Rompy

Good to meet you guys today. Sorry if the TVR was a bit loud. Who knows whether we come back to the Lexus for in the future…….

We’ve had to go up a trim level to get the (manual) adjustable seats. Wifey is 4’11” and I’m 6’2”. It’s always a deal breaker whether we can both get comfortable in any new car. Will miss the memory seats in the Lexus, but pleased we can both drive the Tamora and Alpine. Time will tell whether we have made the right decision about losing the V8. Truth is we seldom use the back seats of the RCF so two seaters should be more fun for us. At least while we can still get in them!

Yes. Bit of a change from a v8

Yes of course. Changeover day is Friday next week.

Yep. Should sit nicely in the garage next to the Tamora. Beauty and the beast perhaps?

It is with a sad heart that my ownership of five consecutive V8 cars is coming to an end. But with petrol approaching £9 a gallon and a heavy right foot, it’s time to say goodbye. I’ve accepted a very reasonable trade in price, so there should be a 2017 red carbon RCF coming onto the market shortly. Thanks to Lexus Swindon and Hedge End for their support over the last three years. Enjoy your cars. I’ve got a pair of standard exhaust rear boxes, a spare plastic top engine cover and a set of used floor mats in the garage. And, no we haven’t gone electric, just a left field French coupe. Au revoir Rompy

Subject to date. Got a few weekends tied up. But sounds good….

Welcome. I’m just out of the city on Portsmouth Road / Hamble Lane. Had our carbon RCF for 3 years and still makes us smile. Any queries or if you just want a chat, pop along to see us, coffee is usually on. Rompy.

Before buying ours, the longest we usually kept a car was 10 months. Went through a lot of V8s before picking up this one. Had it over three years now. Look at the gloss he’s got in that paint. Superb. Not looking to change any time soon.

I think that carbon fibre is both brittle and liable to scratch. I don’t know of anyone suffering breakages, but then I don’t mix in circles where cars are made of this substance. The multiple (4x) chips and scratches aren’t very big and I’ve had one repaired already. But the fact that they are minor defects on my MOT has spurred me to do something. I will contact Aut****** next to see where they source glass from and any problems I’ll be on to my “nautical” insurer. I see that they state windscreen repairs won’t affect no claims, but may affect next years premium. and I’ve contacted the closest two Lexus dealers who have confirmed that they don’t install glass, but sub this out. it’s becoming more of a faff than I anticipated

Cheers. Did your insurers cover the dealer doing the calibration? I’m gearing up for a fight to simply get the whole job done at Lexus

I’ve got a spare large plastic top engine cover from my RCF. Might look good on a wall, or alternatively maybe hydro dipped as part of an under bonnet custom job. These don’t come up for sale very often and are expensive from Lexus. Open to offers

A full set of mats out of my 30k miles 5 year old RCF. I’ve just replaced with new, but these might do somebody a favour? Make me an offer. Otherwise, I’ll tip them. Based in Southampton, but often in Northampton.

Anyone had a replacement windscreen fitted yet? Mines covered in chips and just got a minor on MOT. My insurers are linked to Aut******** (aren’t they all), but I’m nervous of all the electronic stuff on the screen AND the carbon roof. I can just imagine the phone call …. “We had a bit of trouble removing the old screen and we cracked the roof. But it wasn’t our fault” Am I worrying unnecessarily? I was going to lean on my insurance to see if I can get the screen fitted by Lexus. I don’t know where other carbon panelled (super) cars have screens fitted. Perhaps companies like Aut******** have the experience nowadays? So can anyone put my mind at rest that RCF windscreens and all their electronic systems are ok when fitted by a car glass company - and any thoughts on implications of that carbon? What could possibly go wrong????!!!!

Just to add my view. My 17 RCF carbon has AVS and I’m sure it doesn’t do anything. Steering is more precise in S+, but I can’t detect any other changes to suspension. My previous C63s used to noticeably tense up (or go hench) when going into S+, but the RCF just doesn’t. Maybe the change is too subtle for me. By the way, we’ve owned the RCF three years this week. No other car has lasted more than a year in the last two decades. So that’s quite a feat for us.

I had Lexus fit a different front brake compound to my rcf to reduce the unacceptable squeal and excessive dust. They do these alternative pads but state they are not for track use. Had no noise or excessive dust since they were fitted. Just saying there are alternative Toyota parts out there....

Anyone got one of these fitted in a vehicle with TVD? Being told by dealer that parts won’t fit my car as we don’t have spare wheels in the uk. I’m confused. If anyone Knows where I can get a liner or can drop the part number I’d be obliged. As the car is being used as a daily, I’m starting to add a few marks here and there. Rompy

I can add my experiences and views to this thread. I had an early c63 saloon in 2010 and it was a cracker. Fun to drive and a crackling exhaust that was a delight. Sold it 12 months and 25,000 miles later after 4 sets of rear tyres and almost daily visits to the petrol station. Roll on three years, petrol prices had dropped and the facelift c63 was launched. Bought a coupe c63 with the MCT transmission. Totally different animal. Much more aggressive gear changes with a real bang on the downshift and associated popping and banging from the exhaust. A real pleasure to hammer this car and even in auto it was terrific at screaming changes and boy was it quick to swap cogs. Also the car would block change in manual, ie pull the left hand lever and hold it to change down to the lowest possible gear in one move. Great for approaching roundabouts. The c63 coupe is the V8 to have if you want to thrash a car to the limit and shred tyres by tea time. After the c63 we went a45 before back to V8 with a Mustang. Nice sounding but limited on corners and wrong image for us. Decided to go back for a third c63 and the only way to go was a 507. Narrowed it down to three possibles and off to test drive. Now whether we had remembered things differently or not, but the two we test drove completely underwhelmed us. To be fair they turned out to be tatty and thrashed, and might have stood in the showroom long enough for the learning gearbox to have gone to sleep? Either way, after driving two of these we decided that we needed a different V8. Currently in a rcf carbon which might well turn out to be a keeper. Build quality and ride are excellent. We don’t often hold onto cars more that 18 months, and that is rapidly coming up. But I’ve just put 2 years warranty on it, so not looking to change for the foreseeable. But, remember these have a torque converter so you won’t get the hard bang of a MCT when you change gear. The change is more cushioned almost fluid and after 15,000 miles the tyres are still on 5mm. I would be on the third set of rears on a c63. You’ve got to ask what you want of a V8. Pose - go mustang with borla exhaust. Thrash and get the back out of shape on bends and roundabouts - w204 c63. Refined luxury with a effortless acceleration up to silly speeds - Lexus. Oh and if you were thinking about the block change issue, it does this in auto, just not in manual. Many reviewers pounced on this as a major problem, I just look ahead and if I weant to overtake rapidly, knock the stick back to auto and floor it. Still can’t shred the tyres, must try harder. Yes the sat nav is out of the ark, but if you’re worried about anything other than the V8 engine and gearbox, buy something else.

Whoop whoop Hedge End have pulled out the stops and it’s ready to collect tomorrow. Social distancing means it hasn’t been cleaned, but after 3 months, I’m just glad to be collecting it. I’ll give it a thorough clean over the weekend after I collect a few flies on the M27.

Yes, Hedge End seem switched on. Just waiting for parts from Japan. I’ve started looking at battery options as I suspect it will be fubared after 12 weeks plus just standing there. looking forward to a (legal) blast when it’s fixed.

Dave, so you weren’t able to spot my red carbon RCF in the corner gathering dust? It’s been at Hedge End in pieces since early March awaiting parts from the factory due to a hungry rodent. Apparently all factory parts orders got cancelled and they’ve resubmitted the paperwork. Expect to have car repaired sometime in July. Good job I’ve got other vehicles. Warranty expired in May and I’ve asked about an extension as I can’t do any end of warranty check. I’ve taken out the extended warranty, but still want things like valley gasket and headers checked over while Lexus original warranty applies. They’ve gone quiet.......

Just to bring this thread to conclusion. The dealer obtained LEXUS approval for the alternative pads all round. These were fitted under warranty last week and 300 miles later I haven’t heard a single squeak. I can’t detect any difference in braking effort or stopping distance. There also seems to be less dust generated I was reminded on collection that these replacement pads are not suitable for track use and I should let the next owner know if I sell the car. J

I had my RCF carbon accepted for the Supercar weekend. Unfortunately a minor incident a couple of weeks ago means I’m currently driving a courtesy car. Lexus Hedge End were present at Beaulieu with a couple of electric cars. Didn’t see any large engine Lexus models, but there were a lot of Mclarens, Lambos and TVRs. Good weather and a lot of noise, smell and fun. Theres always next year and Dan from Beaulieu is always looking for rarer cars to attend . J

That’s really interesting Colin. I will see what the same dealer has to say about this before going to another. It appears that they based their original response to me on information from the “Lexus Technical Field Manager”. I have no idea if this person is dealer based or head office. Either way, I thank you for the ammunition to raise the matter with some force and hopefully get rid of this ridiculous noise. Sorry to hear the GSF isn’t included though. Finally, I’m trying to build a relationship with my dealer so haven’t named them on the thread. It doesn’t take much to work out who they are once you know which carbon edition I bought. So far I’ve paid a reasonable sum to have the brakes stripped and cleaned. I’m now expecting a closure of this matter with replacement pads at no cost. It would be good to get a positive conclusion to this thread to help others. I will update. J

I didn’t know that about RS’s. Never had any issues with my AMGs or my Mustang with Brembos.