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VR Tuned ECU Flash for '14 IS350

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Old 01-27-15, 01:51 PM
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tx_is300
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Default VR Tuned ECU Flash for '14 IS350

I installed this on my '14 IS350 F Sport with only other mod is the intake.

Install very quick and easy less than 2 mins. The battery reset & engine idling took 15 minutes.
Put about 300 miles on this now and have felt significant improvements in terms of throttle response, acclereration and transmission.

Vivid Racing posted dyno results on '08 IS350 with about 40 ft lbs and 25 hp. It seems reasonable as I am feeling similar results.

The normal D mode drives way better now as the transmission does not seems as sluggish and response is quicker. Sport + is even better.

Gears seem to hold longer before it will downshift which avoids constant shifting upshifting.

Overall, is this worth it? YES!! i would recommend this and have been very pleased with the results so far.

I want to add an exhaust which will add a little more but waiting on Greddy or Tanabe to post some sound clips.

Would consider Vivid Racing's exhaust branded as Agency Power but they do not have any sound clips of IS350. There is one on their web but the IS350 portion does not work and the IS250 they have sounds very raspy.

Vivid Racing, if you are reading this, please fix your sound clip!
Old 01-27-15, 04:51 PM
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JB5674
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Originally Posted by tx_is300
I installed this on my '14 IS350 F Sport with only other mod is the intake.

Install very quick and easy less than 2 mins. The battery reset & engine idling took 15 minutes.
Put about 300 miles on this now and have felt significant improvements in terms of throttle response, acclereration and transmission.

Vivid Racing posted dyno results on '08 IS350 with about 40 ft lbs and 25 hp. It seems reasonable as I am feeling similar results.

The normal D mode drives way better now as the transmission does not seems as sluggish and response is quicker. Sport + is even better.

Gears seem to hold longer before it will downshift which avoids constant shifting upshifting.

Overall, is this worth it? YES!! i would recommend this and have been very pleased with the results so far.

I want to add an exhaust which will add a little more but waiting on Greddy or Tanabe to post some sound clips.

Would consider Vivid Racing's exhaust branded as Agency Power but they do not have any sound clips of IS350. There is one on their web but the IS350 portion does not work and the IS250 they have sounds very raspy.

Vivid Racing, if you are reading this, please fix your sound clip!


No bashign the product only stating facts. Its been dyno proven to take away HP not add. Check the GS / 2IS / and ISF forums. As well, I personally want to know what the experience is like after about 1k miles. Seems like Lexus ecu are self learning and tend to de-tune over time. Please keep us posted.
Old 01-27-15, 07:03 PM
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tx_is300
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I understand your doubt. Worse case scenario even if the ECU goes back to stock, I just pop the chip back in and reflash it. No big deal as long as it works just maybe inconvenience and spend 15 mins.
Old 01-27-15, 07:04 PM
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tx_is300
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Meanwhile I am enjoy the extra performance!
Old 01-28-15, 09:51 AM
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sub to this one ....
Old 01-28-15, 10:02 AM
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drbazing
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Originally Posted by tx_is300
I understand your doubt. Worse case scenario even if the ECU goes back to stock, I just pop the chip back in and reflash it. No big deal as long as it works just maybe inconvenience and spend 15 mins.
I'm happy it works for you, but the inconvenience and having to spend 15 minutes I will not tolerate. Added that you have to again drive the car for a few hundred miles for it to fully work, as they said is required.
Old 01-28-15, 12:41 PM
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Larry96815
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Originally Posted by drbazing
I'm happy it works for you, but the inconvenience and having to spend 15 minutes I will not tolerate. Added that you have to again drive the car for a few hundred miles for it to fully work, as they said is required.
.....and when do you know if it has reset itself to factory specs? How do you know when to reinstall the program? Butt dyno?
Old 01-28-15, 01:32 PM
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drbazing
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Originally Posted by Larry96815
.....and when do you know if it has reset itself to factory specs? How do you know when to reinstall the program? Butt dyno?
I guess OP will know that it reset if he feels like the car went back to stock throttle response, acceleration, and gearing (transmission). IMO, no one really knows. Just referring to the threads in the GS/ISF/2IS, where they never worked. Same goes with the Bimmer Forums, etc. They all think it's a scam.
Old 01-28-15, 03:17 PM
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Originally Posted by drbazing
the inconvenience and having to spend 15 minutes I will not tolerate. .
Newsflash there buckaroo: you definitely shouldn't be modding your car if you're gonna get all worked up over 15 minutes. lol
Old 01-28-15, 03:46 PM
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drbazing
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Originally Posted by a790
Newsflash there buckaroo: you definitely shouldn't be modding your car if you're gonna get all worked up over 15 minutes. lol
I think you misunderstood me. It's like saying your tire pressure keeps dropping in psi every few days and you spend a few minutes putting air on it every time. So what are you gonna do? Wouldn't getting a new set of tires be the more appropriate action? It's not a very efficient "MOD" if you are gonna be doing this, "buckaroo".

I had my honda flashed (+boltons & bigger injectors) once before and never had to worry about it resetting again. Only time I went to actually spending 15 min or more in tuning is when I upgraded to a Kpro. Tell me, how annoying would it be to keep reflashing for 15 minutes and drive several hundred miles just for it apply? This product is not fully proven yet and I'm skeptical. If else, everyone would be jumping on this already.
Old 01-28-15, 05:09 PM
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Originally Posted by drbazing
I think you misunderstood me. It's like saying your tire pressure keeps dropping in psi every few days and you spend a few minutes putting air on it every time. So what are you gonna do? Wouldn't getting a new set of tires be the more appropriate action? It's not a very efficient "MOD" if you are gonna be doing this, "buckaroo".

I had my honda flashed (+boltons & bigger injectors) once before and never had to worry about it resetting again. Only time I went to actually spending 15 min or more in tuning is when I upgraded to a Kpro. Tell me, how annoying would it be to keep reflashing for 15 minutes and drive several hundred miles just for it apply? This product is not fully proven yet and I'm skeptical. If else, everyone would be jumping on this already.
I agree with you on that. I just had to laugh when you said that 15 minutes was too much of a hassle, but I also didn't really consider the context of the conversation. Sorry 'bout that.

Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be much of anything available for our engines, so we can do some breathing mods and that's basically it. This tune showed promise but I'm as skeptical as you are. Seems like junk to me.
Old 01-31-15, 08:35 AM
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tx_is300
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Report update - been over 1 week and 500+ miles on the install. Still works as described with improvements over stock. Despite this, there will be many skeptics I understand. Only time will tell and I will wait for 1000 miles to post again.

There is another company out there (G Force Chips) that sells similar tool $69 but it does not work via the OBDII port as far as i can tell and there are no instructions listed to show it is hooked up. At least the company that sells the ECU flash is a tuner shop that sells other performance parts so I have more faith in them than others that just sell 1 part alone and nothing else.

This ECU flash is not cheap so what you guys ought to do is try the G Force chip which is much cheaper. Their web site shows some dyno tests before and after but honestly the gains are minimal. (ie 5-10hp and 10-20 ft lbs). You guys bought a 45K+ car, surely you can afford $69!

I am already trying the expensive option at least someone can try the cheap option?

The dyno for this ECU flash I bought was done on 2nd gen IS350 and 3rd gen IS250. So, the results are more realistic to what I am experiencing vs what G Force Chip shows for a different vehicle which results can vary.
Old 01-31-15, 09:35 AM
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It would be nice if they offered something like a Cobb AP where you could actually see what has changed. Are you thinking of throwing it on the dyno?
Old 01-31-15, 09:49 AM
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tx_is300
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I do not plan to dyno it. It has increased power for sure.

Exactly how much is not a concern to me. I will say it definitely feels more than you will get from adding an exhaust and intake. I am guess minimum increase feels to be around 15-20+ HP.

I base this on the fact i had 2nd gen IS350 with exhaust and intake and this feels more than that.

Of course this could also be masked by the the transmission shift changes along with throttle response improvements.

Overall, i am pleased with it and the costs spent is worth it to me.

I just saw on Vivid Racing website today they posted clip from some performance shop in Mass. that installed this same ECU flash on a '14 GS F Sport. Though their dyno results only showed about 10 hp and ft lb improvement.
Old 01-31-15, 10:17 AM
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tx_is300
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I do not plan to dyno it. It has increased power for sure.

Exactly how much is not a concern to me. I will say it definitely feels more than you will get from adding an exhaust and intake. I am guess minimum increase feels to be around 15-20+ HP.

I base this on the fact i had 2nd gen IS350 with exhaust and intake and this feels more than that.

Of course this could also be masked by the the transmission shift changes along with throttle response improvements.

Overall, i am pleased with it and the costs spent is worth it to me.

I just saw on Vivid Racing website today they posted clip from some performance shop in Mass. that installed this same ECU flash on a '14 GS F Sport. Though their dyno results only showed about 10 hp and ft lb improvement.


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