andyk134

I got mine from TDI tuning. Took a few months as they were special order from Germany but worth it. If you can't find any next best are the Cusco ones which do make a difference and try some wheel spacers. Gives it more stability and fills the arches really well. Eibach 15mm at the front and 25mm at the back is perfect on Eibach springs. Good luck.

If you do go coilovers look at the Meister R ones as they are softer than the Japanese ones or BC. I have Meister's Eibach roll bars and spacers and a second hand cusco front strut brace. yes it is of course firmer than standard, but it doesn't shake your teeth out and puts a real smile in your face through the bends and roundabouts. And it does look good too not going too low, but just low enough and the wheels pushed out. And just beware of ebay, there are some bargains there but some rubbish too. good luck

Changing the springs doesn't always "ruin" the ride, it just changes it. I put Eibach springs on mine and far preferred a slightly firmer ride with less roll, it just depends what you want from your car.

I guess for the MOT they just look at the tread and the legal limits rather than the make of the tyres. I never let mine get anywhere near the limit. there is an interesting chart on the wall where I get my tyres showing how the stopping distance goes up as the tread depth goes down and it is quite eye opening. they also say that the Hankooks are at the top of the budget range so a good compromise if you cant afford the premium tyres. I just always believe in putting the best tyres and brakes and any other parts, especially on something as quality as the Lexus, but also from a safely aspect. The same reason I put V power in, even though some on here say it doesn't need it and they don't notice any difference, I notice the change from the higher octane and the additives that keep it clean. The multispokes are nice if they are in good nick and so far mine are fine and are so much nicer than the 5 spokes in my humble opinion. I still love the way the Mk 1 looks even after all this time and wheels can make or break the look.

What did you go for in the end? Personally I would never compromise on tyres or brakes, it is your life on the line! I have Continental Sport 5's on mine and they give superb traction and breaking

I think we are all different which is a good thing. I don't think any Lexus looks right with anything less than 17's and too many look stuck up in the air too which spoils the look. Just my humble opinion and I love the look of my 200 with coilovers and spacers on 17's and strangely the ride is better than the standard one if you go for softer coilovers and set it up right. Bottom line though I would't buy anything other than Lexus even though mine is 10 years old, they never let you down and mine still turns heads everyday. Enjoy whatever you buy.

Welcome to the Lexus family. Agree with others, a nice colour and in good condition too. I lowered mine as I am not a fan of the high stance. Had Eibach's on for a while but the back end still had quite a gap between wheel and arch so have now put coilovers on, which are actually a better ride than the standard shocks/sport Spring set up. If you do lower it you might want to think about spacers, when i did that earlier this year I wished i had done it years ago as the wheels now fill the arches as they should do. Have fun and enjoy the car as I am sure you will. Despite it's age it is still the best car I have ever owned.

Maybe if it was all colour coded that would look nice?

Sadly with any ageing car this will come to all of us in time. Like you I am not a fan of the mk2 and the new model is still way out of my price range. I am lucky that mine had only done 65k and I do less than 5k a year so hope to keep it another 5 years or so. Had a civic hatch before the Lexus and it was a good car so probably a good compromise and I will stay Japanese when I do come to that sad day. Good luck with the Accord.

Can I ask why you changed the manifold? I have read on numerous posts that there is very little horsepower to be had by changing the exhaust at quite an expense so I was just curious.

I guess it depends where you live, decent ones round here are about that price for a good condition low mileage lexus history car. As reliable as it can be there are still some dogs out there!

It's a tough decision as the 200 gets older what would you go for. I am not a fan of the 250/220d and the latest version is still way expensive and automatic. I couldn't buy something just on reliability it would have to be fun too but hopefully that decision is a few years off yet!

Hi, Mine turned out to be a sticking caliper, so a new one is being done and a skim of the disc. Hopefully that will sort it out!

Have you noticed any difference in performance?

You can pick up a sub 100k miler with full history for around 3 grand and get something for yours might be the better option. At that price you won't buy anything better and would have a good few years motoring.

Never tried them but did have Eibachs before I went to coil overs and they lowered the front ok but rear was still up in the air! If you want to improve the look still further go for wheel spacers as that looks really nice and fills the arches as they should be. 15mm front and 25mm rear is about right. Just remember that harder springs with ageing shocks will put more pressure on them and can make it a bit bouncy, but good luck

Strange as mine has just started doing the very same thing and a bad vibration at around 50 as well. Going to get it checked out at the weekend

Hi and welcome. So what is "mod it up" to you? As many have said tuning the IS to anything meaningful is not a cheap fix and the standard car is so well engineered you need to spend a pretty penny for anything noticeable. But glad you have bought another I love mine and have no intention of changing for the foreseeable future.

300,000 is very impressive but have to agree that more than a few of the parts will not be performing their best anymore no matter what the MOT says, that is a very basic test. Like others my tyres last about 20k and I never let them get anywhere near the limit either. I am at the other end of the scale with only 65k on the clock and a 6 mile daily commute. Apart from the usual things to replace and all the suspension I have upgraded the only thing to go was a split cv boot so am very impressed and very happy. How long do you intend to keep it now?

Hi, Where did you buy the manifold from? It may have not been made very well and burning the coatings or something.

You will miss the reliability before too long I am sure!

Not sure why you hate the 17's I have just put a set of Continental Contact 5's on mine and they are excellent wet or dry. I never compromise on tyres both for driving pleasure and safety. Never understood why people go for "cheap" tyres. the cost difference over the years is probably less than a tenner a month when you look at the bigger picture and it might just save your life!

Hi and sorry it is off topic. How do you keep that much power on the road, what suspension/wheels and tyres are you running please?

Hi, the Eibach anti roll bars front and back are about £370 or you can get Cusco ones for about the same price. I also went with Eibach wheels spacers as that widens the track and gives it more stability in the corners. Strangely my coil overs are better than the standard set up as I went for the softer Meister R set up and you can set the height anything from standard to about 50mm drop. Good luck

Hi, I was just going to ask why you don't want to lower it? The standard set up makes it sit so high especially at the back. I had mine on Eibachs and it still looked to high at the back before i went to coilovers which are amazing and I wish I had done that years ago. Mine is more comfortable than the standard set up. If you want to improve handling the best upgrade would the anti roll bars, you will really notice the difference. I went with Eibach again and that cuts a lot of the roll. Mine now has Meister R coilovers, Eibach Anti roll bars, Eibach spacers front and rear and a front Cusco second hand strut brace and it drives and feels and looks great.