RX-Men-8

Too bad, since everyone else here thinks it deserves lowering ;) The Sport is 15mm lower than the standard version. But it has some other benefits/goodies, like the limited slip differential, sport trim and tinted rear side windows. Moneywise it's worth more than the standard version, so exchanging a Sport for a Standard shouldn't be too hard. Cheers, RX-Men-8

One thing left for NL... CZ and NL should win their next match.... Doesn't look too sure for us :( They are taking Nedved out to spare him since they're already home free. Good match, but big hangover! RX-Men-8

In NL ther is a proverb: Met een witte blijf je zitten. Which translates roughly into: You'll be stuck with white at selling time. So unless you want it to look like an Honda Civic Type-R.... Cheers, RX-men-8

Thanks guys! It's a wonderful and healthy little fella, and my girl is recovering astonishingly quickly! She already sat downstairs Sunday night to watch England-France! (It is fairly common to give birth at home in NL). BTW, the GS300 came with a mod already, a rather huge rear wing ;) With the sound he makes, I'm afraid he'll definitely be a boy-racer :D Well, a classy one at least ;) Thanks! RX-Men-8

Hi! I'm very excited to announce that last Sunday morning my girl gave birth to a wonderful baby boy! Both are doing very well, the three of us are going to watch the Holland-Germany football match in a moment. He'll help screaming :D . He is already the proud owner of a blue 1:43 Lexus GS300, which his sugar-aunt gave him on his birthday. B) I have a poll going on the German forum on what his name is, as it is the same as one of their forum members. So I'll keep that under my hat for now. I'll be needing my sleep, so I'll probably use the forums less frequently (Maybe not :) ) Cheers, RX-Men-8

Black! Alas no vote ;)

I noticed Remus and Sebring were running their website from the same database. Both are Austrian manufacturers, but maybe they are owned by the same conglomerate? (FYI Remus makes an exhaust for the IS200 which is also rebadged for TTE). Cheers, RX-Men-8

I like smooth engines, and after having driven an MX-3 V6 and a 323F V6 I wanted to take the next step... Inline 6 (and Rear wheel drive). I knew how nice the BMW I6es were, but really wanted something Japanese again and fell for the understated but very good-looking IS. My Mazda's were pretty rare, but this is even better. I like the fact that many people don't know what car it is. RX-Men-8 P.S. Of course I was looking at the RX8 as well, but it wasn't yet available, and second handers I can afford still won't be available for some time.

Do not come between a dog and his breakfast ;) Could you get a fine - or even worse, a driving ban - if you signal oncoming motorists with your lights to warn them for the speed trap you've just passed? This is common practice in NL, at least on secondary (two-lane) roads. Cheers, RX-Men-8

Despit these gripes i love the car: - the toyota Yaris type ignition key that is very weak plastic - no axial steering wheel adjustment - no lumbar seat adjustment - no way to disable the passenger side airbag for child seat (lots of cars have that option) - boot lid hinges are not state of the art, they crush your luggage. Other car manufacturers got this right 10 years before the IS was launched. - ridiculously weak sounding horn. RX-Men-8

It shouldn't run with a cloud of soot, it isn't a diesel ;) Have you checked if the air filter isn't clogged with dirt/dust? The IS shouln't belch black smoke, in fact mine hardly produces any soot on the inside of the tailpipe. Cheers, RX-Men-8

Which channel? I don't see it in the BBC 1/2 programme listing so I'm afraid I won't be able to see it over here RX-Men-8

A friend of mine owns a Mercedes C class 200 Kompressor (new shape) I dont hear any distintive whine noise, and the car aint that fast either. 0 - 60 mph in around 9 secs. All you can hear is the noisy 4 cyl engine, but its dead quite inside the car. You're right, with the Mercs, the sound is less distinct, I think I read somewhere the S/C pulley disengages at idle rpm? When they rev it you'll hear the whirr... Cheers, RX-Men-8

Wearing the clutch plates out could be your own doing (but very unskillful) and considered "normal" wear, but the release bearing should last more than 24k, I'd say at least 3 times that. But I heard most European car manufacturers don't give real warranty anymore RX-Men-8

I heard Zee's and Tony Goose's superchargers last March at the TTE meet, and even at idle speed they have a distinctive howl. A corolla drove in as well with teh same whine, with the S/C you definitely can't sneak up on people anymore ;) I keep noticing the Mercs (180 Kompressor and 200 Kompressor) in the neighbourhood, they sound somewhat similar, but they're just 4 cyl. :yack: RX-Men-8

If the clutch is sticking, you'll hear a clunk/jump when you actually manage to put it in gear. The cogs will get a sudden jolt because the clutch is not entirely disengaged. But, with the quickshifter I'd suggest looking at the precision of its shifting pattern. If it is not spot on you may be actually trying to force it slightly next to a gear. Any of the above fit the pattern? Cheers, RX-Men-8

Yes. A sharp (snap-blade/stanley) knife will do teh trick. For instructions see here ;) Not exactly legal, but the bulb will have the e-label so it won't be so obvious. Cheers, RX-Men-8

And... if you get 9005 bulbs (High beam) and convert them to 9006 (low beam) by cutting away a few notches, you get 65 watts instead of 55 watts in your dipped beam... Is aboout 50% more light. For my pics, see here Cheers, RX-Men-8

Hi Brettster, Probably, it should be either a ball jount or the anti-roll bar attachment. That's what the lexus dealer said.... If it wasn't such a lot of work, I wouldn't mind having all the bushes changed on my car. I'll have a look when I put in the TTE springs, maybe I'll be lucky and see the bad one. Cheers, RX-Men-8

Hi S, On the 1st point I can comment regarding experience with my IS200 which has now over 100,000 miles on it. I had one of the front balljoints replaced (€90 part)as it was making a popping sound every time the car rolled from left to right (curves, roundabouts) or hit a bump with the right front wheel. I mean, these were fairly loud clonks. Now it is hard to hear, but I am suspecting a similar thing with one of the joints on the rear stabilizer bar. But it might be something clonking in the boot as well. Just make sure it is not one of the brake pads that is shifting in the caliper. So the clonk shouldn't coincide with applying the brakes or changing direction (say, from forward to reverse). If it does, it's probably the brake pads that need a new one of those spacer-springy thingies . Or some extra copper ease. Maybe someone else can comment on your paint job problem ;) Cheers, RX-Men-8

I've heard (and I believe) that if you have a supercharger on your IS200 and keep driving just as fast as before, you'll get slightly better fuel economy. Because of the better torque you can shift into the next gear sooner and drive in a lower rev-range. But you wont. :o You'll use the extra power again every time and get an accordingly worse fuel consumption. :D It'll just depend on how heavy footed you are. And yes, even though we in NL pay an enormous amount of tax (40%) on our cars and fuel compared to most European countries, there are some that are worse (maybe except for the fuel). Scandinavia has even higher car taxes. The second-hand IS200 you described would only cost about €20,000 here. My sincerest condolances Cheers, RX-Men-8

Hi, the Brits are well off once again, But count yourself lucky, in the Netherlands the IS300 Executive is €12000 more than an IS200 Executive. You can buy 2 superchargers for that! IS200 Executive: € 36,750 IS300 Executive: € 49,100 Consequently, there are virtually no IS300s to be found in NL, and fuel prices of € 1.35 per litre aren't of any help RX-Men-8

Just saw this post at 8:50 But I still got to see the SLR piece though, had me right on the edge of my seat. Burning rubber and brakes, I'm in awe.... Back to the real world and to my very nice IS200 ;) RX-Men-8

Better add another post to this thread so as not to jinx it with the number of the beast ;) Let this baby loose on the Nordschleife of the Nurnburgring! RX-Men-8

The Honda S2000 is a rear wheel drive car!