kiryu

Hi all,

I am a happy owner of a fully loaded IS350 with f sport exhausts, intake, engine cover, suspension , factory body spoilers etc., great daily driver for a year. Today I bought a 2011 IS-F

I have to say I like everything about the car..the handling is great, it looks more aggressive, the ride is firm but not crazy (in fact it feels very similar to IS), the 8 speed is way better than the 6AT (less guessing game), the 2 tone color seats is nice and more power is always nice.

While I appreciate the deep rumble upon startup, I find myself deafened by the factory exhaust note! In traffic or local driving, I hardly rev above 2k rpm and this constant rumble is driving me crazy. In fact my ears are still buzzing from crusing 70-80 miles on the freeway. At low speeds, the 8 speed keep shifting up for fuel economy, which is perfectly fine, but at 1.5k rpm range is when the exhaust is the loudest. This is a one owner trade in at a BMW dealership, and they even offered me extended warranty saying EVERYTHING IS BONE STOCK. I can see the stacking quad exhausts, so I assume it's stock. I test drove it around town for a block or two, but I guess I didnt realize this deep humming, rumble, droning or whatever you call it will stick with me all the time.

Can anyone please tell me if this is common in IS-F? how do you guys tolerate this noise? I want a daily driver that can be used for sporty driving 10% of the time but most of the time I want it to blend in like a normal car going to work. Do you think my mufflers could have been broken? or it has been modified but the dealer can't tell?
Is it possible to custom fit a high flow quiet exhaust but keeping the exhaust tips?

Any advice would be appreciated. I am 33 and I drive around town for business a lot. This kind of noise is unbearable for me. It seems like I have to keep the IS350 for awhile before I figure out what to do with the mufflers..god a 15 mile drive felt like an hour with that noise

Thanks!!

bnizzle87

Hi there! Welcome to CL and congrats on the IS F purchase.

Most aftermarket exhausts can be fitted so that you still retain the quad exhaust tips. Some examples include Joe Z/PTS, Borla, Meistershaft, and PPE.

Truthfully, a stock ISx50 versus a stock IS F will still yield somewhat of a louder exhaust note and some drone in the cabin. If it's really too loud for you, the best thing you can do is to look underneath the car near the rear and see if there are any corporation engravings where the mufflers are located.

I certainly wouldn't trust anyone's word on whether a vehicle is bone stock. If you are looking for an exhaust that is the quietest among the aftermarket options, many have suggested Borla.

Hopefully this helps!

Mrd916

Take a pic of exhaust from underneath the car and we can tell u if it is stock. I doubt it is cause the stock exhaust is very quiet until u hit 3600 rpm and second intake opens up. Even then it isn't nearly deafening like ur describing. Most dealers don't no much about this car and will tell u everything is stock.

kiryu

Hi Brian, thanks for your input. Is Borla louder or quieter than stock? does it have any performance gains if I am to switch out the whole thing?

Mrd916...I will certainly do so after I have my mechanic lift it up. It appears to have stock mufflers from me looking at it on the floor....

bnizzle87

Borla, from what I was told, is not that much louder than stock. Decibel wise, it is still tolerable and you can still maintain a conversation. There is a slight performance increase, and the axle back system is California smog compliant. The cat back system is not CA smog friendly and will be much louder.

ISF4life

iTrader: (30)

Congrats and welcome Joez performances are way to go since u r in cali lolz,

RSXiMUS

iTrader: (7)

You definitely must have an aftermarket exhaust or you're very sensitive to sound, hehe.

I just purchased a 2012 IS-F also coming from an IS350.

I find the IS-F to be tad too quiet while cruising around, on the freeway you can't hear the engine at all, it's just as quiet as the IS350.

Like someone suggested, definitely take a pic and share your findings.

KOKISF

To me it sounds that your car have some sord of mod in the exhaust ! What you describe is hoe my car feels right now , my car has; headers and full exhaust! What i do , To deal w this ?

Lets start off by saying ,is not a day driver.

Second I do this, drive arround the car in snow makes the car feels slugish but for cruising is good and helps because you dont fall in the 1900 -2000 rpm window that is when its the loudest , try it ! its hard to explain!!!

Third do an unpgrade in the sub area and rock on!

Hope it helps

KOKISF

Forgot to mention i have forge iss qes, wich i think are super loudd

Sean

iTrader: (3)

I'd guess you have some sort of mod like 2nd cat delete, aftermarket mid-pipe, or maybe just headers. It isn't that loud stock until you really rev it.

Headers may be slightly less likely to be noted by someone taking a quick glance and would be more likely for the previous owner to leave given he cost to swap back to OEM. Try to get a close-up pic of them as well.

dannyk8232

I bought mine exactly a year ago today (9/21) and the first day, the sales dude told me it was definitely stock. I haggled for a bit and left (not because of the exhaust).

The next day, a different guy told me he was certain it was 100% stock and that it's loud and muscle-filled because it's simply badass.

Turned out it's got rear muffler delete (straight pipes from the rear cat) and it's mean and aggressive and loud as *****. I learned fairly quickly to avoid the 'drone zone' around 2k rpms as it's deep and bone-jarring....but I also learned fairly quickly that this car thrives in M, Sport above 3k...any gear, all day, any day. Sounds like a combination of a 66 Chevelle Malibu with pipes out the sides and a fourmula 1 car

kiryu

oh crap...i guess I was too naive trusting the dealers, because on the outside everything looked stock..they told me oh they never take any car that's modified and more than 1 owner etc etc. what a bunch of BS

i thought it's supposed to be this way..it couldnt be.. it made me think wat the ****** was lexus thinking.

i cannot hear anything else at 70-75mph..when it's reving at 1800 rpm or so...

My IS350 has f sport exhaust installed, so it's a bit louder than regular IS..i find that to be good perhaps can be a bit louder..so i dont think it's just me. My wife also said her ear drums hurt like she's out from a club. Well I am not really a loud beat heavy bass kinda guy..but still i can tolerate regular exhaust sounds.

Ok thank you all for all the ideas and educated guesses..i cant wait till monday to bring it to inspection
until i fix this this is considered un-driveable.

kiryu

BTW I did tested a full rev and it's actually quiet on the high rpm range...i think i heard another scream around 4-5k rpm but it went quiet to redline...i would much prefer that though. I want the engine to sound bad when I want to go fast, not cruising around under 1500 rpm.....it's moving around town like a 50's muscle...well i have never owned one or driven one but it sounded like one of those from the movies to me...

dannyk8232

Since the original owner of mine nixed the rear muffler(s) and ran pipes out the back, it's definitely loud, but never undrivable. No idea what's going on with yours. Just need to take a look underneath and see what's going on.

The only range that's a bit excessive is around 2k, but I rarely have that problem since learning the ins-and-outs of the tranny. What I DO know is that when I let her rip it's magical...

786

Undriveable? Lol, stock is near silent when cruising so you must have an aftermarket exhaust.