sprinter2012

Just realised I've mixed up my refurbers... It was infact a company called RimTec (different from the RimTec mentioned above, just to confuse things even more) who quoted me £70+VAT per wheel! Pristine haven't come back to me yet, so they will probably be somewhere between RimTec and BJV as far as prices go. I got confused because RimTec and Pristine are both based in Milton Keynes, literally a 4 minute drive apart!

Just to give you an idea on the difference in price, Pristine Alloys quoted me £280 to refurb my aero wheels, and BJV quoted £192. So it's a bit of a no brainer for me! :)

Haha okay, we'll share the blame on that one. If you want a set of aero's theres a guy on eBay selling some without tyres at the moment. LINK I phoned him the other day and he said he would do the 4 without tyres for £250, but there may be room to knock him down a bit. Here's a couple of pics of mine after the refurb, the pictures were supposed to be of the calipers but you can still get a good idea of the quality. One thing I would say (which I wish I'd thought of before I got mine done) would be to get a slightly darker than standard silver put on. Just to add a bit more contrast between the paint and the diamond cut faces.

Sorry I didn't explain myself propely, I got my 5 spokes done to factory specs with diamond cut faces on an exchange program with Pristine Alloys, their work was top notch. Since then I've got hold of a set of the 6 spoke aero alloys, which im going to get done by BJV Engineering in 'Flat Silver' but I'm going to get them to do a small customization to the inner lip to make it less visible (see my post HERE for what I mean). But if I get mine done before you I'll be sure to let you know how they come out. :)

I had mine done by a company based in Milton Keynes call Pristine Alloys, they were the company that were contracted by Lexus to do all the warranty repair work so the work is top notch. I think it was about £60 a wheel with the diamond cut faces, but that was on a wheel exchange program so would be a bit cheaper for bare wheels. Or theres BJV Engineering in Hemel Hempstead, their prices are the best I've seen (£160 for a set of 4 with diamond cut faces). But cant comment on the quality of their work, although I'm planning on getting them to do mine in the next week or so.

On another note, I'm not too keen on the inner lip that runs round the inside edge of the wheel. So I've been thinking about getting it sprayed matt black at the same time as the refurb, or at least a sort of dark greyish colour so you can't see it unless your close up, and it will blend in much more once its got a bit of brake dust on it. Makes the actual rim look much more low profile and sporty. Here's a close up of one wheel photoshopped so you can see what I mean... And here's one of just the front wheel done so you get the overall effect...

Cheers for that. :) I can start emailing for some quotes now.

Also can anyone who has had a set of these refurbed tell me what the finish on them was? As they look like more of a Satin Silver finish as opposed to a full laquer gloss. This is the look I want to achieve, not sure what you would call the finish though..?

Just picked up a set of the Lexus 18" Aero alloys today, and while checking the sizing info stamped into the back I noticed that 2 of them are different. 2 of them say 7.5Jx18 H2 e48, and the other two say exactly the same but without the 'e48' part on the end. Is this to do with the offset? i.e. are they front and rear specific? Or are they just from different batches? Any help appreciated guys :)

Sounds to me like you've got a loose wire or connection somewhere, and that opening and shutting the bonnet is probably just shaking the contact back together temporarily.

Wow I didn't realise they were that much! I won't tell you how much I managed to get my front and rear for then...:o

Yes they are still available from Lexus/Toyota, not sure on price though.

I've managed to find a set of the 18" aero wheels which I'm going to look at and probably buy on saturday. But all this thinking about wheels has got me wondering if I might be better off waiting and getting something else entirely if I'm going to change them. I quite like 5/6 Twin Spokes, like the Rota Torque, OZ Ultralaggera or DOTZ Reflex. (pictures below) What do you guys think? Just go with the aero's or can you tell me some wheels of similar style to the ones I mentioned that you think would look good? Rota Torque OZ Ultralaggera DOTZ Reflex

Sorry Dave, did I not send instructions with it? :( its mounted using nuts and bolts.Andy Confession time...I do have the full instructions in my hand now, I forgot I'd left them in the box when I sent the bits off to the sprayer beause the instructions also had the paint specs attached... So I now have a list of exactly what I need, never doubted you for a second Andy. :winky:

I remember reading a thread by P.Lindblom about his charger not giving proper boost. His problem turned out to be that the bolts that lock the pulley to the charger had sheered off I think, so although the pulley was spinning, the charger was not. Might be worth checking that.

Can anyone on here who has fitted the TTE rear lip tell me what the 'fitting kit' consisted of? I managed to get a good deal on it but it didn't have any of the fittings. I understand that it comes with a strip of double sided sticky stuff, but I'm going to use Tiger Seal instead as I've been told it will last longer and wont peel away over time. But I need to know if the kit came with screws or bolts, as the rear bumper is attached in about 4 or 5 places under the car by push fit clips through tabs on the bumper. The TTE bumper also has these tabs, but do I take out the clips and replace them with self tappers or bolts or just refit the clips? Any help appreciated as I'm hoping to get it fitted tomorrow. :)

don't mean to hijack the thread but its along the same lines...if I fit a decat manifold will I still get through an emissions test? And do you know where I can get one or is it another one of those super rare parts no one can find anymore?

I give a 2nd vote for the Autosol, used it on my stainless tip and shines it up nicely.

just find the relevent bulb holder on the back of the light headlight unit, quarter turn and pull it out. takes literally 20 seconds to replace a bulb!

Found these the other day while looking at LEDs, replacement flasher unit for the indicators. So you don't need resistors and its means no chopping up wires, just take out the old one, and put this one in. :) http://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/LED-Flasher-Unit-2-3-and-4-Pin.html

The ignition ring is also a T5, but bear in mind that because the LED replacements are much longer you will need to solder them in or they will just stop working every few months like mine did. I still havent got mine soldered, but I put some heat shrink round the bulb 'stalk' to make it a tighter fit and then super glued them in. Havent had a problem since. :)

You thought about doing anything with the engine cover Mr Ormi? Because for about £50 you could get a carbon fibre laminating kit, cover it in carbon cloth, which you could wrap under the edges and remove the need to have the piping there. I think it would finish off the engine bay a treat. :) You could even get a standard engine bay 'L' badge to stick on afterwards.

Nice one :) yee I realised that during my research, even harder to find than motorised nav housings! lol Wasn't willing to pay 5K for the Rotrex ones Prolex are selling! :o I'll start keeping an eye on my piggy bank.

Is that £2000 for a 'supercharger kit' with intercooler etc. or just for the charger itself? Do you know where the best place to source one from would be? As I may be looking at getting one during the summer. :)

Admiral quoted me £1100 for my IS200 Sport, I'm 20 with 2 years NCB and both my parents as named drivers who have 12+ years NCB each. And thats with about £500 voluntary excess.