dougie175

I agree that derv has had its day but peoples obsession with MPG will mean plenty of diesels will still sell for a while. The obsession with MPG on brand new cars baffles me surely people are most interested in MPG because they think this will lead to lower running costs and cost them less, but surely depreciation is the biggest cost factor so they should be far more interested in how much a car will depreciate over the next 3 years say, its no good buying a 30k car that does 60mpg and its worth 10k 3 years later over buying a 30k car that does 30mpg but is worth say 15k 3 years later. The fuel saving is total outweighed by depreciation before you even start on the increased repair costs on diesels and higher purchase costs!

I feel really bad that every person who comes on here thinking of buying a 220 gets pushed to the 250 but it is for good reason the 220 can be a ticking time bomb, the 250 in general however is still 1 of the finest cars around. I have zero experience with 220's and I know some who have them on here love then, but a scan through the first 10 pages of the 2is section will yield a very telling story of issues with 220's and almost no issues with 250's despite there been a lot more 250s on here than 220s!

The IS handles better than the civic to be honest but because of this and how calm and composed it is kind of takes the "fun" out of going out for some "fun", the IS250 doesn't have enough power to loose its composure really its a very calm and relax experience even when giving it some

Yeah you are probably right if no one has ever done it theres usually a good reason, so dealerships claim second hand keys cant be re-programmed? Ill have a chat with Paul at work and see if they ever reprogrammed second hand keys at Toyota or if it can only be done on New keys, sometimes dealerships will be saying new only to increase parts sales.

I would imagine even with the best wheel sealant some form of scrubbing / agitation will be required? The ideal would be 100% immaculate wheels from just lance off but I don't think that would be possible with any of them, I'm just trying to work out if its easier/better to scrub with shampoo or scrub with a wheel cleaner each week, I think wheel cleaners will help with not missing bits as they seem to breakdown the dirt better

If its anything like VW stuff at work we need to login securely with ODIS to do key coding and I assume Toyota/Lexus will be the same, despite us being Toyota approved having the genuine diagnostic is not a requirement however I believe it is coming very soon, but the Lexus part of the system will be locked out to us anyway. I would be very surprised if this is possible with the cracked versions of Techstream but you never know!

Yeah I had a look into Gtechniq c5 looks very good so guess its a toss up between that and using shampoo or a wheel cleaner

For pretty much all the same reasons as yourself no I don't miss it, but yeah sometimes I miss "fun" of driving the civic

Just for reference made a list of the current mods which I will update as time goes on, helps me keep up with what I have done Exterior: Smooth rear diffuser Colour coded upper rear screen spoiler Moulded rear Wald style boot lid spoiler Rhino lip front splitter F-Sport boot badge Rear windows tinted Osram Xenarc Cool Blue Xenon upgrade bulbs Genuine Roof Rack and Thule Roof Box – for family trips where lots of things are needed for the baby! Interior: Po-40 Folding Mirror Module Custom flat bottom F-Sport blue stitch steering wheel Nextbase 402-g Dash Cam Custom blue stitch premium floor matts with F-Sport badges F-Sport Gear Knob Arm rest wireless charger Underline skirt kit F-sport clutch pedal added to foot brake pedal to match F-sport pedal set Interior trims wrapped in carbon fiber with F-Sport badges Rubber boot liner Engine: F-Sport lower airbox mod 3is Sound Creator intake pipe Custom welded electronic QTP Slimline Exhaust Valve Suspension: Meister R coilovers SPC Front and Rear camber correct kit Wheels: Japan Racing JR18 19” in Hyper Black with custom Lexus centre caps for Summer Genuine F-Sport 18” wheels refurbished in chrome shadow for winter

And that's how you ended up with the GS450H I'm sure! Ever miss the Honda? The Lexus is a superior car in every way possible but I do see FN2's driving past and feel the love

Agreed the only way this will work simply and soft effective is to find a way to re-code an already coded key, I believe this is possible as when replacing a key you re-program 1 of the original keys and the new key to the car so don't see why similar shouldn't be possible with a card its just knowing how to do it and taking the risk buying a second hand card from the US I'm still holding out hope as I would really love a key card to keep my backside pocket free!

Yeah its a good size! No unmanageable though, I think even a short arse like me could install it myself without a second person, I wont be trying however due to risk of scratching but if you had an old banger and didn't mind if the box touched the car you could easy install this box on your tod. Yeah I'm sure I'm like most if I want any reasonably big purchase I spend far too long doing my research reading reviews and opinions before making the purchase, I'm someone who's happy to spend that bit more than I wanted to get the product right first time

I don't rate wheel sealants myself not the 2 I have used anyway, AG and Armourall Shield, they make a slight difference but nothing using some normal wax wouldn't do just the same. I don't leave my car to get that dirty anyway so think Red 7 would comfortably remove 1-2 weeks of brake dust on untreated wheel or wheels treated with tango anyway

Its 400 litres mate and an absolute bargain on ebay! http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Thule-Touring-M-200-Silver-Grey-Aeroskin-400-Litre-Roof-Cargo-Luggage-Box-BNIB/222005643549?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 You would get a bike next to this... just I think! The best thing about this box is it opens from both sides and the connectors take 3 seconds from inside the box its a superb design, I would highly recommend it, narrow ones are cheaper however the space is much more limited because you cant get a suitcase in sideways with a 3/4 width one, depends what you want to put in it! I did a lot of research became a bit of a roofbox geek for a couple of weeks!

Great results on the polishing! When does the steering wobble if you let us know at what speeds and under what scenario should help work out where to start looking, as Lee says wheel balance is the most common cause of steering wheel wobble, wobble through the cars body would be something different though

You would be better posting in the GS section

Ok so a little bit of progress not a modification as such but a handy bit of kit, got the roof box installed, really easy to do took 2 of use about 10 minutes think we could boss it in under 5 now we have done it. I know roof boxes are not exactly "cool" but I actually quite like it, its only on so I can move it from work my to my parents when I next go to see them as they have room to store it, need to get a holiday booked to actually make use of it now!

Great news i look forward to following the progress

Yeah happy to apply every wash I tend to apply my wheel sealant after most washes and the wheel have to be dry to apply that so this sounds much easier! Sounds like a nice simple please, spray with Red 7, clean the wheels then once rinsed off spray Tango on and rinse again job done. Easy peasy should yield better results that my current way and sounds quicker and easier!

Looks very good mate nice job

Top tips as ever so Red 7 and maybe an agitation with a brush when required and the odd dose of Tango sounds like a plan!

Thanks for the reply! This new valetpro product sounds like a new wheel sealer that works well? Even if Red 7 removes the sealant does it do any harm to the wheel? I thinking leaving the wheels un-sealed and just using Red 7 and agitating with a brush when needed will make a better and easier system than sealing them and washing with shampoo. Keep us informed on both products though they sound interesting and I will look into Gtechniq C5 may be another option to continuing with the shampoo

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By that token I assume you right a disgruntled letter in the TV stations when they broadcast an advert for a product that you are not the target market for after a couple of weeks as well!

Over the last 15k of day to day driving and some spirited driving my 250 has averaged 32mpg