Peter P18

Hey Alan, Indeed they do, but I didn't find it juicy enough! So mine is actually a 5L V8 supercharged IS-F pushing out a dyno proven 640hp. Who said Lexus were boring! Lol.

Here’s mine. It’s s 2002 Honda HR-V. Done just over 74k miles, and was a bargain in my opinion at £700. Has very basic 4WD, and is a reliable 1600cc 5-speed manual. Does Kent to Essex every other weekend when I have my son. Good on fuel, and should help me to keep the IS-F for fair weather use or shows/special occasions. It’s surprisingly spacious, and good for the dogs, tip runs and large items. I also enjoy the fact 80mph is possible, but takes a good while to achieve! Makes my time in the F feel like warp speed! Lol.

Hey Gib, Thanks for this. It is a very decent bump in performance. Not cheap, but I honestly feel the difference is night and day. Hopefully I will have a chance at some point to take part in some sort of trial which would allow direct comparison between a stock IS-F and my car. I know Banzai were looking at getting a few cars together for something along these lines, so would be fun to see how it stacks up in it's current guise. Driving is very nice in fair weather (not so much in the wet!). You can still drive sensibly with minimal difference in the MPG return provided you aren't using the supercharger all the time! 8th gear at 80 or so is hardly any different. If you kick down in sports mode and find the sweet spot with the rev's, not many things can keep up (including GTR's). Traction is an issue, hence my desire to get the OS Giken LSD and some wider wheels and tyres. Should help to lay the power down from launch, and maintain it at the top end where I have also had some issues in the past! Will of course share any stats if and when I do them. Should be a noticeable improvement with most things (0-60, 0-100, top speed). Hope to see you back where you belong with a new IS-F soon! Cheers, Pete

Give John Roberts at Keith Michaels a call, tell him Pete Payne suggested you call him for a quote. Been with them 20yrs now, never felt the need to go anywhere else! Don’t think I’ve ever paid more at renewal, only when I’ve had to add mods like a dirty great supercharger kit! Lol. He’s a good bloke, so should be able to give you a good benchmark...... I’d tell him your best quote so far, just helps make sure he’s not miles off! Best of luck! Cheers, Pete

Good for you Tom. Yes, whilst you can source parts from Japan, I find it generally easier and less expensive to buy from the States. They have a much bigger tuning scene than we do over here (obviously), so you should check out the Club Lexus forum and sign yourself up. Seen a few really nice modified RC-F's, some of which are running the supercharger kit I have on my IS-F. Even if you don't want to go crazy with mods, they do some nice subtle pieces that would help make your car even more unique and individual (something I personally like). I actually toned down by carbon bonnet by painting the majority of it, and left the vents in carbon (with an extra coat of clear to protect the weave). Given yours was a factory option, I say leave well alone and enjoy!

If it's just the tin of boiled sweets Stuart, nothing whatsoever. If you can say yes to 3 or more, that's when I have some concerns!

Congrats Tom, I personally LOVE carbon! Have lashings of it all over my IS-F, so nice to hear of another F owner getting involved with the good stuff! As you can imagine, Lexus owners cover quite a broad demographic, so don't be put off by the 1980 AA road map, tin of boiled sweets, travel rug and driving gloves brigade! There are some younger owners who actually enjoy modifying their cars (not many I know!), so please let me know if you need any help sourcing any parts from the States. I spend a lot of time over there, and have good relations with Simon and Rafi at RR-Racing. It's a good forum with plenty of fun and enjoyment to be had (mostly at Big Rat!), hope you enjoy your new toy mate. Cheers, Pete

Ouch! Not looking forward to the feedback from you lot when I get some photos up of my reworked headlights! Admittedly no colour changing option, but do have halo rings for dipped and indicators are now built in as led’s on the faces. Turned out there was a nasty hole in my passenger side, so had a fish tank style feature that killed a ballast! Anyway, I like what Pedro has done, hopefully won’t be chased with torches and pitchforks! Lol. As long as they like it, it’s good with me.

Stick with it Stevie, I'd considered updating mine (given it's an 08 example) before adding the supercharger, but there really isn't a lot of difference spec wise... Know you're more concerned with the colour, but I really think you're current car looks exceptional, especially with the white Recaro's. At least you know your current car is well cared for and maintained..... not something you can really guarantee with other cars unless you know the previous owner.

Hi Matthew, Any news on this? Hopefully you're 300 mile drive went without a hitch? If not, let me know mate. You're spot on about it possibly being something as silly as not screwing the fuel cap back on properly. Doesn't take much to throw CEL's on these, but, normally doesn't take much to clear them off either thankfully! Be interested to hear how you got on when you have a moment..... Cheers, Pete

Good stuff. Just checking with Mrs. P, but may try to do the whole weekend, and stay at a local Travel Lodge on the Saturday night? It's a good 3hr drive for normal cars, so maybe an hour for me?!?! Lol. Look forward to seeing some new faces. Will confirm plans as soon as possible. Cheers, Pete

Sorry to see this Etienne. Personally, I'd probably go with removing both the engine and gearbox. Good opportunity to give it a once over and also do the sparkplugs whilst it's out of the engine bay. Don't believe there were any fundamental changes to the gearbox design throughout the entire production run? I'd ask over on the US forum to be sure, but I am sure you should be ok fitting a post 2009 gearbox to your car. Hope you get it sorted out my friend. All the best, Peter

Horses for courses with things like this, uprated my Supra engine mounts and loved them. I’m willing to try it if Rafi and Simon have endorsed it. Sure, could be a $200 mistake, but maybe not...... If it does cause me issues, will buy a new set of OEM mounts. Given my car is an 08, and under added strain and stress, probably good to start buying up and changing out the rest of the bushes. If their USRS are anything to go by, I’m confident these will be beneficial.

Like you honestly have to ask?! Lol. I’ll happily carry on being the RR-Racing UK test dummy!

Hi, planning to do mine soon. Probably go with the more cost effective Cusco LSD offering from RR-Racing, or pay a bit more for the more commonly used OS Giken offering. Lee at SRD in West Sussex will be tasked with the swap (re-use your existing diff casing etc). He didn’t think it would be too tricky to fit, apparently the Supra and IS-F diff’s are very similar.

No, I don't agree. More because I can't understand the stigma/issue over an extra 10/12p a litre over regular unleaded? If you get 40 litres of V-Power at £1.50 a litre (not accurate price as I can't remember what it is near me at the moment!), that's £60 all in. If you have a 20p off a litre coupon or voucher, that equates to a life changing saving of £8. Now personally the additives and R&D I know Shell put in for their fuels is worth the extra to give me peace of mind. Each to their own, but I see it the same way as with tires, wouldn't run remolds or budget tires on my high performance car, so why would I run cheap/normal fuel?!

Yes, religiously use V-Power in both our cars. In fairness, wife’s Juke has to have V-Power (Nissan Juke Nismo RS), and with the supercharger on mine, I’d never use anything else unless it was life or death......

Like you’re thinking, but may impact acceleration times and top speed!

Agree with what everyone has said, get what you pay for I believe. Not many about, some are really nasty unloved examples with little or no service history (missed services, no recalls done, budget tires fitted). If these ever get the notice they deserve, prices will only go up. As we have been saying, the IS-F was the first true performance model from Lexus, pre-dating the legendary LF-A, and more recently the RC-F and GS-F. If you want a good one, you’ll need a good amount of money. If you don’t mind a gamble given the strong reliability record (just remember this is only true if the car in question is serviced properly, allowed time to warm up before being driven hard etc), cheap examples are out there. Some higher mileage cars are also fine, just get them checked over thoroughly and make sure there’s at least one service per year or every 10k miles. Best of luck.

As did the 300ZX Z32 models.

Should have stuck with the IS-F..... Don't make these new F cars like they used to! Lol.

Must be cold in this weather though? Looks great, may be tempted when I’m done with the bigger more pressing jobs like finding some traction! Lol.

Looking to modify already?! Nice! . Don't go getting carried away now, not like they do a supercharger kit for the RC-F yet........ Be nice if more IS-F products come down in price, risk is companies move on and stop producing parts for us old timers!

Excellent stuff Etienne. Sounds like it's probably the cooler leak discussed over on the US forum, or something less serious than a head gasket failure at the very least! Look forward to hearing further once you hear back from Lexus. Fingers crossed it's nothing too serious or costly.

Hey Etienne, Can you check inside oil cap please? Need to see if there are any signs of a mayonnaise type gunk in there. If so, looking like a blown head gasket, which would be extremely odd and rare. Personally liking the US suggestion about the gearbox cooler in the radiator failing, still not ideal, but has to be better than a head gasket failure?