PilgrimIS

Just as a heads up, the Ministry of Transport issued a renewed call for all mot testers to check for 'off road use only' HID conversions. If the vehicle converted doesn't have auto leveling lamps and a cleaning mechanism then they are being told to fail for non-standard headlamps. I'd run it past your normal tester to make sure.

I'm sure that is an option... But looking at a post I put up a while back showing the options on mine I can't see it. Here's the link, might help you... http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic/94343-full-lexustoyota-diagnostics-and-customisation-for-l20/page-2

Hi, sorry not been on lately. Good to see another islander making an entrance! I use Ian @ The Worxs in Rookley for all the work... No main stealership for me! But mine is far from standard!

The UK spec are the same drop front and rear. The US spec are a bigger drop on the front. I believe it's to do with road surface but the US spec give a better look in my opinion

Interesting read. Can you post up any details of where you purchased your kit from?

Love it! Who do I need to smile at, throw money at, get dirty with.... To get all what I need for this?! Lol I have an S5 running Android 5.02 so hopefully it'll all work! I nearly bought an iPhone just for my car as I really wanted the screen display!

The F Sport has different springs IIRC, however, there's very little difference. Most will give their opinion on different springs, as mentioned there's Eibach, H&R, TEIN...along with a good few others....however, it's all own preference. The ride on one can be different to another. My setup is 19" on Eibach Pro (US spec). The ride is obviously a bit stiffer bit unless going over speed bumps the ride quality is pretty damn good...and I like my comfort. One thing that most will agree on though, the look and lines are FAR better when the IS is dropped!

Interesting. I've had the ISF extreme replica on mine for a good while and I love it! It's similar to the second one but that looks small compared to the real ISF one. I've never really taken to the boot lip sticking out. Interesting that I'm nearly alone in preferring the other lol. Here's mine... Just to give you another perspective!

I feel left out in all of this. I purchased the kit..errmmm, probably well over a year ago now and it is STILL sat in the boot of my car along with a printout of the guide, some heat shrink tubing AND a soldering iron!! I don't use my boot often...can you guess?!! I really have must get it sorted. Michael...I wonder if we can sort something out over Skype and I could take further pictures ;)

Just to add... This is the company a mate used to import his modded RX7 and they were pretty good: http://jm-imports.co.uk/index.php/in-japan/at-auctions/ You can login and view all of the Japanese live auctions... You can search for the 350 easily enough... Some good info on the link above too

I looked into it last year. There's loads to choose from if you're willing to use an import company. Costs were around £10k to import an '07/'08 350 which included import costs, duty, shipping etc. The main issues around importing were very little info on the motor unless you actually nip to Japan and also the insurance for an imported 3.5ltr isn't as easy as it could be... It can be straightforward if you buy an import from a company over here but it'll cost a few grand more. If my supercharger doesn't work out on my 250 I'll be going down the 350 import route.

Lol... I totally understand where you are coming from, however, bar the ISF comment you're missing the point. From my perspective, the priority is the car, so the 250/350/ISF... Nothing else as I am happy with it... In fact I bloody love it. So, priority was to find a top spec low cost 250/350/ISF... Which I did in the guise of the 250 SEL. Unfortunately even though the priority is the specific model it would be great to enhance the vehicle and gain a bit more power. Not mod to 850bhp, if so I'd have bought the Skyline I looked at lol. Now I have had the car for over a year, I either get a 350 import or more than double the purchase price and get an ISF. As that is a huge outlay just to satisfy my power need it's excessive... So... Slightly modifying a not normally modified car it is ;-) I can get the whole kit and installed for far far less than the ISF and I still get to keep one of the best cars I've owned... More than a happy bunny!

It's not so much the bhp but the cost. The cheapest I've seen an ISF go for lately is £16k. I'm good with 280+ bhp as an end result so hopefully all will be good with the 250 S/C. Re the GS... It's the front, the separate headlights just don't do it for me lol You're spot on, the ECU part is probably the biggest issue. Aftermarket replacement is not a good option as a lot of the functionality will be lost as it's encrypted. However, there's a number of ECU addons that piggyback off the oem ecu.... Which seems the best route. Arma do a pretty good one by all accounts. They've got an s/c kit that on dyno hit 300+ bhp showing on a YouTube video, however never believe it until I have seen it with my own eyes! I do have a pretty amazing performance specialist doing the work with me so it'll be interesting to see what it gets on mine!

I'm not really a lover of the GS430. The figures re a used ISF are not close... You can have a fully supercharged IS250 on an 07 plate for less than 10k easily... You're not going to get a used ISF for anywhere near that... Otherwise I'd be doing it. Lol. I'm just waiting on final cost, but at the moment total cost is around £9k including the car and installation costs but not including the replacement of my godawful stainless powerflow exhaust!

Cheers. Good options ;-) I have been keeping my eye out for a 350 but I am still leaning towards getting the s/c! Wise when comping to my car isn't usually a word I use lol

I will indeed. There has definitely been a couple 250s supercharged, just only read bits. A good few done in the US mind you which makes no sense as you'd really want to do that with the 350!

Hello all, I was wondering if we had any forum members who have supercharged their IS250? I am really wanting first-hand views on it. Unfortunately as we do not have an official import of the 350 and my funds don't reach to an ISF just yet I either buy a second car that I can engine mod or I supercharge my 250. If I was in the US then there's not much point as you would just go out and mod a 350, however it's a different story over here. Adding a supercharger would increase BHP by 100+ if done properly. Yes, I know it's just a 250....but it's either that of don't change my car for 2 years and then get an ISF....I don't think I can do that! lol I have seen a few different kits for the 250. Some better than others and the cost varies vastly....the problems on a high mileage 250 might also come into play as mine has just hit 100k. Oh the decisions!

Yes, just simply 3M tape on the back.

Mine don't light up if my interior lights are not on... Might be worth making sure the right lights are on/off from the buttons above the rear view mirror

The scuff plates do illuminate....well certainly on my '07 plate they do. The 'Lexus' lights up in blue when the door is open

Yes, definitely worth it! The grille was from fleabay but the US site. Just search Chrome Grille for your IS and you'll find a load! The Eyelids were from the states also. A Company called NIA Design. here's the link - http://niaautodesign.com/s_lexus.html - Expensive for a but of painted plastic....not many will have them! Some feel it kills the IS lines, however I like the Mean look of them! lol My IS has been given the name Evil-Lexus by a few locals....I like it!

Hey, Weirdly enough...I have the exact same issue! I had a PowerFlow catback installed a few weeks ago and around 2k rpm it's horrendous. To the point where it seems to be louder IN the car than OUT! I too it to a local performance specialist and he said it could be down the the rear boxes being far smaller than the originals so the empty space left by the very large originals can create vibration and the louder drone inside at certain revs. Not good! I am contemplating taking it back to the PowerFlow garage as I have also seen they have made a crappy bend in one of the pipes!

Cheers. The spec was a standard '07 IS250. It's had a few mods. The front looks a little different as it's had a chrome grille, lower lip and headlight eyelids fitted. Yes, you are right...the right rims/tyres is key to modifying without the need for spacers. There's a few things to get right to find the clean look on the wheels. Off Set (ET) - This is how the rim sits on the axle...the lower the ET the further out they will sit. On my model, anything from ET 38 to 45 would fit and shouldn't rub depending on tyres, however ET 45 would sit too far in under the arch for my liking. Rim Width - As standard the 17" rims are 8j all round, which is 8" wide. However, depending on the rim height it would be better to go for 8.5", 9" or even 9.5". Mine are 8.5" Front and 9.5" Rear. Pitch Circle Diameter (PCD) - 5x114mm - This will not change Tyres - This is the tricky bit as tyre size will depend on the above ET and rim width. The wider the rim obviously the wider the tyre can be, however if you have a low ET and a very wide tyre there's more chance for rubbing when turning or cornering hard. The rim height also comes into play as need to try to keep the same diameter for the rim/tyre as OEM. The easy way to think about it is if you go up 2" from 17" to 19" in rim size then you need to go down in tyre profile by as close to the same as possible. The overall diameter needs to stay the same. This not only helps with keeping the look right and also keeping the chance of rubbing down but it also then reduces the potential effect for the speedometer. So...as mentioned, you need to spend time on what is available on the type of rim you want. I decided a while ago that I would rather buy new and get the lines I wanted without spacers, however I was lucky that the rims I found in the end fitted the width and ET. It all might sound geeky...but the overall work does pay in the end... Lots to think about!

I thought I would add to this. My 250 is lowered and has aftermarket rims. It took me a good while to decide on what springs to use along with working out the ideal rubber and rim (ET) size to give the best clean look without the need for spacers. I know that the use of spacers is a tricky subject, however I didn't want to use spacers if I didn't need to. You really can achieve a clean line look on the rims to the body. Obviously most of the time to get the right size of whatever you would usually have to buy new...but not necessarily. My setup now is: Front - 225/19/35 - ET40 Rear - 265/19/30 - ET40 Eibach Pro USA Spec Lowering Springs - 1.6" Front / 1" Rear The above gives a very clean line down the side of the car. My rims come out a little then concave so they do stick out a bit before going inwards, however if that's not your thing then some straight rims would be suitable. Here's a side shot to show you what the setup looks like: Crappy pictures but hopefully does show that with a bit of work you can get a clean line without spacers.

Mine do the exact same thing mate. Bloody annoying. I'm thinking of buying full replacement mirrors!