smooth1

Zaino for clear coat. The other is more for Acrilyc paint. I've been using Zaino for awhile with some really good results. Once you get the hang of the steps, it's pretty easy. What color is your RX?

You say the driver has a big head? Well, yeah........that's why I needed the Moonroof option! Here's a pic of me and how large the drivers are getting : big_driver.bmp

Yeah, I get 2 bags in there facing opposite ways easily. But if they make the driver head much bigger, I might need to get a roof rack for that one.

Happy Birthday!

Oh, and for your own comparisons and enjoyment, here is the dyno run of an IS250:

Maybe its the definition of "fast" (top speed vs. acceleration)? EDIT - I thought more about this: Are you saying that 8 cylinder engines *typically* make more HP throughout the range (usuable) than, say 4 or 6 cylinder engines? On another note, didn't the Acura TL (circa 2004) originally state it had 300HP and then had to give rebates to original owners and restate it as ~270HP? Typically, yes. There's nothing like cubic inch horsepower. Even turbos and superchargers are a different kind of horsepower. Look at this dyno sheet: Notice that the torque starts at around 240 ftlbs., and remains relatively flat all the way across the rev range. This is how they can just drop the gas pedal and break the tires loose in a white screaming cloud line. Now look at this one: even though this car is producing about the same total hp and torque, it doesn't even break 100 hp until well after 4k rpm. And the torque comes in about the same. So, so long as this car can keep the revs between 4500 and 6500 rpms, then both cars would be pretty close, but on the track or dragstrip, or real world driving, the Mustang has a full rev range at it's disposal, and that kind of advantage just can't be overcome. Now before I hit the send button on this, let me say there are some exceptions to this rule. But they are few and far between. I'm not talking about highly tuned race motors and exotic engineering wonders. Which by the way is one of the reasons the IS 350 V6 motor is one of the nicest to come out of Lexus. For a 3.5 liter motor, look at the torque!! and it builds hp very quickly!

I circled the one I could see from the pic. The other one is back in the shadow there behind the arrow. Those are the 2 sensors sending up your cel right now.

the bank 1 and bank 2 sensor are visible from the engine bay. If you look at your exhaust manifold, you'll see what looks like all metal spark plugs sticking out of it with a wire that comes out of the end of it. If you take those out and use a parts cleaner, or Kerosene, and clean the sensor off, then reinstall it. If the cel comes back, then you probably have a bad sensor and will need to replace it, or determine what is cause=ing the sensor to read that condition.

First off, you have to prevent the crankshaft from turning. Vise grips, screwdriver, or something to stop the rotation. Then I use a 3/4 drive and a breaker bar for leverage. That's it. If you have a pipe to slide over the drive handle to make it longer so you can get enouph power behind it is usually all it takes. I think a 3 to 4 foot breaker, or extension and the bolt backs out like butter. That's it bro.

Wow, lookin good!! very nice. I like what you did with the nav and the LED's. I didn't like the tail lights to be honest though. But your ride looks great anyway!! And those are some quality photo's!! I love the water bead pic. LOL!!

We use a crankshaft pulley remover. Really! That's what it's called. I looks just like a steering wheel puller. LOL!!!! http://fp.bighealey.f9.co.uk/tools/Sealey/...l_Set_13pc.html the only ones I know of that are a problem are the Mazda, Ford 2.3 liters. They aren't keyed to the crankshaft so when you loosen the bolts it can slide out of position. Makes them the biggest pain in the a$$ I know of. The Lexus should be easy though.

LOL!! Maybe the Prius could benefit from " wider is better", and the Firebird could be brought back to run for more than 3 years without the body panels falling off!! Heck, maybe Toyota could compete in the retro market against the Camaro and Challenger by bringing back the Judge!!!!!!! Damn, this really could be good!!!

I'm not sure what point you are trying to make. Do I detect just a hint of sarcasm in your post? Do you want to know if I was "misled"? .... into buying a car? It's not "Where" I was misled. Perhaps my comments were "misleading" to you. What part of my comments do you think I'm "confused" about? If you are truly interested, at the time I purchased the IS250, I had about $75,000 in my checking account as was prepared to buy whatever car my wife wanted. We had lunch that day. We noticed an eye-catching red IS250 parked right next to us. I said "Gee, Honey, you'd look great driving that little Lexy! She said "No, I think the backseat is too small." We drove off, within a few minutes, she said "Isn't the Lexus dealer right down the street?" I said "Yes". She said "Let's stop in." We pulled up to the front door of the dealership and parked right in front was the car we bought that night. It was purely her decision, and she didn't even test drive the car. Within 30 seconds of me driving the car, I said "This is not as peppy as I thought it would be and I would go for the 350! She said "Great, then this one will be perfect for me!" Now regarding my comment about the post with "90% of it's..", when I first read it I thought, "Gee, that sounds like an engine I would want in my car! But, it still seemed a wee bit exaggerated. Is it OK to feel that way? Perhaps I'm not quite up to speed with the "experts" on the subject. I suppose if it weren't for guys like me.... you wouldn't look so smart! Randy I am not being sarcastic in the least. When I am, it's very obvious. ;) I was trying to figure out what your real concern is, and what your questions are. They seem very diluted in useless information, and confusing. Are you saying that the IS 250 isn't as fast as the hp number would seem to indicate? Or are you even asking a question? So the wife is happy with the car and you are not? Or did she mean the 350 also? What does how much money you have in your checking account have anything to do with the performance of the IS250 or IS350? Are you upset that you bought a car without doing any research and now feel a little let down? or upon discovery maybe some buyers remorse? Again, not being a smart a$$, just trying to figure out what your really saying here. :)

I love the new Tahoe look. Very nice. Unfortunately it comes with that Tahoe gas mileage. I read a report in some magazine about them getting a city/hwy combined fuel mileage of 9 miles per gallon. They actually calculated like 8.62 mpg's, so they atleast rounded up to help it look better. Although, I can't remember if the article was on the Suburban or the the Tahoe as I recollect. I'm not really sure what the fuel mileage difference is between the two either, or what engine option was used to get that. I just remember Exxon calling me that afternoon to collect $38.50 for thinking about the drive in one. I can't imagine that Toyota would actually roll an Oldsmobile off the line. I would think it's more of a padlock on the Oldsmobile name more than anything. I think the interview they did was just a thoughtful fishing line to see if the fish were biting. I would spend 5 grand to sell the name back to them for say 250 million dollars or so, heck, maybe even more. If they really want it. If not, well, hey, any German's want in the US market???, I hear the Koreans are looking, or maybe Ford would like a nice trophy? Although, Ford is up to it's pits in reorganizing also.

It suffices to say this is not the "Pursuit of Perfection" as it was claimed. 204 hp is a lot if a car is really equpped with a 204 hp you'd feel it. Peak? You would not get 204 even if you rev the engine up to 7k rpm. I may sound odd to you but still entitled to say my opinion and I am always against fraud. Well, I don't think it's Lexus' fault that you don't understand the mechanical application of hp and torque. All manufacturers state horsepower created at the flywheel, or crank horsepower as it's called in the garage. As the motor produces hp, and sends it thru the torque converter, then thru the transmission, then down the drive shaft, thru the differential, and to the rear axles, the most usable horsepower and torque numbers are produced there. But typically you see a 15-20 % loss of hp from the crank to the rear wheels. Every dyno run and sheet I have seen on the IS 250 falls right into that. I think your expectations of a 2.5 liter is just not founded by any facts. The IS250 was marketed to look good, and get better gas mileage. The IS 250 does 0-60 in 7.5 seconds, which by the way is .2 seconds faster than the Audi A4 Turbo!, and does the 1/4 mile in 15.8 seconds, which is tied with the A4 Turbo. While the A4 has a nice mid RPM pull once the turbo spools up, the IS 250 does have a very wide torque curve. Also, Never be overly concerned with the peak hp number. That number is only produced for about a second or 2 before you shift to the next gear, The bigger, more important number is the average hp number. And the weight of the car. Those are the better numbers to go by. And once you see that the IS 250 produces a 130 average hp ( which is the real everyday driving number, then you would have gotten a much better scale for the butt dyno to judge to). Let me break this down further. A 2 liter 4 cylinder engine, that produces 250 hp, a 3 liter V6 that produces 250 hp, and a 4 liter V8 that produces 250 hp. If they were all put in equal weighted vehicles, do you think they all would be equally fast? I'll give you the 2 liter, and I'll take the 4 liter, and we can go and race. Edit*- I just found this: http://www.edmunds.com/apps/vdpcontainers/...28/pageNumber=2 Are you not getting these performance numbers?

I keep rereading your posts. You say you were misled? What into buying a 250 instead of a 350? I don't know what you thought 204 peak hp is supposed to feel like, ( that would be crank hp, not rear wheel.) The IS 250 I allways thought was the "gas miser" version and the 350 was the "sport" version. Where you just confused?

Damn, they just bought Oldsmobile for 5 grand??????? Wow!! I'll have to tell my dad!!!

No, nobody has gotten anywhere near those numbers with a cold air intake alone. If you put that cold air intake, headers, down pipe, and exhaust, you would barely get to those numbers.

The V160 isn't a bolt up fit. You'll have to change the drive shaft out, and weld in the support arm for the tranny. As for will it hold the power, yes, it will hold around 1000 hp. The cheapest I could find one for was $3600.00. And you'll need to upgrade the clutch and assembly also. So for around 5 grand and labor you should be fine. If your only going to 4-500 hp, then I would just go with the W154 then. It will hold around 5-600 hp and you will still need to upgrade the clutch, but overall will cut your cost in half, if not a little more.

I sold a 1998 A4 quattro for a 2003 IS 300. The IS 300 is sooooo much a better car. All wheel drive is great. But that was the only advantage I could see the Audi had. The interior in the Lexus is like 25x's better, and the steering response and "feel" is better. I was allways chasing issues on the Audi, And I have never had a problem with the IS 300. The aftermarket support for this model is huge, and parts are readily available as this car uses a similar platform that has been around for a long time, which is the Supra platfrom that has been around since around 1992.

Well, first of all the dyno sheet shows a 13 hp gain, not a 30 or 40hp gain. And the torque gain is really a torque curve change. It helps produce more tc lower in the rev range, but you lose more above 4000 rpm. Second, if you get one, DON"T BUY IT FROM LEXTACY!!!, you can go to SRT direct and get it for less. Third, remember it's an ECU piggyback system. Not just a CAI. You can get 7 to 9 without messing with the ECU with the K&N. And if you plan on adding headers and exhaust and all that, then you'll want to do an N/A tune with a tunable piggyback or standalone anyway, which would make the SRT a waste of money. But if your only going to that far, then the SRT is a good CAI by itself.

Ok, well, Break Water Blue and Desert Sage Green Metallic. I think Tungston is a good color, but everytime I see one a girl is driving it. LOL!!!

Yeah, soemthing to remember. The ODB system is not a warning system. It's a data logging system. If a sensor reads an event that goes outside a set parameter, then it logs it into the ECU. If that event happens a certain amount of times during a set period of time, then the cel will go up to alert that there is something going on. So soemtimes cel lights will go on and then go out, only to return again. That's why I said before that you should have someone do some data logging with a scanner to see whats going on. then you can make the right diagnosis and fix the problem.

You may need to clean the sensors off. They may have a build up and giving a false read. The only way to really know is do a scan and datalog to see what's going on. After you get a new air filter in, disconnect the battery for 10 minutes and reset the ECU, clean the sensors, and then see if you still have an issue. IF you do, then I would recommend you take it in and find out what is going on. Could be the MAF-IAT, could be exhaust valve leak, could be bad spark plugs, on and on and on.

You have to use the 6 LED T-5. 9 LEDS are too big and won't fit. The 6 is a tight fit, but does go in as that's what I used. Also while your there, get the 24 LED universal fit and put that one in your dome light. Man that looks great!!