Mystyler

Daaaaang, you got free tyres? 😁

These are now up there as my next replacement rubber.

Hi all,

I'm hoping someone may find this useful. I've used a lot of different car care brands and eventually settled on (mostly) Autoglym because it did what it said on the tin and it was a brand my Grandfather used when I was a kid. Sentimental stuff. It's also easy to get hold of. I'm aware of multiple places you can get super exotic products that are rarely sold "over the counter" at auto stores, but that's not me. I like finding a good sweet spot of price/performance.

I needed to pick up another bottle of Autoglym bodywork shampoo and conditioner, but while at the auto store I saw Bowden's Own, which I had been meaning to try. However, even though I'm a very staunch supporter of buying Aussie I couldn't bring myself to switch. Bought the Autoglym stuff and went home.

That night I couldn't live with my choice. Off I went again the next day and picked up some of Bowden's own Nanolicious Wash and even shelled out for some Bowden's Own Leather Love and Leather Guard. In for a penny...

Really didn't have high hopes for the Nanolicious but the difference was night and day. This was the first time I didn't need to use Fast Glass on the windows after washing and drying. The stuff is super slippery and the car was super clean with no spots marks or streaks. The temp was also in the mid-thirties today when I was washing the F.

I'm happy with the leather stuff too. Easy on, easy off. Not greasy or slippery. The Autoglym stuff I have works well in my Mazda, but was pulling up colour from the F's red leather, so I promptly stopped using it after trying it on the shift knob. No such problems with Bowden's.

I'll probably be sticking with Autoglym for their Fast Glass and Glass Polish, and it will take a LOT to get me to change from Mother's California Gold Showtime detailer. But I was very, very happy to find some great products that are Aussie made and the company Aussie owned. There are a lot of products out there that will separate you from your money with lofty promises and so-so results. It's nice to make a change and have it work out in your favour. Can recommend the three Bowden's Own products highly, and I will see how longer-term use goes. Granted, this post is based on a car wash sample of one...but I really did notice a difference.

Just had a clean, rims off and all.

I think the GSF is seriously under rated. I'd love one. I think the new car price might be scaring people off. Enjoy it, would love to park one alongside the ISF one day.

On 19/10/2017 at 1:16 PM, _ISF said:

All short drives around Newcastle (hardly any traffic). My car used 38L in 229km so that equates to around 16.6L per 100km (about 80% more than my old modified Golf R was getting). Loving the V8.

Seems to do a fair bit better on the highway but haven't actually taken the time to measure those figures yet.....probably around 10-12L per 100km.

Hey mate, wondering if you'd care to share your thoughts on the F vs the R? Can be elsewhere if you don't want to hijack the thread.

10.5L/100km was last I looked. Haven't driven it for over a month thanks to a busted ankle. Prior to that it was my daily.

21 hours ago, banserki said:

Cost me $400 USD, usual price is $400. Model year 2011. Worth every penny in my case as I couldn't stand not having steering wheel controls and having to plug my aux in every time.

banserki, are you running with the GROM in the glovebox?

I shoulda held out for a blue or red one.

There is another picture on the Stinger website of a RHD install. Plastics look to match up very well. Been thinking on-again/off-again about upgrading the nav system. Was going to wait until GROM sorted their issues out, now it's nice to have another option.

On 17/09/2017 at 6:48 PM, Eyecandydetailing said:

How the hell are you getting 10.5L per 100. I cant get under 16, but in saying that Im not trying either

Must come down to driving style. Don't worry, if I really get stuck in I'm north of 16, easy!

Congrats, it's looking great now _ISF. That's my all-time favourite colour of the F. If you also had the light colour interior I'd be super jealous!

On 08/03/2017 at 9:34 AM, wilco said:

***Moderators, this should be a pinned post***

Hi Babalouie,

I wish you were in VIC. Thanks for shedding light on TOM's GT GearShifter. It is my utter most important pet hate that manufacturer's get the + and - around the wrong way.

Gear up should never be "up", but down. Pet hate. I will be getting one of them as we speak.

However my only problem is installing it, I'm only a simple man who can do simple things like change oils & fluids, and don't really plan on venturing to taking my interior apart, so I will be showing my friend mechanic what you did (which like you, will probably think is a piece of cake). 

Thanks for posting your progress & your maintenance on an otherwise quite-ish forum.

Regards,

Will

Will, I couldn't agree with you more. Mazda get it right, but few else do. I'm extremely happy Babalouie brought this to light as a solution.

Babalouie, keep it up. Your posts are very much enjoyed. They are informative and great to read. I'm taking baby steps towards more DIY with my F, after seeing what can be done.

Hello all, here's a photo of my F. Incredible car. Very happy to have found one in great condition. Detailing was just done by Mark at Freedom Car Care.

For those of you at home still following, some updates.

I've gone and added a boot liner, lip protector and cargo net to the boot, for a bit more "practicality." We took the F for a trip away (1200km done) and it was fantastic. Even managed to fit all of our crap into the boot, somehow! It's so happy to cruise along in 8th, but if you need to overtake, you don't need to wait for an overtaking lane. Makes for an incredibly relaxed drive, but my goodness she is capable in the hills and bends.

Fuel economy isn't too bad at all. I'm still finding myself booting it to WOT on freeway on ramps for a laugh, but I'm getting an average of 10.4L/100 Km since I bought the car. Really, not bad at all.

I've also done my first, "mod". All I did was change the halogen foggies to Philips 2700k yellow LEDs. Some hate it, some love it. I've always been a fan of yellow foggies and these don't disappoint. I've attached a comparison photo and final photo, if you're interested.

Great read, thank you. I share similar feelings towards the Alfa. Been a fan of Alfa for a long time, but would I own one...? The Guilia still hasn't really assuaged my fears but I really hope it turns out to be a great, reliable machine.

Funny you should mention the Spider. It came down to getting an F or the basic, povo-pack 1.5L ND MX-5. Even though the F isn't anywhere as practical as my previous wheels (Mazda 6, owned since new for 11 years!) I can't get my head around two seats only. So, while the F and ND are apples and oranges, that's the short version as to how I ended up with an F. When I get space for multiple vehicles, an ND will be joining the line-up for sure. It's a proper driver's car, and you feel like you're doing a 150km/h when really you've barely cracked 60km/h.

I can point you in the direction of a Melbourne guy who goes by RBH58 on https://forum.miata.net/vb/

He has an ND MX-5 RF, while his wife has the Fiat Spider. Can give you the pros and cons of both if you're curious. Hope you end up with one, regardless!

GaijinISF, that Wald bootlip is unbelievably hot looking.

Something else I have noticed seems to be a "quirk" with the XE20 IS cars - if you don't drive it for a few days, the brake pedal certainly does become fairly stiff. I'll keep an eye on it to ensure there is not a vacuum problem somewhere, however.

Getting it Opti-coated at the end of next week.

Looks like I can expect to get around 500km range out of a tank with mixed driving. Not too bad at all.

On 18/07/2017 at 8:00 AM, Noodle Boy said:

Would this car happen to be from a South Eastern Melbourne suburbs dealership?

Regarding the option to mute the sound system, you can hold the 'Mode' button on the left panel of buttons on the steering wheel to do so.

Thanks for that Noodle Boy, it certainly does! I'm still getting through the stack of manuals as time allows. And no, this was a local WA car.

On 18/07/2017 at 8:11 AM, plankton007 said:

Here's an alternative to the sunglasses compartment if you don't use your front cigarette jack.

It's a complete OEM Lexus replacement

Plankton007, that is awesome! I'm currently using the ciggie lighter as a power source for some elctronics, but once I get them hard-wired in I think I'll be hitting you up for one of these.

Hi everyone,

I've recently taken delivery of a 2012 build 2012 MY IS F. A trade-in with one previous owner. She's black with a red interior, and so far the name Lailah seems to have stuck...!?

This is not intended as a comprehensive review, or a gushing tale about how it drives, but rather the impressions that have stuck within the few days of a more practical nature.

She's tight inside, and there isn't a whole lot of storage. Certainly useable with ten million courtesy lights everywhere. Mine has the sunroof, so headroom is the main issue as the seats just can’t quite get low enough for my 179cm. It’ll be letting me know when it is hair cut-time. That aside, the seats are great. Still working on the optimum driving position. Wish there was a sunnies storage location other than the door pockets or centre console. I have swipe-pass to access the work car park, and that fits nicely in the slot in the sun visor, which is great. Rear legroom not so bad, but wouldn’t want to sit there without being able to stretch my legs after a while. Certainly fine for around town. I really wish the rear seatback was a 60/40 split/fold.

People have complained about the buttons and controls feeling cheap. They’re better than the 981 Porsche Cayman I was thinking about dropping money on! I think the buttons are all quite nice. Things are starting to date, but holding up well for something designed in the early 2000s. Dash layout in the MY12 not so bad either. Pretty standard Japanese control layout. No issues here, aside from wishing there was a mute button on the steering wheel and I’m not a fan of the cruise control stalk. Would prefer them on the wheel too, but soon you’d have fifty buttons on the thing. It is nice being able to turn the infotainment screen fully off.

Last tank I was showing 10.5L/100km average. Since I’ve owned it, I think the overall consumption is 12.6L/100km. Freeway/city driving mix. No real peak-hour stuff yet as I work strange hours. That’s not bad for a mad 5.0L V8, just wish the fuel tank was about 75-80L. That would be ideal. Should still be able to get away refuelling once a week. We will see. I haven’t had a “normal” week with it yet, as I haven’t had it a week, and also because I’ve been pushing the right pedal pretty hard on occasion.

Ride around town is pretty good, but you’ll feel crappy surfaces for sure. Considering what it is, it’s quite good but this isn’t an LS. Make sure it’s something you are prepared for. I had read about the “bone shattering” ride before I stumped up the cash, but went with it anyway and I think that applied more to the 08-09 models. Whatever, it certainly is NOT going to rattle your fillings out.

Steering is much better than I’d hoped. The 981 I was looking at had super-precise steering but zero feedback. NONE. That would probably get me burnt at the stake on the Porsche forums I’m on, but it is true. I can at least feel what is going on under the fronts with the F. No complaints.

All-round vision isn’t bad. The windscreen is small. Blind-spots aren’t too bad. Still working out where I want my mirrors. Judging the extremities of the car is still something I haven’t mastered yet. The front left corner is the hardest to pick, as the bonnet bulge doesn’t help matters. I am not parallel parking anytime soon. Rear vision OK, a bit better when you drop the rear head restraints.

Day to day driving is pretty bloody non-eventful. Aside from me still getting used to it, it is about as happy doing 30km/h as it is doing 130km/h. Quite an achievement. You know it is wasted at 30km/h but it doesn’t FEEL wasted at 30km/h, if you can follow. You can just turn up the sound system and cruise. If you leave it in D and with Sport mode off, it is actually quite dignified.

Brakes feel insane. I haven’t had to hit them hard yet, and nor do I want to, but I feel that if someone isn’t leaving a decent gap behind me and isn’t 110% switched on, they are going to end up in my back seat if I needed to execute an emergency stop. Bit of pad dust already but the car is black so it isn’t too bad. Black cars are a pain to keep clean at the best of times anyway so I think I’ll be busy regardless.

Foot park brake takes a bit of getting used to.

Engine is nuts. I wish it had a 15 speed box so I could just keep revving it out and changing up, and up and up. Then down and down again…repeat…

That brings me to the transmission. I’ve never ever owned an automatic car and hadn’t intended to. However, the fiancé is a slacker and can’t be bothered to get a manual car licence. Called me whipped or whatever you like, but there are times when you wish SWMBO was able to drive and it was easier getting an auto. However, I in no way feel this auto box is a cop-out. It’s a bloody fantastic unit. Happy to slush in D and just smash the shifts in M. Incredible. Even in D it will engine brake for you. You can even restrict the gears it will shift to in D by pulling – and then adjusting with – or + as you see fit. It is my opinion that the -/+ action with the shift leaver is the wrong way around, but the paddles make up for that. I was seriously sceptical about the claims of reviews who had driven this car before I took it for a test drive. It’s really all that. I reckon 90% of your driving style can be retained if you come straight from a manual ‘box.

That’s about it for now. It turned out a bit longer than I expected. For those of you who are thinking of owning an F, ask away with any questions you have. I’ll keep updating this thread as time goes by. For those that own an F, well, you know all this already. And that it really is quite an incredible little sedan.

Oh P.S. Most people pay ZERO attention to this car which was important for me. It's just a little black retiree's Lexus. But some people do know what it is (or think they do) and generally bring the dickhead factor with them. It's easily ignored but should you feel the need, I think I lot of people will be surprised by it.

ilv1004s, thanks mate, didn't know you worked on them.

Happy to say I've put down a deposit on an MY12 F. It's a bit cozy inside but jesus, it is equally as happy to cruise at 60km/h or just unleash. Quite an incredible little sedan.

Thanks gents.

Even if ilv1004s' comment holds true only to this forum, that's a decent sign. And I'll certainly give everyone a heads up if I find some RHD dash mats. MIght have to turn my eyes to Japan.

Cheers again.

Hello everyone,

Bit of a lurker here. Been looking at an IS F for a very long time. I've done quite a bit of reading but there are a few things that have got me stumped. I've searched this forum and the web, but have not been able to come up with a clear answer. I hope you don't mind if I'm repeating something already posted. If I am, I'm sorry, it did not come up in my search.

First off, I'm aware of the "sticky" dash and interior issues that have affected IS models. What I can't work out if there is a cut-off date or VIN for affected cars. I'm aware of the US recall program, but it seems people outside the year range in the recall are having the "sticky" problems. No F in the recall. I can't find a whole lot of evidence of proper F models being affected. One on Whirlpool, and not directly, but that hardly is evidence of a problem. Maybe down to lack of IS numbers in Oz?

Second, I've read that it was an "incorrect polymer" used in the dash that leads to the problem. What I want to know is, are there certain environmental conditions that cause or accelerate the problem? Or is it just time? Seems like hot/humid is the worst climate for the interior. I'm in Perth, so humidity is not too often an issue.

Third and finally, where can I get a dash mat for an F? Is the dash the same design as the 250/350? If I had to guess, I'd say it would have to be, but I've seen stranger things. I've never been able to find one that specifically says it will fit the F. Even RHD IS mats seem to be a rare thing.

Many thanks if you have any insight.