KentIS300

Welcome to the club. You will find a lot of usefull information here :) :)

would be nice to see some pics indeed

Nah nothing came through ... sent a PM to the original poster and never got a reply either.

Well it is obvious they do not know about cars! lol

did they go back to knitting after the break?

Thank you guys.

Well today took it to it's maiden voyage! :) :)

Did about 70% motorway and 30% London Centre traffic!

All in all used almost 1tank of petrol (61ltrs) an did about 320 miles! and was not hanging about lol (well I was when I was in stand still traffic lol)

With my IS300 used to get about 350 out of a tank!! and it had 70ltrs!!!

So I call it even in fuel consumption

(John) Only extra expense is about 250ml of oil per 1000miles so £2.50 per 1000miles lets say. It all depends how the engine is worked...

And also I do put 150ml of 2T oil in a full tank of fuel, helps the engine a bit futher.

But I must admit!!! boy it does drive like it is on rails!! remind me a bit of my IS300 when it was lowered, a bit of my MR2 ... and a bit of mad motorbike sound! lol

It is hard to drive it calmly!! it is begging to be pushed to the limiter!!

It also amazed me that when my mates and neighbours found that I bought one, they wanted to get a closer look and a spin around the block as they always liked/loved them BUT they are/were too scared to buy one! lol

Makes me smile! to hear the same story 3-4 times in a day lol

(Ganesh) Athough the car has full Mazda service history I did go to the dealer that did most Services in Canterbury and asked them if all the recalls were done, he did say that since the services are done at Mazda it is most likely everything is done. He did check though and all is OK :) :)

They offered me a price for a 12,500miles or Annual service for £165! lol

While almost brought the GS300 to the standards I like :) :) in the meantime I wanted something else...

to set me on the edge lol

and this came along.... was looking for one of them for a couple of years! But when the right came along in the right price well I grabbed it!

Pictures were taken yesterday after I started the detailing process.

Has done only 55000 miles with full Mazda service history only 2owners from new (53 plate car)

and believe it or not in a showroom condition inside out!! drives the same too

Sooo pleased to add in the collection. :) :)

And if needed when its needed ... will budget for an engine rebuild lol ... it costs roughly the same as the cambelt change of an LS400 or GS400 so cannot complaint hehe

It had all around new Bridgestone tyres last year

All around new disks and pads last year

Colis/plugs/cables all new last year

Done 2,000 miles since 2011!! lol :) (900 last year)

Hi Tony,

Even the full Battery on display is about 60%-70% of the total capacity.

Cheers

Vasilis

ooppss filled in the details and payment is sent. I thought by not showing out of stock... on the first post that they are still available??

I would suggest put the one "good" old one on one headlight

and then the new one on the other side

being different colour (6000) vs (4300) will see a difference in brightness... but it is a good way to start ;)

PS EBD is Electronic Brake Destribution

I would look for a seized caliper?.... did you check them?

If they are not seized make sure the pistons are working well

The pins as well

As they tent to rust .... and maybe one side is gripping faster than the other.

I Noticed on my IS that when I refurbed the calipers... the one disk (left) was burned once... but not warped. That side was always slow to grip ... and the car would always pintch to the right (opposite side of the one it had the problem). it seemed as the disk material has lost its ability to perform 100%

That looks smashing!

Was it difficult to lower, and did it take long? How do the Gmax springs ride? Stock shocks?

My car was a stock SE Navigator model

Once I put on the 18" wheels and unfortunatelly they had run on flat Dunlop tyres... the ride compromised a lot, the stock suspension sunddenly felt hard and choppy!

Installing the springs involves to remove all 4 shocks and change the spring like any other car. The front shocks were easy to remove a couple of bolts and nuts and drop it down...

The rear however requiered most of the suspension arms to be unbolted to give the drop of the lower arm so it can be dropped out. (the top end is accessible if you just remove the carpet of the boot interior (quite easy)).

Once the GMax was next to the original spring ... could see the difference, original has like 6 spirals ... where the GMax has 10 spirals for example ...(these are not the exact numbers). Also the Gmax was about 20mm shorter before even putting it on the car.

Once on the car the car lowered about 20-30mm and the ride is way more progressive and softer. It improved the ride by 80% over the stock, The car now just glides over speed bumps and pot holes without any dramas what so ever.

I did not replace the shocks as I do want to do it in stages and maintain a comfortable car. The stock shocks have some life in the still.

The LS is a great car I must admit.

I think this generation of GS is as beatifully built interior as the similar year LS interior.

Yet in a smaller package lol.

A few years ago had a for a couple of months an LS400 (1997 model) and loved it.

The GS is lovely... wish it was the V8 model, but this was too good to let go, it ticked all the boxes.

After lowering it last week.

Today managed to clay bar and machine polish made the most of the day.

Now under the cover.

So hopefully will apply sealant and wax tomorrow

Done so far....

DIY tinting the rear side windows

Paid professional to do the tint of the rear window did not want to risk it lol

Changed the 16" standard alloy wheels to the 18" OZ sport wheels.

Lowered about 30mm with GMax springs.

Now clay baring and ... machine polishing

ToDo

Need to spray and correct the bottom corner edges of the front bumper waiting a good weather to do that.

All around tracking ... need to make a day trip to WIM for that I guess. :)

Change rear lights with the face lifted version

and change the front grill with a sport mesh grill

Find which ABS sensor is acting up ... there is no error just ABS coming in action when braking below 15mph.

From what I understand that GS300 has the same ABS sensors as the IS300, for my IS300 when I needed a front ABS sensor, I got one sensor from a salvaged IS200 just had to shave some plastic off and fitted like a glove. At least I now know I have many salvage options! lol :)

Here are some pictures I took today after the clay barring and lowering.

It might be a problem with the EBD??

There might not be able to regulate the pressure to the appropriate wheels properly??

I do know a few Lexus and Toyota's had a recall regarding a regulating pipe in the braking system.

I would not know if any IS's were affected by it?

I know ... trust me I am trying to find excuses !! lol

although nowhere near as fast as the 400h!!

But the drive dynamics are excellent and the built quality ... well just class leading!.

Pictures don;t do it justice.

Installed the new GMax springs gave a nice lowering to the car (only by 30mm) and WOW .... what an improvement to the ride and the 18" ...

the car is even more comfortable than the stock springs!

Even though the new ones are lower, they are more spirals and they are more progressive.

I must admit ... I would recommend them easily, they suit the car 100%

Some pictures to follow as I am in the middle of clay barring and machine polishing these days :) coming up nicely

Hi guys,

I dropped off my 400h for an inverter recall and an interim service and got this for a couple of days ... until the RX is ready! :)

A brand new just over 2000miles on the clock IS300h

I will say just wow!!! about the built quality and how quite and great it feels on the road!

And yet it returns easily 48mpg with my uneconomical way of driving! lol

The GS300 is almost complete with the mods ... some pics to follow soon ;)

New GS Sport 18" wheels painted in anthracite grey

Tinted rear windows

Lowered it by 30mm last weekend with GMax springs ... and boy they made it so nice and comfortable compared to the stock springs. (the runflats the new wheels have now ride wayyyy better with the new springs).

And now finishing off machine polishing it and clay barring :) :)

Here is a piccie of the loan IS300h :)

Cheers

Vasilis.

They did say two days to be on the safe side...

when today I dropped off the car they said it might be ready by the end.

So I told them ... don't worry give me the courtesy car and I will pick up mine Friday morning ;)

They will do the interim service too (58000miles one)

I am really enjoying the IS300h Luxury I have as a courtesy for now ;) :D not even a month old and 2000miles on the clock.

Hi Tom,

I tried to find it on eBay but I had no luck...?

I have a facelift SatNav in mine.

If you can find out if I can put in a std climate control panel & everything works so I can put an aftermarket system in, I'll sell you mine.

I do not think it is that easy... to convert from a NAV to a non NAV ... as there are amendmends that need to be done in the wiring loom :S

No you are not taking any screws off.. you just twist them for about half turn .... and that should be enough. one screw should amend the default position of the light right / left and the other screw should amend the default up and down position of the light.

Let me have a look later today or tomorrow and tell you. But I am not 100% sure the lights are the same on the 400h with the 350?

Hello guys,

I am sure I have seen it somewhere but cannot remember or find it :(

My GS has the 4:3 SatNav built in with the A/C, Stereo and Satnav controls all integraded in the touchscreen.

First of all is it difficult and or possible to change the unit (incl the boot NAV CD reader with a DVD one) with the 16:9 one??

Is it meant to be a straight swap? since the car already has a SatNav built in?

I have found a couple GS's with SatNav and are the facelifted one's where I could obtain the system I guess.

Cheers

There are the adjustors on the lights them selves. Usually a screw driver will do.

But best is if you take it to a garage and ask them to increase the height a bit ... at least by using a machine to check the height and be sure you are not bliding ... the oncoming.

Nothing hidden under the storage boot area :( :(

I sent some enquiries to parts shark ... only one bothered to come back to me and just say they did not have any.

And the rest never ... replied.

So eBay I guess :)

By the way £298.00 ... for an intermediate service sounds about the right price?? (58000miles on the clock atm.)

I had checked the lights on my RX400h and I have to agree they are flat with no peaks at the ends... so I do not see any reason to get in the way of others.

I would think even if you swap the units with an EU set non UK one you would get exactly the same light pattern.

And yes indeed when I drove to Europe with my Ford Cougar (Halogen H7 Projectors) ... and my Mercedes CL500 (BiXenon's Projectors). Both had a switch within the housing of the light the would flatten the beam.

I need to check on my Saab's BiXenon's ... to see where the switch is lol...