Atlantis

Highly likely that a strut brace will do nearly nothing. Structural rigidity is leaps and bounds better than cars from yesteryear. I'm disappointed at Lexus' choice of a hollow front sway bar. In previous cars, I've always replaced the front with a solid (usually 32mm) bar. On a RWD car, this is an amazing upgrade. I think I might have to get custom ones made for the IS, as I fear the F-Sport ones will be a let-down as the guy in the article states.

I would have taken the umbrella over what I got... a measly two sun hats worth maybe $5 each. Not bad after plonking down nearly $70k on a new car. And to top it off, after my first service I got a tiny box with 3 chocolates in it. Quite polarising when comparing against other peoples experiences on here.

Lucky number 7 1. LEX51S 2. Bluewaffle. 3. ksty1 4. Platinum_Jay 5. nemesisD 6. JML 7. Atlantis 8. 9. 10.

Fingers crossed I'm not busy this time... would like to catch up with everyone again :)

The Verada had 147kW, the IS250 has 153kW. You'll actually be getting an increase in power and lower fuel use of a 2.5L. I've been in 3 year old IS250s and they feel identical to new. When I went car shopping, my budget was $20k, I looked into the old IS300, budget had to increase to $30k for a decent one. Then I started seeing used IS250s for $40k, so I increased my budget once again, knowing how good they are. I somehow ended up buying a brand new one and don't regret it for one second. There is no other car on the market in the price bracket which is reliable, good economy, decent power and still rear wheel drive.

You can only hear the F-Sport intake from inside the cabin if you are driving hard over 4000rpm. Otherwise, it sounds very much the same as standard.

Pretty hard to see in those pics :(

Yeah, moving parts in the exhaust. I figured making it quieter was more important than how illegal they claimed it to be. Just as illegal as aftermaket HIDs and most aftermarket wheels...

Yeah, I got mine from either Nengun or Greenline. I think the X-Force ones were built into the muffler unit, but I could be wrong.

Surprising you want to change the rear sway bar on a RWD car. It's generally the front that needs upgrading. I haven't driven an IS350 yet, but from my IS250 experience this "theory" holds true at least in my opinion.

I had one in my Soarer. ECU shouldn't have any issues... I never did. 11dB difference between open and closed (107dB vs. 96dB). They work very well. I had the Apexi ECV http://www.apexi-usa.com/products/?id=5326 I still have that entire exhaust system sitting in my back yard if you need to source a setup. It's the 95mm diameter model though.

Certainly hope the quality is decent. I used to pair my N95 to the Alpine head unit in my last car and the audio quality was terrible compared to CD or proper iPod connection.

Great stuff Manny. Peace of mind knowing that you'll be covered for another 3 years and a pile of kilometres is great to have, especially a factory backed one. Good to hear of the decent price you managed to achieve also.

The Lexus roadside assistance appears to be a re-badged NRMA service, so you might save a few pennies purchasing that directly from them. Well, that's what it looks like on the Encore card in my wallet.

Yeah, I meant for iPod and USB support in conjunction with the Parrot. Sorry for the confusion.

VAIS MultiMediaLinQ then maybe? Sad to hear that it wasn't as fully featured as it seemed.

To be honest, my Smart car used to get 60-100km more per tank using Ultimate over V-Power. The gap between Ultimate and 8000 isn't much though.

I never use Vortex, so can't comment on that. In order of km I get out of a tank I get the lowest on V-Power, slightly more from Ultimate, then most from Mobil 8000. Not sure how they mix that Mobil stuff, but it's fantastic. Bear in mind, there will be different refineries in each state, so your milage may vary according to the mix.

Welcome to the forum Manny. Looks like we have another ex Soarer member join us :) Not sure about the Dice unit, but hopefully someone will chime in.

Took a few snaps of my car today... nothing flash, car is nearly completely standard :) :D

I'm sorta with you there Darren... appreciate the hell out of what Lexus go through to make those wood panels, but cannot stand wood in my car. I'm not driving a forest!

Great to hear that cecil. I've had nothing but perfect operation with my unit. Best iPod integration I've ever used. Looks like the price has dropped a little. I think mine was $420 about 12 months ago. Either way, a fantastic unit.

Hey Sam, Wollongong, so about an hour south of Sydney :)

Hey Danny, Around $250 will get you around an hour (pretty loose definition of "hour" I will admit) of shooting time in the studio, plus a 60cm x 90cm poster of your favourite photo. I can also bring most of my gear outdoors so can do some pretty crazy location shots too.

I shoot weddings :)