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Baldchap

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Everything posted by Baldchap

  1. If you're buying diesel then don't buy Japanese, let alone Lexus. The best Jap diesels are the Honda lumps, and even they disappoint IMO. VAG diesels are the best in the world, bar none. Despite being tuned to within an inch of its life my old PD130 used to return over 50mpg and would happily spin the wheels in 3rd in the dry. The CR lumps in use now are more refined than the one I had. No faults over the two years I had it and I abused it like you wouldn't believe. On the move it was quiet and pulled like a steam train. The Toyota diesels are unbelievably noisy, inefficient and unpleasant in comparison. If you want a 'luxury' diesel then it has to be an Audi - they're prolific for a reason! The BMWs are refined but not particularly dieselly and under real conditions are (or certainly were when I drove such things) less efficient. If you're going petrol then the IS250 is probably the best real-world car I've had the pleasure to drive. Mine returns 25-30mpg on my commute (5 mile round trip - it barely gets warm) and I have seen 44mpg on a longer run, though I was trying (but still exceeding the 70mph limit). It's quiet, smooth and is the only Japanese car I've ever driven with a decent automatic gearbox. I have utter faith in it and after 10k I'm still impressed (I fall out with cars within a month or so, normally). I wouldn't have a manual version, and seemingly neither would everyone else as Lexus ditched it. It really is a FAR better car in every respect barring economy - in that regard the difference is less than you'd think. It's probably fair to say if you can't afford the difference you probably can't afford a Lexus come service time anyway... I'm sure the Lexus will be awful in winter, but it's on summer tyres so that's to be expected. We've got the missus' MX-5 if it gets really snowy and I need a manual gearbox to get going. To tie this in to other comments, I'm also an advanced driver and a biker. Not sure how that's relevant to the IS220D though.
  2. You misunderstand completely - I am largely in agreement with both you and the last couple of posters beforehand. The point of this post was that I actually wanted the specifics of what was happening to and with the TC on overrun/engine braking. The art of good driving is largely the same regardless of manual or auto - reduce speed then change gear. That's why ideally you'd have two hands on the wheel under braking - not only do you get more control in the event of problems, but it reduces BGOL which can result in destabilisation of the vehicle and is generally considered to be poor form (though in reality, most of us do it even in a manual, obviously moreso in an auto where it's unavoidable).
  3. There's a big difference between engine braking as a product of being in the right gear at the right time and changing gear solely with the sole intention of slowing down.
  4. Don't click on the link as it will take you to another page and it tries to install an add-on, as you rightly say. Just right click the link and 'save as', this will give you the ISO file which you can then burn to a blank CD. Which link? I see the captcha and the green submit button, but that's just a 25k html page. The iso itself does not appear to be a link...
  5. Any chance of somoene bunging that on a Sendspace or Dropbox link? That Russian page is trying to get me to install add-ons and I've no idea what they are!
  6. The bad driving bit is not being in the right gear for the hill (which is good driving), but using the gears specifically to slow down instead of the brakes, rather than slowing down then selecting the correct gear (which is the correct approach). Hope that makes sense. Thinking in terms of the Roadcraft system used by advanced bodies and the police it's Speed then Gear. So any answers? Does boshing it down a couple of gears (in exactly the way I've just said I shouldn't) to slow cause harm to the auto transmission then way it would in a manual (excluding clutch wear, obviously)?
  7. Well it is 'bad driving' in any car, so the bollocking's deserved! I'm just wondering whether it's physically harmful to the car...
  8. Hey all. I've got a question that's been niggling me for a while. In a manual, the adage 'brakes to slow, gears to go' is justified, because banging the car down a couple of gears with the sole purpose of slowing down puts a fair bit of strain on the drivetrain and wears the clutch prematurely... Now, in my automatic IS250 I've got the 'manual' option on the paddles and stick (or at least manual selection of the highest gear it'll go into) which is fantastically useful for holding speed on slopes and general boy-racery if I'm in that sort of mood. My question is, as I'm trolling up to a steep downhill, if I simply bang the stick across from full-auto to paddle-icious and select 3rd, say, will this process harm my transmission in the same way it could a conventional manual? There's no physical connection and the TC clearly allows slip in the non-driven direction or overrun wouldn't happen, but there is quite clearly a difference in the drivetrain between ratios or there'd be no engine braking. What's the answer? Brakes then gears as per IPSGA (as you would/should in a conventional manual), or just bash it down without a care?
  9. We were invited to a Lexus open day where I got to have a good run in an IS-F and given the option I wouldn't think twice. The noise when they come on cam is worth every penny. Acceleration isn't to bike levels but for a car it's nice and strong. As with all current Lexus models the interior is lovely (and no wood, pretend or otherwise!). Get it bought.
  10. Yup. My initials and age (at the birthday it was given). Gift from the missus.
  11. Cheating a bit, but how does 170+ mph and 30k miles sound?
  12. That link fills me with hope - I've got an IS and the missus has an MX5... :(
  13. If you use spacers or they are a non-standard size/width then yes, as you potentially change the geometry of the car... If they're a size offered by Lexus, I don't see how they could.
  14. I have an IS250 with the standard audio, which I think is excellent, though when I play MP3 CD's the track listing only shows the first so many characters of the track (or artist or whatever). Is it possible to get this to scroll to show the full name? Thanks.
  15. If I understand you correctly, there's a hinged bit on the non-moving part of the handle that you flip open to open the door with the key in the event of a flat battery - could this be what has come open? I think you just push it back down, though can't be sure without looking.
  16. My IS manual shows the option to prime the diesel fuel system using the funny speedo ring buttons IIRC (a diesel only function), as well as auto gearbox settings (not available on diesel), so mine is definitely a generic manual.
  17. The rears are wider, so that's 50% of the work done. Then the tyres will likely be directional, which should tell you which side they came from.
  18. Pass. Though I think it was their demo car, so wouldn't be an old one...
  19. Normally the other way round, as cold air is denser and results in cleaner burning. I have just mentioned in the mpg thread that we may have just seen the swapover to winter diesel, which may cause this issue.
  20. There are different diesel additives added to most diesels in winter to prevent it thickening/freezing as the cold weather hits. These additives are known to reduce mpg. Could be that the annual changeover has taken place at your local petrol station ready for winter.
  21. You absolutely change the suspension settings on the dash, as long as the car is stationary. It's done using the same button that changes the speedo rings etc. :)
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