smooth1

I just had a thought, What if I live in Florida, and drive my car to Canada for a vacation, and while on vacation something happens and I need warrantee work? Because I didn't buy my car from them I don't get the same level of service? Hmmm, this just sounds wrong. I somehow don't think this is what Lexus corperate would want.

Now that you mention it, I agree. No ice till the freezer's running right! LOL!!

I guess you must have been riding in a crown vic before with 4 or 5 subs with each its own amp in the truck not to be satisfied with the stock system in this car. I get plenty of bass in the drivers seat with the bass level at less that half. It's not always about quantity. It's also about quality. I listen to alot of different types of music, and the stock bass system is bit to "loose" and lags. I like the bass to be tight and clean. Not to mention that by adding the sub I was able to clean the mid range up even more as the door speakers now don't have to produce as much bass as the sub does it so much more effeciently now. So my bass setting on the head unit is at 2, and I have the gain on the amp actually set to the amount of bass I like to have. The ambiance of the sound is so surreal now, you would be amazed!!

yeah, it's pretty easy. When you open the trunk, stick your head in it and look up. The first thing is to pull those metal slide clips out. They pull in the direction of the rear of the car. Then just pop the plastic tensioners out. You can use a pair of wire cutters, to do this. Just slide each side of the jaw under the plastic cap and pull straight up. They pop right out. Then I would use insulating foam, felt pads, or a towel, or something light and that will stop that from being able to bang on the top like that. You might even want to use some dynamat or something? Just an idea anyway.

what kind of ride are you looking for?

That sub gets a whopping 35 watts of power. Most speakers get blown from not having adequate power supplied, and not from having to much power. So, if you did just use the same power output and line, then your probably going to end up blowing subs regularly unless you get another 35 watt sub to use in which case would defeat the entire purpose of this mod. I also removed that sub in the rear deck so it's just open there. I get plenty of sound and bass in the cabin.

But I do love how it goes into the delay mode when the car stops. Then picks back up when the car starts rolling again. That I find is a nice feature.

That was the goal, but I was poking fun at the fact the NAV sometimes picks completely random things to interpret what I say to it :) Make sure you don't have the center a/c / heater vents blowing at the rearview mirror. The air coming out can blow on the microphone and it gets that turbulant wind sound that distorts your voice. And also just talk normal. Don't try to slow your speech or over pronounce your commands. Since I learned that, I rarely have any problems anymore. I love the command "I'm hungry." LOL!!

I'm trying to give others a chance to get involved, and participate. As soon as there are a few posted set ups, I'll put mine up there as well. (You know I don't have any problems with showing what I have and helping other members learn how and do it for themselves as well.) But the goal was to get a nice data base going so other/new members can see what has been done, what sounds good, and what doesn't work, and why etc. etc. I just figured with the economy being what it is right now, maybe there aren't alot of people spending that kind of money on a stereo system upgrade just yet. So I was just going to wait it out and see.

All great answers! I can easily identify and nod yes as I read all of them. And the only thing I can think of to add is that the IS just fits my life. It's just the right combination, without being too focused. I allways felt like I had to sacrifice something with all my other choices, or spend to much money to get what I wanted. The IS 350 just stood alone when I looked at it as a collective. And not to mention, I think the IS is the best looking car of all of them anyway.

Yup. Use the line level inputs and your set. I put a set of quick connex on mine so I can easliy take the sub out if I ever need the room. (I haven't ever needed it yet.) I'm using an Alpine Vpower mono block amp and a 10'' W7 JL Audio sub. Gives me way more bass than I ever use.

Is it bubbling near where the rim is bent? If so, then no, I wouldn't think it's a warrentee issue, as the bend in the rim is the cause, and not a factory finish issue. I'm thinking you just need to get another set of rims. I see used sets for sale all the time. Have you thought about that? or maybe get a nice after market set?

New rotors and pads take a bit of time to break in and mold themselves to conform to each other. It's normal to hear some sanding and grinding sounds, along with seeing some extra brake dust collect for the first few miles. I don't know how often you drive or how far and all, but the brakes need to heat up a few times, and break in. Give it a couple weeks and see. If the dealership did the work, and then rechecked it now, I can't imagine it's anything but that.

I had them change mine a while back for the dust issue. I got the new TSIB replacement kit they put together and I actually liked the new pads better. They stop the car just as well as before, but I noticed that they aren't quite as grabby in real slow traffic, and stop and go circumstances. The car more just comes to a nice even stop, where as before the end of the stop seemed to be a bit to much bite. I've had them on the car now for almost a year, and when I get them replaced I want the same pads on again no question. They're also about 99% better in the brake dust issue.

I don't know........without seeing how you drive, and operate the clutch it's to hard to say. I'm really hesitant to agree with there being a problem with the clutch. And the clutch is a service item, like tires and brakes. It's not under warrentee. But if they did determine that it was a mfgr's defect, then I could see them correcting it.But if it was a mfgr's defect, and truly in fact the issue here, then for 24k miles you didn't notice any problems with the clutch? No slipping or metal tinking sounds? No shifting issues? I don't know man........And as for proving it was your driving habits and not the car, that's very easy. Once you open up these clutches and flywheels, they can tell right away if your racing and pounding on the clutch verses regular driving. Keep in mind that they have sold thousands of manual IS 250's. This isn't a mfgr's defect issue. It would have been much more wide spread.

I've found the phone seems to be the difference. I've had 4 different cell phones during the time I've owned this car. The Katana phone was the best! If my car was in the garage and my cell phone was in my bedroom, and I started the car it would pair up! Then I had the HTC Touch. That phone sucked! I couldn't even have the phone in my pocket in the car! It would pair, but the sound was awful and it would sometimes loose the pairing in mid conversation. Then I had the new HTC and that was even worse. So I traded that phone in for the Rant. This phone seems to work just fine. Although the phone itself isn't the greatest. I'll just have to wait until they come out with a phone I like again. I should have never gotten rid of the Katana phone. Sometimes you don't know how good you have it until you don't have it anymore.

It actually sounds more to me like they are going the full mile to make sure it's right. I would be more concerned if they had done it, gave it back, then had the problem again, turned it in, they fix it, give it back, and you still have the issue. Back and fourth. That's band aid fixing. Keeping the car and just saying, Hey, we're sorry, but we can't seem to get it right, and we need to figure this out seems to me a pretty honest answer. As for your injector issue, I can easily see why they are having a problem. Toyota/Lexus locks down it's programming and language for the fuel injection system. So, I would venture a bet that the techs at the dealership tried what they know first to resolve the issue. When those attempts failed, they have to collect the data and send it to Lexus and wait for the engineers to tell them what to do. I would imagine right now your somewhere in that process. Not to mention if you need some parts that may not be readily available.

So here's what I would do. take out the spare, and swap the rim you think is bent. Drive it. If that "fixes" the problem, take the rim in and have it fixed, if it can't be fixed, then have it replaced. If swapping to the spare doesn't fix the issue, and you swapped around all 4 wheels, then it's not that either.

Nice! Looked like a great meet! Lexus represent! LOL!! Looks like the ING kit. Nice set up.

Hey rbyoung, how have you been? Whenever I go to the coast I often think of you and wonder how your doing. It's good to hear from you. The weather here has been great I must say. 60's at night and high 70's low 80's during the day. Fall, Winter and Spring is why I live here. The summers get a bit grueling with mid 90's and high humidities, but that's 3 maybe 4 months out of the year. The rest is great. If you ever make it here, we have to meet up for a drink. I know all the good spots! LOL!! Obama seems to be doing a great job so far. I did vote for him, but I wasn't as sure then as I am now about it. Hopefully he can right enouph wrongs to turn us around. It's good we as a nation did something right for a change. We really needed it. Hahaha,, I would have loved to be there for that. So many people have no idea just how far advanced some of these cars are engineered over others. Lexus did the first IS as a test car and used alot of what they learned from the Supra, one of the all time legends. While the IS is no Supra, it's still twice the car most others even coming off the line today will ever be. I saw this commercial for Subaru where this person has a "Subaru cemetery." They show about 8 or 10 cars sitting in this field and the narrator is talking about not wanting to crush such a great car that has been a part of his life for the last 300,000 miles, so it deserves to live out it's days in peace. And then they show this POS Subaru with mismatched body parts, no hubcaps, rusted and beaten being pulled into its' final resting place. All I could think about during this entire commercial was heck, that's about the break in period for the ES, IS, and LS!!! Iv'e seen countless cars right here on the LOC that still look brand new with 2 and 300,000 miles on the clock. Not really. I mean you can, but it's better to do it person. When you come ddown here, bring it with you and I'll put something together for ya. IF you want to get it done before then, send me the pic. I can probably do it for less than anywhere else even with shipping costs. Provided we aren't talking about a large picture. I just opened a new shop. So for the last few months I have been just consumed with that. So all my personal projects have been on hold. Not too much longer though.

Happy birthday!!

Happy birthday!!

Happy Birthday bro! I came on today just to post that. I've been so buried at the shop! But I promise all will return to normal in a few more weeks. But in the meantime, Flop, have a great birthday!

It has to be 4 or more letters. So I used "player" and got this: CD player listings

Man, I was hoping for atleast some driving skills! Pathetic I tell ya!! How do you drive a Shelby Mustang and come in second to a 4 door Chevy Avalanche in a power slide and drift competition? (Shakes head in complete disgust) So I'm rooting for Corvette now. LOL!!