SquareSoft

Hey guys,

So I didn't post in the welcome thread as I like to keep an owners thread for my vehicles to be nice and organized, set out future build plans, and post lots of pics

I come from much older cars. I'm 27 and basically have run through every JDM chassis. I love 80s and 90s Japanese cars and have been with them quite awhile. I just refused to buy newer cars as they either didn't look aesthetically pleasing, were not fun to drive, and just wasn't the same experience.

However, I was at the junkyard looking for parts for my AE101 and kept seeing this Lexus at a buy here pay here. I kept thinking "man that looks nice" lol. So I eventually found the for sale ad and the dealer was listing this 170k IS250 AWD Auto with options and black interior for $5500 cash.

I drove the thing, not really thinking about any plans to buy it, just wanted to see what it was like. As soon as I sat in it; I loved it. I can't remember the last time a stock steering wheel felt that good with such nice steering feel. I drove it and liked it even more. I even liked the paddle shifting which I thought would happen only when hell froze over .

I kept thinking about the car and finally drove down and bought her up. I love this car, and I really just like it the more and more I study the engineering behind it. So many times have I tried to make my own modifications to older cars, with exactly how Lexus engineered it.

Blah blah blah. Anyway here are pictures:


































My plans are to make it an ISF clone. Have some Cusco parts, maybe a new LSD, new tires (current ones are garbage), and deleting all the chrome of the car with gloss black or flat black in place. I'm kinda nervous working on this car, even though I'm pretty much a mechanic; but I'm excited to figure it out.

It's funny, I actually thought later on I made a mistake not buying a 6MT equipped car, but after research It seems it's not a good choice. Besides, I actually like the paddle shifting, and I was definitely one of those front runners for stick shift till' I die.

I really like these forums as well, great job on the design and organization. Tons of info and lots of stuff to look over.

Anybody have a good tire recommendation? My favorites for the last 3 years have been BF Goodrich's g-Force Sport Comp 2s. Best damn dires I've ever had for the price. They melt kinda quick under spirited driving but they are wonderful summer tires for here in Florida.

My build is going to be pretty tame. I have a 1986 Corolla GT-S that I'm restoring and that will be my little Initial D rocket :P

thanks guys.

DocIS250

I've had great luck with Toyo Proxes T1S on my RWD IS250. They hold up very well to the cheese grater-like and pothole infested roads of Hawaii. A slight increase in road noise compared to the Michelins I've had before, but not too noticeable inside the cab. I'm a spirited driver on a daily basis, and even after 4 months, there's no discernible change in the tread depth. Give them a try!

SquareSoft

Mahalo Doc!

I was on Oahu for 3 years, if you like those tires on that pot-hole infested roadway, they must be good

I'll give them a look, wonder if the great Tirerack has em'.

Have you ever taken her on Mt. Tantalus?

isfvss

Just a bit of advice don't pour to much $ into it you will never get it back, but enjoy it to the max, if you want a ISF or a IS350 just start saving. Just remember what looks good to you doesn't to the other bloke when you go to sell, but you are on the right track not many new cars do it for me unless you have a spare $150000.

VTsuckah

iTrader: (1)

Welcome to the forum.

My recommendation is to be somewhat modest in your decisions to modify the car and jetisin the idea of making it an ISF clone. To each their own, but don't expect a lot of love from the forum if/when you do so.

I believe you're on the right track with tackling tires first. Michilen pilot sport a/s 3 are pretty popular and I am currently running them on my 350. They are pretty amazing all season, high performance tires and I personally am running a set. Following tires, I recommend upgrading suspension. The FSport sway bars are your best bang for the buck mod that you can do for the 2IS. Handling dynamics greatly improve with just the rear sway bar replaced. I aslo have the FSport rear chasis brace, which helps with steer/turn-in response. If you'd like to lower ride height, the sky is the limit with strut/spring combos and coilovers. BC Racing coilovers are pretty popular on the forums and run around $1k. There are cheaper coilover options, but you truly get what you pay for. Another worth while upgrade is your front LCA rear mount bushings, FIGS Engineering sells them. The upgraded bushings will save your rear tires from excessive inner tire wear from toe deflection under braking.

Engine performance is really a lost cause with a 2IS. An intake and catback exaust are essentially for increased noise and aesthetics. Performance gains are negligeable. Your highest performance gains will result from replacing your stock mid pipe and exhaust manifolds/headers with aftermarket units, which essentially eliminates all of your soem catalytic converters.

SquareSoft

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the replies! I guess I should be clear on what I mean by "IS-F clone". I just mean taking all of the IS-F performance parts sans engine (don't care for large displacement engines) and anything drivetrain related. So I would like to get some front/rear sway bars, springs/struts, etc. from the IS-F model, as high-end models usually have better parts in this department (as VT pointed out). Also, exterior wise I just really like the bumper, fenders, and sideskirts on the F model, but those parts probably aren't easy to come by .

On coilovers, my experience is that they are not worth the money for the outcome on a smooth daily driver. I like BC, they are a tier-1 Taiwan company and have good quality control, customer service, and dampening/spring rates. But, I'm assuming the IS-F springs lower the vehicle, and that lowering height would probably be enough for me. I also don't mind rebuilding struts as I'm pretty comfortable with them. I personally think most coilovers are more for people who adjust ride height frequently, and the spring rates are usually too stiff for keeping the Lexus riding nice (By nice I mean keeping the girls in the passenger seat happy haha).

And thanks VT on the recommendation for tires, but I'm unsure weather I should get all-seasons or summer tires. The thing is that down here in FL, it is pointless to have anything but summer tires. At the same time I do a lot of traveling (road trips around the country) so I'm unsure what I should choose... Maybe having the AWD makes all-seasons the obvious choice?

And yeah, I read the wiki on the 2IS engine. It basically said there is no point working with it and a supercharger kit would be the only way to go for significant gain. Regardless, I do tires, suspension, brakes, then performance in that order on my cars :P.

Isfvss, I couldn't agree more. I was pretty depressed what the car enthusiast's choice was from this century, but it seems like there are some really nice and fun vehicles coming out; Miata, GT86, etc. I hope this trend continues!

DocIS250

I haven't as of yet, but now that you've planted it in my mind, I will have to in the near future! Tantalus is quite a challenging road. Once I have the RRracing USRS bushings installed, along with the Fsport sways, I'll give it a go.

Like the others mentioned, the IS250 is not a relatively fast car. It may be faster than the average family sedan, but it's simply outclassed by other larger displacement blocks, like the 350 and ISF. Forced induction options are very limited, if at all available. For most people, custom fabrication and lots of patience is a must. Additionally, it's just not cost-effective, considering the minimal amount of boost we can safely produce with such a high compression rate. With that understanding, I would focus on making the IS more agile and responsive. The two suspension upgrades mentioned above will make the riding experience much more enjoyable. However, if the perceived "inefficiency" of FI on the 250 is irrelevant to you, and you want to be unique, a supercharger would be really neat to have.

SquareSoft

It's not too bad of a run. I've done hardcore laps in an FF car in wet conditions and didn't lose traction too much. It wasn't an Initial D run but it's too much of a public road; helps if you have a spotter for headlights on blind turns. The XE20 in stock setting should be fine on it. Don't forget locals have 2 ton trucks going up that pass everyday and could probably do twice what we could lol.

I've been having this sort of odd issue with the sunroof and wanted to ask if anyone else experienced this before I look into it:

When I was at the dealer, the first thing I messed with was the roof. I admit the functionality kind of kicked my *** and I was trying to figure it out. I opened the shade before I opened the sunroof panel, and it went all the way back. I tried closing it using about every single input on the controls, and it would do this thing where it would close pretty harshly (rubbing on the sunroof cutout of the chassis) and then closing flush, but would pop back out. So the roof was retracted all the way forward horizontally, but it wouldn't sit flush and close, I guess you could say it would be stuck in the tilt position?

So I took to the forums (how I got into CL) and there were a few write-ups but they didn't make sense or didn't seem to work. Tried multiple things like turning the car off, to ACC, ignition, etc. and various selections. Still didn't want to close. Then the guy some how got it to close and we just decided on not touching it as I'd rather not have the sunroof stuck open -_-.

So now when the car is turned off, there is a warning prompt on the dash that says the moonroof (or sunroof, whatever company is calling it now) is open, but it isn't...

Any ideas? The dealer said the sunroof motor was probably the issue (without checking it out at the service center) but I highly doubt a 7 year-old car has a malfunctioning motor; that is like 20 year territory. I'm still convinced something is not happy, and it's something simple I'm just not seeing it..