dougie175

As the mods have moved this topic anyway may as well use it as a build thread so will put any future updates I do to the vehicle in here Last night I purchased one of these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/361428380435?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT Decided it compliments the rear end of the IS very well, I will be smoothing it into the bumper before painting, I am very OCD about having things perfect when it comes to bodywork due to my time in the trade so couldn't live with just sticking it on as I just cant imagine a Chinese after market part will fit perfectly. Will upload pictures of the progress as I get the diffuser and adapt it to fit, then smooth it into the bumper and repaint

Thanks I love the colour too, it was the main thing that made me purchase this one over the others available. I loved this car that much I travelled down to Poole in Dorset from Kendal in Cumbria to purchase it! That's a good 7 hours on the train before driving home!

Most manufacturer do use 30% tint glass for side windows from factory, looking out at the workshop now the 3 Toyotas (closest thing we have in to a lexus) we have in all appear to have tinted glass from factory

Yep sounds like you are looking to achieve the same thing as myself. Yeah seems a super charger is the only option for power but it's fairly untested and I can't justify the costs involved. Yeah I think induction noise is the key for the ability to have noise when required but also quiet comfort for day to day driving. If a valve exhaust system even exists for the is it will be ridiculously expensive again. I too have been put off by previous exhaust systems. Great for the first few weeks but tiresome and regret installing after a while. I don't want to regret any purchase on the is. I will get an induction kit sorted very soon and report to you. Cheers

Never mind bought one from the USA, dread to think what the import charges will be as I know UPS love to charge when things come from USA. Looking forward to getting it sorted and painted

Any decisions I make I will happily give you any feedback I can mate

I have found a rear bumper lip that really sets the rear end off exactly how I would like, I will be smoothing it directly into the rear bumper as I am guessing a cheap Chinese bumper diffuser wont fit quite OEM, but this is not an issue I have found them available from China and USA, but ideally would like to buy from the UK in case it arrives damaged so I don't need to spend a fortune returning it

As ECP actually do K&N I can get one with trade discount £175+ VAT didn't know they did until yesterday when I noticed they sell K&N stuff on ebay. I'm still tempted to pay the extra and go for the AEM as they seem to get great reviews

Shame as the HKS is silly expensive, the supercharger imported would be about the same as buying quite a nice second car! You can get IS-F's for that sort of money but they been to the moon and back, for one that has done nice low millage they still seem to be about £24k - 25k so an IS-F with similar millage to what I got on my F Sport and same year it is £14500 more expensive for the IS-F over the IS250

Thanks nice advice, the F-Sport induction looks great and will be nice and OEM I seem to have alloy pedals anyway being an F Sport from factory, any chance you could send a picture of your pedals and gear knob? Thanks and yeah loving my car

Possibly mate how much are you thinking delivered? I can get K&N gear quite cheap through the trade but may be interested if price is right. Cheers

Just managed to get the other half to agree to come down so will be finding a nice hotel the night before somewhere within reasonable distance and head on in on the Sunday morning, Never been so looking forward to it

Any ideas where you can buy a HKS one from I cant even find one available? Wonder why ARMA have stopped making their one for the IS250??? I was under the impression it wasnt possible to map these ECU as it was heavily locked down? Yeah I imagine it flies with the supercharger, it is the ideal upgrade for this engine! Yeah seem to be most peopled dream who on an IS250 to upgrade to the IS-F one day, its a bit jump in cost though!

Yeah couldn't care less how it sounds to others just how it makes me feel when I put my foot down and puts a smile on my face. I have read people having engine management issues with the takeda and recommended the aem setup. Also I can get the aem setup on the UK. The takeda is going to work out £100 more with no option to return if I have engine management issues. Is it worth the extra over the aem? Thanks again everyone for the help

Just seen the price of those magnaflow systems, with import tax and delivery would be ridiculous money for something that only really changes the sound of the car, different league of spending power to myself. Will look to invest in a cost effective intake system that creates a nice tone first.

Sounds nice and throaty that, I wonder what its like sat on the motorway, warming up outside at 6am on a winters morning for the neighbours. Superb sounding setup at full throttle though, even though none of it will actually make the car quicker does put a smile on your face when the car makes all the right noises

Cheers its very difficult to get a real feel for an exhaust setup through youtube though, nice to be able to hear a setup in real life, the noise it can make is only 1 part finding how loud it is at what rev range at what throttle position to live with day to day is another.

Does the Takeda increase the induction noise below 3.5k? I notice this evening when out for a drive even when using the power I'm rarely above 3.5k where the F-sport intake increases the volume, so wouldn't really hear it often. Only time I find myself using much of the revs above 3.5k for any long period is full throttle overtake or something, I would ideally like 2k, nice bit of throttle and a nice induction tone from there right up which I think an open cone Takeda style should achieve? Do you personally run a Magnaflow setup? Would love to take a listen to a few real life setups before investing in a exhaust to make sure it really is right for me

Thanks for the feedback, yeah mine is also paddle/auto Sounds a very good setup, any ideas what the issues where with the injector seals? Any clues where you picked your up from, is it somewhere that I could replicate the deal or was it a 1 off at the price you picked a brand new setup for? I'm usually pretty good at googling things but I am really struggling to even find these supercharger available from anywhere brand new let alone second hand!

Thank You! The Takeda looks good and I am sure it will sound great, but will I not see a reduction in power using an open cone on this engine? Shame about the ECU not getting cracked, surprised they haven't managed to unlock it in another country where Lexus tuning is common, must be very difficult. Yeah supercarher would be amazing, but could only justify and to be honest afford to do it as a second hand setup, that way when I come to sell the vehicle I could look to recover my costs, Super chargers seem to loose a lot from brand new to second hand! As for the exhaust I really cant see me going down that route, unless a very subtle change can be made, I hate the drone of an exhaust, don't get me wrong something nice and loud is great to start with and sounds amazing, but after a week of droning away at 2k 70mph on my way to work I would really regret it. Would love one of these exhaust systems that has a valve and can go into race mode, or daily mode would be great solution!

Thanks, the car was pretty clean when I got it but I have spent my last 2 weekends buffing and detailing the car so its had a good 15 hours or so of work to get it this shiny exhaust tips included! Is there a way of getting a Joe Z to the UK then at sensible money? I'm struggling to find where people even buy them in the US? No I don't want to sacrifice throttle response and low end torque for definite, its where I would like to see some increases ideally!

Yeah its a shame it isn't easier/cheaper to get stuff across the sea to us, there is a nice range of product available to the USA Yeah a supercharger would make this engine superb, there is a guy on here who stuck 1 in recently not heard much feedback from him but think he's very happy. Hardest part is finding one second hand

Thanks Mark, would love an IS-F but a little out my budget Yeah love the car, from a looks and comfort point of view its perfect, even the sound system is very good for stock. Also got it for a great price with only 33k on the clock, its immaculate with a full Lexus Service History I do at time find it a little underpowered, and its all very quiet on the induction side of things for a V6, no and again it would be nice to hear the engine when I ask a bit of it Have been looking at induction mods but the F-Sport induction seems very expensive if I can even get it in the UK, have emailed Carlisle Lexus parts department to see if they can even get one in this country. In America they seem to all use the Joe Z intake which claims a 5bhp increase! However cant find these available to the UK market. eBay yields a K&N Typoon option and an AEM induction whilst looks almost identical to the K&N, both of which I have a feeling will sound great but see a reduction in power. Don't think I will be touching the exhaust system as I cant stand the annoying drone from an exhaust A supercharger could be on the cards if I can find a nice second hand setup Are there any engine mods these engines respond well to that are worth looking into? Also if anyone can recommend and induction setup that sounds great and either keeps stock power or maybe even increases it slightly available in the UK it would be really appreciated!

Hi Lev Just wondered how you are getting on with this kit? Would love to complete the installation myself, have you had to do any ECU work? Also is your vehicle a Manual or Auto? Would you friend be interested in fitting another 1 or assisting with any info I may require to do similar? Seems very difficult to find these kits second hand but will keep checking eBay, not sure if that HKS one you spoke of a few weeks ago has sold as I would be interested if I could find the seller

Hello every, I actually joined about 6 years ago when I was considering buying an IS200, however that never came off, so have been a member for a long time but never posted Last October I purchased myself an IS250 F-Sport, it was a massive investment for myself and bit of a dream car. Loving owning it and its a pleasure to drive, however the urge to start to tinker with it is becoming too strong so I have ended up signing up here with ideas for projects and do a bit of tinkering with it. I am a qualified Sprayer and now work as a qualified Vehicle Damage Assessor so tinkering and fiddling with my car is in nature and cant help myself For anyone who I interested here are a few photos of the car So far I have managed to keep my urge to tinker at bay and only fitted an automatic folding mirror module with lock/unlock of the car and I am in the process of fitting a hardwired Nextbase 402-g dash cam to the car. But I fancy looking at potential engine mods so will do lots of reading into options!