matt-c

Just a quickie - the IS300's had HID's as standard (and the 200 LE's, or no?) - did they only have HID in the dipped beam, HID in the dipped and the main beam, or HID in the dipped, main, and fog lights?

Sits nicely!

They really are beautiful in white, but as you say almost non-existant!

More likely the latter I'd suspect. Japan nearly alway keep the best spec for themselves, hence why their Altezza Gita makes 245bhp. 160bhp from the 1G-FE over the "stock" 153 isn't really anything to be fair - 7hp is negligible at best. And to be fair, 220hp in a car as big and as heavy as the GS isn't a huge amount either. My opinion is the 200 should have been around 185, and the 300 should have been 220-225hp as standard

Still not a bad price - I take it since your last visit was 3 years ago, there's not a time limit as such on it? Just roll up, tell them it's a re-check and show 'em a receipt?

£90 inc VAT?

It's not - all the snow button does is make the pedal less responsive, so you don't just sit there and spin.

I was there last week! Mine was wearing a little on the outside edges as opposed to the inner, and a few parameters were out; 45 mins and all corrected - the small left pull is gone, and the small nose right when holding the steering wheel dead central also gone Way I see it, £114 inc is worth it to not wear tyres, that cost a shed load more, out prematurely...

Shame the IS300 over here didn't get the same 2JZ-GE that the Altezza Gita had in Japan; 245bhp as standard

Hmm......

Recommended cambelt change is 60k or 5 years (or is it 6 years?), but it wouldn't be unwise to do it 10k sooner, so 50k intervals would be perfectly fine. None of the IS200 range had front armrests; only the IS300. You can retro fit one, but they aren't cheap. I just bought and fitted one to mine (see here - http://www.lexusowne...showtopic=78770). I paid £100, and there's one just about to finish on ebay for roughy the same price, if you're quick; http://www.ebay.co.u...984.m1423.l2649 (real quick, it finishes in 23 mins!) Get some pics up of it, and welcome to IS driving :)

Sounds like a bargain!

Like they say power is not everything if its not being channelled to the wheels effectively. It depends on how far you want to go tuning wise i.e. 400 - 500+ bhp. but i my self dont have the work space and time for a full blown engine swap and mechanical conversions hence i will start with something which already packs the punch from factory and give it some light tuning. 300 - 320 bhp is all one needs in a car to go from 0-62 in less than 6 seconds and do 165mph if not restricted. and I am sure the Mazda engine can handle that easily.. its high performance Japanese car for a start so it definatley wont handle like a dog and the only Subaru's Imprezas quicker than it is the STI and RB320. If you are building for drag racing then yes 1JZ can handle more power but for a track car its more about handling and reasonable 300bhp channeled to all 4 wheels or the rear wheels. a low powered car with a good driver, good balance and brakes can really do wonders round a track. saying that i would love to boost my 2JZ too ;) but someone on here might be able to point you to the right direction with regards to your project. Good luck mate That is all well and good - but if the OP, like myself and others, really likes their own car, but just wants some more performance, selling it and buying a Mazda isn't the answer. The Mazda is a nice car, but it's not really what I want. I like my IS - but I'd like a bit more performance out of it. Not 400, 500, 600bhp, not a track weapon - just some extra power and torque, with a nice strong, smooth power delivery, that pulls from the bottom of the rev range right to the redline.

Yes. Best option is the 7" variant; you just take it apart, remove the screen to leave an empty housing, then buy a 7" LCD screen with AV input, take the casing apart on it and mount it inside the sat nav housing, wire in for power (most take the power line from the stereo power harness), run an AV input from it to a DVD player (which will also need a power supply) and boom; DVD playback in the standard housing. You can do it with the earlier, 5" variant, but you're more limited on screen choices

Then on the other hand, you have something like this; http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/280964196874;jsessionid=005AD576A43329C8EE301072200BA54A?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_sacat%3D0%26_nkw%3D280964196874%26_rdc%3D1#ht_500wt_1203 IS200 Sport, with TTE supercharger kit. The TTE supercharger was designed specifically for the IS200 by Toyota, and isn't an "aftermarket conversion kit" as such - it's the proper thing. Power increases to a little over 200, so is on par with the IS300 (tiny bit less power than the 300's, but then the 300 is a tiny bit heavier).

For £1500 you won't be looking at low mileage "mint" cars - unless you happen upon an bargain exception (they are out there, just not easy to find). Average mileage for these are now about 100k or so. As for performance, they aren't quick. On paper they are quicker then a C Class 1.8L Kompressor, but in real life, the Merc feels faster. Golf Mk4 GTi (1.8L Turbo) is a second faster to 60. If you want cruising and comfort, IS is a good choice - if I were you I'd be seriously looking at the IS300. It's faster, more power, and the auto box (5speed auto in the 300, only 4 speed auto in the 200) is supposed to be a very nice box - plus it has tiptronic so you can have a clutchless manual for when you want a bit of fun on the twistys, or leave it in auto for slogging through town and up and down the motorways. 6sp manual in the 200 is a nice box, but it's a lot of work as the ratio's are very close, so you change gear a lot to keep it in the (+4k) power band. Economy in both is rubbish. Factor about 20mpg if you like to rev it up now and again, 25-28 if you drive like Miss Daisy everywhere. I like mine, but do kinda regret going for the manual. I decided the 4sp auto wasn't worth it, so chose manual, and then thought if I'm going manual I might as well have the Sport (which is nice). But now I'm thinking more about finding a tidy IS300, with the 5speed auto/tiptronic box. The 300 is basically the same as a 200 Sport - tinted rear windows, lower, slightly stiffer suspension, chrome goodies here and there, rear spoiler, and an LSD in the back too (the auto SE doesn't have an LSD), but on top of that you also get; Full leather Photochromic rear view mirrors (automatic antiglare) Speed sensitive power steering Front armrest (trust me, it matters!!!!) HID headlights Chromed stainless steel exhaust pipe finisher VSC (Vehicle Stability Control) EBD (Electronic Brake force Distribution) BAS (Brake Assist) For me, my money's on a 300, but the bottom line really comes down to whether you want manual or auto. If you want manual, then your limited to a 200 (the S, SE, and Sport all had manual, with the S and SE having auto too - no auto in the Sport), and if so, you might as well get the Sport. If you want an auto, you'd be better going for a 300 - 5speed instead of the 200's 4speed, plus the 300 has tiptronic/e-shift. All have cruise control too.

Can't offer any advice, sorry - but I'm interested to follow your install on this, so please document it! The 1JZ-GTE VVTi engine seems like an awesome engine to transplant into an IS/Altezza, and is probably the engine I'd use if I had the time, space and (most importantly) the money to commit to it - 280bhp and 280lb/ft with the single turbo VVTi engine, and makes 50% of it's torque down the low end of the rev range! I reckon that with a decent intake and worked exhaust, and run a tiny touch more boost, I reckon you're easily knocking on the door of 300hp

Nope, tubs as in turbos ;) Never tried a car with active steering, at least, not knowingly (I do drive an awful lot of cars for work, so one or two may have had it I guess)

Having watched a couple on ebay go for more than I wanted to spend (the last one went for £135, one before £150) and breakers asking between £180 and £220 (!!!!) for them, one came up for sale on OJC that I knew would be 1) complete (all the bolts, bits, and all important magnet blank) and 2) perfect condition, so I jumped straight in and bought it for £100. Probably more than it's worth, but since getting so used to the armrest in my Transit, I find it almost unbearable to drive the IS without one, so it had to be done. Plus, prior to that, I bought a Sat Nav screen/unit for it, then had a change of heart but sold it for enough profit to be able to afford this. No more mods for a while though - ironically I bought this car NOT to mod it! It's already had a GROM (bargain £35) and the armrest (£100), a Wheels In Motion set up (£114), two new keys (£21) and some wiper blades (a bank breaking £6!), but the tax is due end of Oct, I want to get a spare set of rims and winter tyres sorted before the price of them goes up, and I should really think about a service too. Though if a TTE or TRD kit comes up for decent money, I'd be very tempted!

I'd love to throw a 1UZ with a pair of tubs into an IS if I had money to waste! IF I had even more money to waste, I'd import al Altezza Gita and rob the 4WD system off it an adapt it the 5sp auto/tiptronic from an IS300 too. Mmmm, V8 bi-turbo 4WD goodness!

Haha, there's one finishing on ebay in 26hrs, which even has the 12v socket in it http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/230848422677?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Move it on, buy a bargain IS200, and drop a V8 into that. And if you're really bored, throw in a couple turbos!

Technically yes, but it's a bit of a grey area really. On the one hand, you do sign in the terms and conditions that winning an auction at whatever price you do, is a legally binding contract and you are expected to uphold it. However, it's never been tested in a bricks and mortar courthouse (as far as I know anyway), and normal auction houses rarely take non-paying bidders to court either. You're free to retract your bid any time before the auction ends, just as the seller is free to end an item any time before it ends. and you could also argue that under the sale of goods act and distance selling regulations, you have 7 days to change your mind about buying something over the internet. So if it did go to court, you could most likely get off with it quoting that. That does annoy me that they've prohibited sellers giving negative feedback to a buyer; sellers get messed around by buyers just as much as the other way around, and leaving negative feedback for non payers, or messers is the only real way of other ebay users seeing what the user in question is actually like. To the OP - file a non paying bidder claim with ebay. You won't get the money for the sale, but you will be able to claim back the final value fee you have to pay eBay because your item sold. And at 10%, that can be a steep fee depending on your sale price.

Picked up my front armrest this morning and just fitted it Why this wasn't fitted as standard is beyond me! Reckon I could do with it being another 10mm higher, but it's not uncomfortable, and still well pleased with it!!!!

It's 4 units as far as I know - and an average pint (read Fosters or Carlsberg, etc) is about 2 units per pint. Granted I know I can drive perfectly fine if I had three pints, but I won't as driving is my job, and should I get tugged and found over the limit, I'd be out of work faster than you can blub an apology But it would be cool to pop in and have a couple one day, and get a first hand look over a decent 300 - although that might be a bad idea as it'll probably push me over the edge I'm teetering on as to whether to get one or not ;)