H3XME

This is an interesting read to say the least.. I've been toying with the idea of RC300h for a while now.. However I have now changed jobs at the start of January which results in 38 mile round trip everyday. I'd say at least 30 of those miles are on the motorway, and my manual IS250 averages 35mpg on this run. Seems like getting an RC300h for fuel economy makes no sense right now, to me anyway. Before I'd be going to work only 5miles away but town driving, averaging 23mpg. Getting a "sensible" everyday car like 300h made sense, but I don't think it's needed anymore.. might as well get 200t maybe. Did you guys consider 200t at all before buying 300h? Obviously there isn't a lot of them in the UK, but still..

Here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264429713173

It does sound nice! I like it

That's fair enough. I'm happy that I'm the only person with this exhaust in the country (AFAIK) so it's all good😅

Got a sound clip by any chance? I'm curious to see how much difference £400 makes.. In regards to sound at least. (HKS system is ~£840 in the UK. Free shipping and no taxes as it's not imported by yourself)

Just for a reference, here's mine, @Mr Vlad

Yeah, i thought the same thing. It's like the piping goes under the diff. Lowered car would struggle.

Yeah, good tyres make a big difference. Thanks, yeah I have. One of the best modifications on the car. The light output is so much better + they look good 🙂

I've been slacking. Here are some photos from my little autumn shoot.. my friend is handy with a camera. You can see her Caspian sky (rare) pearl white colour facelift. Love that car, she just needs to lower it and put some nice wheels on it 😃 Feast your eyes.. Christmas shoot to follow.

It's completely up to you. I'd just go out and drive both, see what you like. 3 of my friends have IS250 automatics.. I have a manual because I take it drifting while it's my daily. I like the auto-boxes in these to be honest, if it wasn't my only car (that I also take drifting) I'd happily go for auto, but that's just my personal preference. If you are a sensible driver who doesn't bother getting the back end out, go for auto, it suits the overall Lexus lifestyle better 😄 and it's cheaper too, like Linas says. It's just over £300 for road tax, whereas 2006+ manuals are £500+. In terms of reliability, I had my clutch changed at 140k miles for the first ever time and the DMF was still fine, so it cost me about £400. They will always push you to change the flywheel too, but flywheel is around £1000 from Lexus... crazy money, so if it's fine, there's no point replacing it. I disagree with Linas in regards to fuel economy. My car does around 43mpg on the run @70mph and around town it's 23mpg but I have an aftermarket exhaust and I want to hear it. My mate's automatic gets ~25mpg around town but he just cruises, doesn't drive to hear the exhaust even though mine comes to life at only 2,500RPM.

The car is very comfortable anyway, 18" won't make that much of a difference if you have at least "40" sidewall - 225/40R18 is perfect. My fuel economy got better when I went from factory 245/45R17 to 225/40R18 because it's a thinner tyre - less resistance. This car is very heavy and isn't tail happy at all, so you don't have to worry about unwanted skidding around.. Just for an idea, here's mine with 225/40R18 18x9.5 ET16 wheels.

Perhaps. Email BC Racing and have it confirmed. I find the 8kg springs to be way too soft on mine. They are super comfortable on my car, but I need them stiffer to go lower as they compress too much and the wheels scrape on the arches.

Go for it, even higher mileage examples that have been taken care of / serviced regularly etc will be flawless 🙂

+1 ^ @Jsizzy Burnt oil is blue/dark smoke and white smoke is water. Head Gasket is the common cause, but if it was the head gasket you'd notice water temp to be high.. Brochure says up to 1L per 1000km is normal apparently.. My car is on 163k miles now and when I did the oil changes a couple of months ago, I was maybe 1,5l short (that being I said I neglected it and didn't change the oil in 14k miles) so I wouldn't worry too much unless you lose a lot of oil every week... or spend ~£150 and get a health check at Lexus, at least you'll know for sure, hopefully.

Sorry I double checked. It's 8kg & 8kg. Front 70mm diameter springs and 65mm rears. I'm happy to drive each other's car to see how it feels. I'll be going down to London to pick someone up from the airport on 4th Feb so I can probably swing by that afternoon.

Pretty Nice, why couldn't you go lower? I'm roughly 3" lower. My springs are 6k & 6k.. be happy to swap with you because they're too soft for what I need the car for. Depends if they're the right diameter though.

It was this one but it seems like they no longer ship to the UK. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fit-06-07-08-IS250-IS350-Honeycomb-Badgeless-Mesh-ISF-Style-Front-Hood-Grille-/192767288715?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0

I forgot about the tail pipe difference. Sorry

I've got a setup like that. It works for me fine but when you get past 40 volume you can hear the white noise if nothings playing 😂

It's not about the satnav. It's about the wiring for audio since ML cars have an amplifier in the boot. I don't think it'd work sound wise. Yeah you can fit a double din in place of the dvd player but it's gonna look **** unless you have someone who can 3D print you a surround for it.

https://www.part-box.com/product/32003-bt002-hks-hi-power-409-exhaust-system-lexus-is250/ - Can get you a coupon code as well for 10% OFF It fits all models.. there's nothing different at the back 2005-2013. I don't know why the eBay ones suggest otherwise.

- depends which transmitter you use, some are better than others. I can't remember what my mate has in her IS250 but it's fine. My Belkin unit is not great in terms of the white noise but it's better than some random one I had before.. As for a replacement unit, I'd go with the Android unit you can buy on eBay / AliExpress, but you need to find the one that fits our cars with ML & Touch Screen. Most of them seem to fit just the base spec without the screen or amplifier. However.. those head units cost around £300 to fit ML cars but at least they look good. + They work with iPhones as well, you just won't be able to use it like Apple Car Play I don't think. These fit ours: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001308226544.html

surely if the car thought the the door is open, it would've lit up the dash. I don't think it'll be that. Might be something to do with the actual door sensor/lock or something.

Record a little sound clip if you can. I'd like to see how it compares to my HKS system. If you say you can hear it at 30-40mph under light load, what RPM does that translate to? Speed wouldn't make a difference. It's the RPMs that'll affect it. Mine comes to life at 2,5k rpm under load so if you're driving sensibly the car is still quiet, which is good because when you put your foot down, the V6 shakes the trees.

well, that's what i'm thinking.. discs & general service items are easy & cheap enough to do, but if it's in this condition, it's giving me the impression that it wasn't really cared for. As for PCS, I googled it and it's the pedestrian crossing sensor.. chances are it may have been dinged and it damaged/moved the sensor. As for VGRS, US forums suggest there was a recall on that for early 460s. Quick lock to lock during parking can trigger it. Steering ecu is playing up basically.. Not sure if UK Lexus acknowledges that and did a recall, but there is nothing outstanding on this car.