Leaderboard

Lost the silver bullet today, my second ISF, only had this one for around 11 months and aside from some small cosmetic stuff I had done , nothing was spent on it and it has been faultless, pretty much as my previous 09 that went with 120k on the clock. This was 08 with 95k on the clock, still driving superbly. I finally scratched the 911 itch and now have a lovely black 60 plate 997 S convertible sat on the drive, had a good drive to Chester very early this morning in the ISF and then a nice drive back in the 911 which I was somewhat familiar with after a work colleague kindly let me borrow hers last summer. Not the ideal time for a soft top, that said it was 12c and sunny on the way back but I did resist the temptation to lower the roof, I guess I will have to take the short term pain for the payback in the spring and summer. The car is under Porsche warranty and has been so from day one and has only done about 38k so I am not expecting any major issues. Not sure how long I will keep it for but am certain I will be back in another ISF or RCF/GSF at some point in the not too distant future. Lovely chap I did the deal with, he had never driven an ISF before and has access to all sorts of nice vehicles but he is now talking about keeping the ISF as his personal runaround! I'll still be keeping an eye on the forum and still have the LS400 and the RX450h in my Lexus stable. Will be interesting to see how the 911 compares over time.

We’ve had loads of snow here, and my RCF coped superbly. Didn’t wheelspin in the garage once! She did come out of the garage, but as you can see, there is a cloud in the sky, so she was quickly put back under cover!!

@mike m Thanks for doing that matey, there is a huge benefit of having some safe controlled fun like this as it gives us that sensation of what to do as when we may need it in an emergency, and or when the back steps out in the wet. 🐀

In countries that have snow every year for months people are used to this and are prepared. Anti skid lessons and snow driving techniques are part of the drivinglessons and snowtyres are rule ( sometimes even spikes!). Airports dont close, trains keep running and traffic is as usual. ( i once was in Sweden waiting for a cab when in a snowdrift mothers were doing the schoolrun. No Problem.) Are they driving special cars? No they dont. Maybe in the alp countries youĺl find more 4x4 s but in Scandinavia especially due to high prices you will find lots of old Volvos or Saabs. Rearwheel or frontwheeldrive does make a difference but with both it is well possible to tackle the snow. In our part of the world we are just not prepared and completely freak out when the streets turn white.

That's not true though is it? Different cars handle differently in snow. Yes tyres will make a difference but with tyres being of the same kind it'll still be different. I used to run a 10 year old Merc C220 in winter. It had narrow 205/55 r16 tyres and barely any weight over the rear axle. On summer tyres was a nightmare and I would switch to part worn winters because all the money I had went into building a house. Or I would stick heavy weights in the boot of the car like 2x25kg bags of sand. The IS is genuinely fine on oem bridgestones in winter that I feel no need to change. The RX is even better probably because it's primary FWD and very heavy

Re-read my post, sounded a bit arsey. Certainly wasn't meant to be a dig Jeff. We had snow again today and I really did feel handicapped by my IS. Not a nice feeling. The Bambi on ice handling does make me wonder about winters on this car but I just can't justify them for the few days I'd need them. Watched a film called The Snowman the other night which is set in Norway and the snow scenes were astonishing but what struck me most was the number of rear wheel drive cars in use. The taxis were all Mercs and one of the lead characters drove everywhere in an F30 BMW. Even my wife commented. Lovely G-Wagen at the end though

Yes, quite right. Will change to Michelin Cross Climate when due.

@Big Rat lol used to be a formidable sight in the rear view mirror. And to think they said they had trouble catching me in my Supra one day ... that's not what i saw lol.

@Flytvr enjoy. best of both worlds for me

@Big Rat cheers I'd read that article a while back but still a good read. I had a snow shovel in the boot just in case as I'm well aware it's a fine line between fun and totally stuck.

@mike m @Warrington guy Mike and Dave here is great article from back in the day from 'The Rat Archives' this is when CAR MAGAZINE ran an isF as a long term test vehicle...... a good read IMO especially the snow section. http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-reviews/long-term-tests/lexus/lexus-is-f-saloon-long-term-test-review/#IS-F in the snow Big Rat

Big rat . Haven’t had chance to use my snow button . We don’t seem to see snow in Cheshire.But there’s lots of rain tho 😳

@mike m Ah yes the joys of powerful rear wheel drive cars 🐀

Aye it was good fun, the TRC really does well then when you think it's off it lets you play, really off is suicidal lol

Did you have snow mode on . Did it make any difference?

Try this, not the most exciting but we had fun lol.

Ahh cheers mate I'll have a go.

Hi Farqui, many thanks for the advice. I tried programming the mirrors when in reverse but they won’t set on the individual memories without it being in park. Your tip of setting it to number three is great though- this works well enough until I can figure out why they’re not dipping all the way in reverse. It definitely feels like a setting problem- the mirrors all work and do dip in reverse, just not enough on the driver’s side to make it practical. Took the radio out today and installed the Grom aux in, works perfectly with my Bluetooth music streamer, now have all my tunes running from my phone and sounds great on the ML system! Took out the Vais adapter so if anyone wants it PM me. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Here's a self-explanatory drawing of how to release (and keep it released) belt tension. Simply use a ring spanner on the bolt you mention! Make a drawing of the routing before you remove the old belt.

My IS300H is on Michelin winter tyres. I put them on mid November until Mid March. When driving in snow i find the car very stable and never lost grip when accellerating ( in SNOW mode). My previous IS250 also had michelin winters on and also that car i found excellent in driving on snow. However, on summertyres i would be in a ditch by now!

My aging 2007 RX is coming up for a renewal. The latest model RX450h is looking like sensible money for a two year old now which we would keep for 5 to 8 years so worth investing in it to make it as we need it to use it all year round for all trips. However, the major blocker is the tyre choice. Both the 18s (235/65R18) and the 20s (235/55R20) are odd ball sizes. I have spoken to both Nokian and Michelin (as they have the big brand all season tyres of choice) and neither have any plans to bring them out in those sizes. I'm now looking at a different set of rims with more normal sized tyres on them so I can get either the Nokians or Michelin's ideally without them being special order and it looks doable on paper with a 18" or 19" inch rim. Personally, I'd be going 18" as I've don't see the appeal of stupidly big. There is the obvious stuff that would need to fit such as the holes, the offset and the size of the caliper versus the rim which I assume would be ok with 18" as the lowest spec model has 18" inch wheels as OEM (assuming no difference in braking and steering gear between the base and the other specs) but what about the tyre widths and speedo/odometer settings. I assume the weight would be ok with this Nokian WP tyre 235/60R18 107 V XL 975kg but the speedo, can it be easily adjusted? I can't help but think I am a bit bonkers looking at all of this prior to even test driving but I like to plan ahead. I'm aware it is quite common to go narrower on winter tyres but for the mileage we typically do a year two sets would be overkill. Yup, the originals wheels and tyre would go on ebay most likely.

Many modern engines require fully synthetic oil. For the IS300H I presume fully synthetic is recommended as the thinner oil and better consistency is for improved fuel economy. Personally I wouldn't use semi synthetic oil. It would probably any kind of warranty on the engine.

I can't help thinking this topic is suffering from a severe case of the Richard Turpin's!!🏇

I'm trying different pressures based on how they're wearing. Started off with 36psi all round as per manual. Ran that for 3000 miles. Then I bumped fronts a few psi as they were wearing more on the outside and inside compared with middle. Think I will leave it at that for the time being. If the middle starts to wear more on the front now I've got the USRS, I will lower the pressures again. Rears show most wear on inner, graduating to least on the outer. So not sure what to do about that. Best guess is they're wearing to the camber and will wear more evenly from now on.

@Flytvr Now who’s being technical 😂...... it’s um......er...... Oh I know ‘ You only Lexus twice ‘ 🐀

It is odd people still ask about how a certain car is in snow. It's either terrible or brilliant depending on what sort of tyres are fitted.

I'd be less inclined to thrash a supercharged/modified car, based upon my experience id worry I was going to break it!! Every car I have modified, some heavily, I have ruined somehow. I've destroyed some lovely cars! Lol

USRS fitted today! Pretty darn easy job to do. Would recommend a ramp and a spare pair of hands though. First impressions are good. Front end is noticeably firmer. Similar to running slightly higher tyre pressures. Seems I can feel the road surface a lot better as a result. Quite difficult to describe, but it makes the whole front end just seem tighter. Car drives perfectly relaxed still. Very pleased. Will be monitoring tyre wear hoping for an improvement to the inner edge!

with winter tyres fitted you can drive perfectly in any snow, and you even get used to it if it stays there for a week or so. The super careful driving of the first day is replaced by some confidence. Ice is a different matter altogether, best to abandon the car and go to the pub..

Fine in snow. Any car in ice is going to be problematic.

FWIW the CT200h on Michelin Cross Climates was a good combination today. In eco mode the throttle is smooth enough to avoid any wheelspin on ice/snow except when I got home and had to turn the traction control off as the computer said no to ascending the final incline of my drive.

POAC2 is the main HV battery current sensor. This appears to be giving a reading of -200 amps, and since the HV contactors are not operating this reading cannot be true it should be zero. The contactors can be checked by removing them and connecting a 12 volt supply across the the coil connections. There should be a loud click,and the other two connections should now be joined (zero ohms). If any critical code is still showing the contactors will not pull in to supply the high voltage to get to ready and start Battery block (4) modules 7&8 locks low at only 14.2 volts where all the rest are around 15.6 volts. This will likely cause problems once you have the car running. Have you cleared the codes? and do they all return? The 12 volt battery sensor can be gently prized out of the old battery and simply glued or taped to the top of the new battery. John

Hi guys, Unusual post, but you can get 20% off nearly everything on eBay between 12pm and 6pm today! Maximum discount looks to be £75. Best way to check is add to basket and use the code PNY2018 (don't buy it now, so then you can check if it works!) I'm going to get 2 Nextbase Dashcams (412gw) for £160 which seems like a bargain to me. More here: https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/20-ebay-discount-12-to-6pm-today-only-2866107?page=15#thread-comments

That made me really laugh.............................

The rx300 is a permanent 4 wheel drive system I believe. I was very impressed with my first winter in the Rx, mine has been fab in the snow the last week had no issues and haven’t got stuck yet. Bridgestone normal tyres on mine

I lived and worked in France 30 years ago, and it was local law, depending on where you lived, that you had to fit winter tyres every year. In this case, you had to fit studded tyres, and there was a speed limit of 80 kph, particularly on motorways. I believe that part of the reason for the speed limit was also to prevent damage to the road surface where there was little snow. The rubber compound was also much softer in winter tyres, so that the tread would get warmer much more quickly. If you look at winter competition tyres you will find that they are very soft, almost soft enough to stick your fingernail into. I think that Germany also decrees that you have to have winter tyres fitted but I am not absolutely sure if it is still law. In France I always had a spare set of rims with winter tyres stored in the garage and just changed them around when the first snows were forecast. Parkman.

Yes the 4wd system (that is the 2 rears activate) cuts in and out as required when wheelspin is detected.

I'm in a 350 Peter, with old mismatched tyres on it the sensation was predominantly RWD. Very interesting in a big heavy jeep with no traction. I made it to work and immediately had a new set of tyres fitted (Hankook Durapro) which has given me the confidence that the gentlemen above have enjoyed. Totally put any scares I had down to the old tyres and my lack of driving ability. Snow mode seems to adjust the throttle response and gear shift in relation to RPM. When pressed it gives a reassuring feel of additional traction and stability, I believe that most Toyota models have this feature built into their electronic transmission control. Even my automatic Starlet has it. Hope that helps.

I've just come back from collecting my son from hospital in 6-8 inches of snow. no issues and was very enjoyable in fact with winter tyres fitted. it was great moving around abandoned cars on the road. I felt safe and being a responsible driver getting my family home