Tango

Correct, and the player resides in the boot. Although I buy my updates from http://www.lexus-mapupdates.eu/

I had the same problem, but one of the brackets had come off and caused some damage to the shoes. I checked the other side and the bracket was still spot welded in place, but I only gave it a prod and it fell off . I'm surprised this hasn't been reported on the forum a lot more as it must be a common occurance. Thanks for letting me know that they are only handbrake cable guides, as I my IS200 Sport has been riding around for quite a while without these brackets. Here's a pic of both of them after removal, it's obvious which one fell off and which one was taken off :

You've made a few assumptions. My IS250 SE-L was brand new from the factory, as was my IS200 Sport and both had bubbling/corrosion of the wheels after just over 12 months. The IS200 replacement were also brand new, not refurbished, and suffered the same problem. The independent refurbisher I used was not 'a man in a van', but a workshop that chemically stripped the rims back to bare metal before spraying with etcher, primer and topcoat, and so far they've been OK for 3 years.

Same problem as the 1st generation IS200/300. Lexus trot out some excuse about UK being the only country they experience the problem. Hard to believe but they were happy to replace the rims within the 3 year warranty period rather than fix the problem. I had two brand new sets on my IS200, and subsequently refurbished the second set by an independant company after they also started bubbling after the warranty had expired. Have had no problems since the refurbishment. My IS250 SE-L 17" rims had just started to bubble up after only just over a year from buying the car new. Unfortunately I had fitted aftermarket rims and IS350 discs and calipers and the Lexus dealership said they would only exchange the rims under warranty if I brought the 17" OEM rims in fitted to the car (they would no longer fit). However, I understand that unlike the IS200, the replacement rims are a set of four refurbished rims rather than new. In theory this should help extend the life, but if they have been refurbished to the original Toyota specification then probably not. My IS250 rims are now fitted with winter tyres for the IS200 Sport during the winter months. I have sprayed them with PlastiDip, which is a synthetic rubber coating, to protect them from bubbling further due to the salt spread on the winter roads. Seems to have worked.

250 and 350 discs side by side. If you haven't read my other posts you need to know the 350 discs and calipers are the same ones used on the GS300 Mk2 so are readily availble in the UK: A pic of my friends 350 discs and calipers fitted to his IS250 in Hong Kong, notice the standard dustcover. I painted my calipers with black Hammerite Smooth, polished the front face (they're aluminium castings), applied decals and two coats of clear HR laquer . Here they are fitted: ...and with the non OEM Volks VR SF-Winning two piece forged rims: The front rims are 19" x 8.5" with a +38 offset and fitted with 235/35/19 tyres. The rear are 19" x 9.5" with +42 offset, fitted with 275/35/19 tyres. Front lowered 1.4", rear 1" on American spec. Eibach Pro Kit Springs.

The dustcover and plate (same thing) do not need replacement, but may need to be bent back if they rub on the disc (mine did not). I did buy a pair of IS350 covers, but they do not fit the IS250/220 hub as they have different mounting points and cannot be modified to fit. The replacement is straightforward, after removing the original calipers the disks can be simply exchanged and the 350 calipers & pads bolted back on using the same bolts and locations. I did change the OEM brake hoses for stainless steel braided ones, but again the standard hoses can still be used with the 350 calipers. I'll post some pics and answer your question on the offsets when I am on my home pc later.

I know the 17" OEM rims will not fit after changing to IS350 discs and calipers on a 250/220. I had aftermarket 19" rims with slightly different offsets on the 250 SE-L with 350 calipers & discs/rotors, but a friend from Hong Kong also fitted them and he had 18" OEM rims, so yes they'll fit. Don't make the same mistake as I did in buying a set of 350 back plates/dustcovers, as they don't fit the 250/220. Don't make the assumption that because the IS350 has 17" OEM rims that are the same as those fitted to the 250/220, that they'll fit. The 350 hub is different so the 17" rims still fit over the 350 calipers.

Lexus made two major mistakes with the second generation IS series, the first being the introduction of a diesel model, and the second was to offer a manual gearbox as an option.

Yes, they are on the standard BBS rims which are 19" x 9" on the rear.

Only reason I use bottled nitrogen is to ensure there's no moisture in the tyres. Any water vapour in the tyre leads to unacceptable variation in pressure gradient in respect of temperature. Perhaps I'm being unduly fussy in the way I monitor my tyre pressures, but it certainly paid off with the 250 and I'm hoping for similar results with the IS-F.

Not sure what point you are attempting to make? Nitrogen is my preferred option to air and I have ready access to a supply. I don't inflate my tyres using petrol station air pumps at all. It's not as if I was trying to persuade anyone else to use it, or asking anyone's opinion. I was just stating a fact.

No, I don't. My IS200 Sport has the standard springs and although it has had the geometry corrected by Tony Bones I wasn't that observant when WIM adjusted the settings to stop the inner tyre wear. The front SPC camber adjusters were fitted to my IS250 because it only had toe adjustment originally and the 35mm drop put the camber outside the acceptable tolerances. The rear camber of the IS250 was still within the Lexus tolerances because the rear was only dropped 25.4mm and the rear camber tolerance is more generous than the front. If Tony reads this I'm sure he'll advise on the IS200 camber adjustment.

its wearing on the inside of the tyres at the front and yeah car is pritty low just now iv put some pictures up on the gallery bit in the is200 & is300 bit. its the orangy red one on the last 2 pages It may not just be the camber as the IS200 has major problems with inner tyre wear IF you set the geometry to the original Lexus settings rather than those of WIM. Subject discussed in this link http://www.wheels-in...amber+adjusters However, if the car is lowered beyond the limit of camber adjustment you need a pair of these. I had them on the front of my IS250 but they fit the IS200. Fitting of them and of rear camber adjusters discussed here: http://www.wheels-in...adjusters&st=20

I've been checkiing my tyre wear on a regular basis and found the optimum cold pressure for my style of driving on public roads is 40 psi (nitrogen filled), The fronts were wearing more on the outside and inside than the middle at 36psi and 38psi. I have new super sports on the rear that are slightly wider than standard (275's) and so far they are also wearing evenly at 40 psi. but I'll continue to monitor them. Regards the brake dust, the Hawk performance ceramics I have on my IS-F have reduced the problem on the BBS wheels (they are 12 months old now) and I have yet to see any problems on the bodywork. I am not aware that Lexus US have addressed the problem at all for the IS-F, although they have issued ceramic pads for both the IS250 & IS350 following complaints of excessive brake dust. The problem with the OEM/Brembo IS-F pads is different than that of the 250/350 pads; it isn't just the amount of dust but the ferrous content in it.

New GS, and no diesel option thank fully http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/next-lexus-gs-details-revealed/258387

Thought it has options of 2.5 or 3.5 Hybrid?? http://www.whatcar.c...revealed/258387

....and they say it's only blokes that can't be bothered to read instructions

Only on the 220D, the petrol owners have nothing to complain about.

Make sure your mirror selection switch is either set to left or right. If it's in the 'middle' then the mirrors will not dip.

I just completed a quote with Saga for my IS200 Sport and the on-line submittal had several values for the car, the lowest being 'under £20,000'. Now I don't see the relevance of this as it's probably worth £2000.00 at the most. The values were in increments until it reached 'over £100,000'. Hopefully this means no 'additional' cost included in the policy cost if £20,000? I also had a quote from LV which was cheaper, so before using the Saga price guarantee (they promise to undercut any like for like quote by at least £1.00), I checked both policies to ensure they really were like for like. The major difference was that European travel was a cost plus option with LV, whereas the Saga fully comp had that included, even though I do not intend to ever take the IS200 to Europe. Fair play to Saga, as they discounted my policy by the LV optional cost for European travel (it's still part of the policy, but no doubt there's a record and if I ever had an accident in say Germany, they'd weasel out of it).

I can tell you, having had both at the same time...the IS250 would still be the most economical.

Only if you resist the temptation to use all the acceleration that's available, or if you do fairly long runs, otherwise it's 18-20. If you drive it like a 250 then why buy the IS-F?

Just want to point out that it is illegal to have a TV or video screen operating within a drivers sight whilst driving, it's already law..

You can find all you need to know of its history on the internet. It's regularly taken part in the Toyota 'Time Attack' series, but with the extensive brake and suspension mods to the car I don't think it's suffered that much. Although it's a 2005/6 model the satnav is a hard drive rather than disk, so updating it from the Japanese may be a problem. Depends on how much he's asking for it, but I wouldn't personally pay more than around 14K, even if it's pretty unique in the UK.

If you're talking about the ex-Prolex one then it's probably a good buy. The IS-F is a bit quicker and has more torque, but if you want a fast road car the IS350 S/C would be fine.