J Henderson

LOL he even had it in snow mode to try and complete the journey. I normally just restrict myself to a trip to work and back (about 25mls in total) once the light comes on.

I'd also be interested in hearing about the quality of the ballasts in those hids4u kits. I've already got HIDs in all my front lights as I recently put cheap kits in the main beam (4300k) and fogs (3000k). The improvement over halogen bulbs is massive but the aftermarket lights take an absolute age to get up to temperature compared to the OEM Denso ballasts. It must be around 15-20 seconds. For the fog lights that's not a problem, since, once they're on, they stay on, but I'd really like to improve the situation in my main beam if I can.

I'm averaging about 7K per year.

Yeah, SRP has some wax-like properties, but it won't last long on it's own and ought to be topped-off with a proper sealant. Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection works very well in tandem with SRP. A layer of that would keep your paintwork sealed for about a couple of months at least.

Yeah, I was a bit mindful of that so I was careful not to douse the fusebox, ECU casing etc with prolonged jets of water. Just a quick splash to get rid of the dirty liquid that had gathered on them. I reckon those boxes are sealed-up pretty good, and pretty-much splash-proof but I wouldn't entertain the thought of blasting them with a pressure washer.

A big tree overhangs my drive as well so I feel your pain. Simple washing only will keep your car clean and will help, but it won't really protect your paintwork. Even with regular washing, the sap and whatever else will eventually become embedded in the paint and need to be clayed or polished out. Ideally, you'll want to get some sort of wax or sealant on there so it's not an issue.

£95 + VAT http://www.wheels-inmotion.co.uk/

Yeah, there's no SE or Sport, just the "IS300". Apart from body/trim colour, the only differences you're going to find are whether or not Sat-Nav is fitted, or any dealer fit options like the "Aero" package. The LE model has a different grille and a unique paint colour. Also, the 11-spoke wheels and a storage bin on top of the dash, but these became standard equipment on late models. The other things that distinguish an LE in IS200 guise (HIDs, auto-dim mirrors, full leather, front armrest) are standard equipment in a 300, so unless you really want that Kodiak Sky colour, there's little reason to seek one out.

Yeah. I rinsed it clean using a watering can with the "rose" removed. It took surprisingly little effort or time to get this result btw. I just sprayed on the engine cleaner and used a soft brush to work it in and let it soak for a minute or two, then rinsed it off and let it dry naturally. The following day I buffed up the pipework & plastics etc with Autoglym Vinyl & Rubber Care.

I remember seeing a set for sale in Lexus Birmingham's eBay store once, and it specifically mentioned that they were rare and different from the saloon ones.

Strictly an amateur. :) Heh, I must admit I didn't. I only done the outside quickly to get rid of water marks since the rest of the car was shiny. I'll polish the glass properly at the weekend if the weather allows. Yep, I used SRP on all the lights. I noticed in the past just how good it is on them. :) I finished off under the bonnet this afternoon.

It was hard work, but very satisfying. :) Whilst I normally give my car a quick wash every week to keep it "clean", I hadn't made the effort to clean it properly for probably around a year, and it was really showing. The paintwork was pretty lifeless and rough to the touch, and the bottom half was especially bad since it was saturated with hundreds of tar spots and other bits of embedded grime. The interior also hadn't been touched in ages, but wasn't too bad compared to the exterior. So, this weekend, and last, I took advantage of the nice weather to try and get my car spotless again and finally use some of the AutoGlym products I had been amassing thanks to Halfords' 3 for 2 offers. Last weekend was when most of the hard work was done. The car was washed and vacuumed, then dried before I set about removing all the tar deposits. The car was then clayed, and treated to a course of Super Resin Polish. I also done the alloys and dressed the tyres. That was where I left things though as it looked like it might start raining. Plus, I was getting pretty tired of all that rubbing and polishing. Fast-forward to this weekend, and the car was washed and dried once more. At this point I noticed how dull and faded the black paint on my door frames were, so I rejuvenated those with AG Paint Renovator then treated the car to another layer of SRP, before finishing the job with High Definition Wax to seal in the shine. Rubbers, plastics and glass were also done to complete the look, plus the wheels and tyres once again. A quick pass of the interior and engine bay followed, with the main task being to clean and condition the leather seats. No pics of this I'm afraid, or before, or during shots of any of the work I done. Just these few snaps taken in early morning sunshine which doesn't really show the deep shine very well. In person, the car looks tremendous and I'll be trying to keep it that way. Maybe even use this topic as a cleaning log of sorts...I'll make sure I take better pictures next time though. Products Used: AG Bodywork Shampoo Conditioner AG High-Tech Microfibre Drying Towel AG Intensive Tar Remover AG Rapid Detailer AG Clay Bar AG Super Resin Polish AG Clean Wheels AG Instant Tyre Dressing AG Paint Renovator AG High Definition Wax AG Fast Glass AG Vinyl & Rubber Care AG Bumper & Trim Gel AG Autofresh AG Engine & Machine Cleaner AG Leather Cleaner AG Leather Care Balm AG Interior Shampoo

Try the passenger door jam. I'd guess your car is Platinum Ice (1C0) though.

H3 bulbs for you.

Probably about 30mins per corner. Maybe 45 if heat needs to be used on stubborn nuts or something. Yes, its advised to let any new suspension components settle in for a while before having your car aligned afterwards.

I too suffered from the knocking sound but it disappeared when I replaced my shocks last year. I also fitted new top mounts, coil springs and drop links at the same time so I can't say definitively that it was only the shocks that were to blame. Looking through that old topic though and it seems they probably are/were the cause.

Stuart, your car looks more like paint code 4R4 Not sure of the UK/Europe name, but in the US it's called Savannah Metallic.

That's right. Your example there is spot-on. Adding a spacer will effectively reduce the offset of the wheel. The et50 isn't the maximum btw. Some pretty big spacers can be used with a 7J wheel. For example, this car below has 15mm spacers on the front and 20mm on the rear. Anything wider than 5mm though and you'll be running out of thread for your wheel nuts, so longer studs will be required. Its also worth mentioning that cheap generic spacers might cause vibrations in your steering, so ideally you want hubcentric ones. They are quite expensive though (around £50 a pair), so these particular wheels you're interested in might end up costing you a fortune in the end. It might be worth forgetting them and pursuing a different set of wheels (that won't need spacers). Depends what you want, really. With that being said, a small 3mm spacer might be fine and not cause you any grief. :)

Yep, if there's any clearance issues you could fit spacers to bring the wheels out away from the suspension. Regarding the bore size, since it's larger than stock (60.1) that's not a problem. A set of spigot rings (like http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-X-67-1-60-1-ALLOY-WHEEL-LOCATING-HUB-SPIGOT-RINGS-FIT-LEXUS-IS350-200-300-/200908600976?pt=UK_Cars_Parts_Vehicles_Wheels_tyres_Trim_Nuts_ET&hash=item2ec715f690'>These) would resolve that.

I fitted a pair of http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180464646215&ssPageName=ADME:L:OC:GB:1123'>THESE two years ago and they've been spot-on. No cracks, warping, squealing or anything else that is often associated with having grooved & drilled discs. A bargain at nearly half the price of those Brembo ones. I have blank Brembos on the rear and they've been fine. The bell on both discs were orange with rust within weeks though so I doubt that Brembo's OEM-spec stuff is of any higher quality than any other reputable brand out there.

Standard alloys are et50, so there's not a huge difference. Being a higher offset though, they will sit slightly further inside the wheel wells and be closer to the brakes and suspension, so there might be clearance issues. Ideally, you ought to test fit them before buying.

I fitted the PIAA Silicone-Tech ones to my car recently and they're superb. At £50 a pair they should be, but they continually coat the glass with a thin layer of silicone as they get used which repels water brilliantly. At motorway speeds you barely need the wipers at all. The water just beads up and rolls off!

Denso: SK20R11 or IK20. NGK: IFR6T11 Here's the Toyota/Lexus part number for the SK20R11 as I just fitted a set of them in my car at the weekend. The old plugs that came out were NGK. NB: The IK20 variant is branded "IRIDIUM POWER" and supposed to be higher-performing, but they don't last as long and need replaced much sooner.

Just this one, which isn't the best.

KYB are OEM-spec shocks and are the original equipment on more cars than any other brand. In fact, they're probably what's on your car right now. :) I bought a new set of them to work in conjunction with Eibach springs when I replaced my original suspension (which had done 100K mls) about 6 months ago. I was only looking for a moderate performance increase and wanted to retain as much ride quality as possible. So, in that regard I'm very happy with how things turned out. The H&R/Koni combo though was one I was very interested in before settling on the more conservative setup. I think if my car was a Sport model or an Altezza, I would definitely have gone in that direction. By all accounts, the H&R springs are stiffer and lower than Eibachs and would probably be too much for standard-spec dampers. Ideally they'd be better paired with a proper sport/heavy duty shock like the Konis or Bilstein.