malibu

I was interested in the carbon fibre tips but they were taken off the market about 12 months ago as under extreme conditions i.e. on the track, they were melting. Not sure if these tips are now later editions where they have corrected this problem.

Ben

If you are on the North Shore I can take you for a spin in my ISF with JoeZ - best is to hear it first hand - sounds fantastic but is fairly loud at low revs in the cab.

When I am not listening to the music of the Joe-Z exhaust and turn up the stereo I am always a little dissapointed in its output. Although it is crisp it lacks volume and base. On the other hand, my Nissan Pathfinder system always impresses me with its good sound quality and excellent base for a standard system that is not supposed to be anything special. I only have DVD's loaded and agree that they play a lot better than the ipod - this plays so poorly that I rarely listen to it in the lexus. The same ipod in a Malibu boat system plays perfectly so cannot fault the ipod. Other than this small gripe, I love the car.

Done the Hunter Valley via Pete's Ridge - a fantastic drive. An even better road to drive if you live in Sydney is the Putty Road, have done that in the direction of Sydney to Hunter Valley and then come back along Pete's Ridge - takes a day but you really get to enjoy the ISF in Sport and manual mode. I plan on doing a Tasmania trip, possibly around August / September from Sydney. I have a trip mapped out from a car magazine article that claims this to be amongst the best driving roads ever. I have driven to the Gold Coast but along the Pacific Highway this is nothing worth writing about.

fromt QLD dealer to my house in NSW

1000+ kms

i find the radar cruise control annoying

Agree, I have stated this before. You often end up travelling well below the limit without realising because the radar has tagged onto a slower vehicle in front. I know that it can be switched off but have not done so as I suppose from a safety perspective it is good.

Done the Hunter Valley via Pete's Ridge - a fantastic drive. An even better road to drive if you live in Sydney is the Putty Road, have done that in the direction of Sydney to Hunter Valley and then come back along Pete's Ridge - takes a day but you really get to enjoy the ISF in Sport and manual mode. I plan on doing a Tasmania trip, possibly around August / September from Sydney. I have a trip mapped out from a car magazine article that claims this to be amongst the best driving roads ever. I have driven to the Gold Coast but along the Pacific Highway this is nothing worth writing about.

My ISF also did not do this when I first took delivery but just popped into the service centre one day and they did it for me while I had a Nespresso. Also got the lights sensitivity dialled up a bit. I am currently not too happy with the rainsensor wiper sensitivity - does not work as well as other cars I have had - not sure if it is adjustment needed or just the way the system works.

Our friends at Chatswood

I have the prestigious dvd overide fitted, done by the dealer. Works fantastic, can use all functions for sat nav and phone while in motion and passengers can even watch a dvd if they want to while driving.

DRL's

Love the DRL's. How are they wired up and what do you estimate the the degree of difficulty to be and amount of time to install. Would be great to have them on my Sep 2010 ISF.

Cheers

Anyone running nitrogen in their tyres, my neighbour with an S5 swears by it and says car feels much better and pressures are maintained for much longer periods of time. Think it cost about $10 per wheel and will give it a try in the next week or two.

I have seen quite a few sites, try http://www.lexusfforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3631

The 285x30x19 seems to be quite a coomon choice - although slightly over the recommended max width on a 9" rim the rolling circumference is closer to original.

Definitely whatever is wrong should be fixed under warranty. Have not had this issue with my ISF but have had it on a previous car with some serious HP. New drive belts can slip if not tensioned properly.

Changing rotors is not always necessary and there are specs as to what thickness they should be, hairline cracks around the drilled cooling holes are measured if present, etc to determine if new rotors are required.

In terms of tyres, a lot of the US forum guys run 245's in the front and 285's on the rear as the rolling diameter is closer to original. They claim 9 inch rim handles the 285 ok! Any comments as I will be up for a set of tyres in the not too distant future as well.

I did not realise that even in normal drive mode with the gearlever in full auto the throttle blips on downshifts if you use the steering paddles to shift down.

I could always hear the throttle blip in manual mode with an increased blip in manual plus sport mode (and obviously more of a blip the harder you drive).

Now with the JoeZ exhaust fitted I hear a small blip of the throttle when downshifting on the paddles in normal drive mode with full auto while driving fairly sedately. It sounds really smooth and cool (not an aggresive blip as in other modes) and something that I never realised was happening with the standard exhaust.

Here is something I found on what Sport mode does.

"Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management (VDIM) system provides precise management for EPS, Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), traction control (TRAC), the ABS system, Brake Assist (BA), Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD) and engine torque (via the electronically controlled throttle), and steering assist.

By selecting Sport mode, VDIM allows higher dynamic thresholds before intervening and alters steering assist to increase steering feel."

Agree with the comments that the throttle response in Sport mode is too aggressive for heavy traffic and I guess that is why you can de-select it when required.

Curious to know if any forum members use sport mode frequently on the road for normal day to day driving. I tend to flick it on for a short while and then switch it off again if just cruising. Am probably incorrect in believing that it could get 'lazy' if not driven hard all the time in sport mode so tend to only use sport mode for aggresive quick driving. Comments will be appreciated.

Hi Richie

Sorry did not get to chat but I had to make a 4.30 appointment back in Rhodes. Did not realise you had a JoeZ as well. I am still enjoying mine although double demerits holding me back a bit this weekend. V8 tone is now perfect and the exhaust finish is amazing - took some pics of the underside of the car this morning. Headers seem to definitely give the biggest bang for your buck and together with intake and JoeZ sub 12s in the quarter mile are possible which is quick for a car with the reliability of the ISF. Let me know how you progress with headers and Sid will keep me in the loop with RHD header developments. I would like semi-slicks for track days as this will give the biggest single improvement to lap times. I had an AC Cobra on semi-slicks a few years back and this transformed the car from mid field runner to road class lap record contender. Loving my ISF, is a reliable bulletproof setup.

Cheers

Malibu

I tried posting this already earlier tonight but does not seem to have gone through. I got my JoeZ fitted on Tuesday by Lexus Chatswood. Exhaust is top quality and a splendid job done by Sid and Chris and the great team at Lexus Chatswood. It is a bit noisier in the cabin at 1500 to 2000rpm under load than I expected but it sounds fantastic at all other rpm. Will see how it settles in the next few weeks. Followed the ISF home with my wife driving it from Chatswood on Tuesday night as I left my 4wd there earlier in the day with old stock exhaust loaded into it. Was a good opportunity to hear it from outside and it sounds brilliant even at the low rpm range, when it gets going it sounds like it means real business. Definitely improved power and the Ingen intake can now do its job properly. Breaks loose in sport mode much more than before with traction control not catching it like it used to before - all up very happy and look forward to getting back on the track to measure improvments.

Sounds interesting. My concern is that Burrows type drive days normally are accepted by insurance companies whereas a full on track day, if not classified as driver training, will not be covered.

And isn't the radar function fantastic. The way this has been implemented is fantastic. Taking cruise to another level.

Yes I love it. Makes for a much more relaxing journey on long cruises. The isf has everything you need in a luxo sports, and features like this are an added bonus too.

I am actually not a big fan of the radar cruise control as you often end up behind a slower car going well below the speed limit without realising it on long trips. I know you can switch it off but I have not done that.

So another invite went out I think on the 7th August.. Dam eventhough it costs $795, I was wanting to go to this one, but unfortunately I leave for NZ that day..

Anyone else attending this event?

Yeah, I will be attending, it's on Wednesday the 10th August. Look forward to seeing some other ISF's and meeting the owners. Hope the weather is good.

This is the exact reason why I purchased the ISF as well. Less of these on the road. I was going to purchase the S5 Coupe but decided not to as it was under powered compared with the ISF and too many on the streets.

Interested to hear you say you thought the S5 Coupe was underpowered. It has the 4.2V8? The S4 with the 3.0 supercharged certainly did not feel underpowered but I think it is rated as quicker than the S5.

I also looked at the S5 and was told that the V8 was changing to the supercharged 6 so this put me off the S5? RS5 is more in the ISF league.

Is that for the new 2011 ISF? The new model is meant to have a better diff right?

As far I know the new mechanical diff was from the 2010 model, 2011 new suspension set-up

Got it as well. Would love to attend a track day but agree it is a bit steep and 1 weeks notice just simply not enough for me.

Hi Mike

I am also in Sydney and keen on a JoeZ exhaust but not managed to find where to get one yet. please let me know if you do find a fitment centre in Sydney.

Cheers

Malibu