mrfunex

I think you're worrying for nothing. Even the water pump thing isn't *that* common.

What a great read - thanks! (enjoy the car when it arrives!!)

Very interested in this - hope the test part looks the business!

What this man said, although I'd also add when I'm cruising on the motorway... I pop the car into 8th and leave it there. When I want a bit more speed, I want the torque of the engine to propel me, I don't want anything more than a tickle on the throttle to drop the 'box down to 7th, 6th or even 5th, as it makes a gentle burst of power become quite rowdy!* It's a shame cruise control doesn't work in manual mode! *disclaimer. This is not generally a bad thing.

Drive it like your favourite back road, without the worry of traffic, speed limits etc. Don't race... remember - you've got to be able to drive it home! Beware noise limits. If you're standard, you may be fine. Mine's got a H&S exhaust and at Goodwood it was measured at 103dB. If you blow over the noise restriction, they'll turn you away. Have fun!

The service from them has always been great. I've made a note a few times of the mileage and it's either never moved, or it's a single mile more than before. They've always looked after our cars (I've had a GS450 and the ISF and my wife has a RX450) and I've never had any cause to doubt or question them.

Hedge End Lexus always unplug my dashcam! Spoilsports!

Derail away! After talking about this thread with a mate, we may end up doing the NC500 in early Sept! He's got a 2003 Boxster S. There's not much between it and the ISF until triple figures!

I work shifts. Bonus - you commute to/from work when the roads are mostly empty. Drawback - you're usually knackered... A while ago after a night shift at the tail-end of summer, I'd finished work on a Sunday morning at 06:00 and wasn't feeling as sleepy as normal. As the glorious ISF V8 barked into life and settled to a lumpy idle in the previously silent car-park, I decided I'd take a very long, 100mile route of backroads on my way home. What followed was one of the best 2hrs I've ever had on the roads. As the sun crept slowly up, the lesser used A- and B- roads of Hampshire bellowed with the wonderful V8 sound. Apexes were clipped, most corners were straight-lined and the sheer pace of the F shrunk all but the longest straights. 3rd and 4th were the cogs-du-jour and the throttle blips and pops from the H&S exhaust the icing on the cake. After an hour, I hadn't seen a single other car. Then, as I started to vaguely thread my way back home I noticed I was following an old AC Cobra, 2 up, along the A272; a popular biker route round here (with good reason) presumably on the way to a breakfast meet at Goodwood. The driver wasn't hanging about - I could hear their 427 over my car from around 200 yards away, the heady smell of a big carbed classic through my windows. (As an aside, when I was around 14, I'd been driven around Mallory Park for a few laps in a Cobra. It was that morning that I became a lifelong car nut!) I turned off after around 10 minutes of following. It was so nice; that rare occasion when you see another driver, also in their P&J, out to enjoy the process of driving. Just before home, I stopped to refuel - I'd demolished 3/4 of a tank in around a hundred miles. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat...

Ah yes - gotta love the cold, greasy roads :-S. That moment when the engine is properly rolling on the power in 3rd, the rears start spinning up at about 70mph and the traction control decides you're having too much fun! A total antidote to S.A.D.!

I've got a Honda S2000 for track days. I'm no driving god, but it's certainly fast enough for me to have a LOT of fun. It can feel a bit down on power for longer straights (especially at Silverstone), but in the twisties it's excellent. I can also afford to replace what might drop off it! I'd love to track my ISF, but with the H&S exhaust, it's pushing the noise limits, even on 105dB days! Can't wait for the weather to warm up a bit! I've already had days at Oulton Park, Thruxton, Castle Combe and Silverstone; I'd like to tick off Brands Hatch and Goodwood during 2017 :-)

Maybe the length of time depends on the year of the car? Mine holds the lower gear for about 60 seconds (maybe 2mins - I'll time it next time I'm out), then reverts to Drive. It definitely doesn't stay in the reduced range forever. It also resets the reduced range to Drive once the car comes to a complete stop. Mine's a 2008.

Yup! All that technology and still the clock is from a 1980s VCR!

I think if you're following traffic at say, 50mph where the car will usually sit in 8th at about 1300rpm, and want to overtake, it speeds things up. Without preselecting the other, lower gear, you start to pull out, mash the throttle and the gearbox changes from 8th to 7th, to 4th and off you go. If you restrict the max gear to 4th before you go, you're already in the correct gear. Its also handy for mountainous roads, as mentioned, to stop the gearbox hunting; I just wish it could be a permanent change and didn't revert to normal after about a minute.

Removes the time taken to kick-down if overtaking? Although here I prefer to use manual mode. Engine-braking downhill? I'm not too keen on the uncertainty as to when it automatically decides to revert to using the full gear range though.

It only seems to engage for about 60 seconds? Pity it's not a permanent thing. Hold on the + paddle to return to normal D mode.

Great photos! Glad you had a good time!

(Please excuse the massive thread de-rail!) Big Rat, Sounds like mine had very similar mods to yours! Uprated intercoolers, the bigger GT2 turbos etc. I never had it rolling-roaded, but it boosted to 1.4bar so I'd guess about 500-520bhp. Soulless is a word I'd use too. It was more or less the fastest car you could use on any type of road, but I found it became too fast and was far too capable to exploit any sort of limit anywhere. The fun started to fade. After seeing almost 190mph on the speedo one evening I sold it. With the proceeds, I bought a GS450h, a Honda S2000 (to do track days in) and a hot tub! Much more fun! filthy girl!

My old 911 looked exactly like that - mine was an X50 though, like a Turbo S, but with steel brakes. Wonderful car, and with a remap if was properly bonkers-insane fast!

I'd be happy with a LFA....

I think I'd have waited a little longer and bought a manual V8 mustang.

I echo this - the worst part of having an ISF is... what on earth would you ever replace it with? Back OT, buy entirely on condition. Whether an '08 or '14... as mentioned before, gut feeling can help but if the car has had a recent service (and history), decent tyres and a folder of receipts showing money has been spent, you won't go far wrong.

Love the lip spoiler - what's that one?

I'd add that on my last track day at Oulton Park, a 5.0 Mustang was there and I was a bit disappointed by the noise. Must have been standard - the engine was barely audible. Must be like ours and need a catback to unleash what we've all paid for!

The H&S catback system sounds like a NASCAR at full throttle. Utterly glorious!