scalvert

Sadly I've had this problem as well, the 18"s don't seem to be particularly strong, coupled with the fact you have less rubber to protect them when you do hit something. I had mine replaced at a heavily discounted cost, but it's not cheap. (Didn't try to push for warranty, I'm not the most gentle of drivers and I had just come back from the LOC track day!) One trick would be to use your spare wheel's alloy, you only need a spare wheel for getting you home or to the garage, so a dented alloy won't be too bad for that.

Must admit I had some fun at Brunters, even if I wasn't on the track quite all the time. Count me as interested, but I'll have to check on the dates. Is it a good track for novices? How much run off does the track have?

Hiya, I've been considering exactly the same myself down Silverstone way, so I'm glad to hear that it's such a hoot! The question I'm trying to find an answer to though, is can you do it in an unmodified IS200 with only the viscous LSD? Is yours modified in any way?

Is that the guy who does "wheels-inmotion.co.uk"?

No, I'm not registered for the Driftworks forum... yet. :D Must admit I'm a bit wary of taking the Lex drifting which is why I'm asking here first. But at least I'm seeing one advantage of how the used IS200 prices are dropping these days.

Yes I was, it took us over an hour to travel the last three miles to Combe. Still, I'd only just picked up a copy of that new J-Tuner magazine the previous evening, so it gave me the time to read it. I think the guys at Combe could do with rethinking how they get people on and off the site, they're unpopular as it is with the locals, forcing them to sit in traffic jams on event days hardly improves matters.

While they don't seem the most popular cars for it, it would seem that with a few nice additions under the hood the IS200/Altezza makes for an impressive Drift car. There's a couple of nice examples within the club, as well as an article in the new J-Tuner magazine. B) I must admit to taking a liking to the idea of drifting and want to try my hand at drifting myself. Needless to say I'm reluctant to try this on public roads, however Driftworks have a practice session in a couple of weeks at Silverstone and I was considering giving it a try there. My question therefore is, with an unmodified IS200 Sport (without a supercharger but with the viscous LSD and stiffer suspension) would I be able to practice drifting? If I can, what are the likely pitfalls/wear/damage I might do to the car? Fortunately I have a couple of spare wheels that I can over-pressure to 50psi and stick on the back, so tyre wear or reducing the grip on the rear shouldn't be too problematic. But I'd rather try my hand at drifting before deciding to make a few "expensive alterations" such as a supercharger and a proper LSD to make it easier.

It was a good day, and it was nice to get a sneak peek at "The Monster" as well. I can't wait to see that on track at some point. The Jap plates and the "Mini-Monster" on the back shelf were nice touches! :D Who was the guy in the blue IS who was "helping police with their enquiries" on the way in? I was tempted to stop and offer assistance to a fellow blue IS driver, but didn't like the look of his new friends. :P

Only my pride!

Err... That would be me. It's actually an unmodifed street spec IS200 Sport without a superchrger and not an IS300, I'm surprised people have made that mistake as I spun the car around several times on track so that everyone could get a good look at it. As for the car it's fine, a little nick out of one of the alloys but nothing serious. The worst bit is that after spending several hours cleaning it, I now have half a field plastered against the side! Both spins were down my own idiotic self, the way the car handled was very impressive. Some important lessons on car balance learned there... That and I really shouldn't say things like "This is pretty sedate, I might as well pick up the shopping while I'm here!" before taking a corner. :duh: ( I can't wait to get a copy of my passenger's in-car footage of that! :D ) But it was my first time out so I guess a mistake (or two ) was to be expected, I soon got the hang of things and for the rest of the day I didn't have any problems at all. The whole reason I went to TA was because the day was promoted as a good event for beginners with plenty of run off, and it was just that. (Though I guess I proved them wrong on the likelihood of reaching the grass! :P ) But I thoroughly enjoyed the day and my hats off to the organisers for such a great event. The fact that it was open session as well was fantastic, and I found people on track to be a lot more relaxed than at the likes of JapFest where people are trying to make the most of their allocated slot. I'm glad there's already talk of more! Now I have to decide if I go with a supercharger or see what the new IS250 will be like, so I can keep up with you all next time!

I'm not alone! Other people hate wood trim was well! That was one of the appeals of the IS200 for me, no wood trim or "kindling" as I call it. The IS250 is a nice car, certainly spec wise it's everything I would have liked to see in the IS200, over 200bhp and AWD. The use of brushed metal in the trim is very nice indeed, and plenty of toys to play with as well. But the looks... The front is a little too confused for my tastes. It's OK when viewed head on but not when at an angle. It needs sports trim! And the sides are just doors. It's floor, door, door, still door, not quite window yet, finally some glass! (No wait it's the moonroof). I need to see it in the steel I think, get some proper perspective as I doubt the photos do it justice. Certainly it's giving me second thoughts about adding a supercharger and the like to my current IS200...