DSK

I held off for ages seeing many many kits that were not quitye a straight forward install, some kits having reliability issues and kits where should you have a bulb fail you end up in a muddle etc. After several months of exhaustive searching I went for this; http://www.hids4u.co.uk/hb4-9006-xenon-hid-conversion-kits-c-18.html In 6000K, projector, normal ballast. As you can see they are not the cheapest but I can confirm the quality is highly impressive, the install is a genuine 5 minute plug & play job and in the event you need a bulb etc, guess what..... you get the right one, that you know will be fully compatible with your kit as it came from this lot's in house lot. My Own Before and After Videos shot on the same road; Before; After;

Congrats - I cycle once every so often and have a reasonable road cycle by that standard.

I live in Notts. Travel around the whole region of it quite a lot. Main roads are always fine to drive on and no problem, but temperatures and reduced grip levels mean using full power is a NO NO. The side streets thata re mainly used by 'residents only' and are not driven on regularly tend to have soft snow on top with the harder stuff underneath so need to be driven on with caution, simply allow plenty of room for braking and errors etc and you will have no problem. Normal streets may have some snow or hardened snow on them but they are fine to drive on. Taken my Supra on many roads, traction control doing a top job of keeping it in check, not allowing any slip on heavily snowed or icy surfaces and using '1' and '2' on the auto box accordingly to provide some engine braking for decending hills in such conditions. HOwever going up steep side roads that are icy (and I mean STEEP & GENUINE ICE, not just a typical minor incline with a bit of solid snow) the Supra struggled even with traction control on. Main thing is just drive allowing for idiots who can't drive, be sure to give yourself plenty of room and be sure to use lower gears to provide engine braking when decending hills. Its a doddle. Far too many people simply driving too fast for the conditions, fail to use engine braking when they should do, rely too much on the likes of ABS and stability systems withouth knowing how they work.... watching them in trouble is funny unless they are heading towards you!

looks clean, congrats and enjoy!

Supra can rust over time with such exposure around wheel arches and the odd part here and there under the car. Personally I always hose my car down after every drive drive in worse winter conditions with trf snow foam + pressure wash rinse. This helps to keep it all clean. Since I have bought mine, I have started to replace the odd part underneath and or clean it upa nd then give it a coat of hammerite paint and also start waxoyl. With regards to driving in adverse conditions, I haven't had any issues as such. Drive with common sense and you should be fine. The Traction Control seems dim witted but but I adjust my dirivjng to compensate for this. It is mainly clueless morons on the roads that drive far too fast and or too close for the conditions that worry me in adverse conditons. If I was abroad where adverse conditons are more frequent, I would most certainly look at fitting tyres suited to the conditions (such as all season or winter tyres) or fitting these to a spare set of alloy wheels.

For ease, look on http://garagewhifbitz.co.uk/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=40&Itemid=53&vmcchk=1&Itemid=53, they offer OE Toyota and alternative options listing prices. I have bought a fair bit of stuff from Whifbitz to date without any issues. Also Toyota dealers may offer an attractive price, they did with me when I made an enquiry with my local dealer but ended up getting them done at the same time as my BPU from Garage 786.

I didn't want to say that myself lol but the principles of over engineering the cars to offer unmatched reliability and stress free motoring which others can't still remains. I'd happily ignore badge snobbery for this. Well I have gone back from E39 M5, E46 M3, considered a Jag XJR (previously had an XKR) and also considered an AMG E55K & Audi RS6 4.2. BMWs from past experience are not as great as what people make out, great drive but quality and reliability is below par. Jag's are lovely cruisers but depreation hit me hard. Audi RS6 was a bit slow after 100mph and E55K prices were bouncing up and down like yo-yo's. So I got lucky with a my current Supra. Despite high miles coupled with FTSH etc, it drives genuinely 100% perfect in every respect and I know it will genuinely be reliable and last.

The more and more I dig trying to find more info about whats under the skin of the LFA, I think no one can argue that it will be built like a premium Lexus and then some. In addition take into account the vast level of over engineering that Lexus always applies and then you have a genuine supercar that will not be fragile in any way and can be driven as often as one likes in any conditions without fear of reliability woes. This makes the LFA worth closer to its price tag.

The price is very high considering the competition and is the cars only drawback. However, I have no doubt, that featuring the extensive design, development and needless to say it will be heavily over engineered unlike anything which can be considered competition is a marvel itself. A great piece of kit.

mines been stuck in the same place on the drive

Something very wrong there. The main points of advice have been covered so far. Firstly alignment can be knocked out very quickly and IMO should be checked every few months unless you notice any pulling etc before. I always have my alignment (full geo) checked every 3 months and there have been occasions where sometimes is bang on for over 6 months and other times when its been knocked out slightly after 2 weeks. Goodyears tend to have a very good life span in general. This has also been a favourite of mine across a number of car for several years - withouth any issues and complete satisfaction. (I have just put 4 new F1 Asymetrics on my Volvo so will keep an eye out and report any issues). Fwiw, I run 38psi in the rear of my car on Michelin PS2, (35psi front). Covered about 6,000miles to date, a lot of steady pondering about with lots of maxmium speed stints and some spirited road use. The rears are still in almost as new condition with 100% even wear across the tyre.

Everyone pays a different amount for insurance due to many surrounding factors. I've just hit 30 and my renewal from Tesco is £780 f/c. I can and do get cheaper quotes but I'm very happy with the service and perks of the policy by Tesco.

When I was looking for a UK spec car, I had put up wanted ads on piston heads, autotrader etc and searched this forums classifieds all to no avail. Nothing ever came up even in the pistonheads/auotrader classifieds and the very odd occasional UK spec car that was offered here was either heavily priced (at the time IMO) or it had been modified far too much. It took me endless searching to get lucky with a fellow club members stock UK car whilst having seen many imports at traders that just didn't appear all that good despite being younger cars with lower miles. However as of late there have been a healthy number of UK spec cars for sale on autotarder/pistonheads etc. I would say just be ready to search all the classifieds very hard (especially on here!) and be sure to have a large ish budget that is somewhat flexible from around £8K (bottom end of current going rates) to £10K (more realistic) and some garage stored examples are fetching around £15K.

Depends. First of all, what can you tell us the dimensions of your alloys wheels in question (usually stamped/printed on the inside face of the alloy wheel rims e.g. 9.5J x 18)

Nice one, I changed from standard to a set of In-Phase ones. Definately a worth while improvement - enjoy your music!

Hi & welcome.

As above. I generally prefer auto's, very relaxing in everyday use, good for overtaking or instant bursts of speed (no clutch in, down a gear, change gear m'larky). Also they are a enjoyable when pushing on your favourite roads as well. The Supra has an exceptionally good automatic gearbox and I put it in the same class as modern executive cars like the Jaguar R-types, Mercs and Volvos which have some of the best autoboxes I have had the pleasure of using. A manual will always be the icing on the cake for track day addicts. Also if you want serious big BHP a car with a 6spd manual gearbox will make life easier for you.

We're in the trade. Never recall anyone raising an alert of a bad batch. However a lot of Goodyear Eagle (normal and F1 variants) developed for the hotter european markets were imported to the UK and sold at prices lower than official UK stock. I remember some time back we had a long wheel base Hitop van come to us, stacked full of Goodyear tyres at keen prices. All were new but its obvious that in such cases it will be stolen stock or stock imported thats not suitable for UK retail. I dismissed it and the chap went off in a huffing and puffing.

Never seen anything like this happen due to removal or fitting of a tyre at our place but thats not to say its likely. Its possible that whoever was used to remove and refit the tyres did not have a suitable machine/equipment to work on them and in turn damage was caused during work. Also I cannot believe whoever refitted them did not highlight this issue as you cannot miss this sort of stuff even when balancing. Sorry to put a downer on this but, I am certain you will find yourself being reimbursed for any damage as they will be able to make up a number of excuses. Also I would strongly advise not to drive on those, the temperature changes coupled with the extremely likely possibility that the bulges will pop and cause a blow out mean that the potential consequences are grim.

thats looking rather well finished off to me, thumbs up!

I got a Heavy Duty Bosch Maintenance free unit for £65. Considering its Bosch, IMO it was a baragin. Got this from my local independant car repair garage that Stock & Supply Bosch batteries.

The 'CHOP SHOP' with Leepu & Bernie returns

I agree with running costs. Whilst they are not unreliable, you will have to spend a few precious pennies to keep them in good order! You always need to think further than just simple oil changes as a service etc. The cost of the parts for a decent service will set you back a good few notes even if you do it DIY. Consider the tyres they run on, what if you get a puncture here and there.... I have 18's and am in the tyre trade. I recently had to change 1 front (245/40/18 Michelin PS2) and that was £170 to me. At your age you will chew through tyres razzing it around everywhere. Brakes are considerably more expensive than many decent cars. Some of my miscellaneous costs = 6 OEM Toyota Coil packs = £650 + connector clips at around £30 for a set + £ diagnostic charges x 2 + £ labour, £1K straight away! 3 oil changes within 3 months, each tub of oil costing around £100 with an OEM oil filter.

There's suppose to be a trick like applying some vaseline to the door rubber where its on contact with the window, never done this myself yet but have heard that it definately helps.

A new (ish) driver with such a hot car is not hot insurers. Its a big risk for them and the potential concequences they will have to pay for should you be involved in smash etc. Also young guys like to show of and this increases the likelyhood of a crash. As mentioned, get someting else in the meantime, I also don't see the point in having a Supra stuck in the garage. A lesson from me; It is worth driving around in whatever you can insure for the least money and buy relatively cheaply for a year or two, thus allowing you to keep your money in hand for a better vehicle down the line rather than just blow it on drivng around in something thats no faster or better than the average family saloon.