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How many people here run their IS350's regularly on a road course? I recently purchased my IS350 2 months ago and I love it, has great power although it could use some suspension work. My car just before this was a 92 Honda Civic Hatchback that I both tracked and daily'd and ended up selling to buy this Lexus and move onto a car that fits "growing up, act like it" lol but I'd still like to have fun!
wanting to continue this, I am looking for some advice on how you would go about turning this thing into a good track car, I have to be more strict considering that the time it takes to amass funds to buy parts for a Lexus is way out of my old civics league lol
I've considered the route that would get me out on the track the fastest and allow me the most seat time would be to get a nice rear sway bar, a good set of track pad's such as hawks, stainless steel brake lines and a good set of tires, what else would you guys recommend.
Like you, I used to track my Honda a lot, but it was mostly stock, just stainless lines, good fluid, good pads, and some Azenis. First time out, I'd probably just try some good pads and get stainless lines if fade was a problem. I used to daily drive Hawk HP+, and run Cobalt Spec VR's on the track.
Cool!!!! Wow, that is fun!!! I'm so glad to see another member interested in track. There are couple of autocross/track junkies here on this forum. I really want to see our IS community going into high performance driving/autocross/track. I have been putting the words out for a while now. Thank you very much for your topic and video. :cheers:
To address your question, I would do the following:
1. Rear sway bar only. This will reduce understeering tremendously. The car will be more tail happy.
2. Tires at least high performance summer tires such as Michelin Pilot Super Sport or budget one like Hankook V12. Go with semi-slick if you have money. Tires to me is the best investment. More traction = higher cornering speed limit.
3. Suspension. F Sport springs/shocks or Coilover such as KWv3 or BC Racing. I went with F Sport springs/shocks because these has been tuned by Lexus, tested by real professional racer on Willow Spring track and the parts are provided by Eibach and Bilstein.
4. Better brake pads such as Hawk as you mentioned. Our stock pads will fade very quickly.
5. F Sport Chasis brace to stiffen the suspension.
6. ISF steering ECU for more precise and accurate steering feel. There is a thread on this.
7. Lighter wheels to reduce unsprung weight.
There are more but these 7 items just pop out of my head at the moment lol.
Glad to see others coming from the Honda World over to Lexus. I personally went from both a '92 VX hatch and a '95 EX coupe to my current '06 IS350. The hatch was my boosted drag car, but before that I had done a few auto-x events in it.
Back to the 2IS; you're basically on the right track. Upgrade the brakes first...safety first! Make sure the the helmet meets the track's safety standards. Now, onto the fun stuff! of course most of these mods will be dictated by what budget you have; but the best bang for your buck will be a dedicated set of tires for the track events. And if you can, lightweight wheels to go with. Even with stock suspension, the tire mod will net you the most increase in elapsed lap time. If you cannot go straight for the tires, then definitely start with the F-sport sway bars. Bypass the chassis/frame braces or strut tower bars to save a few bucks and spend it on an LSD!
Now get to it!
Oh, by the way, if you're looking for good prices on new, OEM Lexus parts...check out Sewell Lexus. Sign up as a ClubLexus member, and get discounts on MOST of your purchases from them online.
I've considered the route that would get me out on the track the fastest and allow me the most seat time would be to get a nice rear sway bar, a good set of track pad's such as hawks, stainless steel brake lines and a good set of tires, what else would you guys recommend.
You should address the brakes before hitting the track, but SS brake lines won't do anything except make your wallet lighter. You should absolutley flush and replace the brake fluid. If the rest of the brake system is in good shape, you don't have to do anything else in order to take the car to the track a time or two. When you do replace pads, Hawk makes nothing for the IS350, your best bet is probably EBC, but StopTech also makes pads. Do a search and you will find some opinions of both of those brands as track pads.
In stock form these cars are hard on tires. The alignment is all wrong for high performance driving, and trying to get the car to rotate on the 225 section front tires results in serious overheating and wear. I'm trying to address the alignment/tire situation on my car, I don't have enough miles on the setup to tell you for sure how it is working, and my financial situation kept me off of the track this summer, but here is my suspension thread: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/bui...-swaybars.html You will notice my opinion is different than most around here, I don't see any sense in throwing shocks/coilovers/swaybars/other random "upgrades" at the car until alignment is right.
As far as high performance tires go, you've probably got a good idea of what will work from your days with the Honda, just keep in mind these cars are pretty heavy, so pick something that deals well with heat. Azenis are NOT a good choice for these cars, and the Hankook V12s that everyone reccomends around here are a good street tire, but they won't hold up very well on the track. There was a thread with pictures of V12s missing tread chunks after a day at the track. I ended up with a set of Pilot Stupid Sports on my car, and I have a feeling I am going to want more tire the next time around... we'll see how these wear (and handle the track) and go from there.
^Don't like the PSSs? Care to explain what you're seeing on your set there?
No, it isn't that I don't like them. I do like them, and I think they are the best tire in their class, but they aren't the be-all-end all tire that many make them out to be. I'd like to run something from a stickier class of tire, but I can't do that until I'm reasonably sure that I've beat the premature tire wear these cars are famous for. So in that respect I am really happy with the performance they give along with the treadwear warranty.
I started calling them Stupid Sports for fun because they have become an internet meme; so many people jump on the PSS bandwagon without ever even riding in a car equipped with them. Need 35" mud boggers on your Jeep? 305/75 -17 PSS is the only way to go! Tires to get through 8 feet of snow in Alaska? Put PSS on your snow cat, you'll never have a problem!
WylieKylie, wow, you made a lot of very strong statements there. First and foremost, my question is simply trying to learn more and not into argument. You said "I don't see any sense in throwing shocks/coilovers/swaybars/other random "upgrades" at the car until alignment is right". I would like to ask you 2 questions:
1. Can you tell us the "right" alignment specs. Be specific please and show some reasoning.
2. I would like to see data log or at least lap times to back this up. The comparison between IS with shocks or coils/F Sport rear sway bar vs. a stock car with so called "right" alignment.
I wonder if we are just talking about high performance summer tire and NOT racing slick nor semi slick tire, which one is better than PSS? Please give us the technical insight.
You will notice my opinion is different than most around here, I don't see any sense in throwing shocks/coilovers/swaybars/other random "upgrades" at the car until alignment is right.
Putting coil overs on requires adjusting the alignment. I don't see the point is getting the alignment just right and then changing it?
First off I want to thank all the members for their input, I know that figuring out what is needed to run at the track is fairly simple, but being able to read through and get some quick dedicated knowledge goes along way! I am actually happy to read a lot of these post and actually find some strong valid points and get a feel for those on this site that actually track! Crossing over to Lexus has satisfied me immensely, I'm fairly young at 23 years old, but what drew me to Lexus was the fact that they are so damn reliable! I had an LS400 in high school that surpassed 300k miles and that was spectacular. I am really excited to make the next season, I bought this car with the confidence that It will make an awesome daily that will get me to the track.. run hard sessions and get me home.
My 06 IS350
My Previous Civic Hatch "functional/daily" only owned it for 4 months before I sold it to get the Lexus
My 2000 Accord V6 "when I was in the stance game..." this was my car before the Civic
I'd like to thank you guys for making this forum feel so welcoming, I feel like i've come a long way just by transitioning over and look forward to meeting new people on the forum. the people here are very intellectual, haha go to honda-tech or any honda forum and the difference is clear..
Since you have an 06, I assume you know about the "pedal dance" to disable your Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) so you can have more control of your IS350? The VDIM system on the 2IS is known for being very intrusive and it will very likely have a negative impact on your lap times and cornering abilities.
09-08-14, 09:52 PM
HPDE in IS350?
