A lot of you Club Lexus folks make major modifications to your cars to make them just right for you. You swap out engines, add turbos, paint interior panels, and replace automatics with manual gearboxes to create the vehicles you wish Lexus had made in the first place. However, some of you think your Lexus rides are just a few small touches short of perfection.
Just look at forum member corradoMR2‘s IS 250 AWD F Sport. In Ultrasonic Blue, it’s already a looker, but corradoMR2 thought of several small changes that would improve its appearance and personalize it at the same time.
For instance, he tinted his IS’s windows, wrapped its roof, and applied Lexus emblems to its brake calipers. He said, “I wrapped the mirrors using Avery Dennison Anthracite Metallic Wrap that closely matches the F-Sport logo and wheels, and surrounding it is 3M Carbon Fiber Wrap.” corradoMR2 even made his own front spoilers. Those sit below new 6000K HID bulbs.
With a little patience and a special marker, corradoMR2 gave his steering wheel and shifter custom blue stitching. He also lowered his car with some aftermarket springs onto fresh rubber and a set of 19-inch matte graphite wheels.
What customized Lexus would be complete without some under-the-hood and exhaust mods? corradoMR2 topped his build off with a Takeda cold air intake, 2 1/4-inch piping, BMW M3 resonators, and Magnaflow mufflers.
Great job on your IS, corradoMR2. Please keep the updates coming.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
Where do you go for answers when you have a Lexus with a gorgeous leather interior but are not sure about how to maintain that luxurious look? The "Club Lexus" forums, of course.