Rob RCF

Really? I didn't know it was a significant risk. I thought one of the big pros of a wrap compared to a respray was that it could be removed fairly easily if selling the car or if bits need redoing etc.

It can be a bit disappointing when our other halves don't quite share our enthusiasm for spirited driving! But I think we have to realise that not everyone has an easy time in the passenger seat. My partner is the same, she's a bit of a nervous passenger and I usually keep it in normal and auto when she's in the car. She's fine if we're on a big open road though, it's usually narrow roads and other vehicles close by that make her nervous. The worst (even for me) is on multilane roundabouts when people drift out of their lane and get waaay too close. Happens all the time for some reason, people apparently just don't know how to stay in their lane during a turn, they cut across so consistently it's often better to just hold back.

Anything specific that disappoints you about the RCF's handling or is it all just down to the weight? I don't mind the weight too much, at least the car has the power to overcome it once you downshift, and at least you have the luxury and refinement that goes along with it. My biggest problem is with the transmission or the transmission programming. I like the smoothness in normal mode if I'm just having a chilled drive, but I feel like the modes could be tweaked. Normal mode should be a bit more sporty with the transmission not being so lethargic to downshift, more like how it is in Sport. I'd question whether we need a "Sport" mode at all and just go straight into the full Sport S+. But I can't complain too much when these modes are just a twist of the dial away, just annoying to keep changing between them. It's usually on the motorway when I leave it in Normal because I want the ECO light to come on if I'm cruising at around 70mph, but then if I stomp on it to overtake someone it sits there for 2-3 seconds seemingly deciding "do I need 6th gear? 5th? No? 4th?" and by that point you're already at 80+ mph wondering why the hell it couldn't just drop straight to 3rd and give you a decent shove of acceleration. I thought an automatic transmission was all based on hydraulic fluid and clutches so it should be able to go from 8th to second with a big enough blip of the throttle. My last car, admittedly had a DCT, but any time you pushed the pedal all the way down to the kickdown switch it would immediately wake up and downshift to the lowest possible gear to give you maximum acceleration. It did this consistently no matter which mode you were in, even ECO or manual, the latter of which was particularly annoying! My solution with the RCF usually just means a bit more more pre-emptive action, like if I'm anticipating an overtake I might shift into manual mode and drop down to a more appropriate gear or if I just want a quick burst of punchy acceleration after cruising on the motorway can always go into Sport S+ and then it's usually much quicker to respond. This seems to be a theme with these cars. Once you start to see them for what they are and get more familiar with the way they drive and respond, it's hard to imagine many other cars that are quite so well-rounded.

Thanks for sharing. I agree that the RCF isn't quite at home on a tight twisty road, whereas it's a CTR's natural habitat pretty much. I'm a bit of a Honda fanboy as I used to have a CRX and then an Accord Type R (great and underrated car). I think that's what drew me to the RCF, to have a naturally aspirated engine again when everything else is going turbocharged and German cars are all the rage.

Looks great in that colour! I like the way it changes to a brighter almost more yellowish hue where the light hits it at the right angle. How would you compare it to the CTR? I was considering one before I got my RCF, but just couldn't quite get past the aggressive styling and wanted something a bit more "grown up". But I keep hearing how great the CTR is to drive.

That purple wrap does nothing for it. Pretty reasonably priced though considering the mileage.

The design of the exhaust manifold in combination with the firing order is what determines the exhaust note I believe. It's all about the spacing of the exhaust pulses as they come out the exhaust. Just grabbed a picture for reference, I think this is an ISF manifold: You can see here the exhaust gasses have much further to travel at the front cylinder vs the back cylinder. So you can kind of visualise how depending on the firing order, exhaust pulses will be rushing down the exhaust at quite uneven intervals, some will be close together, others more spaced out. This irregularity is what gives that distinctive V8 burble or muscle car like sound. If you have equal length headers then the exhaust pulses will always be evenly spaced and the firing order won't make a difference. This also gives a more constant, higher pitched motorsports-like sound. I know a lot of people here already know all this, but I thought I'd post for anyone who doesn't know. I thought it was pretty cool the first time it was explained to me.

A lot of positivity in this thread then! 🤣 I'm trying to remain optimistic. Lexus have shown real innovation when they do decide to pour resources into the F brand.

Maybe. LC F has been rumoured for a while though. I agree it's strange how it's on the racing page and not anywhere else.

Here's a version that I've enhanced a bit: I think we can agree this is an LC. Here's a similar angle for comparison: Will be interesting to see an LC with the full F treatment. I'm assuming bigger front intakes, different wheels and brakes, quad exhausts and possibly more carbon fibre etc. If we're lucky it will even go further than that with chassis refinements, weight reduction, drivetrain improvements.

If your costs have increased and it's becoming a strain financially then maybe it's time to let the F go. My only thought is that F cars aren't all that expensive to run. Not to get into the personal stuff too much, but if your wife decided to take on a bigger mortgage then she can't expect you to have to give up stuff on her behalf. But that's for you and her to sort out and just good communication and normal relationship stuff and finding a balance that works for you both. If she's happy for you to keep the car and use it as a daily then there's your answer imo. You just have to decide whether you can deal with your ISF becoming a well used daily and a dog-mobile. If you can't deal with that then sell. Can always come back to the F brand in the future...

So the whole point is you want to reduce the amount of cars on the driveway? Or just get rid of the money pits? So options are what: Sell the "knackered" estate, keep the ISF and use it as a daily. Get some kind of dog-proof cover for the rear seats etc. Not the ideal car for the job and may take on some extra wear and tear, but at least you know it will be dependable and you get to keep it and enjoy it. Sell the ISF and use the funds to get some kind of decent/newer estate. If you want something that feels quick like your F you might need to go German honestly, Audi S4 with quattro, BMW 540 etc. Reliability could be a worry especially out of warranty. Keep the ISF as a second car and swap the estate for something less knackered? Then reassess in 6 months or a year and if you're just not using the ISF enough could still sell it. Sell the ISF and get some older, but less knackered estate as a daily, and keep some money spare for a sports car of your choice (S2000, MX-5, Porsche etc), and probably have more fun than you did with the ISF, but without the practicality.

DOT 4 seems to be the standard and what practically every modern car uses. Should be fine even for F cars. In fact the manual states to use either DOT 3 or DOT 4 (for my RCF at least). DOT 5.1 has a higher boiling point and is better for high performance applications (ie, track use), however it has some downsides as well (more hygroscopic/water absorbing, needs changing more regularly, more corrosive on paint, manufacturers don't seem to recommend it in some cases etc). I think more important than which you use is how often you change it, tbh. Notice that DOT 5.1 wet has a lower boiling point than DOT 4 and even DOT 3 dry.

I've always found the orange looks a bit strange, almost plastic-like in photos. Apparently it looks great in real life though so if you like the colour I wouldn't hesitate to check it out. If you do go look at it be picky. Check over the car as much as you can and point out any damage, even minor stuff - since this is a Lexus Approved the car should be essentially in new condition or very close to it, and so they should be willing to rectify most stuff. And of course drive it hard, I find you really need the car in the full Sport S+ with Expert mode and manual shifting to truly reveal its high performance side.

The hissing, or the clicking off? The other day I literally had to hold the nozzle at like a 1 o clock angle (essentially inserting it upside down, which is awkward), to get it to fill without clicking off. I'm starting to question whether I know how to fill a car properly as I've had this happen on lots of other cars as well. I see some people don't push the nozzle in fully, but kinda half way - should I do that instead?

That's an RC 200t.

I think it was more of a theoretical "if I had one this is what I'd do" on John's part. Unless there was actually an example of it there then I must have missed it. Same, hope you both had a good day. 🙂

A few other random shots I got while walking around. Saw some ridiculously clean engine bays: Honestly though most of the show was just long lines of hundreds of MX5s, GT86s, 370Zs, Civics etc so it was a bit samey at times. Nice to see the more rare/special stuff that stood out (including our Fs).

Ah yes, you were there with your son, I remember. You wanted the sleeper ISF that looked like a normal 250.

Regrettably no, I tried to get some shots early on, but the lighting wasn't ideal. Then later on when it was more hazy and diffused people were leaving already. Jacob wanted me to get some shots of his GSF though, so we do have some.

I think I remember, was it quite early in the day? I wasn't sure I fit the description "young lad" as I'm in my mid 30s, but I'll take it!

Yeah it was great to meet everyone and thanks again @4969_LXS for sorting the club booking. Sorry about the sunburn, I put some factor 30 on when I got there, I wish now I'd offered it around. I left a bit later with @GSF_REG took about 20 minutes just to drive to the exit! Was okay once on the road though. The tiredness hit me when I got back. Early start and then a long day in the sun meeting lots of people etc.

@ben_harmer32 Hope you don't mind me posting this, saw it at Japfest today. This is legitimately one of the best looking RCFs, well done. Shame I didn't get to meet you, but I guess you weren't near the car at the time.

I'll aim to get there around the same time. No one else coming up from the south? Side note, has anyone booked track time?

That does look great. Is it a film/wrap that's applied over the chrome?