Plans I've had for my IS have started rolling along, so I decided to post a build thread to document it for myself (and others that may be curious!)

Current modifications:

• Niche DFS M222
  • 19x8.5 (front) with 235/35r19 Lexani tires, 19x9.5 (rear) with 265/35r19 Lexani tires
• ARK GRiP Exhaust
  • Resonator and Secondary Cat delete
• RSR Down Sus Springs
• Full 3M Gloss Atomic Teal wrap

Future plans:

• Air suspension
• Front lip, side skirt, and diffuser
• PPE headers

I first bought my car in November of 2017
I wasn't aware of the Crafted Line edition, but I liked the black trim and the different look of the Red/Black interior.
The car more or less sat like this for about a month or two before I started hacking at the exhaust.




I thought the OEM spoiler would pop out a little more if it were wrapped. In all honesty, I think a gloss black wrap would have been a lot better, but I had some CF vinyl lying around so I used it anyway.


Running around with what was basically a straight pipe was getting old and I found a decent deal on here at CL for a used ARK exhaust so I pulled the trigger and picked it up.
I found the sound of the ARK exhaust to be a little underwhelming, so I did end up taking the resonator off.



Didn't want to get new wheels yet as I thought it was super difficult finding wheels that I really liked on the IS, so I filled in the wheel arches by using 20mm spacers all around. For anybody that is running stock wheels, 20mm spacers were well worth it. Had some minor rubbing over major dips, but nothing too critical. Exterior-wise, the car stayed like this for roughly another half year.


I was wiring interior LED strips in the foot well, so I decided to spruce up the center console by wrapping the silver plastic pieces that sit on both sides of the console.The red doesn't really match the red leather on the seats, but it was alright. I still thought it looked a lot better than the silver it originally was.





I had originally bought RSR downs close to when I bought the car, but never really put them on and ended up forgetting about them.
About a year later, I had them put onto the car. For the most part, I like how it sits, but if I had extra money around, I would have definitely done super downs for the front and downs for the rear.



Worked extra hours this summer while I was off from school and decided to give my IS some new wheels!
I always liked the look of bronze wheels, so I went for the Niche DFS M222. Kept the staggered set up so I'm running 19 x 8.5 up front and 19 x 9.5 at the back with 235/35r19 Lexani tires for the front and 265/35r19 Lexani tires for the rear.



This was by far the biggest plan I had for this summer (2019). I still love the look of Ultra White, but I wanted a color that would really pop.
Originally I was considering Hexis Tiffany Blue, but 3M's Gloss Atomic Teal was a close contender. When I went to the shop I got the wrap done at and saw the 3M film in person, I couldn't say no to it.



Currently, this is how the car sits. I've still got to go back to get the chrome delete, but I'm very satisfied with how the car came out.

 

dang that looks awesome!

 

Nice start!

We can get you great pricing on the air suspension, ppe headers, and whatever else you're planning on!

-Josh

 

How soon are you planning to do the PPE Headers? I have their headers with a stock ARK GRiP but I lowkey want to open it up a little bit with a resonator or cat delete. What do you think? I'd like to hear your setup with the Headers.

 

Hey! Are you the RC with sequentials on YouTube? Those lights are dope.

Meraki Autoworks has two videos on Youtube of an IS250 running a straight pipe w/ PPE headers
That's basically around what I'm judging my car would sound like if I had PPE headers.

I think it'd really depend on whether or not you'd prefer your car to have that raspy sound you get when you delete the resonator.
If you really want to get a little more sound without being too loud, the secondary cat delete might do you just fine. I'll definitely send you a message when I get around to the headers, but that'd probably be closer to the end of the year.

 

Thanks!
I'll definitely shoot you a PM and take you up on that offer when I proceed to the rest of my plans for the car

 

Yep thats me!

on my channel I had a video of my straight pipe w PPE Headers but it was way too raspy. Wondering If a just a cat delete would make a difference. Cant wait to see how your build progresses!