Paradroid

Good call - I've read a really old thread on this forum from someone else with these tyres, and his were left/right sided as well as directional! I've double-checked mine, and they are not sided, but are directional. They are both correct too. I appreciate the advice about tyre pressures, this pretty much confirms that these front tyres are absolutely rubbish, because at 33psi the car felt pretty dangerous on the motorway, I think the sidewalls are rubbish. I daren't put them down to 35psi for the time being. It's a bit difficult for me at the moment, I've come from a MG ZS180, if anyone's been in one you'll know it's a very precise and sure-footed car. The Lexus doesn't feel as good in comparison. In normal driving it's great, nice and sharp, but when I go quicker into bends it feels a bit all over the place, and at higher speeds it's a bit iffy. Because I'm new to the car and it's got cheapo tyres it's hard to say whether I'm expecting too much of the handling, or whether it's the tyres. It seems to pitch about a bit in hard corners, as if the suspension is firm but can't cope when it's pushed. Could still be the tyres though, back end feels much better thanks to the new set of Vredesteins! How do people rate the IS handling, and what can they compare it to (previous cars etc.)? Is your car 100% stable at higher speeds (motorway+ I mean, when you've had chance to try it)

That would be appreciated thanks! The drivers side now has scratches on both doors. The drivers door has a scratch which has been badly filled in, the rear door now has a scratch thanks to the careless work colleague today :(

When I got my IS200, it had two Semperit DirectionSport tyres fitted. For some reason one was on the front and one on the back. I got two new Vredestein Ultrac (excellent wet weather) tyres on the back , and but both Semperits on the front. Last night I checked the tyre pressures and found something interesting, the Semperits were at 40 and 44psi! I thought the steering was a bit light so I deflated them to 33psi as Lexus recommend. Then I went for a test drive - at first it felt like an improvement, until I got on a quicker road, the car was all over the place! When I turned the wheel, there was a delay in the car reacting, just like underinflated tyres. I've put them back up to 40psi now but it seems like they have to be inflated so high because the tyre sidewalls are so soft. Has anyone else had any experience with these tyres And what pressures do you use on your IS200?

Am I right in saying that silver cars are very difficult to do paintwork repairs on? Some guy has just scratched the lower part of one of my doors today in the work car park. It's only 1 inch long but is down to the primer. Only had my car two weeks as well!!!! Years ago I had a similar issue with another silver car, I got the scratch master to come out and he said he couldn't do it. Something to do with vertical panels and silver paint - you have to repaint to whole panel otherwise it looks a mess. Grrrr....

Yeah, mine has the same. Would be nice to think they had a name but I guess not! Paradroid my friend , from this day forth we shall call our alloys " BRIAN "............ ...................................................................... Well it's a name - I got me a set of 11-spoke Brians !

I know what you mean so please post up a pic of yours when it's done! I might end up getting mine resprayed lol. For some reason I was hesitating over the sport grill at first, I really like it but am not sure that extra line (where the sport grill surround joins the bumper) is a good thing. I suppose the TTE bumper is the best way forward because it's like a sport grill without the surround. I wanted one of these but lots of money of course

Good point, it's the sports grill for people who've not seen the piccies at the start of the thread! I am really pleased with the new grill, I really didn't like the three bar one that was on the car, it looks worse than the original four bar one, not sure why they changed it :)

Well here's my first mod :)

Hmmm - I might do :) What would I have to do, what would it cost?

Doesn't look too difficult to fit. You have to re-use the plastic chrome-style surround off the existing gearstick boot though. I'm just wondering how well the leather will blend in with my interior which has the full black leather. I think it will look better because the gearstick boot in the car is really shiny and doesn't match the nice matt finish seats. Update: I just went and bought one off eBay, so will get some pictures and feedback up when it arrives!!!!

No I meant the 04+ alloys, like the ones on my car, they are the ones I mean seem to have no name.

Woah yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I live 10 mins from Haigh Hall and this sounds great. See you there :) My car is very standard though so it wouldn't be right to park it on show or anything - I'll just turn up and say hello!

Nice one - hope you get the car back soon :)

Yeah, mine has the same. Would be nice to think they had a name but I guess not!

I can't see vinegar doing rubber any good? These Bosch aero sound great - anyone got anything bad to say about them!?!?!? How long to they last?

I've had my IS200 for about two weeks and am really pleased with it. Funny how people say different things about the IS200 performance. I came from a MG ZS180, 140mph+ and 0-60 in a touch under 7 seconds (it was modded), and haven't been disappointed with the Lexus performance. Of course it's slower than my last car, but it's designed to be a very smooth and refined car, so you're never going to get a big feeling of speed anyway. I'm happy to sacrifice the acceleration for the refinement. The brakes and handling are brilliant on the Lexus anyway, so most of the time you can get down the road just as quick. You just don't try and drag race people down straight roads - which is a bit daft anyway really! The only real downside with the IS200 is it should be quicker given the amount of fuel it drinks - i.e. my MG was a LOT quicker and slightly more economical too even with a 2.5 V6 vs. the 2.0 of the IS. But the IS is a heavier better built car.

There's a kind on eBay (e.g. item number 280240695345,bung it in the search) and they look really good - has anyone tried them? Does anyone have a photo? For some reason the shift boot on my IS200 is really shiny and also cracked a bit, it looks a bit wrong somehow. I was thinking of replacing it with one of these jobbies. What do people think?

It's flippin annoying that the number plates now have to have the name of the supplying place. My Lexus has nice "Lexus Chester" number plates but they're starting to have dark marks on them where the laminate has come away and the elements have got in. They're ok, just a little tatty. But if replaced I'd lose the Lexus dealer name on the plates. Not a big deal, but personally I'd like to keep the name that's on them.

Funny you should say that, picking one up tomorrow hopefully Standard grill just looks a bit cheap on my car IMO. I don't mind the earlier 4-bar style, but the 3-bar style doesn't quite look right.

Well I spent an hour or two on the car today, and did the following: a) washed the wheels B) washed the bodywork with Megs Gold Class c) went round with Megs Scratch-X and got rid of a few fine scratches on the bodywork d) dried car with towel. I was surprised how good the car looked with no wax or polish applied! Stunning for a 4yr old car! Picking up a sport grill next week which will hopefully add a bit of attitude to the front of the car. My next job is to revisit the interior and get the leather looking as new - or as close as possible

The other possibility is the wire has rusted and seized up inside the plastic protecting layer. This happened to me once and I needed to get a new cable fitted. This was not on my Lexus though, was on a Rover 45 diesel I used for getting to work when I used to do 100 miles a day.

Quality of the picture is awesome, but I agree you lowered the roof a bit TOO much on the 1-series. Being a quite modern design it already has high door tops and a low roof. Lots of new cars seem to be like this - they might look mean but end up feeling claustrophobic inside and have crap visibility of kerbs etc. meaning it's too easy to hit them when parking. What I really like about the IS200 is it's an older style of design where there's low doors and plenty of glass, so good visibility :)

Looks great, except the roof would need lowering ever so slightly :) Would have been a very interesting car though!

I was looking over my car and it looks like there's little heated sections for the windscreen wipers at the bottom of the windscreen. That might be part of why it's so expensive? Bet you're glad you didn't have to pay for that one!

Good move, would be interested to hear how different you find it afterwards :)