kevwatkins

Thanks Whiteman but I have already bought one and fitted it this weekend as I need it to tow the van this coming week.

@ sjrainsford - I didn't bother cutting the bulb failure lamp warning after and all is fine - I connected the caravan up to the electrics and there were no warning lights on the dash so I will leave as is.

To anyone else thinking of towing with the IS200, it pulls our caravan easily and with hardly any effort. The tow bar is relatively easy to fit too.

Brilliant, thanks for the advice. I'm going to give it a whirl tomorrow.

How can I find out which wires are required to be cut for the bulb failure warning light? I'm a little worried about this!

That's great to hear, thanks. The weight of ours is the same, 1100kg fully laden, but we take minimal stuff and pack lightly so it should be fine. I'm going to set aside next weekend for fitting so fingers crossed no rain!

I'm after a tow bar for the IS200 to pull a small caravan (I've posted in the wanted section so please get in touch if you have one that you no longer use) and I was wondering if anyone has fitted one before? If so, does anyone have any tips or advice about fitting one?

Thanks!

I'm after a towbar for a lexus is200. If anyone has one that they no longer use, please get in touch.

I'm interested to see how this has turned out too...

Take your wheels off and put them back on, making sure when you tighten them back up to carefully tighten each opposite nut up a little at a time.

This will ensure that the wheel is centrally located on the hub.

I had this exact same problem last week, I thought the balancing was out, but just ended up that the wheel wasn't centrally mounted.

Another issue you could have is a bent wheel. You can diagnose this by swapping the front and rear wheels to see if the shaking moves onto/off the steering wheel when the wheels are swapped.

Get some silicone lubricant spray (£4 in Halfords) and give the bushes a spray.

I always spray the bushes when I service the car. It's surprising how much difference it makes to the ride and stops them from drying out and wearing.

I changed from the stock Bridgestones (after 4 years) to Uniroyal Rainsport 2s just before Christmas.

All I can say is that they are the best tyres I have ever owned.

Road noise has dramatically reduced and near non existent, grip is phenomenal (especially in the wet) and I bought them for £80 a corner fitted.

You can check out tyre reviews for the IS200 here http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyres_For/Lexus/IS200.htm

Uniroyal Rainsport 2's - absolutely amazing, best tyre I've ever used and only £80 a corner, bargain!

This area of fuel addtives is extremely grey. Whilst all, or most, fuels contain additives, what are they, which ones are in which fuels. If you buy something these days you can look at the container and it shows ALL the ingredients. When it comes to fuels all you are told is that it "conforms to BS standards". As I understand it, supermarket fuels either have no additives, or are less than those at normal petrol stations.

This is absolute bollocks, as someone who used to work in an oil refinery, I can tell you that the fuel you get at supermarket pumps is exactly the same as what you get if you were to fill up at BP, Shell, Esso, Texaco or any other for that matter.

I used to work for BP and we used to get most supermarket tankers fill up at our terminal, plus Shell, Esso and other large manufacturers. They all buy fuel off each other and it's all the same. You could have a Sainsbury's tanker and BP tanker filling up at the same time, next to each other, same fuel, just a different label.

For example, a Texaco tanker wouldn't fill up in West Wales at the Texaco refinery to travel to Essex to pump it into a Texaco fuel station, they would just buy it from BP in Essex and fill the pumps with that. It's all exactly the same, there is no such thing as supermarket grade fuel which you read about very often on forums.

Well done mate, you shouldn't have any problems, I did the same as you did about a year ago and not had a problem since!

I agree, the IS200 is an interference design

I also don't believe any engine damage will occur on the V8 if the belt breaks.

WHAAAAAAT!!!!!

Maybe car engine technology has moved on since I last took an engine apart, but surely, a broken cam belt means the valves stop moving in and out while the engine (assuming you're driving when it breaks) keeps on going. This means the pistons will collide with the valves and your engine is only good for the scrap heap; costing you A LOT.

It depends on the design of the engine........

There are two types of engines that use timing belts. They are described as: "Interference Engines" and "Non-interference Engines" The difference lies in the proximity between the valves and the pistons.

If the timing belt breaks on a non-interference design, there is enough clearance between the pistons and valves to prevent damaging contact.

An interference design does not have sufficient clearance between those parts and engine damage would result from a broken timing belt.

Kev

http://www.xcarlink.co.uk/

That's the one I have fitted on my car, but I've got the top loading player.

Hey everyone,

Can anyone recommend a decent roof rack for an IS? Been looking at the Thule and Mont Blanc ones but not sure about the differences etc.

I know it's a long shot, but I'll consider a second hand one if anyone has one which is surplus to requirements......

Cheers,

Kev

Hello mate, welcome to LOC, I may have a spare armrest sometime soon (within the next two weeks), what colour interior do you have?

I'd say it's wheel balancing, some of the weights could have come off maybe??

Are you sure there are 4 or 5 different connection types? I swear there are just 2

Works fine with mine, just plugs in via the cd changer port. As lexus is toyota, the system conforms to the same specification I would imagine.

Installed one of these....... http://www.xcarlink.co.uk/home.php this morning and I love it! No need to write loads of cd's any more, just hook up the ipod and I'm away!

Everything is controlled by the original stereo.

Simple to connect aswell - just plugs into the cd changer port on the back of the standard stereo.

Recommend to anyone who wants to use their ipod in their car!

Newport, but living in Bristol as I'm at uni there

Mate, honestly it's dead easy, 4 bolts either side once you have the wheel off.

Had the exact same problem with my IS200 - bought Bosh Super Plus blades from Halfords - no more annoying clunk!

Cheers Trev, much appreciated!