yoshi

Hey homer - your GS300 Sport will handle like a pig (in your opinion anyway). It's got the UK suspension setup but it'll be like riding on air man. I do believe you will lower it immediately or I'll eat my brake pads. Once it's lowered, you'll dig it more. I guess I forgot you get to 'pinch' all those customer rides for some overnight fun....I guess the G force will still be available. Nothing better than blowing away an M5, what over-rated crap. Gold star and tick. I still have the vintage Racewars videos, I'll need to convert it to MP4 and upload. It's got the old Skyline + new Skyline kit/spray job in the same vid - howzat?!?!?

Hey Marc, maybe I should post up some video on my Vertex racing your Skyline at Crail so all these Lexus forum guys can see the beef...I do believe I won that race...lol...you made the mistake of not driving it yourself.

Eibach lowering springs are the budget weapon of choice for sharper handling without the crap ride. I can highly recommend, although not sure with those 20's or 19s, could scrub, but hey you know that already. I found the Eibachs only bedded in properly after my 2nd Knockhill and now the car is nailed to the road. Your GS will be about 40MM higher than my Vertex, so it's quite a big drop. The springs definitely get lower as you drive it harder round benders. Pictures from the track show there being zero arch gap at some points when the power is on full. I guess a stiffer spring will be required for the correct re-bound. I'm saving for the Bilstein PSS suspension kit, combination shock with adjustability. Tein not good rep so I hear from my US Lexus guy. The Eibach spring/shock/anti-roll kit might be a nice setup but not heard anything on this. I hope this GS300 isn't Black marc....people will be mistaking me for you and vice versa (could be embarrassing, you not having turbos and all lol, only kinding big man we's knows you're married now and you need the back seats for the kids).

I'm not touching the engine until I can afford the 1000bhp rebuild - I might opt for a Turbo + ECU as a quick short cut but probably not. I still can make Lotus lap times with the standard block/gearbox and a lot less chance of it going bang. Until that ***** Willy at Crail gets the finger out to sweep the stones up, I won't be doing the 1/4 mile. Next for me will be full suspension mods so I can tailgate the Exiges. Maybe in the future a proper racing car is probably what I'll buy e.g.ex-BTCC, DTM or ex-Rally. I also fancy the Clio cup 1600 class, but it's all dollars. The VW 1600 track prepped car new is £80K.

You obviously shat your pants too often pressing that NOS button on the Skyliner...gets awful expensive replacing Recarros ever 1/4 mile, he, he! If you're very very lucky, you might pass me if I'm driving the Mondeo with 4-people + we just ran out of fuel. Otherwise you'll be smelling my exhaust fumes homie! The V300 goes like the clappers now, even the Lotus crew move over for me now. Terrorising scoobies is the norm, sideways the trademark.

After driving Kames you will be a wizard on the road. In fact, 10 laps of Kames and any twisty road is a doddle, it produces very good confidence in driving. It's also very easy on your tyres and brakes, you car doesn't need any servicing afterwards! It is all 1st and 2nd gear.

Just updated the movies page on my web site : http://www.lexusvertex.com/movies.htm Broadband users only

Just updated the movies page on my web site : http://www.lexusvertex.com/movies.htm Broadband users only

Just updated the movies page on my web site : http://www.lexusvertex.com/movies.htm Broadband users only!

Jist cos you got a Lex doesn't mean you can't race or tune - see the evidence at : http://www.lexusvertex.com/movies.htm If you want to meet up for a race a Crail in your GS 300 Sport let me know, otherwise Knockhill is a good venue. Maybe you should join the SS-R - www.ss-r.com - the track events are safe & the members all have very different cars, bit of a Gran Turismo showdown.

your discs are knacked. Like Andy sez check the bushes also. Try black diamond discs & Predator pads for something more stable and better braking/less brake dust.

You can check http://www.lexusvertex.com/movies.htm for updates, or I usually post them up on the forum. I've got 3 tapes to edit of Kames & Knockhill racing circuits so watch out for them soon!

Point taken - I thought the Altezza & IS200 were same engine technology. 14s on the 1/4 is old hat these days, if you went to all that trouble I think I'd be expecting 11s or 12s!!!

The Aristo V300 is the ****nitz but the rear steering rack brakes, check more Aristo V300 info at www.lexusvertex.com

There are many mods available from HKS for the standard 2.0 IS block - up to 650bhp with the 2.2L/Turbo kit and they have ECU mods also. The V8 will be a bit heavy, a 300bhp V8 IS200 will be lucky to hit 14s on the 1/4 mile.

The WRX sits in at 265bhp, I run 280bhp. The WRX is lighter however, and has more bhp per tonne at the crank. The 4WD means it loses something like 100bhp thru the transmission opposed to about 40 or 50 thru the 2WD Lex transmission, so on a motorway or long straight the Lex is a wee bit faster. The torque is good on the V300, I blew away a Subaru Impreza from standing start on the 1/4 mile, you could really see the Imprezas power loss as it hit about 70MPH. I did have to turn the boost up to 1.1 bar / 320bhp.

Lexus suspension is not indestructable. I've wrecked a rear-steer rack (2K) and a front bottom ball joint (50 or 60 quid I think). It's these crap roads in Britain. My Aristo was broken within 30,000 miles.

Ta! Some people say smaller sports car handle better - true, however, you can't get 4 wheels & slicks into an RX8 so que Lex with it's massive back seats and boot. The big Lex gets quite a bit of attention at the track 'cos everyone thinks it's a bus. It now runs 68s / same as Subaru Impreza WRX.

I hang out with a lot of guys who use NOS - Skyline GTS ran well with NOS computer but warped exhaust manifold with the excess heat, engine intact. Punto had 50bhp jets, sheered it's pistons within a few weeks. MX-5 Supercharged with 50bhp jets, so far the engine hasn't gone bang but it's mis-firing badly, again all that additional stress. I think the rule here is a strong engine, but also strong connecting parts also such as exhaust. The NOS Computer is the safest way to run the stuff and minimal useage (1/4 mile only etc.) will ensure your engine doesn't go pop. The NOS computers are pretty ugly, or so I thought the one fitted to the Skyline. Having done a few track days and hanging with proper street-racers, you find that engines blow without NOS quite frequently. Even my friend with a Skyline GTR running 12.7 on the 1/4 (no NOS) cracked his engine block just last month after a high-speed motorway run. I know an RX-7 guy (standard bhp) who has blown his engine twice in the last 2 years. Personally, I would not run the stuff unless I reinforced a few things on my car.

More Lexus craziness at Knockhill race circuit : http://www.yoshi.net.cn/knockhillaug04_lotus_capri_lexus.MP4 (18Mb) You'll need quicktime to play http://www.quicktime.com Older movies available at : http://www.lexusvertex.com/movies.htm I think I'm the only Lexus/Aristo to have raced Knockhill EVER. So the next time someone says your barge can't handle, check the videos!

More Lexus craziness at Knockhill race circuit : http://www.yoshi.net.cn/knockhillaug04_lotus_capri_lexus.MP4 (18Mb) You'll need quicktime to play www.quicktime.com Older movies available at : www.lexusvertex.com/movies.htm I think I'm the only Lexus/Aristo to have raced Knockhill EVER. So the next time someone says your barge can't handle, check the videos!

Arrange something at the right price and I'm sure we'll buy 'em.

I have an 'eee-eee-eee-eee' intermitent high pitch sound, might be a wheel bearing. It's not constant so not sure, def.not engine. No wonder, you can see some lexus track-use at www.lexusvertex.com - hope it's not my driveshafts.

You can see some handling from the lowered springs in the movies section at : www.lexusvertex.com

Goodyear Eagle F1s work very well on Lex, that's what I run. Camber setup by a professional track/rally mechanic is essential. You could try Eibach lowering springs or Bilstein shocks. I like the PSS Bilstein suspension kit but it's 1500 quid.