PiratePete

Gareth....mate..... Seriously I spent over 10 years in the headlight industry, and I have designed optics for Koito and I used to work in the R&D department. (recognise the name, look at your rear lights.) He is correct in saying that the HID beam is scattered and therefore makes it illegal, BUT that is purely because the kit does not have the centre of the filament of the HID bulb at exactly the same point as the centre of the halogen filament. You can tell this purely by the crispness of the line between light and dark areas of the headlight. If you get the filament/HID centre exactly matching using a spacer or whatever then you will be legal. In fact because the HID light source is smaller than the halogen filament you would pass a homologation test better with the HID kit. Its not how strong it is its where you put it :)

definitely sounds like interference then IMO.

I'm really quite tempted to nip up the M6 and join you guys, I could see my folks in Warrington on the way back. I could quite easily make it to Stafford services for 10am, and I could pretend my car is modded cos it will have a new air filter lol. I'll speak to my wife and see if we have anything planned for this weekend, i'll let you know at the end of the week.

Is it easy to do jamie? How long did it take you, and did you have any problems?

I was thinking about how big a job it would be to paint my calipers at the weekend, whether they were easy to remove and how likely it would be that I f***** it up putting them back on. oh noes Mind you my K&N filter should arrive today or tomorrow :)

I quite like the top ones tbh, would go nice with silver, but they are a bit cluttered. unfortunately not a great deal you can do about that until they make stronger LED's

lol. Sang see my post here about headlight legality. headlights

It is normal that both lights come on as you say. Unfortunately where the problem lies is with fitting a HID kit to a standard headlamp/reflector assembly. 'Type approval' and 'homologation' are required for every part of a car to allow it to be used on the roads, however these two approval mechanisms work on the complete unit only. You cannot type approve or homogate just a HID or a Headlamp unit in isolation. Therefore if you fit an HID unit to your car you are to all intensive purposes breaking the law. HOWEVER, I worked in the headlight industry for over 10 years and never heard of anyone getting done for this, and from a practical point of view just ensure that the centre of the HID bulb lies at the same point as the centre of the Halogen bulb. Basically park your car up against a wall shining the headlamps onto the wall. You will see the beam starts at about 30 degrees coming down to the axis of the light (in other words straight in front of the headlight), and then runs horizontal to the right, the height of the beam should be at the same height as the bulb relative to the road (with levelling at 0). The beam itself should have a VERY crisp line on the wall, below the beam bright, above the line dim. If the line between light and dark is not crisp and is mushy, or the shape isn't as described above then you need to see if the HID buld is in the right place. If you can't set it right then put halogens back in because the police will do you for that. I myself modified my Golf headlights and was stopped one night and had to shine my lights against the wall. Luckily I had made some spacers to put the HID in the right position (however the Golf headlight was never designed for HID so they were as bright as daylight but the police can't check this.) Hope this helps.

Weird. I saw that for the first time last night, then it appears on here. LOC wins again

autopia. right got it cheers

Well dunno about superchargers and stuff but I'm at least going to get it running well, clean up the scratches and maybe put some posh lights on it, but its nice to have a site where I can learn a lot about the motor. Already I know about panel filters, which plugs to use, that the geo set by Lexus is not right etc. Plan on having my IS for a long time and if I treat it well no reason why I shouldn't :)

lol that doesn't really help :) I believe the medical condition is known as SKS or 'Shiny Kit Syndrome' I think the next thing might be a trip to Herr Doctor for a Geo set. either that or some painted touching up as I have a few small scratches.

Ok so my Lexus is the first nice car I've owned, all my other cars have had a run through the local IMO once a year whether they needed it or not. However I don't want to treat my lexus like that and want to give it a wash and polish either this weekend or next. So the simple question is this, what the best stuff to use that is not too expensive (no peruvian mountain goat wax or such like), and what do i need soap/wax/sponges etc. What is the best technique to use to wash and polish the car? I did a search on the forum but couldn't find a relevant thread, probably cos its such a noobie question for an enthusiasts forum I would imagine. Please help

Ok so I just ordered a K&N panel filter and have spent far too long this morning looking at new wheels/lights/HID packs. Is this how it starts? Should I just go and get a loan now for a Supercharger? Damn you all! If I hadn't had a problem with my radio I would never have come to the LOC :) *shakes fist at LOC forum users*

Fixing the wifes PC usually does it for me as well.

yup same here. There is an irony though in the fact he survived the holocaust only to then save a number of kids in this shooting. Makes you wonder. and yes the shooter did buy the gun legally, and he was recommended psychiatric help on several occasions. I think the worst thing you could be in the US this week is a loner who plays GTA and likes rock music.

Doesn't sound too bad. Thanks for the info :)

Started playing Counterstrike a few years ago but had to change my nick due to a few PC problems, my wife is from Cornwall so it became PiratePete, and has stuck with me ever since. I'm piratepete on quite a few forums and online games. The wife uses MrsPirate.

That is the very definition of heroics. The whole thing is horrible, but will US introduce gun control? Sadly not.

Had a look at my panel filter last night and although its a lexus one it looked fairly clean. Would it be worth seeing a reputable tuning company to see if i am running excessively rich? If so any ideas how much a tune would cost?

Yes i do:- http://www.tdi-north.com/index.htm A very friendly competent team who master the complexities of chassis calibration. Excellent, my parents live in Warrington. I'll keep an eye on my tyre wear and if it shows signs of the problem I'll drop it into them. Approx how much would it cost me to get the geo set by TDI North?

Does WIM approve any garages in the Midlands to set the Geo to his spec? I don't need it doing at the moment I don't think (new tyres), but just for future reference?

D'oh. Didn't think mine worked either. Will checck tonight. Thank *** I found LOC :)

Yes there is a facia plate available that replaces the standard stereo and allows you to put an aftermarket stereo in, I have just had this done as the FM modulater had gone in the IS I have just bought. I would thoroughly recommend this as the way to go as the facia plate looks pretty good (graining on the plastic is a bit mismatched but as I work in the auto industry doing cosmetic parts I tend to notice these things more than most people). However the difference a good aftermarket stereo makes is massive even with the stock Lexus speakers, I thought the sound was good before but it is crystal clear now, and of course it has the flashy OLED screen and snazzy equalizer, and of course I now have an MP3 connector coming out of the glove box when I connect my MP3 player.

Ooh get her. Would be cool if you filled up less times than you changed the cam belt tho. Nice and green too :)