Thoughts and Advice on Performance Upgrades?
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Thoughts and Advice on Performance Upgrades?
Hi all,
This is my first post. Stumbled across this site looking at options for upgrading my car. From my reading so far, it appears there are a ton of knowledgeable owners here that could be helpful in taking my first steps into this area.
My wife and I are having our first child next month. This required us to add a second reliable car to the fleet. We found that our IS250 awd wasn't exactly comfortable with an infant seat in the back. The seat had to be moved all the way forward, and no one over about 5' 6'' would fit in the front then.
So, I ended up with our IS 250 awd as my car to take to work and the wife got a 2010 RAV4. Now that the car is "mine" I can finally indulge in some aftermarket fun.
Here is my goal: I want to upgrade the performance as much as possible, while still maintaining a mostly stock look. At the end of the day, I still need to be able to take this thing to work every day, so it can't be obnoxiously loud or scraping the ground over speed bumps. Think "subtle." I'm a 31 year old lawyer, not the professional race driver I wish I was.
After a lot of reading and internet wandering, I'm leaning toward the F Sport lineup. I was wondering if you guys could give me some advice and thoughts on my planned upgrades.
1. F Sport Cold Air Intake
2. F Sport F and R Sway Bars
3. F Sport Lowering Springs
4. F Sport Shocks
What do you guys think? Would this give me a nice upgrade in handling, while still giving a mostly stock look from the outside? Any other parts I should be considering? I saw there was also a rear chassis member brace... worth it? Also, from what I can tell, the exhaust system doesn't add any horsepower and makes the engine noticeably louder in normal driving... something I don't want. Is this correct? Leaning toward skipping that mod if so.
Thanks for any help you can provide. I'm looking forward to the responses. This forum seems like a cool place.
This is my first post. Stumbled across this site looking at options for upgrading my car. From my reading so far, it appears there are a ton of knowledgeable owners here that could be helpful in taking my first steps into this area.
My wife and I are having our first child next month. This required us to add a second reliable car to the fleet. We found that our IS250 awd wasn't exactly comfortable with an infant seat in the back. The seat had to be moved all the way forward, and no one over about 5' 6'' would fit in the front then.
So, I ended up with our IS 250 awd as my car to take to work and the wife got a 2010 RAV4. Now that the car is "mine" I can finally indulge in some aftermarket fun.
Here is my goal: I want to upgrade the performance as much as possible, while still maintaining a mostly stock look. At the end of the day, I still need to be able to take this thing to work every day, so it can't be obnoxiously loud or scraping the ground over speed bumps. Think "subtle." I'm a 31 year old lawyer, not the professional race driver I wish I was.
After a lot of reading and internet wandering, I'm leaning toward the F Sport lineup. I was wondering if you guys could give me some advice and thoughts on my planned upgrades.
1. F Sport Cold Air Intake
2. F Sport F and R Sway Bars
3. F Sport Lowering Springs
4. F Sport Shocks
What do you guys think? Would this give me a nice upgrade in handling, while still giving a mostly stock look from the outside? Any other parts I should be considering? I saw there was also a rear chassis member brace... worth it? Also, from what I can tell, the exhaust system doesn't add any horsepower and makes the engine noticeably louder in normal driving... something I don't want. Is this correct? Leaning toward skipping that mod if so.
Thanks for any help you can provide. I'm looking forward to the responses. This forum seems like a cool place.
#2
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Counselor,
Iagree the sway bars are great and make a major change--although i only have the rear, not both. I read here that the rear is the major difference, but I do plan to buy the front eventually.
I plan to hte shocks soon myself, although the wife may complain about the stiffness--mine complains about the stock stillness in comparison to her XC70. so talk to her before that one.
Intake makes your car sound more aggressive on take off and WOT--totally agree on that one.
I would discourage you from lowering your car in a state where it snows--that is a recipe for problems.
my two cents
Iagree the sway bars are great and make a major change--although i only have the rear, not both. I read here that the rear is the major difference, but I do plan to buy the front eventually.
I plan to hte shocks soon myself, although the wife may complain about the stiffness--mine complains about the stock stillness in comparison to her XC70. so talk to her before that one.
Intake makes your car sound more aggressive on take off and WOT--totally agree on that one.
I would discourage you from lowering your car in a state where it snows--that is a recipe for problems.
my two cents
#3
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Counselor,
Iagree the sway bars are great and make a major change--although i only have the rear, not both. I read here that the rear is the major difference, but I do plan to buy the front eventually.
I plan to hte shocks soon myself, although the wife may complain about the stiffness--mine complains about the stock stillness in comparison to her XC70. so talk to her before that one.
Intake makes your car sound more aggressive on take off and WOT--totally agree on that one.
I would discourage you from lowering your car in a state where it snows--that is a recipe for problems.
my two cents
Iagree the sway bars are great and make a major change--although i only have the rear, not both. I read here that the rear is the major difference, but I do plan to buy the front eventually.
I plan to hte shocks soon myself, although the wife may complain about the stiffness--mine complains about the stock stillness in comparison to her XC70. so talk to her before that one.
Intake makes your car sound more aggressive on take off and WOT--totally agree on that one.
I would discourage you from lowering your car in a state where it snows--that is a recipe for problems.
my two cents
#4
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I stuck with 17" for a bit more rubber on the tires and switched from Toyo to Bridgestone for better snow/rain performance, but it does snow more in colorado springs.
I would also recomend a new front lip--changes the look of the car, very but is still subtile and not exorbitant.
#5
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Unfortunately there's not a ton of powertrain performance upgrades for the 2IS that don't cost a pretty penny (F-I) or make it subtle-(read:headers/midpipe/catback).
There is a plethora of suspension upgrades, interior, exterior, and lighting modifications you can do though.
There is a plethora of suspension upgrades, interior, exterior, and lighting modifications you can do though.
#6
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I'd probably stick with just those items if you don't want a louder car. Whenever you add intake, headers, exhaust you're allowing more air in and out. That increases the sound. At best you'd get about 16 HP increase with all those items. The 250 is underpowered and can never be as quick as a 350. With that being said, I think you'll enjoy the F Sport intake with a bit more sound but not annoying if you have passengers. If you don't want to go that low, then I think the F Sport spring/shock combo are fine. Many sell those in lieu of adjustable coilovers to go lower and be able to adjust their suspension a bit more. I have the F Sport chassis brace and don't think you really need it for your setup. Good luck and happy modding.
#7
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Thanks all. I definitely agree with the 250 being underpowered. I've accepted that not much can be done about it though, especially with my requirements outlined above. The handling improvements are what I am mostly looking forward to.
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#11
Sewell... register as a CL member before ordering. Gives you a considerable member discount.
http://is.sewellparts.com/
http://is.sewellparts.com/
#13
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Sewell... register as a CL member before ordering. Gives you a considerable member discount.
http://is.sewellparts.com/
http://is.sewellparts.com/
Will look for the sways sometime when I can get around to it. Thanks!
#15
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15 minutes if NOTHING goes wrong, mine took hours and I damaged by control arms. Make sure you fully understand what you are doing and clean the threads really well to help them come out easy. The bars CAN BE A major pain.