Meurz

Hi all,

After lurking for quite some time here, it's time to properly introduce myself and my F. I’m Rene, from the Netherlands. Right, the car then! I got it last December and the F is my third car. My first pride and (once) joy is a 1992 Celica ST185 Carlos Sainz. Most of you probably know what that roughly is, but for those of you that don’t – here you see it just before I took it apart:



Toyota built 5000 homologation models of the regular ST185 (aka All-Trac in the US) in order to be able to rally it in the WRC in the early 90s. Mine’s one of them and I put on a few bolt-ons: AP Racing brakes, Tein suspension, bronze TE37s, a STACK race cluster and Autronic SM4 ECU, some HKS goodies, etc. The car had some rust (due to the poor sunroof drain design) and since I wanted to turn it into a track car anyway, I’ve decided to do it properly and do a nut and bolt rebuild. After tearing it apart I bought a project house.. Long story short: The shell is converted to hardtop but still under a cover in the garage waiting for love. I hope to get back at it soon, LOL.

For daily duties I have a 2007 Yaris T-Sport. I believe they were only sold in Europe and have amongst other things slightly stiffer suspension, rear disc brakes and a 1.8 L (2ZR-FE) 133 hp engine compared to the more basic equipped common Yaris models. I only put a few TRD/TMG bits on it as this one should stay reliable (but yes, it has lapped the Nordschleife several times as well!):



So with the Sainz out of action and a strong desire for a fast weekend car I started looking for an IS F. Prices have come down quite a bit and I have always loved the looks and performance of it. Since only 20 or so have been sold here (2008-2014), I had to widen my scope to entire Europe. Even then it still took me over 1.5 years to find the one. Ideally it had to be a clean, low km USB, non-sunroof (I’m tall) 2010+, but the only USBs I saw were not ticking several other boxes. I ended up in Berlin where I bought an ultra clean, low-ish km MM (black interior), non-sunroof 2010 IS F! After the 700+ km trip home (Autobahn!) , import process, taxes and repair of 3 small hail dents, I can now proudly enjoy another one of my dream cars!



In 2014 the car pushed 314.3 kW (427.8 hp) and 546.3 Nm (402.9 lb ft) in stock form. The previous owner has since then lowered the car on KW V3s and had a custom true dual stainless exhaust (1% louder than stock) made. The other mods were 10 mm H&R spacers and a K&N panel filter. A body shop has rolled the rear fender lips and made aluminium inner guards up front to prevent the wheels tearing the plastic ones away. Although this allows a very low ride, I plan to raise the car slightly to prevent excessive front bumper scraping. I also prefer a more beefy look over a slammed look.

I don’t plan extensive modifications for the F, but did pick up an F-Sport shift **** during a US trip earlier this year to get rid of the chrome:



ModInJapan hooked me up with a nice APEXi suction kit to replace the K&N filter. I never liked oiled filters and since this kit comes with a nice thick silicone hose as well, I think it is a nice upgrade!



As soon as I have more (better) pics or updates I’ll post them here!

Jwconeil

Bast59

Hi neighbor

Nice cars ! Love the color of your ISF, was searching for this color for mine but don't find a great one. Also, nice mods on the F

Meurz

With my new (to me) wheels finally on, it’s time for a much needed update!

Other changes in the meantime are yellow fog lights to break the neutral front a bit, a Wald rep spoiler (I wanted to see if I liked the lines and rear visibility, but authentic had a massive lead time. Although I support authentic parts, fitment of this one actually is perfect so I might leave it on for now) and an A’PEXi Smart Accel throttle controller.

I also put on the Figs front LCA rear bushings that I picked up during a visit to them last year. Total ***** to install with the car on short axle stands, but I managed to get it done.



So, wheels!

After an extensive wheel study I realised 19” staggered (JDM) multi piece wheels were the way I wanted to go. The other option I considered was 18” monoblocks, but they tend to look even smaller than that on the IS F and seem more fitting for hardcore racers than a super sedan. While checking out various importers I stumbled on a nice set of 3-piece SSR Professors. Used, but decent sizes that could work, and in nice shape, and relatively close by (preventing import rape). Before fitting tires, I decided to try and bring them up a bit with Mothers Mag and aluminum polish. Worth the effort I must say!



I then ceramic coated them with Gyeon Q2 Rim coating and had fresh Michelins fitted. It seems brake dust comes off quite easy, so now I just need complementing low dust pads next time. With the new bushings and wheels, I had the car aligned. The ride height still needs tweaking, but here are some side profile shots during today’s sunset..



















All in all I’m quite happy with the new look! I’ll get more angles next time. Full specs for those interested, or looking for fitment info:

Front:
SSR Professor SP3 in “Titan Silver”. 19x8.5 +43 (Normal disk NR) with 255/35ZR19 Michelin Pilot Sport 4 and 5 mm H&R spacers to clear the brake calliper (otherwise the big central “pad bolt” was too close for comfort).

Rear:
SSR Professor SP3 in “Titan Silver”. 19x9.5 +43 (Normal disk NR) with 275/30ZR19 Michelin Pilot Sport 4S.

Lowered on KW Variant 3 coilovers, front fenders lightly rolled, rear lips shaved and so far zero rubbing!

McPierson

iTrader: (3)

This is my new favorite ISF. Love the wheels.