d1trainee

iTrader: (2)

Im pondering selling my current vehicles and picking up a F. Whats your favorite year? When should the 2010's start coming off lease? When they do come off lease what can I expect for a fair price, 50k?

IS350atWOT

iTrader: (1)

The 2011 has a lot of improvements since the debut 2008 model. The 2011 has faster track times, smoother suspension, updated headlights that include LEDs, and new instrument panel. The 2010 was the first year for the limited slip differential. I like my 2010, but I'd like to be able to trade it in for a 2011. Lexus is doing a good job of the "relentless pursuit of perfection" on the ISF, updating it every year. The later year model you get, I think the happier you will be.

Most people lease for 3 years. So 2010s should show up real well in a couple of years.

A good estimate of paying price would be to go to autotrader.com and look up ISFs, using any year model and any distance. That should give you an idea.

vraa

iTrader: (2)

How does a car ship with faster track times ?

gengar

I just got my 2011. I've only put a couple hundred miles on it, but as an owner of both the '08 and '11, my opinion is that the '11 is vastly improved and worth holding out for. In fact, I would even go as far as to say to '08 owners that this is one of the rare instances where upgrading in successive generations is worthwhile. I had no intention of replacing my '08 (and technically I still haven't, since I still own it) but my personal circumstances just happened to make picking up a new one an acceptable option, and I'm very pleasantly surprised by how good the '11 is.

As mentioned previously in this thread, the big differences in IS F evolution are the additions of LSD for MY2010 and the suspension revision along with a couple other tweaks for MY2011. I notice the '11 absorbs bumps much better, especially in the front. The suspension overall feels much closer to how my LFA rides.

Additionally - and I'm surprised I don't hear this in reviews - is that the steering feel has been VASTLY improved (maybe this happened before MY2011?). It is much lighter in the '11, and the variable ratio is implemented quite well, reminding me a lot of the legendary Porsche steering. There is obviously personal preference and subjectiveness involved here, but I much prefer the lighter steering a la Porsche compared to the heavier BMW feel, so this is a huge plus for me.

I'm still getting used to the instrument panel. I am not as keen on that change because I don't think it's as good for daily driving, and to me the IS F must be a daily driver first - no matter its prowess on the track.

The MY2011 the IS F also gets all the other benefits of the IS refresh, so that is a nice plus. I notice for example the ML system is better in the '11 than the '08.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

OK, this pretty much seals it. Time to find out what is really different on the 2011 suspension...

I'll check into the steering as well. This is the wife's chief complaint about the F - steering is too heavy.

gengar

Don't get me wrong - the steering feel is still very heavy compared to conventional cars such as other Lexus vehicles. It's just much lighter compared to the '08, which was quite heavy and didn't have as good a variable ratio.

jleonard71

Didn't they use the Tokico HTS shocks in the '11? Not sure if they changed anything else, but I know that's one difference.

You can buy the HTS117 shocks for a fairly reasonable price - Autoanything has them for $744 w/free shipping, and if you search online you can find a 15% off code making the grand total just $632 delivered. Pretty good price to make your suspension similar to the new '11. Plus, they are fully adjustable from super-pillow-soft to rattle-your-fillings-loose-hard.

KJH

^^Lance, do you know anything about this? I love the steering in my 2010, but if the Tokico shocks referenced above will give us 90% or so of the 2011 suspension, it might be worth a shot. Thoughts?

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

I want to find out all the differences. It's not that difficult if you have access to EPC - if I had it myself I would have done it awhile ago.

There could be a lot of subtle differences - bushings, links, etc., so I want to get the full details. If the steering feel is as simple as getting an updated steering ECU, it might be worth it. I just don't see me getting the car with the accelerator and brake interlock feature enabled. I'll be in the weeds the first time I left foot brake at the track.

tmf2004

iTrader: (15)

nice rides... 2 IS-F's and LFA...

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

Here's the full parts list. Bad news - the rear hub carriers are different too. They're a bit pricey. We already know the limited slip diff is different, so you'd want to add it too, but at the end of the day there are lots of other changes (the transmission ECU is revised as well). Partnumbers.txt lets you price these pieces at the online retailers using the multi-parts search function. This isn't exactly a cheap conversion. Anyway, here are the part numbers with the 2010.08 (latest model year) production changes:

flipside909

No. HTS is an adjustable aftermarket offering which I am the first to try out. Here's my review.

The list is of changes are extensive as Lance mentioned above. The change is not only for 11 IS F, it's througout the IS model range. Revised shocks and bushings, revised springs, revised front spindles are just the main items.

OneSiCkF

iTrader: (9)

Was getting a little excited until I saw that huge parts list.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

Unless you know something magical, there are no new bushings on any of the suspension pieces. If there were, we'd have different part numbers for them and I would have included them in the spreadsheet. I included every item with a new part number for both front and rear suspension - this is the only way to know what actually changed. I've never seen an updated part keep the same part number assigned to a previous version, and if this were true it would present a nightmare for the person managing the parts inventory. Whatever you see in the spreadsheet is what has undoubtedly changed and verified with the best possible source - Lexus parts.

Different front hubs (spindles)? Not true at all, there is no part number change for any of the front hubs across the 2IS line.

Katin2

If Lexus was keen on making a few extra bucks they should just make a package of all the upgraded changes for the 2011 and offer it the 08-10 drivers.