KamD

Hello, what I did to mine, when I had to was the following: Maguiar's Kit with 4 different grits and drill attachment for polishing. The sprayed 2 coats of 2k super clear UV resistant. More importantly replaced all the bulbs. Dipped beams are about 100 quid off of Amazon OSRAM XENARC NIGHT BREAKER LASER D4S, +200% more brightness, HID xenon bulb, discharge lamp, 66440XNL-HCB, duo box (2 lamps) https://amzn.eu/d/88mmn7O Then replaced the rest of the lights with LEDs. The difference to OEM is night and day, literally.

Don't have a TC button to hold down? I believe the "procedure" should be exactly the same as in an automatic, press button and hold until VSC warning light comes off, and it stays off until you shut down the car. Repeat every time you turn it on. Curious! Will follow this just for the trivia bank of useless knowledge that may never come to be of use.

You should try to touch them, even if it feels awkward at first. Between 4.5 and 5.5k rpm is where you'll find them most enjoyable. (I do realise it's a humorous post and reply the same way) Bit of a shame that 140mph doesn't feel any differently than 90-95, only try that where legal (race tracks or Germany), actually it becomes slightly heavier past 130...

I really like what you've done to yours... modificationwise... I wouldn't put 225 on my RWD, not the way i drive and what I'm asking from the car to do occasionally. I find the ride choppy on 225s in the back. Soon on a cross Europe trip and honestly I prefer to be on 265s on the Autobahn. Call me crazy... 😉 What we're talking about here is really +5% or -10% so, nothing drastic really.

I didn't even finished reading the whole post... Will go back to it. The reason why AWD uses 4 identical tyres is that it drives all 4 wheel, at the same time. It's sluggish and slow and nothing like the RWD. It's even on Lexuses official papers .4 seconds slow to 60 than RWD, incorrect... AWD is a grosser getter in UK It's not needed. I'd much rather we had the 350 I've been in touch with all limits of my car and Lexus haven't even stated correct max. speed... anyway.

@Linas.P please do not give that advice nilly willy AWD and RWD act and behave very very differently! Hence - tyre combination suited for AWD is probably not the best idea on a RWD.

I'm not saying that at all... There's comfort mentioned as well... Not in the slightest. The only way to have TC off in an IS250 is to be in P and hold the button for few seconds. I assume you know better than me on this as well, right? Otherwise you get interrupted. Car behaves and works better with VSC off, fact. Or you have something against just driving without help? @H3XME 2IS doesn't drive better on 225 in the rear - 'nuff said! Seriously, guys, neither of you both has even given a thought for one little bit 265 maybe a much more comfortable and just overall better choice than either of the OEM specs or hints to alternative sizes? (I've been through all of those and the best suited to me setup is 225 - 265 ) Peace!

One word - fun! Controllable and predictable fun... If you know, you know! And 265 is just about right comfort / control You don't need 1000hp to go sideways... if and when you want 🤷‍♂️ Whatever... Again - as long as you're safe you can put ice skates on the car if you desire... Back home I keep an old Lada with "fog tyres" just to be silly when I feel like it. Completely stock... carburetor engine, still goes sideways 😏

I'll let you figure that one for yourself... Trip to work, consisting of 75 miles of B and A roads of various description. And again... You were saying!? Just because the car is automatic it doesn't mean that your driving has no input on it's performance and economy. Learn how to coast, feather both throttle and brakes and most importantly - use whatever limited control you've got over the gearing and make the engine work for you, not only accelerating! Most powerful a d reliable brake you've got at your disposal is the engine. Remember, I'm killing my car on 18' 225 front 265 rear 🤭🤭😏

My friend, before I start writing lengthy and heavy posts on this subject, let me apologise in advance... You keep going like this, and I'll have to fire up the laptop and begin a lecture... phone typing isn't my forté. But my work day is over and I'll be home soon... Still would try to refrain from actually doing it, but you about to start pushing the envelope. I don't know you, you don't know me, so on so forth, right? Let me just clear that out for you, alright? I'm not from UK and although you don't have these in here, my education after 8th grade (14 years old) school was a Professional Academy for Transport, primary discipline - Exploatation and maintenance of motor vehicles and agricultural aggregates. One of the discipline's main chapters for 5 years was DRIVING. By the age of 18 (a year before school was over the only licence I didn't have was HGV hazardous goods, due to age restriction and experience, and a tank... for entirely different set of reasons. Please stop educating me on tyres, traction and how to break it, ride whatever tyres you like on your car, but please be safe! The only reason you're struggling to break traction on 2IS is that you probably don't know how (I'm wildly guessing here). I would really try not to get upset with you and turn this into a very lengthy and heavy read. Still not salty, just mildly offended by the dismissive tone you and Linas are using, implying you're all-knowing and all-wise... and there can be no other opinion but yours - there is! The only real and meaningful sentence (after clarification) you wrote (or was Linas) is that you use skinny tyres for traction (in certain circumstances) on wet (meh!) - deep mud, deep water and snow! And wide tyres for dry grip AND well drained roads (99% of UK) Very small but distinctive difference, isn't it? Take care!

I'm not salty, and you're not educating me, my friends.. Don't make ME, educate YOU, please... Just be safe 🤭

Yall drive whatever tyres you like... fit plastic covers on them to make it even more happy at the business end. Pilot sport 4s, Linas. As for the rest... I suppose a pointless argument at this point. So we have wide tyres in high performance cars to keep them on the road, especially in wet, but because the 2IS is only 208 we can put it on w9od blocks and it'll be fine - very sound logic! (Farm roads means a lot of dust and slippery muddiness of different denomination 4 seasons round... ) Yall have fun and stay safe, alright?

So, 10mm wider is worse than 30mm narrower tyre? 🤔 Don't follow that logic at all! Please clarify how upsizing by 10mm (OEM 18s are 255 🤷‍♂️) is worse than downsizing by 30mm . Also don't understand why you're laughing at my one wheel peels (which I hate btw... ). With an LSD the IS becomes wildely underpowered (friend of mine has it fitted on his, takes a fair bit to make it loose it's tail) with the OEM open diff you're literally a mash away from making it spin a wheel, and if you don't let go that wheel starts smoking rather quick, when VSC off 🤷‍♂️ 2IS has a choppy suspension on the back - 265/40/18 is a very very comfortable tyre on it and doesn't make virtually no difference at all to the MPG. It's a 2.5 V6 lazy and understressed engine that can do much better when booted. Feel free to correct me on any point if I'm wrong.

Will definitely try that. Thank you!

Reread my previous reply I forgot to mention the chrome bit, now explained... Couldn't do that 😭

300x3000mm off of Amazon, £12, more than half of it left. I'm talking about the opposite to your circle bits... once chrome plastic removed, they're very thin and sharp, just didn't get them right. I suppose I'll just "Sharpie" these 2 dots to take my eyes of them. FYI chrome bit comes from underside, unfortunately otherwise there wouldn't have been any imperfections. My initial thoughts when I started were - piece of p**s I'll just shove that in to press the wrap... Much to my disappointment you can see that bit on the table - it's a whole plate, for some reason. Or can actually take that centre bit off on the weekend and have at it again... 😅 Thanks, Vlad! Much appreciated!

There 2 things I never compromise on - tyres and brakes, you know... the things that keep you on the road. Personally don't like the Michelins, they're at best numb and wear too quickly. Running Goodyear Eagle 3s(slightly better than the 5s for whatever reason), 225/40/18 front, 265/40/18 rear. I don't know why people keep saying the IS250 is underpowered... On the roads I'm driving can pretty much make it misbehave in any gear at any speed... ( the Middlands, many farms about, lots of twisties) And from a stand still it's only a matter of flooring it to turn some rubber into smoke. Again, this is me... Can't speak for everyone. The real strength of the 2IS is in the middle, on a kickdown. I tend to drive a lot in "manual" (not a manual at all... biggest downside of an automatic one) and with no traction control. I like driving. Can't justify buying it an LSD yet from GT86/Subaru BRZ, but I'm arguing it's merit and slowly convincing myself to get one. Tyres... would always overkill those, for as long as I can afford them.

Thanks, bud! But there's a fair few bits that I need to practice... Zoom in on the shifter and you'll see both needle points are broken, I just couldn't get them right - no experience whatsoever prior to this, and rushing it a bit. Have more than half the foil left, will probably retry on the weekend.

I would stick to the staggered setup myself tbh. 245 on all four corners worsens the front. 225 on all 4 corners worsens the ride stability cornering on wet roads and traction on cold mornings. (Then again once I'm off the motorway and on a twisty road I'm an idiot, so... yeah, don't judge me too harshly) If you really must do it, I'd much rather go for 245s on all corners. And if sizes are to be altered I'd go 215 front 265 rear. Just my 2 cents

Not much of a modification, however last night I had my very first go at piece wrapping and although there's room for improvement I'm actually stocked with the results. Watched a single YouTube video and between 8 and midnight was crawling ony Mrs.'s nerves torturing her hairdryer 🤣🤣🤣 Any feedback how to overcome the needle points braking will be much appreciated (I suppose more practice and preparation will help... )

In essence that's what it looks like... and all it takes to get it working. Just be mindful of how high you set the soldering iron on... Don't punch a hole in it, it'll be a replacement speaker from there on.

This is a very old one, however I will try to give my 2 cents here... Your problem seems to be the intermittent issue (turned permanent, in your case) with the rear shelf woofer not working. There are 2 ways about it - fit an aftermarket one in your boot, if you're either unlucky or not handy with any tools whatsoever. Or, as in most cases - take the seat out, remove the card covering it, unscrew 4 M10 bolts and unclip the speaker. Solder in whatever rudementary and crude way you see fit or desire 2x 16 gauge cables between the connectors and the speaker (will upload a picture later) etc voila - problem solved! It turns out that's the Achilies's heel of the ML sound system, in 99% of the cases. I promise mine doesn't look nice or neat but works perfectly fine. Took me all in all 15 minutes, excluding a 2 minute YouTube clip. (Will add credits to the source later on as well.) And that, concludes that - My 2 cents!

I was on about the door cards... The price of those is embedded in the overal asking of £350... And I'm almost completely certain they won't fit. Hence - not buying them. But I will be definitely looking for seats... Small hatches are a no - no for me... My back can't take any more punishment, my work is enough, no need to suffer while doing the only thing I enjoy during a workday- the drive! 😋👍

I don't think I can go to the seller as they're on eBay and far from me. But I also don't think I'll be buying them, because the price is inclusive of door carts and all, and they more likely than not won't fir the gen2. I'll keep looking though, the new seats offer a bit more bolstering and low back support than the gen 2. If I do have the chance to try them though I most definitely will l! Thanks!

Would the rear bench fit in as well? Kinda curious, I saw a full set on eBay for £350... Won't change just the front ones. Mine are heated and ventilated too, will be looking for the same spec newer seats if I decide to go for it though. Replacing the pin housing won't be much of a pain, as long as the pins match. Alternatively will be rewiring them to new clip housing.