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Welcome to my detailed breakdown of my '14 IS250 F-Sport build where I try to give you my comprehensive list and thoughts on some of the mods I've done, as well as detailed pricing so people can get a general idea on the costs if they want to do something similar. I'm also going to mention some shops and places I'd recommend in the Houston area, as I've done lots of research and have been to many shops to find the best places and people to trust with my car.
Mod list:
Ark GRiP catback exhaust: ~$1400
F-Sport Air Intake: ~$300
Chrome delete with 3M Gloss Black vinyl (grille + window trim): ~$300
IS350 Brake Calipers from Lexus (fronts only): ~$800
Epoxy painted + vinyl decal off eBay
StopTech Drilled/Slotted Rotors + Pads: ~$450
Bright white interior LEDs: ~$20
Upcoming Mods:
Black Pearl Lexus Emblems
Debadging the F-sport and IS250 logos?
Opinions:
Ark GRiP catback exhaust:
The sound is beautiful from the outside. The roar is nice, aggressive, and deep, without sounding obnoxious or ricer. The fitment on my exhaust was terrible though, things were very uneven and was confirmed by 3 different reputable exhaust shops I went to in the Houston area. Had to cut and trim one side to make the fitment even as it was off by ~1.5in or so. The drone is TERRIBLE inside the cabin. I know the Ark has the Helmholtz resonators to tone down drone, but it's very prevalent in the 2k RPM range, and gives me a headache when driving on the highway. For street driving, it's doable. It sounds very aggressive when you're climbing the RPMs, especially in the 3k-5k range, sounds very pleasing. If you can deal with the drone, I would get this exhaust, but am looking to sell it to go back to an axleback.
F-Sport Air Intake
Does give the car a more throaty sound at higher RPMs, but this is NOT going to make your car sound any nicer in any noticeable way. It's a very silent subtle change, which could easily get mixed up as placebo. I wouldn't buy it again for the same price.
IS350 calipers upgrade (fronts only)
Obviously the calipers don't increase your braking performance. It's more of an aesthetic thing, as the IS350 calipers are bigger with more pistons, and I didn't want to paint the tiny little IS250 calipers. They were more expensive than I thought, even coming from Lexus, so if you can get one from another IS350, that'd be more cost effective. I wasn't a real fan of the Lexus "F-Sport blue", so I opted for red. The epoxy high temp paint the shop used holds up fine, but the red doesn't pop enough for my taste because it's straight up plain red. The caliper paints you can buy are usually a firey red to imitate Brembo, etc, so they would usually give better results than my plain red that the shop insisted on using. High temp F-sport decals off eBay are holding up pretty nicely without peeling. There isn't a clearcoat over the decal either (shop didn't recommend it).
Chrome Delete
In my opinion, this small subtle mod makes a huge difference and changes the whole look of the car to make it seem a bit more aggressive. I personally love the result of the chrome delete, and would recommend it, especially if you live in an area where vinyl wrapping is pretty affordable. I'd take it to a shop to get it professional done, as doing it yourself might be difficult to get clean results (I tried multiple times and failed).
Awesome Houston Shops
Aces Performance Exhaust off Hollock St (near Pasadena/Hobby Airport)
Small shop with very nice and knowledgeable people. Their pricing is very fair, and they have a decent inventory (Borlas, Magnaflows, Flowmasters, etc). PRICE for QUALITY is where it's at here
Mayco Mechanic & Muffler (off Hillcroft Ave)
Extremely nice guys who also know their stuff. Slightly pricier, but they seem to care even more about their customers and make sure you leave satisfied. Family owned, and they do contracted work with another shop who only work on exotics, so they have Ferraris and Lambos here often. When I was there, they had 2 M6's and an X5, so I'm sure it's a decent shop. Still affordable pricing though
Deviate Autosports (off Upland Dr)
No doubt these people do a quality job and their communication is good. They are pretty expensive though, so I'd only go to them for more complicated mods and installs.
I like how you give detailed feedback on each of your mods, please keep doing that!
I also frequent Deviate Autosport, good to know there's another local around.
I like how you give detailed feedback on each of your mods, please keep doing that!
I also frequent Deviate Autosport, good to know there's another local around.
Thanks buddy, glad to meet a local around the forums too. Just read your build thread, looking pretty cool! Hit me up if you're ever at a Coffees and Cars event or something!
Here's a pic of the F-Sport exhaust before and after install. Missing the engine cover in the picture obviously so it looks a little odd, but still looks cool nevertheless (and looks better with the engine cover on). Installation was very simple, should take you about ~30 min with a screwdriver and you don't even need any car mechanic experience. I'm usually not a DIY kind of guy, but this is definitely a DIY if install isn't free.
Bought some Black Pearl plated Lexus emblems from eBay (seller: theautoguy). I was going to originally purchase them from Sewell Lexus in Dallas (local pickup only, as their online store is out of business), but it turns out they send their emblems to get plated by someplace else also, so might as well buy from eBay. The emblems are OEM Lexus emblems, but plated in a black pearl finish, very similar to what you would get from Sewell. Will post finished installation soon.
Array's IS250 F-Sport Build (Black Stealth)
