hotwheels

Hi there, How much should I expect to pay a for a 220D clutch kit from Lexus? I can feel that mine is pretty worn and slipping. It bites very high, is there any way to adjust it or it has to be replaced? The car has 96k on the clock. Thanks George

Tuning Box What do you think of this tuning box I have come across? It claims to bring the bhp output of the 220d to 236.... Bit too unrealistic, isn't it? Rgds George

After 4 days of driving with the valve cleaned I have an increase of the mpg by 3,5 - 4. I'm at around 38 - 38,5 mpg. The best improvement is the acceleration though. By doing a search at the Alfa romeo forum I found that JTD owners use a sim that won't completely blank the egr valve but it will restrict the ammount of fumes. The funny thing is that it's not an aftermarket part but it is manufactured by FIAT... It seems to be the same size as the one in the 220D.

You are right, sometimes when i change gear extremely sensitive i don't have that sound. I was watching this video and with my litle Polish I can understand that this guy is having the same problem even though it is a brand new car with 1,5k k/m.Both of the car examiners which tested the car are saying that is a glitch with this specific car's flywheel and you simply can't get rid of it. I'm not bothered with the noise but I worry that something might break but you are saying that you have this since new so is it something that I should check with my mechanic or just leave it? Cheers George

Cheers Matus, have you tried anything higher than 30? Isn't too thin the 30 for "spirited" driving? I find the 5w50 a very good oil which offers protection at low temperatures but at the same time the 50 figure is good cause it withstands higher temperatures when you rev the car. That's my first diesel car and don't know much. Rgds

My clutch is too noisy while changing from 1st to 2nd gear. The car has 94k miles and by checking the service book I see that it has never been changed. Is that because it needs to be replaced/adjusted or is it something with this model? I heard that the it usually needs to be replaced at around 110k miles so mine shouldn't be so bad at 94k. Rgds George

I see that the 220d recommended oil in the manual is 5w/30 semi synthetic. In my other car (alfa 156) i have either castrol edge 10w60 or comma 5w50 motorsport, both fully synthetic and recommended for sporty driving while Alfa Romeo recommends 10w40. I'm thinking of changind the oil and filter in a couple of weeks and would like to know what oil do you guys use? Cheers George

Hi fonserg, Can you take a photo of the plate please to get an idea? If I understand well, you have simply made a small hole with 3,5 mm diameter on the actual blanking plate in order to allow just a little bit of gases to pass and to fool the computer and prevent it of showing the warning.] That sounds interesting... Rgds George if you only have a diameter hole of 3-4mm it will soon get blocked with carbon and then the car would go into limp mode? Hm... that's true dgman. I think the whole point of blocking it, is a bit contradicting. If you leave it get very dirty until it's completely blocked then you achieve the same as it would be to blank it with a plate. But as we have seen if you clean it then you get better mpg and smoother acceleration below 2k rpm. I cleaned mine yesterday evening and i have to say that all was left was a 1cm hole. I guess it wasn't cleaned before. The car feels so much better now and it accelerates very smooth. I do recommend this to everybody, it is not a difficult job at all, just 4 bolts. I think the best option is to clean it a couple ot times per year. George

Hi fonserg, Can you take a photo of the plate please to get an idea? If I understand well, you have simply made a small hole with 3,5 mm diameter on the actual blanking plate in order to allow just a little bit of gases to pass and to fool the computer and prevent it of showing the warning.] That sounds interesting... Rgds George

Hi Matus, Thanks very much for your feedback. I will give it a try this weekend. It's also quite difficult to find a blanking plate for the IS. I have found this one : http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220661348487&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT which seems to be the same shape as the Lexus. Rgds George

It's been 2 weeks since I bought an is 220d se with 92k miles on. I have noticed that the flat spots below the 2 - 2,5k rpm are very bad and I'm sure that my egr valve is full of carbon deposits. I'm planning to take the part out and clean it maybe next weekend if the weather allows but at the same time I'm thinking of blanking it all together. Has anybody blank it? What are the positives and negatives of that? Any advice is more than welcome. Cheers George

Thanks for the feedback. Considering that all of the 3 cars I'm looking have FSH shouldn't all these faulty parts been replaced at an earlier point? i know that some relatively small parts will need to be replaced sooner or later and i'm prepaired for that but it is big things i'm worried off and that's where i need some advice. The gear ratios issue sounds worrying, what;s the common problem with them? Rgds GT

Thanks for your feedback faz-faz. I'm mainly looking for advise on mechanical parts and mainly the turbo. After how many miles does it need to be replaced? Rgds GT

Well it seems that nobody is driving a high mileage 220d... :(

I'm looking to buy a 220d with high mileage. All of the 3 cars i'm looking at the moment have full service history. Even though the cars are listed as high milers it is not mentioned how many miles they have covered but i believe they would be over 100k miles. Is that mileage ok for the specific model, how many Ks miles can these engines go? Is there something i should check while test driving them? Any feedback will be appreciated. Thanks GT

Thanks very much each one of you for the feedback and comments. As you say the only way to find out what;s the best option for me would be to drive the standard and sport one. In regards to my alfa year 2000), its going to be difficult to compare it to as i don;t think there are many standard parts of the suspension left in. Dropped 10cm on fully adjustable coilovers with 4 strut braces, 2 front and 2 rear, adjustable camber rods, uprated antiroll bars front and rear and powerflex bushes all around and that's only about the suspension. But I had enough of it, just picked it up from the garage after 2 weeks with a 600 euro bill... Anyway. Rgds George

IS is anything but not a sport car. Hi Matus, So even the Sport version won't be closed to something sportive? I don't know your expectations but in my eyes a sport car can not have 1700kg weight, diesel engine, electric power steering and stability controll which can not be turned off. Have a try, as Parthiban said and you will see... I think you are misunderstanding my point, I'm not looking for a soarer or a soupra performance out of an IS. I'm looking for something closer to my liking. Something a bit more sportive than standard IS and all I'm asking is if the sport version has a noticeable difference between the SE-L and the other versions. Rgds G.T.

IS is anything but not a sport car. Hi Matus, So even the Sport version won't be closed to something sportive? If the gear changes are faster and the suspension is stiffer than the standard then that's something to start with... I have been searching around the last couple of days and the question I have is if the IS220D model is identical to the IS250 suspension and brakes wise? Can you use aftermarket suspension parts of the IS250 to a 220d? Rgds G.T.

Hi bigmick, that's very usefull information. So the main things I have to look for in order to distinct a Sport model than a SE-L or standard would be the metalic pedals and the 18" alloys. I don't like either the wood trim.... I have already a list of things I'm planning to change after purchasing the car as below and I need also some advice with that. Lowering springs (40mm) Install a tuning box Possibly remove the cat Install a sport back box (if there is an aftermarket one) and finally install hid kits in both lower beam and fog lights. For now I have found some H&R lowering springs but what I would like to ask is some recomendation on the tuning box to use. I was already in touch with a couple of remapping companies here in Ireland and was informed that this car cannot be remmaped... :( and the only option is a tuning box. I have done a bit of a search and found this site www.tuningbox.com which brings the Bhp up to 215 from the standard 177. Do you know them? What tuning boxes do you usually use? Is it true that remapping isn't possible? Cheers G.T.

How can I say which version is which? I like the one with the multispoke alloy wheels,is that the sport version or these wheels were available for every variant? Cheers G.T.

Hello Ahmed, Thanks very much for your feedback. I'm going to start viewing a few cars from mid August, is there any way of understanding which model is which just by looking at the car. How can I check the specification? I think the Sport model has the 255 wide rear tyres, correct? I have found a spec. document (see attachment) but I'm not sure what years it covers. Would you have a brochure for the 2006 - 2007 versions? Rgds G.T. IS220dspecsheet_tcm593-850045.pdf

Hello there, I'm new to this forum and I'm looking for some advice. I'm planning to buy a used IS 220D sometime this autumn and currently doing some market research in regards to the version. My target is a 2006 - 2007 220d but I cannot decide what version I should buy. My current car is an Alfa 156 selespeed and I have decided to buy something a bit more reliable and hopefully economical. I have seen that there are 3 versions, the SE-L, the SE-I and the F-Sport. By checking the power figures I see that all of them produce 177 bhp and by doing some further search I have read that the main difference of the Sport version is the stiffer suspension and the slightly different gear ratios. Owing an Alfa for 5,5 years I do prefer performance than luxury and gadgets. Is the Sport version a good choise or should I go for one of the SE versions? Thanks in advance for any feedback G.T.