New Owner Of An 01 Is300 - Questions

[Sean John]

Hi Guys

I just bought an 01 black IS 300 with the sport package! Awesome car!!! however, I do have some questions in regards of the suspensions/wheels.

I'm living in Quebec, Canada and our winter here are pretty much destroying our roads. My car is fitted with a set of 215/45/R17 Toya Garritt KX tires. I gotta say that they do look good, but I'm feeling a lot of the road imperfections through the steering wheel/direction. I

Can this be related to the tires and it may be the bearings that are due to be changed? Worst than that, can it be the ball joint? I may be a bit to over caring with my car, but I'm just trying to see if it is "normal " behaviour? It is like a sensation of something being "notched" (don't know if it is the right word here...) sometimes.

Also, I'm having my Headlight Level Warnig light going on and off? Any wasy way to reset that? Because everything looks fine and works fine, and I haven't done any suspension work on the car?

Thanks for your help!

Eric L.

[IndyKen]

Eric,

Unfortunately the noises can have a little to do with a lot of things. Road, Tires(which those Toyo's aren't that well rated), suspension, ball joints, shocks, etc. I'd be willing to bet though that your problem is a combination of the tires and the road conditions unless the car has lived most of it's life up where you are. If it's the salted roads up north, then you may want to consider exploring the shocks and/or ball joints. I've tried AVON 550's, Goodyear F1's, KUOMO's and now Bridgestone(current). The Goodyears were the best handling, tread life and quietest if you can believe it. I recommend you go to www.tirerack.com and do some comparring of what means the most to you. Be ready though, NONE of the ultra performers are going to do ANYTHING for you in the snow and you mentioned you are in Canada. Hope this helps. As for the headlight leveling light, unplug you battery for about 5-10 minutes and then hook it back up. This exercise resets the cars computer.

[Sean John]

Eric,

Unfortunately the noises can have a little to do with a lot of things. Road, Tires(which those Toyo's aren't that well rated), suspension, ball joints, shocks, etc. I'd be willing to bet though that your problem is a combination of the tires and the road conditions unless the car has lived most of it's life up where you are. If it's the salted roads up north, then you may want to consider exploring the shocks and/or ball joints. I've tried AVON 550's, Goodyear F1's, KUOMO's and now Bridgestone(current). The Goodyears were the best handling, tread life and quietest if you can believe it. I recommend you go to www.tirerack.com and do some comparring of what means the most to you. Be ready though, NONE of the ultra performers are going to do ANYTHING for you in the snow and you mentioned you are in Canada. Hope this helps. As for the headlight leveling light, unplug you battery for about 5-10 minutes and then hook it back up. This exercise resets the cars computer.

Hi IndyKen

About the noise, I'm pretty sure it is the tires too... Yesterday was a bit warmer here, and the noise was really not that present. As for the shocks/ball joint, I had the car inspected prior to buying it (they took like 90 minutes a the Toyota Dealership, and i was there) and they haven't found anything around that. Also, I Know the previous owner did change the ball joint 2 years ago, so I'm assuming they are still good.

As for the choice of the Toyo's, they were coming with the car, and they were brand new... At 240$CAD each, I think I'll live with the noise they are making! My gf has the same tire, smaller size, on her RSX and we were quite surprised with the performance on her car.

For the summer, I'm planning to go with General Tire Exclaim UHP. I had those on my previous car, and was quite pleased with the performance. I used to have FZ4 on my 00 Si (man they were good), but I gotta say, the UHP are quite great (especially under the rain), and the thread look great! My winter tire on my previous car were Good Year Ultra Grip Ice, and that was a really good tire! It was burning quite quickly, but man they were sticky!

Thanks for the tip for the HID, I'll try that and see if it works. I've double checked yesterday, and the HID are in the right position, and when I'm starting the car, they going up and adjust themselves.

Again, thanks for the detailed answer, it is quite appreciated!

Eric L.

[IndyKen]

No problem. Yeah, if the tires you inherited with the car are newer, then "Drive em like you stole em" so you can get to the ones you really want, sooner. Another sidenote, I just installed a tower strut bar on the front to stiffen the body a bit and surprisingly it worked okay. I need to go woith a rear one as well but I just can't get myself to start drilling away on the interior just yet.

[Lexusfreak]

Welcome Sean! B)

How many kilometers on your IS & overall, how do you like your Toyo Garit KX's? I am considering getting a set for my ES here in Ontario for next winter.....I've heard very good things about how they perform in snow & ice. B)

[Sean John]

Welcome Sean! B)

How many kilometers on your IS & overall, how do you like your Toyo Garit KX's? I am considering getting a set for my ES here in Ontario for next winter.....I've heard very good things about how they perform in snow & ice. B)

Hi Lexus Freak

It has 130K on it, but it is cristal clean!! Seriously, I was shocked how clea it was! Even the guys doing the inspection were amazed! As for the Garrit, I'm not that pleased.... Like I've mentionned, they seem to be vewry noisy and I'm feeling every single cracks on the road...

Having the choice, I think I would go for some Ultra Grip Ice, or Pilot Alpin. I've heard good things about General Tire Altimax Artic.

Hope it helps!

Eric L.