I Have a need

[essexgt4]

Ok for the past 3 years I have had a hankering for a v8 and I am jap car and through and through, I have been trying to fight off the urge to sell my caldina and buy an ISF but i csnt do it any longer so I'm going to take the plunge, there's a couple on auto trader/pistonheads that tickle my pickle but not many, any one spotted any for sale that are worth a looksie or thinking of selling theirs soon?

ideally I want 2010 onwards, nothing over 80k miles and not really looking for white leather either as it would never stay white for long lol 

 

Quick question is the mechanical lsd really worth it? I do like to drive in the twisted relatively hard so thinking it would come on handy.

 

Any other advise woukd be greatly appreciated.

[Twellsie]

I drive an 08 so has the eDiff rather than a mechanical LSD, I have owned a lot of performance cars over the years and personally believe the LSDs are hype and you will only notice negligible gains on track, on the road the eDiff just feels like a LSD, it doesn't just spin the inside wheel like it does on a typical open diff and will leave fat 11's the length of you street if thats your thing.

 

good luck on your search

[NothernDan]

6 hours ago, Twellsie said:

I drive an 08 so has the eDiff rather than a mechanical LSD, I have owned a lot of performance cars over the years and personally believe the LSDs are hype and you will only notice negligible gains on track, on the road the eDiff just feels like a LSD, it doesn't just spin the inside wheel like it does on a typical open diff and will leave fat 11's the length of you street if thats your thing.

 

good luck on your search

I concur with Rich. 2009 and couldn’t be happier 😀😀

 

[essexgt4]

This is the one I'm going for a test drive in today, which tbh I didnt it was too badly priced but im still going to push for some money off it lol.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201811262764905?advertising-location=at_cars&postcode=cm219jx&model=IS F&page=1&price-from=4000&make=LEXUS&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=Used

[NothernDan]

29 minutes ago, essexgt4 said:

This is the one I'm going for a test drive in today, which tbh I didnt it was too badly priced but im still going to push for some money off it lol.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201811262764905?advertising-location=at_cars&postcode=cm219jx&model=IS F&page=1&price-from=4000&make=LEXUS&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=Used

Love the colour combo!

Remember that condition is everything. If it looks tired and worn in places then it’s likely the whole car will be.

make sure the water pump has been done at that mileage as the gaskets go like clockwork at around 60,000.

my understanding is that the blue steering wheel insert means it’s a G2 and has the proper LSD and the better/less firm suspension set up.

I paid that money for a 2009 with 45,000 on it a year and a half ago but mine was from and Indy. That’s top whack but if it’s a main dealer just make sure it comes with a warranty and that’s not a bad price for that car. It looks in good condition.

check inner tyre wear on the fronts, although RR racing USRS solves this going forward they are pricey boots to replace either way.

not much else to say. If it drives well it should continue to do so.

good luck and keep us posted.

im in Hitchin so we may not be miles away from oanother if you push the button! 😎

[essexgt4]

Cheers for that bud wasnt aware about the water pump gaskets, may be worth a meet up atbsome point for a coffee and a looksie at yours.

[NothernDan]

1 hour ago, essexgt4 said:

Cheers for that bud wasnt aware about the water pump gaskets, may be worth a meet up atbsome point for a coffee and a looksie at yours.

No problem chief. Let me know how you get on today. 

A few of us ŵill be at the Oxford services mini meet next weekend if you are free.

There is a thread on here about it 😀

 

 

[essexgt4]

Well that was annoying left to go and view the isf, 15 minutes into the journey dealer phones me and very blasé informs me it's been sold, irritating.

[NothernDan]

3 hours ago, essexgt4 said:

Well that was annoying left to go and view the isf, 15 minutes into the journey dealer phones me and very blasé informs me it's been sold, irritating.

Gutted, must have been a good one!

Keep looking though, I saw 5 before I bought mine, the good ones are out there....... and they are all silver, just in case you were wondering 😁😁

[ColinBarber]

13 hours ago, NothernDan said:

my understanding is that the blue steering wheel insert means it’s a G2 and has the proper LSD and the better/less firm suspension set up.

no, if it is a 2010 vehicle it may just have the Torsen LSD change along with the steering wheel, no suspension changes. The suspension changes came in 2011, totally revised again in 2012, and then tweaked some more in 2013.

[NothernDan]

21 minutes ago, ColinBarber said:

no, if it is a 2010 vehicle it may just have the Torsen LSD change along with the steering wheel, no suspension changes. The suspension changes came in 2011, totally revised again in 2012, and then tweaked some more in 2013.

Thanks Colin. I almost said “you need to ask someone like Colin Barber, he’ll know more” in my post. Knew you’d have all the info 😁

There you go Ben, the Oraclle has spoken!! 😎😎

[essexgt4]

12 hours ago, ColinBarber said:

no, if it is a 2010 vehicle it may just have the Torsen LSD change along with the steering wheel, no suspension changes. The suspension changes came in 2011, totally revised again in 2012, and then tweaked some more in 2013.

So what were the revisions made on the it's and when?

From what I understand its the steering wheel, dash trim, dials, mechanical lsd, drl's and suspension, anything else im not aware of?

[FTBBCVoodoo]

2nd revision also has DAB, USB and Bluetooth music streaming I think.

Updated HDD SatNav.

Latest revision has DRL headlights.

Later versions also had the white leather interior option and a different alloy wheel option

[d3ron]

I've got white leather on my 2010 '59 plate. 

[ColinBarber]

On 12/9/2018 at 11:00 AM, essexgt4 said:

So what were the revisions made on the it's and when?

From what I understand its the steering wheel, dash trim, dials, mechanical lsd, drl's and suspension, anything else im not aware of?

see attached

IS-F v1.pdf

[d3ron]

30 minutes ago, ColinBarber said:

 

see attached

IS-F v1.pdf

Great! So mine is usb, has DAB, lsd and white seats. 

January 2010
Minor changes for vehicles factory built from August 2009
• New Torsen limited slip differential (LSD) replaces standard LSD
• Mark Levinson multimedia system upgraded to include:
o Hard Disk Drive (HDD) based satellite navigation system 
o DAB radio
o USB input
o Improved speakers
• Revised steering wheel
• Added folding rear outer head rests
• Revised sunroof controls
• Revised combination meter
• Air conditioning automatic air direction revised to improve anti-fog performance
• Additional Ultra Blue metallic finish
• On the road price: £ 55,995
Additional options
• White leather upholstery (no cost option)
• 19” mesh-design alloy wheels (no cost option

Improved speakers?

That's interesting. What was improved?

[ColinBarber]

On 12/10/2018 at 9:45 PM, d3ron said:

That's interesting. What was improved?

Not sure, all the part codes changed and the new feature outline just states "the speakers adopted for the Mark Levinson premium surround sound system have been changed"

Will see if I can find out some more detail.

[d3ron]

Only reason I ask is because the sound is normally the first thing I sort out in a car is the sound. I have an alpine amp and subwoofer sat in my garage at the moment unused because the sound is pretty good. 

I've seen a few complaints though, so the upgrade could be key to the different perception of the system. 

On 12/10/2018 at 9:12 PM, ColinBarber said:

see attached

IS-F v1.pdf

Great! So mine is usb, has DAB, lsd and white seats. 

January 2010
Minor changes for vehicles factory built from August 2009
• New Torsen limited slip differential (LSD) replaces standard LSD
• Mark Levinson multimedia system upgraded to include:
o Hard Disk Drive (HDD) based satellite navigation system 
o DAB radio
o USB input
o Improved speakers
• Revised steering wheel
• Added folding rear outer head rests
• Revised sunroof controls
• Revised combination meter
• Air conditioning automatic air direction revised to improve anti-fog performance
• Additional Ultra Blue metallic finish
• On the road price: £ 55,995
Additional options
• White leather upholstery (no cost option)
• 19” mesh-design alloy wheels (no cost option

Improved speakers?

That's interesting. What was improved?

[gb1600e]

That's a brilliant list @ColinBarber I had read lots about the changes before I bought mine but never seen a list.  As a mid 2009 registered car I feel I need to check if I have variable speed on my power windows or not. But not now its raining out.   I don't have DAB, USB or the Torsen LSD like @d3ron and quite happy with that but I do wonder if the Mark Levinson multi media can be upgraded ?     I would expect if the answer is yes its likely prohibitively expense? 

So to all pre January 2010 owners has anyone engineered a DAB radio into the audio without using the worst of the rubbish aftermarket ones?

[ColinBarber]

On 12/15/2018 at 8:39 PM, d3ron said:

Only reason I ask is because the sound is normally the first thing I sort out in a car is the sound. I have an alpine amp and subwoofer sat in my garage at the moment unused because the sound is pretty good. 

All the speakers were changed for ones with 6 ohms impedance rather than 8 ohms, I assume that matches a change with the amp. Some of the speaker power handling was changed, e.g. the centre dash speakers goes from 25 W to 15 W and the sub from 40 W to 50 W.

[Northern isf]

Might sell mine as it goes just not using it enough it's in mint condition not a mark on it always garaged and covered fully ceramic coated,paint correction, genuine carbon Tom's splitter and sides carbon spoiler, ppe headers full custom exhaust with remote valves and real carbon tips(sounds immense with valve open), rr racing carbon intake pipe and tuned intake with the remap also tein flex z coils with edfc active,pro brand new Goodyear F1s around 80miles use on them cars at 68000 miles.

[essexgt4]

On 12/28/2018 at 11:32 PM, Northern isf said:

Might sell mine as it goes just not using it enough it's in mint condition not a mark on it always garaged and covered fully ceramic coated,paint correction, genuine carbon Tom's splitter and sides carbon spoiler, ppe headers full custom exhaust with remote valves and real carbon tips(sounds immense with valve open), rr racing carbon intake pipe and tuned intake with the remap also tein flex z coils with edfc active,pro brand new Goodyear F1s around 80miles use on them cars at 68000 miles.

I might be interested have sent you a message