smooth1

Welcome to the LOC! Congrats on the car! For seat covers, you can try :AutoSport. I've ordered from there before and all was good. As for the brakes, all I can say is take it in and see what they say. If the ridge really that thick, there may be a pad hung up or a something. And for the key, when you go in, you'll have to talk to the dealer and give him the serial number off the side so they can make another one.

Yes, I do, but it's alot of work for most people. You'll need to start with connecting a volt/ampere tester to the battery terminals. Makes sure all lights and accessories are Off and transmission in Park. Turn and hold ignition switch in Start position. then Read your tester. If the voltage reads 12.4 volts or greater and amperage reads 0-10 amps, then you'll need to do a starter control test. Connect positive voltmeter lead to starter motor housing and negative lead to battery negative terminal. Now turn and hold the ignition switch in Start position. If voltage reads above .2 volt, correct poor starter to engine ground. Connect positive voltmeter lead to positive battery terminal and negative lead to battery cable terminal on starter solenoid. Rotate and hold ignition switch in Start position. If voltage reads above .2 volt, correct poor contact at battery cable to solenoid connection. If reading is still above .2 volt, replace positive battery cable. If resistance tests detect no feed circuit failures, replace starter motor. Starter Solenoid Test Connect heavy jumper wire on starter relay between battery and solenoid terminals. If engine cranks, perform starter relay test. If engine does not crank or solenoid chatters, check wiring and connectors from relay to starter for loose or corroded connections. Repeat test and, if engine still does not crank properly, repair or replace starter as necessary. Starter Relay Test Place transmission in Park. Apply parking brake. Check for battery voltage between starter relay battery terminal and ground. Connect jumper wire on starter relay between battery and ignition terminals. If engine does not crank, connect a second jumper wire to starter relay between ground terminal and good ground and repeat test. If engine cranks in step 3, transmission linkage is misadjusted or neutral safety switch is defective. If engine does not crank in step 3, starter relay is defective.

Alrighty then! Ok, here goes....btw....this really happened, I was there. I was 16. I wanted to start working on my first car, but that meant I needed to make some money, so I started working at the shop for my dad. So, one day he comes to me and says he needs me to take the master cylinder and front brake lines out of the Mustang we had around back, and put them on the bench in the work shop so he could install them on the car he had been working on. This was about 9 in the morning. I pulled it all out, and put em on the bench about an hour and a half maybe two hours later. I go back to the side of the garage where I was pulling the head off this Pinto when I hear a " OH ^%$%#$ !!!!" and a huge crash. I turn around and Phil, ( a tech that worked for my dad) was sitting in the driver seat of the Mustang from around back, and the front end of that car had just crushed 4 of my tool boxes as it forced them right thru the back of the shop wall, and into my dads truck that was parked right up to the wall on the other side!!!!! Yeah, that wasn't a pretty sight! ( Actually, once I saw that Phil was ok, I thought it was hilarious and had to really fight myself from laughing so hard! When Phil got out of the car and everyone was running over to help and make sure that he was ok, and to find out what what the heck just happened, my dad comes around the corner and of course asks that very question " What the hell happened here?!" and Phil says" I brought the Mustang in for Smooth to take the brakes out like you told me too!" I busted out laughing,,,and said" I guess you just figured out I already took the brakes out huh?"

Actually it's the Toyota Rav 4 and the Beetle. Atleast it says that here: MSN Auto IT's an older report though. So things may have changed since then. :)

For all that maybe a full car cover would be better?

I'm almost too ashamed about this, but I must share. I had spent the weekend in Colorado, in a hot climate, with no a/c in the house, hadn't slept all weekend, and on my way home, in one of those vans that carries everybody from the airport, sitting in the front seat, I asked, how do you roll down the window? (it was manual). You should've seen the driver's face. LMAO!!! Were you looking around for the little button with the arrows or the picture of the window on it? LOL!!!

Yeah man, like that! Really diggin those after burners!!!

You will probably need to correct the camber, but no, you shouldn't need a camber kit. Unless you want to be able to adjust it and change it regularly. I'v efound that if your going from track to track, a camber kit is awsome to have, but for the street, it's just a PIA.

Mine would probably drag around on the ground though, So all the guys behind me would just have this grimacing wince on thier faces as I drove away! LOL!!! No, I was thinking the stick on chrome vents along the sides to help add to that retro feel, then a shaker style hood scoop with RAM AIR in vinyl stickers on each side of it. Oh, and I like the drifter style rear deck spoiler, the HUGE one that looks like the right wing assembly off the Red Barons Schtucka. Then maybe some nice Metallica window stickers and a new set of chrome double blade windshield wipers with the new super air foil design. I especially like the plastic c-channel chrome trim. I could put that on the doors, around the hood, and on all the fender wells to help highlight the masculine lines of the car. After that, you just have to roll with the windows down and the stereo blasting wide open. How can you not feel like a man riding in that?!!!!

I don't agree with the IS 250/350 being a chic car. I actually thought the SC was the chic car.

Looks Good!

Good Lord! Am I glad I asked about the Griot's orbital! It has been fun watching all the responses. I do appreciate the candid comments and have decided I will purchase one, along with the instructional dvd. Thanks all. Yeah, I got the DVD and the book also. I guess it just came with the kit. It had good advice in there and what I thought to be very reasonable and honest approach about how to and why. I was actually glad I got those.

If your only changing the rim size, the outside of the tire will stay the same if you just change the aspect ratio. Are you lookng to stagger your rims or maintain the same size all around? 18's are fine. Looks good. I think that is really the best size for this car. 18x8 to 18x8.5's and your fine, even with the 1 inch drop. Are you just changing the springs or are you going with full coilovers? You work at a Ford dealership huh? Cool! What do you do there specifically?

I know the K&N and AEM both have Emmisions codes on them. So you might want to check those out.

No, sorry........ So how is the golf thing going?

Yeah, like Bartkat has stated, it does help. If you can track one down I would. Even the CAI's and so on use that metal divider thing to keep the air smoother and to help draw air in away from the motor. ( they don't really work that well though.)

Troller

You might want to try MY.IS.com. It stays really busy there. They only focus on the IS model. Whereas here stays busy, but it covers all the models. So if your going from the GS forums and the LS and ES forums, then it really is pretty busy here. The General Discussions forum and the Detailing forums are allways busy. During the summer it does slow down a bit. But, we tend to have a more mature crowd here. I'm really over "Yo dog, those rims are mad-sick bro!" So I like it here. Thanks for the props. I have alot of fun. :) My car is in about a million pieces right now. I have some family issues that I have had to attend to for awhile, so the work has stopped temporarily until I get thru this time with my family. A Subi huh? The Boxer motor has been a great motor. But the Lexus IS is way more refined. So you have owned 2 IS 300's before? Or did I read that wrong? I'm pretty sure they all came with Xenon headlights. I think the few that don't have them were changed or switched to Halogen bulbs by the owner. So do you have one lined up yet or are you just starting the search?

LOL!! Atleast he was able to find the car!

Have any of you heard the 911 audio tape of the girl that called in all panicked that the battery on her car just died. She said now the little button to unlock the doors won't work and she was trapped in the car. Could they send someone right away! At which time the 911 operator asked her to move the lever that locks and unlocks the car manually. So she reaches over and pushes the lock and the door opens. She is so relieved and thanks the 911 operator, and finishes with, "I never knew you could do that!" Yeah!

Welcome to the LOC.

I don't know that I agree with it all being "hype". Dennis Decota was actually referring to the price of gas in California and the lack of wholesale competition. So when Top Tier appeared, he then refered to the "hype". I'm actually very familiar with Dennis Decota. I just read his 142 page report on why gas costs more in California. The differences aren't in the gas itself, or where it comes from. The difference is the quality and quantity of detergents that are added to the gasoline AFTER it is in the US. ILFC Ten 32 for example is a compound composed of a dispersant, a biocide, a demulsifier, a corrosion inhibitor, and a polymerization retardant. And Techron, or Techroline, which was developed and patented by Chevron, is considered one of the best on the market right now. Your saying that some detergent combinations like ILFC Ten 32 is just as good, or makes no difference? And every different gas company uses a different detergent mix, ratio, and so on. these detergents don't make the fuel itself better, they just make it better for your car. The Top tier program was designed to unify the standard and give the auto mfgrs. a scale to measure against. After all, it's in thier best interest. Top Tier

So the part with the air filter is still on it? Do you have the part that is in the lower left hand side?

Fill your car up at a Chevron, Conoco, Phillips 66, or Shell gas stations only. Why? Because they are the only oil companies to achieve "Top Tier" fuel ratings. This "top tier" rating was established by BMW, GM, Honda, and Toyota. It's the "next" gen. of fuel, and they follow a much higher standard for detergent and fuel quality.

Yeah, yours is getting a good calculation. Mine never seems to be close enouph for some reason. I allways use the trip odometer reset everytime I fill the tank up. Then I look at the fuel pump to see how many gallons went in, and I devide that by the trip odometer reading before I reset it again for the next tank. I now have just over 6000 miles on the car, and I get 19-21 mpg. pretty consistantly now. And I drive probably 70/30 city/ highway.