it will be next Saturday now when I can get them fitted. Hopefully that will bring some improvements!

Wow what a coincidence. On Tuesday night I was driving home late after helping a friend move house, we were on the M56 motorway. He was driving - a Mazda 626! On a slip road from the M56 to the M6, he took the inside lane at about 70mph on a sweeping left turn, I took the outside lane (not as severe) and really struggled to keep up at the same speed. My car felt very unstable where he was having no problems at all. I also think my car sometimes feels "not right" and seems like it's being affected by winds on the motorway. I think the IS200 suspension is designed for sharp handling but can't cope with the cornering forces at higher speeds. Does anyone with a modded IS200 know how to solve this? Is it anti-roll bars or are new shocks needed?

Sorry to hear of the hassle you had, that would make me really mad. I'd be without sleep over something as unfair as that. What really annoys me about PayPal is all that "payment protection" ######## they pretend you get. Even my mum got done by PayPal when she bought some antique glass off eBay, the item never arrived so she tried to claim off PayPal, and guess what, they told her to go away. I've got wound up with them in the past, they got me to upgrade to a Premier account on some weird technicality a few years ago, and have been ripping me off with charges ever since. Then I downgraded to a personal account and they still charged me for a transaction. When I queried it, they said it was because the buyer had paid with a credit card. Yet I had no way of knowing this through any of the transaction detail screens. eBay and PayPal really suck. I just wish there was an alternative, but apart from social areas like this forum there isn't anything that I know of.