TK Chan

Tony, could you please send me the data via personal message and thanks in advance. I understand that these data are strictly for my personal use. TK I will do over the weekend (so busy at the mo) Please don't mention the positions in other clubs or my hard work will be stolen immediately.... :worried_anim: Thanks and surely I will keep the data to myself.

Tony, could you please send me the data via personal message and thanks in advance. I understand that these data are strictly for my personal use. TK

Yes, that is only for the front. I may go for the exhaust pipes as my next modification but that is not urgent at all :worried_anim: .

Last month I have the IS250 front brake unit changed to the bigger one used in the IS350. It fits with no modification and is a direct bolt on job. Very subtle change in appearance unless directly compared. Braking power is much improved but no adrupt jerking and is actually smoother than the original unit. Here are some pictures: The four port caliper The original 298mm disc on the left, the new 330mm disc on the right The new brake unit in place The original brake unit behind the wheel The new brake unit behind the wheel

Nice looking wheels. There will be further settling of the springs but not too much, certainly not as much as the US spec Eibach. My experience of ride quality is plus and minus. Better cornering response and reasonably comfortable on tamac but much more bumpy on uneven surface. Tyre noise is also much increased. I think this is normal with stiffer springs. I am thinking of changing the dampers latter on but this time will need some research to locate the right type. May be eventually a new set of coilover. I have done the geometry calibration after 1000 km but I don't think the workshop has done a good job because I noticed that they used the data from the IS 200 (which I saw from the computer screen) for reference. They said my car's toe angle was slightly off and has been adjusted. Honestly I don't quite feel any improvement after adjustment, and even feeling a bit nervous for turning left. I will probably go to Lexus and ask if they can do the calibration. I certainly trust that they have the official IS250 data but whether they will perform the calibration on cars fitted with after market components is another matter. Any advice from Tony? TK Chan

Hi, Tony, Long time no see I have been to Japan for the Sakura blossoms - actually a photographic workshop. I am still busy with the multi gigabytes of images pending to be processed. About the IS250, yes, the drop has been settled, I presumed. I have only run it for a few hundred miles since then but I guess after more than a month since installation, the springs should have found their "weight". From outer appearance, the drop was not as obvious, or as good looking as Tango's, but I am content with the ride quality. Afterall, I am no street racer so the mild drop may just fit my style . I have been discussing with Tango about changing the front disc brake unit to a bigger size one - 330mm with 4 port caliper, actually the stock IS350 disc unit. I am still undecided. I will have the car's geometry calibrated next week when I take it to either change the brakes or the exhaust pipes. TK Chan

I may like to add my comments: The 255x35x18 will give you better acceleration response while the 255x40x18 will cause you acceleration lag. The 255x40x18 however will reward you with a handsome look after Eibach drop but the 255x35x18 will still leave you a noticeable gap after the drop. The call is yours. Why not get the 8.5J to fit the narrower thread of 245 or better still 235. My setup is 225x40x18 et35 for front and 235x40x18 et29 for rear. Acceleration is definitely better than oem. I found this tyre calculator pretty cool. TK Chan

The 350D and the kit lens is a very good combo for a lot of shooting. Actually I use a G7 for casual shooting. You don't need the L lens unless you have the 5D which is a full frame and needs that extra resolution. The weight of those L lenses is a burden for travelling.

The German glass is quite expensive but the Japanese ones are reasonable. Their 2nd hand value is much better than cars so in the end you don't lose much after a few years use. With the digital camera, you don't really need to get the expensive lenses because nearly everything can be simulated in photoshop.

Thanks ER, may be it was due to the high reflective of the dark colour. I wash it every 3 or 4 days with water. Photography is my other serious hobby. ...and you like your sounds too I understand , you must have the Mark Levinson System in the car? No I kind of like to have no distraction while driving. My wife would listen to the radio but I always switch off the sound when driving alone. I like to keep the good sound at home.

Tango, You are right. The car has settled more after 2 days, especially the front. With more settlement, it seems the ride is not as comfortable as the day before, kind of harder ride on bumpy surface and there is a slight understeer. I took these pictures today: TK

Thanks ER, may be it was due to the high reflective of the dark colour. I wash it every 3 or 4 days with water. Photography is my other serious hobby.

Tango, let me know if you want to have a photo adventure in China. Tibet is the must go place at least once in a life time. I use the heavy stuff from Canon - 1Ds Mk 2 and mainly 3 zoom lenses. Prior to turning digital I use Leica. TK

Tango, thanks for dropping by my gallery but it is far from finish yet. Just got too busy and too lazy at all times.

Ok, here is the gallery: Eibach Spring Installation

Tony, I have sorted out 34 images, do you want me to post them all here? They are of size 500x375. I think you're spot on regarding the wrong geometry as I experience some slight uneasiness in initial turning, kind of slight understeer. I think that has to do with the negative toe after lowering. Tango, that is a very nice comparison of your car and mine. I look at my car this morning and it seems to have slightly settled more, or could be my eyes . Will take more pictures.

Yes, that is quite unexpected. I had done a drop on my previous Mit VRM and that caused a lot of complaints from my wife for the 'hard' ride. Eventually I had to switch back to stock springs. I think Eibach must have done it right. Did you experience any further spring settlement since installation? Any geometry adjustment since then? TK Chan

Tony, Here is the result: From the pictures, the drop isn't significant. By actual measurement, the drop is about 30mm all round as per Eibach's specification. Before, it was about 4 fingers's width between the fender and the tyre surface and now the width has reduced to 2 fingers. From Tango's experience, the springs will drop further after a few weeks ride. But then his set is US spec and I don't know if my set of UK spec will react the same :rolleyes_anim: . The diameter of the stock spring coil is about 10mm while the the Eibach coil is 1mm thicker. The stock set has 6 coils in the front and 7 in the rear whereas the Eibach set has one more coil for the front and rear. Here is a picture of the front coil for comparsion: Now about the ride quality after the drop, I have to say I couldn't be happier. The ride is actually more comfortable than the stock suspension with much easier ride over portholes, drainage covers, bumps, etc. The tyre noise is also reduced. I didn't notice a big difference with cornering but then I haven't push hard yet. I did feel more grip with less side rolling on continuous S bands. What amazed me most is that the car seems to be boosted with more hp which gives a much better response in acceralation. I don't know about the physics of it but definitely I am happy with the overall ride quality. I couldn't do a good picturial series of the replacement operation because the garage shop is quite narrow and they just raised the car on floor jacks to do the work: I did take quite a few pictures and I will post some more after sorting them out in order. There was no geometry adjustment done after the spring replacement. When test driving the car, the technican said there is a slight left turning tendancy. They said the toe adjustment will be done after 2 or 3 weeks when the springs are settled. TK Chan

Tango, Thanks for your advice. You've cleared my troubled mind regarding the body kit. I agree entirely with your comments on the IS-F styling. Hope Lexus give a better thought to the production model. We don't have official import of the IS350 either. I've heard that parallel import puts it at a price tag of GBP40000+. However, I would anytime choose a new 3 series BMW with that lot of money. TK

Tony, Thanks for your insight. I am quite surprised that such an issue could surface so soon with such a new car. From the picture of your customer's IS 250 it is a stock deluxe package with everything pretty much standard from the factory. I presume there is no modification to its configuration. If this "dead zone" phenomenon is a manufacturing defect, then there should be a lot of owners/drivers experiencing the issue already. I don't know if I have read enough of the forum messages to notice that such issue has ever been discussed. Another scenario could be that your customer's IS250 might just be a bad copy out of the manufacturing batch. BTW, have you driven the car before the problem was corrected and how did it feel? Was the problem easily detectable by the average driver? As I have changed the stock wheels and going to have the chassis lowered, I will lose factory warranty for those components. That is indeed a concern if any related manufacturing defect is detected subsequently. TK

Tango, That IS-F grill is cool. If the part fits the IS 250 then it's perfect otherwise you have to manufacture your own . BTW, what do you think of the Tom's racing body kit I mentioned earlier. We have only the OEM and Tom's racing body kit available and I am 60% towards the OEM. I am not entirely appreciative of the IS-F styling. The raised hood to accommodate that massive engine does not look good to me and takes away the balance of the sleek body styling. TK

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

Tango and other IS 250 owners, How do you like the body kit by Tom's racing: http://www.tomsracing.co.jp/e/comp/lexus/is45/photo.html The lip spoiler seems a bit subtle, I means less "agressive" than the OEM's but the rear bumper spoiler is quite good. They have just released the boot spoiler but I think the OEM one (the one Tango's 250) looks better.

Well, it means brake dust is an universal issue. However, strange enough I did not see that much of a problem with the BMW and Benz parked nearby.

Thanks Tony for bringing this to our attention. My IS 250 has only logged 1600 km so far as it is for casual ride. Does this mean the problem has not surfaced yet? To be honest, I do not fully comprehend this problem of "Dead Zone" and how will it behave in action. Could you elaborate a bit more. It does not seem to attract any similar report either from the US or the other Lexus IS2 clubs.