matt-c

Of course there is something different between petrol and diesel engines - which is why I said it's apples and oranges, which you disagreed with and said they are the same..... And yes, F1 cars don't make much torque - because they don't need to. Like bikes, they are about top end power, not torque

Mines an IS, but I bought one of the keys in the ebay link since two of my three keys were broken (one completely broken and one cracking, almost broken). It was the right length (more or less), and got a local shoe and key place to cut it, but it would only unlock the door, boot and glove box - it wouldn't turn in the ignition. Ran it through a couple more times to no avail, then a few days later I took a metal file to it, shaved a hair off the tip, and then ran the curved back of the file down the blade profile a few times and it worked! Worked it a little bit more with the file to smooth it all out and it turns perfectly - been using it a month or two now with no problems; didn't have to modify the transponder at all - everything inside is stock from one of the broken keys. I will say though, they are a bit cheap, and fairly bulky. It doesn't have the nice feel a VW or Audi key has when flicking out and closing, the button is a bit sensitive (often flicking out in my pocket) and it just doesn't feel as quality as my mates VW key. The one Radoslav posted is a much nicer looking key IMO

*yawn*

"A 2.0litre 150bhp turbo diesel car is equivalent to a 2.0litre 150bhp turbo petrol car" - even if I give you that (which I don't, because a 2L turbo derv engine is completely different to a 2L turbo petrol engine), which 2L petrol turbo are you comparing it to? A modified IS200? Apples and oranges - as I said before, you're trying to compare a bog standard factory engine against an engine that has been custom modified with aftermarket parts/conversion I gave up reading the rest of your post when you began quoting pointless figures again...

Not, it is apples and oranges. You're talking about completely changing the characteristics of a standard engine by modifying it from naturally aspirated to forced induction, and comparing it to a car that has simply had a remap. The fact the 320d is turbocharged as standard (and no, not all are; the 320d was available as a turbo or non-turbo) is by the by; you cannot expect me to believe, with all the figure quoting and "specs" you constantly point out, that you think a turbo-diesel engine is anything like a petrol engine modified to increase performance with a turbo or supercharger. How a car performs has WAY more to do than just quoting bhp and torque figures at what rpm, yadda yadda. Cars deliver power in different ways, diffs make a difference, weight, handling/agility, so many other things. So reciting a spec book in every post does not always make it easier to understand, often the contrary. While one car might look better on paper, in real life the opposite may be true. Oh, and who are "they" ?

www.ebay.com

Yes, turbo or supercharge an IS200 and it will have higher figures than a remapped 320d - but that's comparing apples and oranges. You're now talking about a car that has had physical engine modifications to make it produce more power, rather than a car that has had more potential free'd up on it's standard engine. Next you go on about torque at high RPM - you don't want torque at high rpm; you want it at low RPM. You want bhp at high RPM. BHP is what gets your top speed up, and torque is what pulls you out the bends - I don't want to sit there winding it up waiting for all the torque to come in right at the end of the rev range, only to have to change gear and wait all over again. Also, why are you so obsessed with quoting power figures on everything?

Sounds good!

According to the other site, this is possibly a scam, and has been doing the rounds for a while; http://www.**********club.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=8939 It might not be, but just tread carefully should anyone be considering it

I'm still half entertaining a derv E46 (think they did a 3.0L coupe derv) with a remap. What sort of performance you get from a 320d after the map?

Can't go wrong!

They did a great job with mine, and from what I've read they do a great job with everyone's. And the price is more than just getting the tracking done, but when you realise what it is they do, you realise that 1) they do a lot more than just the normal tracking and 2) that the normal tracking is actually pointless and doesn't really achieve anything. Add to that, that it could double (or more) the lifetime of your tyres, it doesn't work out that expensive ;)

£114 inc the vat, takes about half an hour ;)

Sure, why not

No, I already stated that here; Please do keep up. So you don't do it, but you do do it? Hmm... No offence, but you must be doing it wrong. I've never managed to put it in reverse instead of first by mistake. There's a very obvious "barrier" to push through to get it in reverse, and even if the selector is badly worn, sloppy and soft, I know where first is, and where reverse is; and putting it in reverse feels much different than putting it first. It comes back to having awareness of the car you're in control of.

I forgot about those! Just like the C Class Merc I was driving the other day; foot operated parking brake. I remember when I first got in one years ago and was all "huh, where's the handbrake!?!?!" While I think of it, what about the Passat for example - no handbrake OR foot operated parking brake ;)

Looks good - I was gonna say get it into WIM to get it set up, since the geo will be thrown out now. Might as well get the absolute best out of it now you've installed the springs!

I didn't state, nor allude to, that you drift on the street. The EK9 I stated I made the mistake once. It was the very first time I'd ever even been in one. I didn't make that mistake again in the three months I drove it. But you say you "grab at air" constantly, or "everytime you park", when switching from the Nissan and Subaru to the Altezza, and you even have to look to locate it before using it. I'd think you'd only make that mistake once, not repeatedly. You also said "u adapt as a driver and soon learn to drive the car as it is for what it is", but then went on to say you "grab at air" "everytime you park", which is a bit of a contradiction, no? Please, what finger pointing are you talking of? As for children loosing their lives - that can, and does happen, when someone isn't paying attention to what's going on, and/or their surroundings - which includes not knowing where the controls for the vehicle they are driving are. Hypothetical example; you're driving the Altezza and a child runs out in front of you - you react, reach for the emergency brake, but instead you "grab at air", which you admitted you do a lot, and lose those precious seconds - which is enough time to run the child over. It's a real concern - I defy anyone to say differently.

Listen chap, if you want to have an intelligent discussion by all means, I'm your man. But if you want to fabricate parts to make your posts appear better then this isn't the place for you. Please, quote me where I've specifically "spoken so highly of" my IS200? We can debate the location of the brake lever all you like, but the fact is as it stands that the majority of cars have the brake handle either in the middle of the console - so no closer to passenger or drivers side, regardless of designation, or on the opposite to the steering wheel (so RHD, brake is on left side) My wiper stalk is on the right, and my indicators on the left. Same as all the Vauxhalls I have driven. And Fords. And BMW's. And Audi's. etc etc. I did drive an EK9 for a while that the wiper stalk was on the left and indicators on the right. I only ever put the wipers on instead of the indicator once. It's not hard to learn from a mistake and not repeat it. Likewise, if you "grab at air" you clearly do not qualify to be behind the wheel of a car, as you clearly don't have the spacial awareness or capability to operate the vehicle correctly or efficiently, since you don't know where the controls for it are. Please, please be more diligent - I'd hate for a child to lose their life because you didn't know how to find the controls of the car you're driving.

Oh, you're picking on a typo? What a mature and educated line of argument. Very impressed

They stuffed up the location form YOUR point of view. Not from THEIR point of view. As for the the cars you mentioned, what do they all have in common? They're Japanese. And what side of the car is the steering wheel on in a JDM car? And what side is your steering wheel on? I'm guessing you're american, and drive let hand drive cars, whereas the Jap cars you mentioned are RHD. Seems Lexus, and Toyota in your case, thought they would put the handbrake lever on the "correct" side for the cars of the countries they were designated to - so over here the Lexus IS got it on the left side of the console (for a RHD car) as they did in Japan, and in the US they got it on the right side of the console (for a LHD car) Window switches vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, and also differ widely for cars from the same manufacturer. For example, I've had three different models of Escort (a Ford) and each one the switches were in different locations. BMW for example (and Merc for that matter) have their windows switches on the centre console of some of their cars, and on the door panels on other models. As for research - I work in the motor industry, and have done for 8 years, and have driven and worked on must be thousands of cars in that time, so yeah, I've got a pretty good idea ;) And one thing I can tell you about "the norm" is that most cars, the handbrake is actually in the middle of the centre console, not to one side or the other. At least, over here anyway. Can't remember the last time I had to reach for the handbrake in a hurry. Maybe it's because we use it as a parking brake and not an emergency brake? But either way, I wouldn't grab a can of coke instead of the brake handle - I have a good sense of spacial awareness and know where the controls of my vehicle are located. Here's an Audi RS4 you mentioned; http://images.ashmar...864-640x480.jpg

I'm pretty sure Toyota/Lexus didn't design the car with drifting and gymkhana in mind, as for it being on the opposite side of the console - makes much more sense; means I don't have to reach over it to get to whatever I put in the drinks holder/cubby hole. I also don't get why people make a thing out of first and reverse being next to each other? Hundreds of cars are like this; some have a pressure gate (like the IS/Altezza), some have a press down gate, and some have a lift collar gate - but they all have a gate. It'd be almost impossible to put the car in reverse by mistake. How short are your arms if you have to stretch to reach the handbrake lever? And how slowly do your arms move? It's only a couple inches from where you intend to move it to (from one side of the console to the other), and if your reaction/reach time is so slow that a couple inches make that much difference, I would suggest you shouldn't be driving full stop, let alone trying to "drift like a maniac". I just prey I'm never on the same stretch of road as you; I worry you can't move your foot the couple inches from the accelerator to the brake pedal quick enough to stop, and instead lose those "precious moments" by running over a child...

There's a huge long list of wheels that fit the IS, the problem is finding them. Amazingly, there seems to be a severe lack of steel rims on the second hand market; it's cheaper to buy a set of OEM alloys than the steels. I was trying to get a set of the Lexus RX Harrier wheels (16") but they aren't cheap either, so looks like I'm going for a set of standard IS 17's, and the slightly narrower 205 tyres, and just hope for the best!

First and foremost, 235 section tyres on a 7J (7" wide) rim won't be legal, even if it does physically fit; 225 is the max you should go to on a 7J. The next problem is a 235/55 17 is nearly 10% bigger in rolling radius than a 215/45 17 (standard) tyre, so wouldn't be advisable anyway (you should stay within 3% +/- from standard tyre size rolling radius). Secondly. it's also counter-productive to fit wider tyres for winter; the wider they are the less effect they will have and be more likely to spin and plane. You should fit narrower tyres for winter, so they cut through the snow better. I'm looking to go 205/50's for winter tyres; but if I was able to get specific sized rims, I'd rather run 195's through the snow.

Sorry I should have been clearer - I'm also on about the mk1 IS' too. Also to clarify, I'm not looking, at least not actively for the time being, for a replacement for my current car - it's more a hypothetical discussion to see what other owners think is all