mrfunex

Tell them to replace the entire system with a H&S catback. That’s what happened to my ISF. Ridiculous price for the tips. The situation may be different now, but when I asked about a set of tips several years ago, the price was £480 a side, and they only come in pairs.

Totally stock - I can’t yet think how I’d improve my GSF... I’ll be putting MPS4S tyres on once the current MPSS are toast, though...

I don’t like the new linen option for the bonnet.

Nothing can be as difficult to clean as a rear GSF wheel tho? 😩

I don’t think I could keep up/put up with the ferocious maintenance on a M3/M4. A mate at work had an M4 for just over a year and it was CONSTANTLY in the dealers to fix some rattle/leak/warning light or other. Then it got nicked. Even the M5 on long term review in last month’s Top Gear mag couldn’t be.. err.. reviewed as it keeps conking out and the dealer doesn’t appear to have a clue! Then the noise - the sports exhaust made a horrible, raspy farting noise! It actually made me laugh the first time I heard it. I hope it’s better from inside. I have no doubt an M car is probably a little more lithe around a racetrack than the comparible ISF/RCF/GSF, but I can’t look past all the positives from the posh Toyota unfortunately. It’s a ‘meh’ from me.

Ah yes, expert mode. Turns you into Ayrton Senna apparently... or pretty good for doing donuts in a deserted car park. Mostly in normal or sport here, I like the slurred gear changes in normal when I’m just schlepping about, and the much sharper ones in sport when I’m not. I find sport+ quite ‘jumpy’ and eco is like you’re dragging a 5-ton trailer behind!

Had a poster of this on my wall at uni. Amongst... ahem... others!

2009 RX450h here. Mostly town driving..

The fuel consumption really impressed me when I had a GS450h. Whether in stop-start traffic, urban schlepping or hammering down the motorway, it was remarkably constant.

You can keep the motorbike, but the Viper... phwoar!

Just for interest, and to throw a curve-ball in here... 35mpg excellent in a GS450h? Really? I can fairly nearly match that in a GSF on ordinary fast A and B-roads, driving with economy in mind. Beating it would be easy on a quiet motorway! Also managed over 30mpg from 364 miles of enjoyment around Wales a few months ago and I certainly wasn’t concerned with how much petrol I was using! Now that’s not bad from a 5.0 V8 with around 480bhp available! Disclaimer; usual economy is in the low 20s, previous ISF was about 2mpg worse than the GSF and before that my GS450h (mk3) averaged around 30mpg. My usual driving is through the urban sprawl...

My other car - had it over 6 years now, which is an eternity for me. 9000rpm, RWD, LSD and a manual box. Awful on long motorway journeys, brilliant fun given the right occasion!

I’d say an early, well kept ISF stands the most chance, as it was the ‘original’ F-car. Whether enough people know about them to generate the cult status a future classic needs, I have no idea.

Looking forward to a review. I’ve got PSSs on my GSF at the moment, but they’re not gonna last forever!

We have a 2009 RX450h and get about 31-32mpg average (over the last 25k miles) regardless of whether in stop/start traffic, or howling up the motorway. Given that it’s a petrol, 2+ ton vehicle with fat tyres, the aerodynamics of a small shed and 300bhp, I find that mildly astonishing. I don’t think a remap is possible. What kind of fuel economy were you expecting?

I think the main problem was that, being a small, racy Honda, people expected it to behave like a fast Civic, whereas it’s more like an Elise. The AP1s came originally with Bridgestone tyres, which made the car very snappy at the limit. There were many changes throughout the ~10year life of the S2000, and it got progressively softer and more benign. I’ve got an early AP1, and with the right tyres, and with suspension properly set up, it’s a total hoot on road and track. Back to the FWD/AWD/RWD debate, I suppose for the bulk of my driving I’m more after a nice soundtrack (not from the radio) than outright handling - the V8 fulfills that bit. It is nice when the TVD properly helps to fire the GSF out of slow corners though, the amount of grip and the delicacy of the handling surprises me for such a big car...

That’s exactly the look I’m after! I don’t want the thread hijack too much, but how do you find them? Easy to install, any noticeable difference whilst driving? Is that your Viper? 😮

Sadly, I’ve never even seen one in the flesh!

The tank is a little small, an 80litre tank would have been more appropriate imo. Reminds me of when, a few years ago now, I changed from a 2.0TDCi Mondeo to a 3.0 V6 ST220 Mondeo. The diesel car had a range of about 750-800 miles on a tank, and I used to fill up when there was about 1/4 remaining. The petrol one only ever showed a range of around 200 miles when it had just been filled - range anxiety kicked in when I’d not even left the petrol station forecourt!

@Holmsey24, what brand of spacers have you used? Does 5mm really make a difference? I’d love to bring the front wheels on my GSF out a bit - they look a bit ‘sunken’ from some angles...

Guys, just had this email from my local dealer about a special upgrade, so sensitive in nature tha it can “only be discussed with a member of the Senior Management Team present”! Seeing as a GSF is already pretty much top dog round here, I’m thinking either an LC500 or a darned good deal on a used LFA! What do you think? (or has the heat gotten to me?! 🤪)

There are always deals on Groupon, etc for aircon recharges for £35 at ATS. Just had it done on my toy car (Honda S2000), previous air vent temp was 31.2C, now it’s around 6C! What a difference!

I’ve never driven a carbon-braked car. My old 996 911 turbo was the last year they still all had steel brakes - my model was the run-out ‘turbo X50’ which the year after became the ‘turbo S’. Maybe I should add a car with carbon brakes to my ‘must drive’ list!

Thing is, high performance brakes do tend to occasionally squeak/squeal, it’s down to the pad compound and there’s not very much you can do about it apart from changing that compound, or using ever-increasing amounts of copper grease on the backs of the pads. I know Lexus don’t really go for them, but many other manufacturers with 500bhp, 170+mph cars weighing nearly 2 tons, (possibly more with passengers) are offering carbon brakes, probably with good reason. A good stamp on the brakes tends to stop the noise coming from mine, but it’ll return within a few days. Thing is, the brakes are so big, they never really get properly used!

A new car and £15k compensation? Pull the other one, it’s got F badges on it...