Modding 1999 Lexus ES300
 

I'm looking to mod my 1999 Lexus ES300.
So far I've purchased the Dragon Air Intake system.

I've replaced parts (mass air fuel sensor, O2 sensor, knock sensor, solenoids, brakes) so far, but hoping to get parts to modify and not just replace parts.

My objective is to keep the car for at least 5-10 years (I purchased it July 2015) and I'd like it to be more personalized to me while also having more performance.

I'd like to ultimately increase the acceleration (I'm coming from a 2001 Nissan Altima with a twin cam engine), increase my performance (if possible), help with the gas mileage (the roads in MA aren't friendly to cars), ask for a recommended tire brand for my car, advice on if I'm able to use the stock stereo but replace the speakers/tweeters or if I HAVE to replace the whole entire sound system.

Does anyone know of any websites besides eBay, Amazon or CarID?

You'll never get the acceleration of that Altima 4banger! My mom had one and it was a racer!

That's understandable, but I wanted to see if increasing what I currently have without messing up my Lexus is possible.

Is it too late to return the Dragon?

Sorry to tell you but you wasted your money. The intake system on these cars is very good and does not restrict the engine in any way.

Well too late now, so no point on dwelling on that aspect.

Does anyone know where I can go to get the woodgrain steering wheel and wood grain panels (some of mines were peeled off when I got the car)?

Basically like what Lexus2000 has in this picture

Would I be wasting my money on a performance Mass Air Fuel Sensor? I had plans to get that at some point.

Steering wheel check Ebay you can use the generation 4 ES wheel and airbag if you want. What colour is your interior?
I don't know anything about that sensor but I highly doubt it will do anything Lexus is not going to leave performance on the table for no reason. If you want more power swap in a 3MZ-FE or look for a TRD supercharger although hard to find and pricey. There is no cheap and easy power mod for these engines.

BTW the "cold air intake" systems almost always have two things against them, they take air in from the engine bay versus the OEM design which means they are anything but a cold air intake. And secondly they are usually made of metal which tends to get warm especially if chrome plated.

1. My color interior is tan. half of the wood grain that's in my car is close to the color you have, the other ones are either faded or peeling off.
2. in short the only thing to increase power is switching out my engine with a ES330 engine?
3. What do you suggest with the intake then? go back to the stock?

Hardest colour wood wheel to find, I gave up and bought a black one and had the leather redone by craftcustoms.com
It's the cheapest and most reliable way, well the cheapest if you do the work yourself. TRD supercharger is another but they are pricey and rare. You can get 5-10hp by having a custom Y-pipe done the stock one is not the best design. There are headers out there that have the Y-pipe but I don't know if they will actually give gains or not.
As I said before the stock intake does not restrict engine power at all, so yes.

There IS one other way to get relatively inexpensive power but the kits are not available for the 1MZ AFAIK. BTW I've driven that Camry with the Phantom SC kit it is the real deal.

I just bought a High Flow Filter (JDM Blitz) I normally find the stock box design to be ideal in terms of function, noise and performance.

Unless there's a quality brand that out performs the Air Duct/RAM of the stockbox.

If I recall the TRD superchargers were for 97-01 Camrys They didn't have VVTI in those right? I wonder if the piggy back computers will work on our cars with VVTI.

Isn't the 3MZ fly by wire? so a swap like that is a huge endeavor, not sure if this car is the right platform for those kinds of mods.

I'd get an IS or GS before the throw that kind of money down on making this car faster.

got a link to those Y pipes? or is it one of those one off creations?

BTW, my 2000 Platinum came with the woodgrain wheel and interior is also Tan (Ivory to be exact) The steering wheel and shifter is wrapped with a gray/brown leather. Anywho, the woodgrain on the Platinum cars are Birdseye Maple, the non Platinums are Walnut (Darker) If you see it in person you can tell the difference.

It's probably a good idea to get the matching woodgrain for your car unless you don't mind having it mismatched.

Yah I've been looking for mods too, but this car is pretty much an Old man's car there's not much you can mod to make it faster w/o throwing a few mortgage payments at it!

Consider leaving it mostly stock, they reseller better or start with a different platform.

Swapping in an ES330 3MZ Engine isn't for the faint hearted in a 3rd gen ES. Everything is different, starting with the drive by wire system, transmission, mounts etc.

What I've read some Toyota MR2 owners do is use a 3MZ-FE block with a 1MZ-FE headers and intake control.

The main advantage of the 3MZ over the 1MZ is midrange torque, though at the expense of noise and refinement. I love the highway pull I get on my ES330! However at the upper end it doesn't pull as hard, where as the 1MZ in my Solara peaks in its upper range.

The TRD Supercharger is another option, but I believe it was mostly intended for the non-VVT-i 1MZ-FE engines, like in the Gen 1 Solara.

Either way, the 210HP with your current setup is pretty much as much as you're going to get out of it right now without spending more than your car is worth. Assuming you're caught up on maintenance, you can personalize smaller things, such as HID/ LED light upgrades, tints and a nice set of rims.

Custom done by a muffler shop. These could be made to work on the Lexus but I don't know if the cost is worth the mild HP gain.