H3XME

11 minutes ago, fezman said:

They absolutely ignored the point I made that a BRAND NEW RX was at least £500 cheaper to insure than my 12 month old gen 4. The new one has encrypted canbus. 

1) They have absolutely nothing to do with insurance companies. They cannot regulate their prices or anything like that, so there's not really much to say to that point.

2) The £500 cheaper quote for the new car is most likely down to not enough data for the 2024 model, not the fact it has a canbus plate / ecryption that the insurance company probably doesn't even know about. Give it a year and see if it's still cheaper.. The future claims will possibly cause a hike in the insurance premiums to the level of your MK4. I doubt it'll retain £500 cheaper. 

However, If things will keep going the way they are, the new Lexuses will end up like Sierra Cosworth 35 years ago. Nobody will have them because nobody will insure them.

I strongly recommend watching this YouTube video about China and they're "fake" economy if you will.. It's all facts & research, none of that conspiracy stuff. It's down to you what you make of it after you watched it.

On 2/10/2024 at 4:16 PM, Rains said:

Hi all, new to the Lexus marque, having just bought a low mileage 2012  IS250. Loving it so far, but I will need to find someone to supply & fit a retractable tow bar to it. And no, I don't have a caravan, it's for a motorcycle trailer.

Can anyone recommend someone to supply and fit? I'm in the Canterbury area.

Try these guys. http://www.kcatowbars.co.uk They're in Canterbury and I believe they do fitting too. Get in touch with them for a quote.

On 2/10/2024 at 3:21 PM, ChloeODwyer said:

Hello!

I am looking for some clarity as I can't seem to find anything myself about this topic I have a 2007 is220d exec and I've blown the head (surprising I know) I'm going to put a new engine in but I don't want to put one of the old troublesome engines back in and instead I want to put in a newer 2010 or up model engine

 

My problem is I can't find anyone who's done this before and I'm a bit lost on whether it will work or not.. any help at all would be greatly appreciated and thank you in advance!!

 

I don't wanna be that guy, but you really need to buy an IS250 instead. Engine swap with all the work etc we're talking 1000-2000 quid.. You can buy a 250 for 2k. There's currently a silver one on marketplace for £995 with a slipping clutch (£600 fix and you're good to go). 130k miles manual 250 on a '55 plate so lower tax bracket. Like @Linas.P already said, it's definitely possible to swap it, but the amount of hours needed to undergo this project is what's making it expensive... unless you can do all the work yourself 🙂

Also, there is a reconditioned 220d engine on eBay - £1600 supply & fit. Finding the newer, FTV engine is a bit tricky too because there wasn't that many diesels after 2010 and those are generally okay. It's the early cars that have been affected the worst and therefore lots available.

22 hours ago, Ivacerk said:

Anyone had issues with the immobiliser where the car works fine , everything , ignition , lights music , but the car won’t turn over ? Car doesnt react to the key at all, security light stays on 

would appreciate any advice

If you're sure it's not batteries in the key, then I think @Linas.P might be able to help. 

50 minutes ago, Pfallon2009 said:

Ok great thanks. Ya I might stick to the auto so. I am just concerned about the auto doing the constant hunting for right gear or even dropping to too low a gear when I put power on, I don't want the thing screaming when I'm driving through streets of dublin! I am looking a cheap fun roundabout and would love a BMW 325i or something but I hear nothing but mechanical and electrical issues with everything below the 10k mark, and I don't have the skills or time to be fixing them up. 

It won't be hunting for gears all the time. It's only a 6 speed. It's not bad like that at all. IS250 will treat you well, and they are much more suited to the auto box than manual.. they're no sports cars. Not to mention, go for a test drive mate, you'll know then.

Just to put my 5p here... I have no seen aftermarket units that would support cars with factory Bluetooth music etc. (White interface) so if your 2010 has that, it won't work.

On 1/27/2024 at 9:40 PM, Linas.P said:

225 is plenty to keep it on the road, but the balance will be little bit more natural for RWD, little bit of oversteer. Nice bonus - if you have square 225, then you can rotate the tyres and that means set will last longer as you can wear them down more evenly. Keep best tyres always in the rear. That said 225 will look a little bit silly in the rear on standard wheels and offsets, so 20-25mm hub centric spacer would be nice.

Also remember entry-lever IS250 came with 205/55/16... so 225 is really PLENTY for this car.

+1 

GOOD 225s is plenty. Michelin Pilot Sport 5s etc. Better mpgs, enough traction and doesn't make the car so dull to drive.

I shall add, it’s got a huge electric sunroof, black leather and the hottest heated seats my ars3 has ever felt😀

I'm picking up another IS250 manual in a few weeks. Black SE this time, but it also means my Forester will be up for sale. 

I got a 2006 FORESTER XE. 2.0L NA Auto..

It's on 111,964 miles at the minute but I'm still driving it daily so it'll go up a bit. It's got a service history, 2 keys, no rust and just had a full major service done before Christmas including timing belt and plugs. 

If anyone knows someone that could use a little AWD work horse let me know guys. 

Car works great, it's got some minor marks on the bumpers but it's expected for the age. 

£2800ono

29 minutes ago, Thelongterm said:

Tell more. The Jap IS350, is it hard to insure in the UK? Is it easy to get parts, etc?

You need to get insured with a specialist, but there won't be issues at all.. Many of my friends, myself included had JDM imported cars. They're often cheaper to insure than UK counter parts. For example, my insurance (Brentacre) would insure IS350 for £70 more than an IS250 when I got a quote before Christmas. Parts wouldn't be an issue either because it's pretty much the same as IS250.. Brakes are off GS300/GS450h, Rear brakes are the same as IS250. Engine is essentially the same as GS450h, except the hybrid models have the detuned versions of it. As mentioned, you can get pretty much anything off Amayama.

7 minutes ago, Taseen said:

@H3XME

Nice!!

Unrelated to this topic but you wouldn't happen to know about the adaptive radar cruise control option? Just curious as the only other people that I know who have it on their 250 are in other countries.

I believe it was an option for the later 11+ cars. Certainly not for pre facelift ones. 

5 minutes ago, Ozzay said:

To not start another thread and keep this topic of maintenance up...

IS250 2007 recommends Toyota Genuine Differential Gear Oil LT 75W-85 GL-5

It says it requires 1.1 or 1.2 litres.

They only sell it it 1litre bottles. Would I get away with the 1 litre bottle or should I buy 2 litres but the issue is most of it will never be used again for ages.

It is what it is.. If you put only 1L you're risking overheating the diff over time🤷🏼‍♂️ can always buy 3 and sell the rest to someone here 😅

Sell the diesel, buy IS350. I know a guy who imports them regularly. They're always around 7k.. or buy 250 manual and 3GR swap it because you can use stock ECU. V8 swapping it will cost a sh!t loads of money in fabrication, gearbox, adapter plates, diff, ECU.. Not a financially feasible option. 

50 minutes ago, Thracing-44 said:

 Like the idea of Bronze wheels on a black car. 

Yeah, those would look good in that colour. Can't wait to see it.

I'm glad you left the badge alone! This is the best the standard grille will look. 3 coats will be plenty to keep it on for a while. I think mine started chipping off after a year or so but even then it wasn't anything too bad.

17 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

Do they still do motor racing like I used to go to at Brands Hatch in the ‘60s …… ordinary’ish cars like Ford Anglias . Hillman Imps. Minis whatever …… that was so exciting if I remember 🤔

Malc 

At Anglesey? They do track days for regular folk with their cars. That's when I would go.

15 hours ago, Ahsan123 said:

 

Did any of you had this issue and know what to do and where to go to get this thoroughly checked and fixed?

I have attached a picture of 4 wheel alignment which shows camber still out of tolerance.

When the car is lowered, or loaded in most cases.. the camber increases. Could be down to worn bushes due to stress. You can buy aftermarket camber arms to bring it back to 0 if you want. We're talking £700 for front and rear. Bushes significantly cheaper, but that's down to the mechanic to inspect it.

22 minutes ago, Thracing-44 said:

Shall definitely be taking on advice, back when I had my Gen 7 Celica I was on that forum as well, had so much good advice from the well in the know chaps on there.

Having seen your thread before It made me keen on the 350z alloys, ideally will still get a set of those as the ET etc is all spot on. Steering towards Tein on the coils as they're a bit more cost effective, either the street basis or the flex z's if funds will allow!

TEIN Flex Z (£876) are more forgiving, therefore good street setup. BC Racing are more track focused, but unfortunately thanks to their clever marketing, every YouTuber and his dog uses them on everything and everyone who follows them buys BC too.. Hype / Clout. 

TEIN Street Basis (£552) do not come with top mounts, they are not damping adjustable and they do not go as low as Flex Z. (Flex Z are top of the range).. The damping adjustability makes a difference because you can set it up so you have a lower car without sacrificing comfort.

If the budget won't allow for Flex Z, I would quite happily go for TEIN Street Advance Z for £684 as they are similar to the Flex Z. They don't come with top mounts and go only up to 91mm lower in the front and 60mm lower in the rear vs Flex Z's 97mm front and 141mm rear. But that doesn't really matter because the camber cannot be adjusted through top mounts like on some other cars, so just swap top mounts from your stock suspension on those TEIN shocks are you're good. The height adjustment range is plenty too. I was roughly 60mm lower myself so wouldn't really need more even though the Flex Z allowed it.

You know I'm not a fan of those 350Z wheels. I think it's the dimples in the spokes that make them look a bit ugly in my opinion, but this is subjective. It's hard to ignore the fact they're forged (light & strong).. It's what you want in a perfect world. Strong but less unsprung weight. 

Take your time mate, there's no rush.. It took me 3 years or so to "build" the black one.. money's always a factor.

I've now found a Black IS250 after months of scouting the marketplace, eBay & Autotrader and will be picking up next month. I've already started buying parts for the car.. Got pretty much everything except wheels. I'm gonna try 19x10 square setup this time round. I won't say much more. I'll update my thread when I get the car.

EV racing will either disappear or it will take longer to be "mainstream". For example, a track I've been going to for years, Anglesey, has banned ALL EV and Hybrid vehicles from the track. It's to do with putting out electric fires.. It's not cheap or simple.

12 hours ago, Mossypossy said:

If they spent as much on the maintenance as they did on the remodelling it will be great!

Don't be silly! That would make far too much sense😆

Someone molested an SC430. This must be the worst kit car I've ever seen. 

It's currently on Facebook marketplace for £9k!!! 

https://www.facebook.com/share/zz1Mt1sudYzAMRW4/?mibextid=79PoIi

11 minutes ago, Dylan t222 said:

It’s starving itself of fuel soemwhere I’ve put a new fuel cut defender into it and still hasn’t made any difference I didn’t wanna have to buy and ecu as they are self learning but made no difference as it’s still cutting and turning of 

Injectors are ok? It's not leaking somewhere? How are the AFRs looking??

2 hours ago, mikehill596 said:

Hello all, my first post here and annoyingly its asking for something..

 

Im importing an IS250 (I know im mad) but they are asking for a Certificate of Conformity, I thought before spending time and money trying to get one out of Lexus I would reach out to you lovely bunch and see if anyone has a COC to hand?

 

Many thanks

https://www.toyota.co.uk/content/dam/toyota/nmsc/united-kingdom/owners/vehicle-information/certificates-of-conformity/Certificate_of_Conformity_Application_Form_tcm-3157-1598759.pdf

3 hours ago, Mr Vlad said:

Tom. Do take heed of the advice from Lucas. He's done many mods to his is250's and he knows his stuff.

Thanks Vlad. He's free to do what he wants haha.. It's just advice as I don't know how much experience he has. I wish someone told me about cheap parts & "expensive" parts when I was younger.

People often think that cheap wheels or coilovers are the same as branded ones, you just don't have to pay extra for the name. It's not always true, especially when it comes to suspension or wheels. The two things that are under the most amount of stress.. This is a forum, we should share the knowledge we have. If you choose to listen or not is up to you 😅

Also just to clarify, not saying BC Coils are on the same level as eBay chinesium. Both TEIN and BC Racing coilovers are entry level budget coilovers but Teins are more suited for the streets. BC would perform better on the track.

On 1/20/2024 at 9:07 PM, Thracing-44 said:

 

I’ve got some mods I’d like to do in the coming year, it came with a custom stainless back box system fortunately, which sounds lovely & a K&N Filter. 

Mods I have in mind to do:

- Tein or BC Coilovers

- GS450/IS350 Brake upgrade

- Bola or similar designed alloys

- Possibly a custom mid pipe

- Polybush ARB bushes

- Boot Duck tail spoiler 

Welcome. Nice plan. A friendly advice..

I strongly advise against BC Racing coils on this car. I had both TEIN Flex Z and BCs and the TEINs were a lot better to live with as it's quite a heavy car. 

Again, BOLA wheels and other replica wheels like JR or ROTA.. They are cheaper versions of genuine wheels from brands such as RAYS, BBS, WORK etc. While this may not make that much of a difference on stock cars, the poor quality of those wheels shows when you're on a lower, stiffer suspension that has less suspension travel and puts more stress on the wheels on 💩roads. They are basically easy to crack when you hit a sneaky pot hole. (Ask me how I found out. Lol) but it's up to you whether you wanna risk it. They'll be OK otherwise.. Never had a problem on genuine wheels after years of use. 

Bushes on sway bars don't do much of a difference at all. Coils will reduce the body roll a lot, but you ideally need uprated thicker sway bars to help with body roll.