NothernDan

Need a wider angle lens! That's everyone in though, 15 in total...... and a Peugeot SW, messing with our horsepower programme 

Early arrivals.

Conclusive proof that silver "is" the best colour.

Lowered Vs Not-Lowered.

Great to meet you all at long last today. Brilliant line of Lexi (that's definitely right.... just like Mongi is for Mongoose!) too!

On 17/11/2017 at 12:45 PM, FTBBCVoodoo said:

I had the "poverty" 18's on my 335i so no cracked wheels.

Had to make do with 2 x blown turbos, 6 injectors replaced and a High Pressure Fuel Pump failure instead.

Hence it got traded in for the ISF :-)

What is it with those things? I had a perpetual oil leak in mine for 18months, replaced everything it could have been.... still there. The interior smelled like hot oil all the time.

Loved the car and the power (was well modded up) but hated the ownership costs. Likewise, traded for the ISF....... with a short stint in a CLS inbetween (mistake).

11 hours ago, Peter P18 said:

Nice one Dan, take it your missus doesn’t come on here then?! Lol. 

I second this. Or, borrow enough money to give her the same amount your spending on the car? That way it’s equal..... works for me! 

Haha! No, she spends more time on myhusbandisoutsidepolishinghislexusagain.net 

if anyone is offering a low rate loan I’m in! 

Awesome.... large thumbs and a small screen means i’m The only “no”. For the record I should be a “yes”!!

On 14/11/2017 at 9:48 PM, Ace8800 said:

Oh btw.. welcome to the silvia club.

Can't copy the link on the old crapberry but if you Google search "Lexus isf tein springs garagewhifbitz" you'll find them. They are a Supra specialist but do selected other bits too!

Enjoy!

Oh.

My.

God.

I want that set up. Time to sell the wife!

Hey all, instead of M5 you could go cross country a little to the A449 through Stourbridge and straight into Wolverhampton. Some good dual carriage-way and single lane twisty stuff on there. Cuts out almost all of the M5 apart from one or two junctions. Used to live over that way.

3 hours ago, Womble72 said:

Think I’m the sole South East driver, possibly even coming from the Norfolk Broads, either way it’s a 6am ish start for me, Rich, time is from 10am, I’m aiming for 10ish, probably more like 10:30. I’ll be coming up the M11 or across the M11 🙄

Hey!

I'll be heading up from HItchin so A507, M1, M6, M54. Aiming for 10 so may see you somewhere along the way.

LOL

Love this thread!!! Just read it all in one go laughing my head off.

+1 on the 335 wheels. One full set and 2 fronts. Took the run flats off and never cracked another! German wrong-gineering

Northern by birth but not by location I’m afraid? Will be heading up from Hitchin in Herts. A507 - M1 - M6  - M54 I reckon. Anyone else heading that way?

Did take the long way round a few times! 

Lots of intracumbria travel and set off from Portsmouth on the way up so I had a good head start. Got a 31.4 tank average on the way back. That’s (1995... crap... tiny-engined) diesel figures!

Or even I’d “have” never known. Stupid iPad.

25 minutes ago, Warrington guy said:

Yep CharlieC is correct. Mind you mine was wrong way around for 12 months. 

Haven’t you heard? Backwards is the new forwards!

Cheers both! I’d hand never known.

Assuming this will mean all wheels off, tyre swap, refit and balance, then refit though right?

Spendy!!

10 minutes ago, Big Rat said:

I know this is naughty on some one else's thread but we all like a naughty IsF noise....... wind the volume up 😍

 

Gotta love that noise!!

Here's one of mine from our summer hols to France. Still get grief off the Mrs for taking the polish and wax with me! 

2 hours ago, Big Rat said:

@NothernDan Great right up Dan pleased you are enjoying yours, naturally you would having regard the colour can't believe I said that I've mentioned it before on here😏

Minor alterations can help some bond better with there cars always best to keep the original items though IMO, helps saleability in the unlikely event some can prises the keys from you at a later date !

All I've done to mine is the back boxes for now to give it a bit of base over standard a few hundred quid so I will be interested in hearing yours on Sunday, is it with or without X pipe ?

Big Rat

Mines with the X-Pipe for less drone Big Rat. You can hear it's not stock (not too obnoxious though) up to 85 but it's silent beyond. Perfect for this type of car. Silent cruising, noisy round town! Yeehaaa!

Here's the pics (hopefully) . A subtle difference but definitely worthwhile.

Afternoon all!

I just wanted to share a few small notes on my ownership experience since June ('17) and a little review after fitting Tein H-Tech lowering springs (front only) shortly before a 1,000 mile round trip to Cumbria (which included a good deal of B-road thrashing) over the weekend!

So...... After driving every flavour of BMW 3 (mainly in full M or M-Sport guise) over the last 20 years I'm fairly used to having my fillings rattled out with relatively firm suspension. I was in a 218 Merc CLS just before my recent ISF purchase so my last full year of vehicle ownership has been very comfy indeed. All the reviews of the ISF I'd ever read mentioned that earlier ones had a firmer ride but in my opinion, after owning the card for a few months now, it's actually not bad at all. Way better than any of the M-Sport BM's I've driven and far more refined than any M3. The occasional bounce out of the seat on bigger humps and bumps was a little unusual at first but by no means unbearable. 

I owned a brand new IS250 for a year or so back in 2008 and got the IS bug then. I've have been looking for a low mileage, good condition ISF in Silver ever since then but other interesting cars always presented themselves before I found one (Golf R32, Jag S-Type R, Impreza WRX STI... what was I thinking!). I'm pleased to say I found a near perfect ISF only a few months back.

Mine is a 2008 in (the best colour) Silver and arrived on my driveway with 45,400miles on it in June this year. It's been to Southern France fully laden with family and dogs since then a it's seen a good deal of England too. It's now showing 53,500, soon to go in for it's major service and has managed an average of 25.2MPG since I've been driving it. Not bad at all for what lies under the bonnet and the amount of time it's spent at full tilt!

So, after fitting the obligatory intake (HPS) and panel filter (K&N) in the stock airbox I fitted a H&S catback after only a few weeks. These definitely gave more poke and a much nicer noise.

My next 'fix' was to even out the tyre gap between front and rear wheels and arches. On the stock wheels an shocks I think the rear has the perfect gap but the front appears to be a good 25-35MM higher and the car looks odd from the side with this stance. Coilovers would be a great and highly desirable upgrade but given my shockers were in "near perfect" condition (according to the local stealership) I started looking at lowering springs to get a 1-1.5inch drop at the front but, most importantly, I wanted to preserve or improve handling and ride quality. The US forums all seem to score Swift springs or Tein H-Tech most highly (not many in the UK have fitted springs on the ISF as far as I could see) but many say the swift springs on stock shocks give a slightly firmer ride whereas the Tein springs seemed to actually 'improve' ride quality. Lower stance 'and' better ride from a simple lowering spring?!? Lets see how much truth there is in that.

A full set of 4 Tein H-Tech springs, specific for our cars, cost £205 delivered. My local performance modders fitted them for £240 (3 hours labour). I only fitted the fronts as I am perfectly happy with how the rears look and the ride. A grand total of £445 all in, bought and fitted. I've also got an unused set of rear springs that'll be up for sale soon.

I'll be uploading pics later tonight but in my opinion the look is perfect. The ride height is now perfectly matched between front and rear. The ride quality.........wait for it........... is actually better than before! The car is more definitely more compliant and less bouncy but has retained the positive steering and great feedback it had before. It's just like stock but with less bounce and much less rattle when the road gets rough.

It's definitely more of an aesthetic upgrade over a performance boost but for the money it's definitely on my list of very worthwhile mods.

I love the stock wheels on our cars so my next upgrade after the RR USRS arrive is getting those fitted along with 12MM spacers front and rear and a full realignment.

PICs will follow tonight and anyone who is coming to the RAF-F-FEST on Sunday can see it in person.

See you all then! :)

Dan.

Just get on Hermes (myhermes.com) and you can get tracked postage loads cheaper than Royal Mail or Parcel Force. You'll need a printer or access to one. I do loads on eBay and only ever use Hermes. means I can drop the parcels at a drop off shop any time I like too. 

You might need to create an account if you've not already got one but it only takes 5 minutes.

They are a lot cheaper for any bulkier items.

Enjoy!

Isn't it blue? I thought all the blue one's had white interior or is that just stateside?

Is that an upgrade exhaust too (round pipes)?

Looks nice anyhooo :)

Just PM'ed you my shipping address too. Hoping they've not missed one out too! Two of us might have to take it in turns!

In all seriousness, if we are one set down I'd be happy to wait a while for mine while they re-sent a set. I keep checking my tyres for wear but nothing showing. I'm just coming up to 10k miles this year and they are still going strong with no obvious signs of inner wear at all. On the OEM Potenza's and they still look as good as new.

Thanks again for your help on this Peter! :)

Dan.