RX-Men-8

Chin up mate, this isn't half as bad for the forum members as for the admins, and you're doing the best you can. If there's anything I can do.... We're hosting the Golf Cabrio Club in the Netherlands on a sort of similar setup (MySQL/OpenBB) so I may have some resources to help (no strings attached, purely volunteering...) RX-Men-8 P.S. Looks like the euro forum is a total goner?

Dammit, my previous car (Mazda 323F V6) is higher on the list than my IS200!!! So much for progress... I'm sure the IS beats the 323 above 100mph, though.

Hi, I bought my IS200 second-hand a month ago, and I knew I had pretty much worn out tires, but I can confirm the extra wear at the inside tread of the front wheels. Inside it's almost gone, while at the middle there's about 3mm remaining. No problems with handling & stability, though. It runs as straight as an arrow. Does incorrect IS200 alignment account for this uneven wear or is this typical as more people seem to have this problem with their IS? Or is the IS prone to getting knocked out of alignment as is stated above? Thanks,

Textwise it's probably of little use, but try clicking around on http://www.twinnyload.nl It has more accessories and better pics than I can ever make. Cheers

Yes, it's the standard IS200 towbar (You can see the Toyota badge somewhere in the pics) The thing works by the sheer clamping pressure on the towball, which is leveraged when pusing the vertical arms apart from the top. The horizontal bar then folds flat-out and it has a latch to lock it. See the left pic and top pic for folded and mounted position. The part clamping on the towball are just 2 steel 2" pipe-ends that squeeze together very tightly (they are on the short arm of the "lever") What keeps the bike from falling off the rack? The thick 1.75 sq mm electical wire! The bike just hangs with its frame on the two arms. You hang it like a coat, and then wrap the wires around the frame tightly (sorry I haven't shot a pic with the bike securely tightened). I don't know how you would call them, but one of these elastic ropes with a hook on each end could help securing the bike at the bottom. I've always got 2 of these in the trunk for securing luggage. The thing is cheap, but mounting a towbar is pricey. I think they are €600 without fitting. No problem fitting them yourself, though. Takes an afternoon. For me it was a case of finding a second-hand Lexus with a towbar. And - ISes with automatic gearboxes usually don't have one, for an extra oil-cooler needs to be installed (presumably for towing trailers, not bikes).

Here's the simple one. It works by a strong leverage of the vertical beams to clamp very tightly on the towball. Nothing else is needed. It's very small, you can just fold it up. More care is needed in preventing the bicycle from touching the car, I added the electical wire to bind the bike to the carrier, and to keep the front wheel from flopping around. It will cover your license plate, so it's better to use it in bad weather. (To pick up a cyclist from the train station or so... the cops won't bother to come out of their car anyway). Of course you can add lights and a plate, but then it wouldn't be simple anymore....

Hi, Every other Dutchman with a car and a bicycle has one of these: The brand is Twinny Load and is available in various models at Halfords and other Car/Bike accessory shops. For mountain-bikes you need the one shown that can handle bikes with curved cranks (this is where a screw-clamp holds the bike to the carrier). Cost (in Holland) about €100-150. There are also models that can be tilted backwards so you can access the trunk/boot while bikes are mounted. It rests on the towball and is held in place with the 2-pipe fixture you can bolt on. There is another wing-bolt that locks the thing just underneath the ball. Very sturdy, it holds 2 bikes and 100mph plus is not a problem. The standard removable hitch for an IS is a little bit taller, so I had to buy a longer 2-pipe fixture accessory and cut that to size. Working around the release mechanism of the removable towbar takes some adjusting. By the way, there are other vendors that make a similar product. I've seen ones that can hold up to 4 bikes. There is also a "click-on" type that just clamps around the towball. This is just to get 1 bike home on a short stretch. Costs about €20. I've got one, so I can make a demo pic.

This not only happens on IS200's. Most cars have some clutch judder, a resonance, at some rev point depending on drivetrain dynamics. Normally it isn't noticable, though, because it happens outside (below) the rev-range used. It gets really bad if the judder happens to be in the rev-range you're using the clutch. It is usually fixed with a clutch replacement. 9 times out of 10 it'll be worn out pretty much already. Leakages (oil and grease) make it worse. I've felt bad judder (I mean, really heavy shaking) on a BMW 325i and Mazda MX-3 V6 (front wheel-drive). They both got cured with a clutch replacement. Gerhard