DrumProdigy83

Actually a friend of mine has a VW GTi with a 1.8T engine and 5spd (or 6spd i don't remember) manual transmission. He put a chip in it and intake and exhaust and man was that thing peppy. It wasn't earth shattering, but he was able to zip around all over the place. He said he did some more modding recently and it's really fast now, he said he was able to keep up with and beat a BMW 330i up over 100mph. I wasn't there to witness it, but those are some pretty significant gains from just some "minor" modding.

The IS is pretty quick stock but it just seems everything else in it's "class" are outpowering it. The looks are killer imo, and the interior is unique, plus the handling is supposed to be fantastic... in addition it isn't a real expensive car and has superb Lexus/Toyota reliability. Do you guys know how much it cost to put that 4.3L V8 into the IS? As far as I know it was only done to that car on TV, but I'm hoping that it has been done more than that.... If that is possible I'd LOVE to do that instead of a turbo, but I am kind of doubtful of the IS430 thing happening lol so I'll just keep researching the turbo thing.

How much did your mods cost you? Are there any companies out there that have "perfected" the turbo for the IS300? Turboeast is pretty close to where I live I couldn't imagine any other places being closer, unless they are in NJ, NY, or PA, which I guess there could be. If $10k won't get me much added performance maybe I will just leave the IS300 stock or consider a different car. However, if $10k can significantly improve the performance of the IS300 without compromising reliability then I'll go ahead with it. I am hoping to be able to improve upon the performance even after the intial work is done. It all depends on how things turn out after I finish with my undergraduate school... or if I happen to win a bunch of money in Atlantic City I can go all the way with it the firs time around lol.

DrumProdigy83

Oh yea, I could just wait for the new IS350 but from the pictures I saw of it I am really not digging it at all. I don't know if I could afford one either... but I wouldn't want to buy it brand new because of the money that could be saved by buying one with only a few thousand miles or less. Would you rather wait for the new IS350 or turbo charge an IS300?

bchau_gt

I believe that all the kits from the IS300 tuners have been well-tested; otherwise, most of them would not have been released. Unfortunately, these tuners cannot test against the various configurations and additional custom modifications a lot of owners do beyond the kit. So it's hard to say that any kit is "perfect". That's where owners may run into problems. One thing you should probably realize is that by modifying the IS300 by adding a supercharger or turbo kit, you will never get the same stock feel. Reliability can still be there, but that largely depends on you as the driver and how well you maintain the car.

TurboEast, Peter Farrell, and SRT are all in the DC area, so you really have 3 tuners to pick from that are relatively close.

I don't think Lexus has any plans to make the IS430 a production car, and I only know of one other person who's done that. That person is IS300AllShow; he has a turbocharged Lexus/Toyota 4.0L V8, done by TurboEast actually. Amazing car, very unique, and that kind of modification costs ~$20K+.

For mods related to my SC kit, I would say I've spent around $10K (with some good deals on certain items). That would include the cost of the kit, installs, tuning, and the extras I mentioned before. I'm content with the power output and the car is still running after 10,000 miles with the kit. I may decide to sell the car sometime this year if you want it.

I'd say if you're smart about how you spend your $10K for mods, then you should have a pretty powerful car packed with lots of fun. And if you end up having money in the long run, then you can do so much more with the 2JZ-GE engine in the IS300. Check out the recent Super Street and Import Racer magazines as well; they contain features on a couple IS300s owned by people on these boards.