October 2004 Featured Car

 Screen Name: Princess4
 Age: 26
 Profession: Mechanical engineer
 Car model: Lexus IS 300
 Car year: 2002
 Engine size: 2JZ-GE
 Color: Azzurro, California

Modifications:

1. Engine

1. TurboEast supercharger kit including:
2. ATI Procharger C-2 Supercharger housing
3. SC pulley (12 lbs of boost)
4. Spearco FMIC (custom coated black)
5. Aluminum piping (powder coated black)
6. K&N air filter
7. 2mm head gasket
8. Additional fuel injector
9. Greddy E-Manage
10. Walbro fuel pump
11. Turbo XS Blowoff valve
12. NGK 3330 spark plugs
13. HP Racing Header/y-pipe
14. Tom’s radiator cap
15. Tom’s oil cap
16. Tom’s low temperature thermostat
17. Custom grounding kit
18. Pro Lex Performance header heat shield
19. Pro Lex Performance non-vented radiator panel
20. Custom painted engine covers in Azzurro California
21. Powder coated valve covers

2. Exhaust

1. Prototype CarsonTuned Exhaust

3. Suspension

1. Tein Flex coilovers with EDFC
2. TRD yellow race sways
3. Tom’s front lower chassis brace
4. Tom’s rear lower chassis brace
5. JIC carbon fiber strut bar
6. Pro Lex Performance rear trunk brace

4. Exterior

1. Custom paint – Ferrari Azzurro California
2. Prototype Carsontuned front bumper with shaved side markers
3. Custom fender flares (molded)
4. Ltuned side skirts (molded)
5. Ltuned rear valence (molded)
6. Ltuned trunk spoiler
7. Ltuned grill (custom painted)
8. Ltuned emblems
9. Ltuned emblems
10. Custom foglights
11. TRD carbon fiber hood (custom painted)
12. Ugo carbon fiber roof spoiler
13. Carbon fiber antenna base
14. Toyota JDM black taillights
15. Toyota JDM black headlights
16. TRD license plate bolts
17. TRD gas tank lid
18. TRD license plate
19. Pro Lex Performance aluminum underbody panel
20. Level sports custom mirrors

5. Interior

1. Custom black leather/grey suede covered seats
2. Custom grey suede covered door panels
3. Custom grey suede covered roof liner
4. Custom steering wheel painted graphite grey pearl
5. Custom graphite grey pearl painted center console and door panel armrests
6. TTE lighted door sills
7. JDM dash tray
8. Tom’s shift knob
9. Custom red dash lights
10. Ltuned floor mats
11. Pro Lex Performance passenger plate

6. Wheels

1. SSR Vienna Schnitt 18X8 2 piece wheels – black with polished lip
2. BFGoodrich KDW tires (225/40/18 F, 245/35/18 R)

7. ICE

1. Alpine IVA-D900 in-dash multimedia player
2. Alpine TUA-T020XM XM radio tuner
3. 2 Savv 5.6” headrest monitors
4. Hifonics ZX6000 amplifier
5. Hifonics ZX6400 amplifier
6. Diamond Audio Hex S600s
7. Diamond Audio Hex S500s
8. 2 Image Dynamics 10” ID v3 subwoofers
9. Custom subwoofer enclosure and amplifier rack
10. Optima yellow top battery
11. Capacitor
12. Luxury Motorworks LuxLink remote start
13. Luxury Motorworks Sense-o-shock alarm upgrade
14. HKS CAMP CPU
15. HKS junction box
16. HKS CAMP boost sensor/harness
17. HKS CAMP EGT sensor/harness
18. HKS CAMP low temperature sensor/harness
19. UEGO 1000 wideband oxygen sensor

What led you to buy a Lexus?
I have loved the IS 300 since it came out as an Altezza in Japan. I waited for it to arrive in the US as a luxury car but didn’t want to buy the first model year right away to give Toyota/Lexus time to work out all the problems/issues (like no armrest and the ECU upgrade). I cruised by a Lexus dealership one day and saw the LTuned Stage II on the showroom floor. I bought the car the next week.

Goals
The car is obviously a show car now with all the paint and body work. I try to keep it as “luxurious” as possible as opposed to the typical race style you see with aftermarket seats and harnesses. The main point I try to get across with this car is that girls can do it better then boys. The funny thing is, with the new paint job, all the guys love the car even more but always say they would never drive it because the color is a “chic” color.

Why you chose to modify your Lexus?
Buying the car with the LTuned Stage II kit from the factory made me catch the mod bug early on. The first mod I did was upgrade the sound system which is something I have always done with all my cars. While my local shop was working on the install, they were looking for a dash fit-kit that would hold an aftermarket head unit. At that time, no such kit existed so the installer pointed me to ClubLexus.com and said to ask around to see what others had used. Actually, my first post ever at Club Lexus was asking about a fit kit. While browsing Club Lexus, I read a post regarding IS300.net which caught my attention. I then took a gander over there and immediately decided that this car was going to be a project car.

My next major mod was the TRD carbon fiber hood. I saw a post by Steve Ganz saying he had an extra hood for sale so I went and took a look at it after work one day. I bought it within 5 minutes of seeing it. The purchase of that hood got me hooked and I haven’t been able to stop since. Basically, my husband can blame IS300.net, Club Lexus and Steve Ganz for the lack of funds in my checking account.