BillNick

You're right I should fit it myself. I used to everything myself on my cars, but lately as I've got older encountered too many issues and not having the correct tools etc etc. Leaving the professionals to it from now on.

I have an LED headlight kit in my fog housings. I plan to fabricate a wiring harness using some switch boxes I got from TRS in America. Piggy back a live from something that comes on with ignition, and then run my switch trigger from the sidelights so that when the headlights are turned on or come on under auto the LEDs will go off.

44k!!??....there must be a design fault with the pump/bearing.

Where can you get the discs? Aside from Toyota?

Regenerating this thread.... Had a noise on idle what sounds like a grinding bearing noise. With the bonnet lifted it is definitely coming from the water pump, though I have been lucky as no sign of coolant leaking or overheating yet. I understand that AISIN make a lot of Toyota's parts. So armed with a 30% off code, I ordered an AISIN water pump from Euro Car Parts, total cost £77.69. Cheapest I can find a genuine Toyota one for is £125 from Lexus Birminghams ebay shop. Pump arrived today and it looks like something has been etched out. I wonder if this was the Toyota emblem???....hmmmmm Happy anyway, £77 vs £125. My local Toyota Specialist will fit for me at £45ph + coolant. That said, I am still upset the original pump lasted just 62k.

I have a feeling my headlights are starting to fog, and even noticing an effect on the output on the road. Waiting for it to warm up a bit before getting out there to buff them up.

What if I went 255/35/18 on the rear? I guess it's only a difference of approx 10mm (35 vs 40 profile) so prob not worth messing with the setup. I will have a proper look tonight, but although I can clearly see that the rear sits up, I have not paid any attention to the sills....if the sills are level with the road then the body has been purposely shaped to sit on a higher rear end and lowering the rear would look even worse haha

Plastidip guarantee resilience up to 93 degrees C How hot do you think the insides of the OEM HID head lights get?

I have 2x 18x8 for the front and 2x 18x8.5 for the rear

I guess for me the deeper tyre walls make it more apparent. What are the standard tyre sizes for the 18" F Sport rims? Is it true to get the measurement of a tyre wall you use the profile number as a % of the tyre width? eg 255/35/18 the tyre wall would be 35% of 255 = 89.25??

Hi all, We all know the rear end sits up a slightly higher with the nose pointing down - I wanted to know if this was purely down to the different tyre sizes or is suspension at play here also? I have 18" ISP MODE alloys ready to go on and am choosing tyres. I'd quite like to get my car sitting level. Can I achieve this choosing the right tyres or would I need to fiddle suspension also??

I just put my motor into the recall checker and it came back I am outstanding so can only assume thats for the sensor or sealing ring. Now, I am due my 60k service (on 59k now) which most of you will know is a comprehensive service including spark plug change. Do you think if I ask for the 60k service to be done with the recall I can haggle the price given the labour involved for spark plugs is already covered on the recall? Hoping to also get Gold Membership discount.... Alternatively, I can ask for only plugs to be changed with the recall and then go to the Independent place I use regularly for a much cheaper service? Car is 8 years old so although no value in a main dealer service it would be nice to have the major 60k one done with Lexus. Thoughts?

Thanks very much for your replies. I shall get onto youtube do some research.

..........and the chrome will be good as new underneath once peeled?

Ok sounds interesting.....how easy is the peeling off after its set? Do you think with a decent knife I could cut and peel the area I want to keep chrome? Will the chrome underneath be affected in anyway? Struggling to see how the plastidip sticks to one bit nicely, but peel-able from another?

I painted my IS200 headlights in a similar fashion using only a Halfords can and it held fine (I had aftermarket xenons fitted and used them for over 5 years). I am not keen with wrapping of any kind really. I think there is a chance it would bubble or something in the heat. Plus I have tried and tested simple automotive paint in the past, just not sure I have the skill to mask it off properly the way I want to......

Hmmm didn't think of that. Are you thinking vinyl wrap the surround in black and trim off the area around the projector that I want to keep chrome? Thing is I can't afford for the wrap to be too thick as it could cause problems when refitting.....

Hi all, I plan to open up my 2008 IS250 headlights to paint the chrome plastic internal surround in satin black. We all love the 2012 facelift headlights, including me. However I simply don't have £1000+ to get them and retrofit. So I was thinking, to keep my headlights looking OEM and trying hard to emulate the 2012 headlights, I was going to attempt to mask off 15-20mm of the leading edge of chrome that surrounds the projector. If this leading edge is left chrome, it would give the illusion that a shroud is fitted to the projector sitting in an otherwise satin black housing - same as the OEM 2012 headlights. Seems plausible right? Well, I think the key to getting this right will be my skills masking off this 'dummy shroud' area which will not be easy. Just wanted everyone's thoughts and any tips for masking in such detail would be highly appreciated, two pics below for comparison so you can see what I mean. Any skilled bodyshop professionals offer their opinion? I would be willing to pay a profession do this for me if they think they can do a better job than an amateur like me?

What's the difference? Can interior parts be done?

I could be on the look out for an FSport setup in that case

Lovely thanks very much I am toying with the idea of doing the wrap myself, but can't find the right wrap. 3M manufacture the best quality stuff but it has a Matt finish. Need a decent gloss finish like the ISF

Next time I see an FSport in a car park I'm going to do my best to park close to it see what the difference is. Don't want to go to all the trouble of swapping and it's only a tad difference. What you reckon?

Hello to all you lucky ISF owners. I have an IS250 SE-L which has the horrid (IMO) walnut interior trims. I want to get them all tastefully wrapped to match the ISF as close as possible. Could you please post some closeup pics of your gear surrounds and window switch trims (front & rear) please? Also if anyone can recommend any wrap product that they already know matches well, please post links below. Many thanks Bill

Hi all, Came across this on ebay: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lexus-IS-250-300-350-F-Sport-set-of-new-suspension-springs-shocks-Tokico-TRD-/172133553436?hash=item2813f5951c:g:09YAAOSwXshWtdg7 Wondering if the F-Sport ride height and firmness was/is any different to a standard 2008 SE-L model which I have? I plan to drop my IS250 slightly when I fit 18's, would be nice to fit genuine parts doing so. Thanks Billy

I would recommend a trip to Wheels In Motion (WIM), Chesham. If anyone can jig the settings to avoid replacing parts, it will be them!