H3XME

I went through 2 or 3 subs and then late last year the amp died too. I think it just over heated as a lot of rubbish collects in the breather hole behind the rear bumper. I've got a "new" junk yard amp and it's working fine now. I love the sound system. I don't need more bass or loudness but it just seems that it doesn't like playing heavy bass songs on full volume. It just breaks over time. Longevity is the issue rather than performance. See, this is what I thought but I took it to a sound system shop by me and they said I'd need new amp to be able to run an aftermarket sub as this one won't generate enough power for it. But then changing an amp wouod result in needing an aftermarket head unit too because it's all so connected. Normally you'd be able to listen to radio still if your amp dies, but when mine died I had nothing. Not even the volume indicator on the screen would come up. It's very much interconnected.

Love a nice 350! Not many of them around. I'm sure many of us here are jealous as we can all agree that 250 could do with a little more power considering its weight. I'd love 4IS bumper but they're still well over a grand at the moment... I think I'm going to just treat myself to 3IS bumper as they're sub £600 delivered. (+ paint on top) High five for the wheels! I'm also on RAYS - GramLights 57CR

I can't speak about the IS350, but other newer Jap cars come with fog lights anyway. Even more so IS250s and the 350s etc have fog lights inside the tail lights so I don't see why they wouldn't come with it even in Japan. However, if it doesn't have rear fogs, I'd just simply hook it up to the ACC and slap a little switch by your right knee, where the sunshade, windshield wiper defroster etc is located. It is different on older cars, yes. Like my soarer had a little fog light switch by the steering wheel for the rear fog light. I'd normally just run with it tucked under the rear bumper as the brackets allowed two positions - hidden and exposed.

You're better off without ML if you was to upgrade to better sound system. I wanted a better subwoofer hooked up to the stock amp, and it's not possible without changing the amp and head unit as well. It's a bit complicated for some reason. Yours would be open to aftermarket solutions easier than any ML cars.

Yeah, no wonder.. it's because they were 50 year old manuals. Try today's manuals in some sports cars with close ratio gearbox and short throw shifters. MK4 MX-5, 370Z, GT86, Cayman, all good examples. Driving a manual even in a car like MK7 golf still cannot be compared to the nice heavy, short, straight shifts of a RWD car. Even then, those are great manual boxes but it's down to the preference, so if you don't like manual, you'll still pick the IS250 auto box over them. There are also much better automatic gearboxes in modern cars, IS250 is an early 2000s tech.

Personal preference? Just like anything else on the car. People who know the car will know it's not a diesel because of twin pipes. I'm going to remove the LEXUS badge to the left of the boot lid as well, because what's the need? It doesn't look any better. You've got a massive L on the boot lid itself. Manufacturers put badges on cars just because of marketing. You can see on the photo what I replaced it with.

Hi Peter, I have removed the IS250 badge and yes, it does leave 2 tiny holes. Perhaps a guide to make sure every badge is on straight. It's been off the car for ~2 years and there is no issues with water. My car is black so the holes are almost impossible to see. That being said I'm sure it's more visible on other colours, so it's up to you.

Like John said, it'll be much closer to SE-L than an F-sport.. however if you're considering going back to IS250, and are looking at 2012.. why not go for the 2013+ (new shape) IS250? You can get the non F-Sport for similar money to 2012 car.. https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202209089575135

I found some genuine ones. They're all around £110

Hi, On Sunday my car decided to throw P0031 fault.. - Heated oxygen sensor 1, bank 1. I managed to read up somewhere on here that this is the easiest one to replace due to access. However, my questions is. What causes this? I can buy a new sensor a replace it, but is this a guaranteed fix? I would say the sensor works since this came on, but I've never come across this so I'm not really sure what to look for. The car drives fine, idles fine, mpgs are fine too, there's nothing different. I managed to clear it yesterday afternoon, after the car was stood over night, and it didn't come on at all during the hour I drove it, but it came on this morning, maybe 3mins into my journey. Any suggestions/remedies? EDIT: Think I might just follow this

It's because today's performance auto gearboxes are faster shifting and behave better than any manual. CVT and regular auto boxes in regular cars are not as good as manuals for sporty driving. For peak performance, DCT automatics are better. It's a fact. You'll never shift quicker in a manual, but a lot of petrol heads will tell you it's more fun and engaging to drive a manual in certain conditions. In real world you don't care about tenths of a seconds. You wanna have fun, and for a lot of people that means changing gears the traditional way. Is250 is a good example. This car is better with auto box 99% of the time. It's better suited to what the car is made for. However, it's not faster than a manual.. if you go for a country lanes bash, this automatic transmission can't keep up. It's slow, it's not a quick crisp shift you'd get from a modern Dual Clutch Transmission, but that's okay because it's not a sports car.

Imprezas are also fugly in my opinion. I only like the VAB, the latest 2015+ shape. Otherwise I'd pick a legacy over other imprezas. I also really like the Levorg, but shame they never put a decent engine in it..

I had a same issue with the said bolt. I ended up ordering high tensile zinc coated pack of 5 online for £7... I wouldn't of been fussy over few quid but my local lexus/toyota didn't have the part in stock at the time.

Yeah but don't forget, lexus are selling parts to people for RRP. They may very well make 80% profit on that £330 part (if that's the rrp)

Debatable. it's a DIY job tbh. Not all of them, no. I'd say any car over 200hp, let alone 400+. You need it on FWD cars to get rid of torque steer and on everything else it's just better. You won't get the back end out easy on a round about in a stock is250 but stiffen up the rear end with coilovers and it'll be a lot more lively. 86 for example only has 200hp but because it's ~1240kg it goes out rather easily, so it really depends on more than just power. No I meant the clunky noise is with plated differentials. Not torsen. You have different types. Helical (geared - similar to torsen) and plated diffs (those are very aggressive, clunky by design and therefore only used in motorsports)

I'd message the seller

Mine isn't a sport model. Just a regular SE with navi, M&L, leather interior.. It's the same torsen toyota has been putting into their cars for decades. Same diff as is300, chaser, 86... That's why it's interchangeable across those models.

Yeah manuals but not all I don't think.

~£400 for a used 86/BRZ diff (or ~£700 for new Quaife ATB mechanical LSD) + 1-2h labour charge.. It's a bolt on part on IS250. Some is250 came with torsen lsd from the factory - like mine. It's not the best, but next step up is a plated LSD like Kaaz or Cusco but having the 1.5way (1.5 way = 100% lock acceleration, 50% lock decel) in the 86, I wouldn't necessarily want one in a daily car as it's clunky(noisy) during very low speed manoeuvres such as parking. There's a reason why they're only really used in motorsports. They work, just not something you'd want in a brand new car should it come with one. To be fair, LSD will help you put the power down BUT I'm not sure it's the best for inexperienced drivers in a rwd car as it WILL make the over-ration easier aka you're more likely to spin out. This is why open diff makes it almost impossible for you to do e.g. donuts because only one wheel is spinning. You'll always drag one of them so it will feel like you're going in circles.

Looks like 60mph on the motorway hahah

From what I found, all had at least a centre locking differential to be able to send 50% of the power to the rear. 1987+ models had upgraded to a torsen differential, so it would lock up depending on the torque applied. So in short, yes it did have some kind of LSD and it does make a huge difference.

I have a manual but to be honest, for a general driving, the automatic is better suited for this car in my opinion. I have a few friends with this car and they all have automatics and they do drive very nice, so if I wasn't taking it drifting, I would have an automatic in this car as well.

There are G37s saloons. To be honest, they are quick with ~300hp and manual, but quite ugly in my opinion. I'd rather just have an IS350 and live with an automatic. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/175352124203

That's what I mean. It's better for its purpose. Normal user who drives normally won't see the benefits

Yes you could have, because thanks to the LSD the power goes down to both wheels. And since both wheels are being driven you increase traction. It does handle/perform better. It's a fact, however it's only true under certain circumstances. If the purpose of your car was to go faster and be more stable at higher speeds (not straight lines obviously) then yes, modifying suspension and brakes is definitely worth it. Otherwise you'll have very little gain. I'd argue the comfort side of things as well because with a damping adjustable suspension you'll set the car to softer than standard but it depends how far you go. If you polybush the car it will be a lot stiffer without having the option of adjusting it.