bartkat

Runflats have really stiff reinforced sidewalls. They don't ride well and they don't handle all that well. Tire companies have been working on them for years but they just don't have one that compares to regular tires yet.

Watch the display and see if it's actually shifting from one gear to another. Mine will downshift, but it's not so sudden and only when coasting below 40 MPH. On the highway it never does that. Mostly I'll notice it when coasting to a stoplight, but still it's smooth and not jerky or anything. The downshifting actually helps the car slow down and it's not like the brake is fighting the engine. I never paid attention to the tach but I'll try to do that and see what happens. With downshifting the RPM is going to go up, but the car should still be slowing.

Sounds like some kind of run-flat or a saleman's dream. Anyway the IS tires don't have that. They are conventional tires.

Those tires are a perfect example of getting what you pay for. They gotta be the worst tires since we quit using bias plys.

Thanks, good thread. But it didn't tell me how to turn off the DRL's. Anyone have an idea how I can do this? The dealer does it. It's like part of the Personal Settings. If he doesn't know how, then tell him to look it up or maybe find another dealer who can do it. It's a simple as setting any of the other personal settings, but only the dealer has the box that's used in doing it. Download the above attachment, then enlarge it so you can read it. I believe it will show the steps the dealer needs to follow to turn off the DRL's.

You can't rotate tires on a RWD IS250 because the rear tires are wider than the fronts. Yes, the price is way too high for basically an oil change. That's why I always go to Bill's Express Lube and pay $28 for top brand oil and I supply the filter. You should be able to find a reliable place to do oil changes and they usually do it while you wait, so no loaner needed. Not sure about repairing tire sidewalls as that was a "no no" back in the day. With as much highway driving as you do, you might want to double check that. At any rate a replacement tire would be in the $200-250 range, so Lexus is way high on that too. Tire repair info: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/tec...e.jsp?techid=77

In a few words, eveything the IS350 does, it does well and it does smoothly. Smooth is where it is at in my book. I've had mine for a year and I still get a kick of anticipation every time I push the start button.

Read through this thread. It should explain most of this for you re DRL, parking lights, etc. http://www.clublexus.com/forums/showthread...disable+DRL%27s

I like the Stoner. It foams and seems to really eat up the dirt and residue. Wipes nice and clean, no streaky. :D

I think the IS would be a better fit. I don't have details but the IS is classed as a compact while the ES is a mid-size. As for reliabilty, the motor in the IS has a great track record. OTOH with the IS one would have to watch out not to get one that was owned by some kid who drove it like it was stolen and didn't maintain it well. For not much more money she might be able to find a IS250 and that would have the features such as telescoping steering wheel, etc, as well as probably being a low mileage car.

Good deal. Did they ever figure out what was wrong with the first car?

http://techinfo.lexus.com/

Siping is claimed to improve wet weather traction by helping to channel water away from the tire. The longer wear claims are based on more surface area doing a better job of dissapting heat.

The dealer told me it was illegal to turn the daytime running lights off?????? Daytime running lights aren't required by law. Does anyone know how to turn them off myself? I don't have the car yet, when the low beam headlights are on do the daytime running lights turn off? Look up the law on Google. I know its not a federal law and I doubt its a state law. I just checked and the DRLs stay on when you turn on the low beam headlights.

FORD = Found On Road Dead

My IS350 brakes don't make any noise at all. Should I feel left out on this "performance" thing? Really, not all, and probably most IS brake do not squeal, so you'll just have to keep after Lexus till they come up with a fix. Some have talked about going with "green stuff" pads, but I don't know anyone who has really done it yet.

You're not one of those guys who tries to fill up the gap when I try to merge into the passing lane are you? As for your question, I don't think it will hurt anything to drive with ECT power on.

The dealer can turn them off for you. It's mentioned in some other threads here. They may tell you they can't, but if you demand it they really can. It's part of the stuff they can set using their little programmer.

Just turn on your headlights.

The plenum, for pratical purposes, is basically the heating and air conditioning ducts underneath the dashboard.

I looked around trying to find out what GM has done to their dual fuel cars, but couldn't find any real explanation. I expect that since it takes more E85 to get equal power to gasoline, they modified the duty cycle of the injectors and probably the fuel/air ratios. Maybe this is what the guy is trying to do with his piggyback black box. It's an interesting idea though. Back in the 1970's and 1980's Brazil was running almost totally on Ethanol made from cheap sugar cane. This and the fact that oil was scarce and expensive made it economical for them. I always heard though that performance was way down on those particular cars.

Skeptical is good. Here's a guy selling a black box on Ebay and he wants you to plug some wires into your injector system so you can run a fuel that isn't even available in most places. I don't think I'd trust him or his black box. Besides, if everything worked perfectly you'd just be changing your allegiance from big oil to big corn. It's all big corporations that control the products from source to your gas tank. Big oil = big corn. http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/01/gm...ious_abou_1.php

I had a K&N on my Firebird and a TRD on the IS300. Pretty much the same thing. They're not really any louder, since you're using the stock airbox and intake. The loud ones are the cone shaped open filters. I guess I ran a total of 12 years on those filters and never a problem. Just make sure you don't over-oil it and everything is fine. Somebody will probably come along and knock them and say the get oil on the MAF but if you do it right that doesn't happen. I guess the filter "discussion" is third to oil brands, and gas octane, when it comes to people getting kinda stirred up. I got a Blitz filter for the IS350 but it's not cleanable. It just happens that was the first "performance" filter available. :D

Some people seem to be having that problem. I believe in some cases the dealer has replaced the pads.

Mold grows on the evaporator core. Simply pouring stuff in the intake vents won't clean that out. I used a foaming cleaner that you put directly into the plenum. The material foams up and cleans the entire core and then runs out the condensate drain. It worked for my IS and it ought to work for any A/C system. http://www.ackits.com/merchant2/merchant.m...ode=48N-Cleaner