Tango

All those photo's are superb. I've not visited China yet but after seeing your photo's I am very, very tempted. What camera(s) do you use? www.tkcgallery.com

TK, Just by eye, and probably not very reliable, but it looks as if your car should settle a little more both front and rear. Good idea to take those photographs, makes me wish I had taken similar and we could have had a visual comparison between the Eibach UK and US spec springs. Unfortunately when we fitted the springs I had forgotten to ensure I had a memory stick as well as the camera and when we thought to record the event with Tony's the job was finished and the car on the lift.

TK, The initial drop on mine was surprisingly immediate and settled only slightly afterwards, certainly nothing significant. After another 4000 miles it hasn't dropped as much as a millimetre. Yours seems a little high at the front compared to mine but then with just over 10mm difference it should be. My wheels are bigger but the rolling radius is still the same as yours so top of the tyre to wheel arch is -10mm difference on mine in comparison to yours. The drop on the rear of mine should be slightly less than yours ..just under 5mm. The US spec Eibachs are slightly stiffer than the UK version but it still hasn't detracted from the ride even with the lower profile tyres, and it handles and corners a whole lot better than before

I saw the Toms in the US and preferred the OEM. Also fitting the OEM bodykit to a relatively new car minimises depreciation and can help sell the car, if and whenever I may sell it, whereas people are often wary of non-standard parts that aren't a factory option. I have seen both the IS-F and the LF-A when they were exhibited at the Houston, Texas Auto Show a few months ago. The IS-F looks, in my opinion, very odd with the bulbous bonnet and side vents that look like a bolt on part from some accessory shop. The quad pipes also look peculiar, and the IS-F logos are sprinkled around the bodywork and interior without too much thought. I don't think I'll be replacing my car for one anyway, although if Lexus brought the IS350 to the UK I wouldn't hesitate...I've driven a couple in the US and the power is more than adequate.

Tango, Would like to advise you to have a second thought as to changing the grill. May be you know already, that grill is a closed grill and its function besides carrying its unique styling, is one of aerodynamic related. The fins in the grill are designed (don't know if by coincidence or purposely) to divert the frontal air flow to drift smoothly across the bonnet. If the grill is replaced with wire mesh, that bit of aerodynamic is lost plus it will cause unnecessary air turbulance inside the engine compartment. I come across an aftermarket grill mess though looks good alone yet terribly ugly when installed. TK Chan TK, Not sure whether the air flow theory is correct as the fins are enclosed by the grill surround so the air isn't channeled anywhere. I was thinking of something similar (if not the part) from the IS-F..see below

Couple of comments, 1) I don't appreciate the £14.95/£49.95 thing...it's the same as store pricing in conning shoppers into believing £99.99 is a whole lot cheaper sounding than £100.00. 2) Do you need a Gold and Platinum? Wouldn't it be better to raise the Gold price to £25.00? It may generate more income in the long term.

Will do...... tell us what the LF-S stands for, you were in a conundrum last time we met. Lexus have it designated for Lexus Finess-Sedan, although as it's an IS 250 SE-L more than modified to Sports specification the plate print actually reads Lexus Finess- Sport (and of course it's a V6). Someone has already relieved the DVLA of V10 LF-A which of course suits this beastie:

Managed to catch half a house brick with the rear nearside wheel today Tyre sidewall escaped damage but I've got a dint in the edge of the polished rim of the Volks 3 piece Alloy Wheel. It's about a centimetre long x 3mm deep. Can anyone recommend a good wheel refurbisher? Probably need a weld fill and repolish. :rolleyes_anim:

Tony...Happy Easter mate, hope you had a good one and given up the weed (again)... also needed to ask you to change your records as the IS250 is now registered as V6 LF-S :rolleyes_anim:

I took a hard look at the Bridgestone Potenzas that were on the original 17" rims on my car. Considering they were only on for 5000 miles I was surprised how much the inners on both front tyres had worn in comparison to the outer edge. Thinking back, we lowered the car on those rims and tyres...Tony, do you have the record of how many miles the car had done on the factory settings, i.e. at the time you initially measured the set-up?

Well at least he came to you instead of his local stealership, although I assume it's still under warranty?? Must admit mine changed totally after the WIM toe adjustment, although as we lowered it as well it was difficult to attribute the change just to the initial adjustment.

In desperation I purchased all alloy wheel sealant from Turtlewax and put just one coat on before a round trip of 220 miles yesterday. Didn't get home until midnight, but having checked this morning all the wheels are almost dust free, whereas previously the fronts at least would be black. That is real good stuff. Nice catch, Tango. I cleaned the wheels to their shinny glory yesterday and they are now "weathered" after 60km ride today. It's actually called Turtlewax Brake Dust Barrier, so it definitely 'does what it says on the tin'...or in this case bottle

In desperation I purchased all alloy wheel sealant from Turtlewax and put just one coat on before a round trip of 220 miles yesterday. Didn't get home until midnight, but having checked this morning all the wheels are almost dust free, whereas previously the fronts at least would be black.

Methinks the grandchildren have taken out a hefty life insurance policy on their grandad

TK, I posted the topic on this forum on 19 March..see here As I said in the post, the Mintex pads I have on my IS200 Sport are a lot better than the OEM's, and thats with cross drilled rotors/disks that in theory should produces more dust. I've also noticed my front disks are wearing pretty quickly on the IS250, even though I have yet to reach 9000 miles on the odometer. I'm still open to suggestions, if anyone has any, on changing front disks and/or pads with the objective of producing less dust without compromising braking efficiency anyone??

My tyres are Yokohama Advance Sport and the shop said 36 psi is recommended by the factory. I think it should be the right pressure to use. My IS 250 is for leisure driving, still taking the public transport to work. Reads good..... Just watch the wear initially and adjust accordingly. TK Chan...Good news. After checking the settings and tyre wear today @ WIM after 4000 miles, it doesn't look like we have a tyre wear issue with the resulting camber reset from the lowering

Knowing what a knowledgable lot you are Have just got a personal registration for my motor so about to order a set of plates. Question: Do I have to have the makers slogan and RNPS number on the bottom of the plate? I've looked at the DVLA info and didn't see it as a legal requirement The DVLA stuff also specifies the font and states 'or something very similar'...what's this mean? How far can it be dissimilar? Help

Thursday is good for me?.... i will confirm tomorrow. I have you booked for 4.pm :ph34r_anim: OK, see you then

Tony..I'm in Chertsey for the next three days so could call in around 4 pm Thursday or Friday (Thursday would be better for me).

My tyres are Yokohama Advance Sport and the shop said 36 psi is recommended by the factory. I think it should be the right pressure to use. My IS 250 is for leisure driving, still taking the public transport to work. Reads good..... Just watch the wear initially and adjust accordingly. Tony..had my front wheels off today and I'm pleased to say I have even tyre wear on both inner and outer edges Well I think that's OK perhaps I'm running under inflated and wearing both edges

36 psi was the pressure we decided to trial after fitting the wheels and tyres, with the tyre wear to be monitored for wear characteristics to indicate whether the pressures need to be increased and/or varied front to back. Most of the time, especially on long motorway runs, I am on my own in the car so loading is fairly light :rolleyes_anim: The factory recommendation should also be treated as a starting point as they do not allow for variations in tyre compound, tread pattern and sizes (the IS200 factory recommendation was not optimum and I believe most people who care, including myself now run 35 psi front and rear). My IS 250 has covered 3000 miles since the fitting and tyre wear appears uniform across the whole tread, although there are indications of very localised wear on the very inner edge of the front tyres not related to the pressure settings. (see Tony's previous post).

TKC, My 250 SE-L was also stock when purchased. The body mods are just the boot lip and front bib spoiler, both Lexus parts that are not as yet available from dealers in the UK (need to be imported from Japan). Both parts require drilling/slotting of the original panels to fit and I fitted both myself. Both I think are subtle changes to make the car a little different to the rest currently on the road, and I did not fit the rear end bumper mod because it's hardly noticable as a change at all. I am also fitting a Tanabe Stainless Steel exhaust system within the next couple of weeks and I know the slightly bigger tailpipes will fit the standard rear end without mods. Also looking to change the grill, but haven't found any expanded steel mesh that would suit (so far) The sides are still original but as the Lexus 'ground effects' bodykit includes slightly wider clip on replacements I may bring a pair back with me on my next trip to the US (which is how the bib and lip got to the UK),

The UK spec will be less traumatic toward the camber gain . The toe position will need immediate recovery then after 1000km re-checking. Please do not allow the car to be lowered without toe correction, otherwise the tyres will wear and the handling will be impaired. Thanks Tony for the additional info. I'll see how the UK spec Eibach coils fit into my IS250. I'll talk to the garage when the coils are installed regarding the adjustment of toe position. Actually I am also concerned about the effect on the dampers caused by the shortened coil travel distance. How bad will it be? BTW, what is the tyre pressure used in Tango's car, front and rear? It should also have a direct influence on the ride quality. TKC..I'm running 36 psi all round, but have lower and wider profile then your 18" so I do not know if this information is any good to you? Tony? :closedeyes:

It's an easy job to do as well... I did a "how to pictorial" here : http://www.wheels-inmotion.co.uk/forum/ind...p?showtopic=860 this was on a IS200 but it's the same principle. Tony, I am ordering the UK spec Eibach Prokit from TDIPLC and with luck I may get them here in 2 weeks' time. I'll probably assign the installation to our local Eibach agent. Any technical info on the geometry adjustment you can offer? Or, nothing need to be done for the time being. Are you going for the same drop as Tango? If yes i will pull the data so you have an idea what to expect. The main problem will be the fact the front camber is not adjustable, so there is a real need to balance the front/rear calibration. All reads a bit disappointing but Tango's car looks and drives fantastic, we just need to work on the balance. Tony, Don't forget TK Chan is fitting the UK specification Eibachs so drop will be 30 mm all round. Mine is the US spec which is 35.56mm drop on the front and 25.40mm on the rear. :rolleyes_anim:

So the claim that these 'Ceramic' pads produce less dust is a porky then, if you say the Redstuff produces more dust than Green :rolleyes_anim:?