Craig F

For a set of winter tires, I think you would want the smaller 17" rim - you want narrow tires with thick tread blocks for snow traction. It won't handle as well, but duh, they are for the snow.

From what I've heard - Audi is a great car to drive, but a horrible car to own.

As they said, water in the brake lines is a bad thing. The cost of changing brake fluid is minimal compared to the cost of replacing an ABS modulator due to corrosion. I'm not sure how they change the fluid though - do they actually pump it out through the tubes at the caliper? How else could they really get it out of the lines?

If you park in a high-moisture area, it could be the brake rotors getting a little surface rust and sticking to your pads.

You know, I see a lot of topics on engine oil in forums, and personally, I don't think it matters. How often do you hear people say their engine needs to be replaced because of wear? Almost never. Why? For several reasons - first, people rarely keep their cars for more than 6-7 years these days. Secondly, engines don't really go bad (unless you run it without any oil). The rest of the car falls apart before the engine does. The paint gets scratched, the window motors go out, brakes are shot, suspension is worn, door seals are tired, anything electrical goes on the fritz... but the engine itself is rarely the culprit. I say change the oil regularly with decent oil, but don't fret over which brand you use.

While I don't have an IS 350, I have an Acura TL with summer tires - 235's. In the snow, they are horrendous. I mean terrible and unsafe. I just installed some dedicated snow tires - Blizzak WS-60's. The difference is night and day. There is a huge difference between summer tires and winter tires in terms of snow traction. In my mind, this isn't really about the fact that the IS 350 is RWD. The IS 350 has high-performance summer tires. These tires are wide and have a tread compound and tread design that was developed for uncompromised summer performance. Everything that makes them perform in the summer makes them terrible in the snow - they are wide, have hard rubber, the tread blocks aren't as deep, etc.... I say get some winter tires on dedicated rims - go to Thetirerack.com and pick them out. It will cost you around $1,100 or so, but that's probably cheaper than selling your car and buying a new one. Obviously, when there is snow, you need to drive with more caution, but the winter tires will make an enormous improvement in your traction. If you want, you could probably put some extra weight in the trunk, but that won't do much if you don't change your tires. C.

The key is to negotiate the trade in and the purchase separately. If they just give you an out-the-door number and tell you that's with the trade in, you don't know what your discount is vs. the trade-in's value. Negotiate a price on the car, then negotiate a value on the trade-in. Then, shop around for both.

That would depend entirely on your financial situation, and only you can decide that.

It's as though Lexus makes it as difficult as possible to truly get what you want. Want the X-package? Oh, it's only available in 3 colors. Want the sport package? Not in the midwest. Want to have the luxury package? Not in the midwest. Want power seats with memory settings like your average $22K Hyundai? Oh, that's only available if you get a $9k navigation package. It's very frustrating. At least they don't charge extra for metallic paint like BMW does. I will probably end up getting the Sport package, even though it doesn't have the wood trim, which I'd prefer. I'd also love those wheels from the X-package, but you can't get them separately either....

I would say that nitrogen for your tires is a total waste of your money, unless you're on the track and racing professionally. I'm not sure what it costs, but I'm sure that money would be better spent elsewhere.

I got two quotes in writing for cars that would at one point be on the lot (they seem to rarely have any IS350's on the lot), and she said she'd have to track down pricing on versions that aren't normally carried in the midwest (i.e. luxury package, sport package, etc...) At any rate, they seem very willing to negotiate and place orders, with the caveat that it does take 3-4 months to get, depending on the time of month you order and the timing of the factory cycle. and oh - it was not MSRP - it was roughly $3k under MSRP. Actually - I was planning on ordering one in early 2008 as well. Maybe we should go in at the same time and have her lower the price even more!

McGrath Lexus seems to be willing to make special orders. I plan to make an order in early 2008. My salesperson's attitude was "if people are willing to wait for what they want, we'll order it the way they want it".

I think that using the paddles to downshift when going into a corner is about the only thing they are good for. That way, you can be in 2nd gear when you hit the apex.

My TV does that on occassion as well - usually when it's cold out and the TV has been on for about 30-40 minutes, it warms up and i hear a loud cracking sound. It could be that the dash is very hot and you're running the air conditioning and you hear a loud snap from all that plastic cooling and shrinking just a wee bit...

I think I read somewhere that the '08 model will have a defeat button for the vehicle stability control system.

It comes down to this - what is most important to you in a car? The IS350 is far sportier - the ride is firmer, it has rear wheel drive, a smaller trunk, less interior space, and costs more. The TL is more of a grand tourer - softer ride, front wheel drive, bigger interior, bigger trunk and costs less. I would say the TL is the best value on the road right now. But if you want more extreme performance, go with the Lexus.

I've driven both the IS350 and the 250 AWD on a track at a Lexus marketing event. While the 250 doesn't have nearly the power the 350 does, it is no slouch in the curves. In fact, I'd say that it is the better balanced of the two, even though the handling limits of the 350 are probably higher given it's larger tires. If you don't want Honda Accords smoking you off the line, go with the 350.

Good to know. I am currently used to driving a 93 Probe GT, which pretty much rides like a brick. So, anything will be an upgrade for me. The base IS350 is already surprisingly firm. I wish they had one for me to drive.

Does anyone know the exact differences between the base suspension and the "sport" suspension offered in the Sport package and the X-package? Besides being "firmer", what exactly is different? Different springs? Different shocks? Different anti-roll bar thickness? All three? The sales brochure is quite vague. I've been waiting for the past 4 weeks to drive an X-package equipped IS350, and I just found out it was sold before it arrived. I'm curious as to just how different the sport suspension is from the base version, which is already quite firm.

Hi all, I'm contemplating buying an IS350, and I'm wondering if the Mark Levinson system is worth it. I have heard the base stereo, and am quite impressed. However, as an audio enthusiast, I'm rather intrigued by what the Mark Levinson has to offer. My question - is the Mark Levinson still worth the extra cost if you have no intention of buying DVD-Audio discs? I mean, will the ML system still deliver superior sound while playing regular CD's, or is the only advantage in it's 5.1 capabilities? I think the ML system has an extra speaker and 300 watts RMS, but it doesn't really mention if the speakers are the same as the base system, etc... Your thoughts would be appreciated.