B1RMA

This is the video I think it is the RCF TVD this guy does some really in depth guides that are excellent viewing

I will find it because the guy who presents it does an excellent job

I really like the TVD system on our cars, there is an excellent nerds in depth guide to it which I'll try and find because the guy explains hot V turbochargers etc so well and goes into some depth about the TVD. Some find it counter intuitive but I just let it get on with it and I'm fine with that. Everything to help traction on powerful rear wheel drive cars is a bonus. My V12 twin turbo AMG with 620+ BHP going to the rear wheels had an optional Quaife diff fitted but it would still cause the odd brown trouser moment on a damp road, but I guess it could have been worse. I was quite happy to have it in the RCF something I wouldn't do with other car marques due to complexity and potential other maintenance costs, but it's a Lexus so it'll be fine for the long term.

He charges a fortune, I did phone to get a quote but at double the cost of what I eventually paid I'm glad in some ways that in the back of my mind I thought he was a pillock but I guess he has some good people doing the actual work.

I've had CTEK chargers for years and they still work well, I've never disconnected the battery when using them as they are 'intelligent' chargers they look after themselves.

Snap, just put my winter wheels on my Mini with Sotozero winter tyres too.

I don't think that the earlier non AVS models are effected by suspension settings in Sports modes I haven't bothered with the sat nav and just stick my TomTom in the centre console

I think it's also a factor what part of the country you live. I live down near the South Coast and rarely put my set of winter tyres on whereas up North I can see the point. Although I fully agree with the point of view its all about braking distances in cold wet weather with winter tyres. I've run all season tyres on my work vans for many years now as I was once stranded down in Bournemouth one year.

From what I've read on the USA forum quite a few have gone for Swift springs, I plan at some stage to fit them to my car as I feel it sits just a bit too high. Standard exhaust does sound a bit quiet.

If it's any help here are the figures for my wheels they miss the large callipers on the front and do keep in line with the wheel arches Front 9.5 wide ET 40. Rear 10.5 wide ET 40

You asked, though off topic I couldn't resist. It's a 1/6th scale Armortek tank. It has proportional smoke, incredibly accurate sound both starting the engine and running, also the main gun booms/recoils with an LED flash and machine guns fire all very loudly. So full radio control in motion, it weighs about 100 kilo's and can pull a car so pretty powerful. We get invited (well used to) by the Tank Museum Bovington to display at events. The models are deadly accurate in every detail. I also had two Churchill Animation figures made at great expense, so the tank commander looks/moves around, puts the binoculars up to his eyes then down. The other figure a Field General is on the phone barking orders. As there are so many anoraks who attend these events I have gone for something very different, my tank is a copy of the enigma that is the Panzer Lehr 333 there is film footage of it blasting down the road in Northern France very late in the war. It is not confirmed if this was just a propaganda stunt by the Germans to boost moral or what. Either way the tank did use the local shrubs etc (Bouchage) I think it's called to camouflage the tank during the very heavy fighting in that area.

What a coincidence here's mine, I've spent an absolute fortune on it. Active suspension this was a must for me, big brake kit all round as I did plan to put a 320 BHP Cooper S engine in it, but for the time being I've just had the diesel re-mapped and it makes for an interesting drive. These engines (BMW N47) do have a bit of a bad reputation and as you can see this is my modified Pistonheads smiley turned into a grimace and bits of the piston rods flying. Mine is used as my daily and I really like it, useless for trying to carry anything as the back just about fits/carries my 1/6th scale tank that I take to exhibitions. Won't be changing it for some time My apologies OP for going off topic..

That one photo shows a Mini Clubvan blue like mine, has this been mentioned before? Is it yours?

More than I’ve done in two years

I must admit I was never a fan of the standard wheels, one of the things that attracted me to the RCF apart from that bloody great big V8 was that the car had really decent sized discs and callipers. I always though the standard wheels hid these from view. I'm also a fan of the concave dish design of wheels, the M3 I tried had some lovely factory specials that highlighted the deep dish concave design so from there on I was hooked. The photo below shows what I was aiming for.

Indeed they are, I have sent a few photo's of the Vossens to the Facebook page. You have to go for a concave dish though.

I saw that too, looks very interesting.

In my opinion if Lexus go down the road of trying to flog an RCF Track Edition type car then I'm out. I did wonder whether Lexus would loose the plot with RCF/GSF type cars, you know models that look subtle with monster engines and a decent turn of performance built in. What attracted me to the RCF was the Q car looks of it, I hasten to add I had one of the very first E28 BMW M5's that came to the UK way back in 1985 and nobody knew what it was and I loved that. And to a certain extent that's why I like the RCF.

Somehow I think Lexus will loose the plot again and not produce attractive cars, hope I'm wrong. I'm convinced that Toyota/Lexus seem to do their level best to produce decent well made components with a very decent warranty. I sold my CL65 AMG just before a major service, MB Brooklands (MB World) who were leagues above most AMG/MB retailers for servicing quoted me just under £3k for it's next service, let alone the £1900 per annum warranty, so my conclusion was that the Lexus was as cheap as chips to run overall.

I'm really pleased I was able to do the back to back comparison, although it incurred a £15K bit of budget creep at the time buying a much later model. I don't think being a Lexus you have any worries about future replacement costs as they will probably last ages and ages. As these cars sell well over in the USA I've not read of any issues on higher mileage AVS cars, my one concern was the fact I intend to lower mine with some Swift Springs but again I've asked the question on the USA based forum and nobody has had any problems with lowering an AVS equipped car. For the record Tein do an active coil-over set-up for the ISF so hopefully soon a system will be available for the pre AVS RCF' and GSF cars. I have this rather expensive system on my Mini Clubvan and it is superb (as I believe it is for the ISF) it gives a limo type ride for the Mini at slower speeds and motorways then tightens up on the twisty fast bits, it has a display gauge and you can see it working all the time. I believe the AVS system in the GSF and RCF is very similar. This is why I just have it in Sport mode as it, according to the data sheet issued by Lexus tightens up according to driving style/input. This again was why I didn't hesitate to buy a Lexus with TVD, AVS etc because despite it being one of the cheapest cars I've ever bought I just felt confident it would work properly and last, if not the warranty should help out. Something I've clearly not had with many of my high end German and British cars I've had in the past.

interesting point, I have to admit the AVS car and the non AVS car I drove really did have a different feel, I felt the softer setting of the AVS (standard mode) helped make the car far more comfortable for normal driving, then when you got a move on it all tightened up in a way I felt was well sorted. I rarely go into Sport+ as I feel most of the roads around Hampshire are a bit rough and the setting just a bit too harsh for uneven rubbish roads.

Just my own experience on a non AVS car and an AVS car, admittedly it was an RCF but if you drive an AVS equipped car and a non AVS car back to back (I know a rare occurrence) you would chose the AVS car. I did. Never had any issues with throttle response although a chap on Pistonheads said the same about his car (an early RCF) I wonder if Lexus changed anything on the later cars as I've never had any such problems.

I think it's a fair enough review, the Lexus F range of cars are an acquired taste you either like them or not, plus there are far more publicised brands that seem to grab the attention of the buying public. I quite like this guy he has highlighted faults with the Lotus brand that are very much along the lines of my impression too, he also went overboard about Mclarens that didn't win him any fans but he did have a few valid points that could be overlooked at your peril if you are paying out big wads of your own money.

Just my experience about CC brakes, I wouldn't hesitate to buy another low mileage, light car equipped with them, I would never specify them as an extra on a new car, far too expensive. I firmly believe they will last in excess of 100,000 miles on a light car before they need replacing, I did look into the subject in some depth (for me that is) Never had any squeal with them as I believe later discs were a lot better than the older designs. I did have a big brown trouser moment with them though. I live on a hill, after washing my car I took it out for a drive, near the bottom of the road I pressed the brake pedal and nothing much happened, I was about a foot over the road marking line before I stopped completely. I learned that lesson very quickly and always applied light braking force after washing the car. Apart from that one incident I loved them, plus absolutely no brake dust ever appears to ruin the look of your wheels.

The carbon ceramics are good on a light road car, but you risk destroying them on a track day if you run off into the kitty litter on the track edge. But I could brake later and harder than any car I'd taken on track. I have also boiled the brakes on every track day car I've owned except the Boxster, no fade nothing. Although the hardened track day guys I met with very expensive 911's swopped the ceramics for metal discs so that tells you something. The flat six cylinder engine on the later ones (no bore scoring) like the RCF loves to be revved. I notice you owned a Lotus, I've had a Lotus in one form or another since 1973 when my dad bought me the Roman Purple Europa like the one they had on display at the Motor Show in Earls Court way back in the dark ages. I have been very critical of Lotus build quality since owning them and concluded that all Lotus cars are only a nano hair from a kit car, even the very late/last of the line V8 Esprit I owned had bits falling off it. After a good thrash you would hear something rattling or making a funny noise that you thought was going to be expensive. Something the Boxster will not do, I did upset a few Lotus fan boys on their forum when I stated this but hey ho. I really haven't a clue what to buy next if I'm honest but I like the look of the new Corvette C8 and the new Lotus Emira. I have learnt the lesson of buying a new model of a car so I'll bide my time and wait and see of either are a bad choice or not.