lockedlex

Hi, wanted to introduce myself. Just picked up a 2014 IS350C and have really been enjoying it. I'd been looking at an IS for a year or so to replace another daily driver I had. I wanted something sporty and reliable and needed to take a break from German cars for a bit. Originally I wanted a sedan, but after realizing that I'd only needed the back seat in my last sedan 5 times in 5 years, decided that a Convertible/2 door would be fine. Most importantly, my last car had Radar Cruise Control, so I needed that for my next one and after searching for months, found one with Radar Cruise Control and PreCollision. I couldn't find any sedans with this option (even the IS F). Just as important, I needed a touchscreen Nav, no mouse buttons, no trackpads, no iDrive, I needed a touchscreen so that ruled out any newer IS.

After driving it about 6k miles, I got the mod bug. So I changed few things.

Handling:
While the car drove well, say 6/10 a BMW with a sport suspension, I found that it did have a little bit too much initial body roll for my tastes. So I added:
F-Sport Suspension (lowering springs and shocks)
F-Sport Sways (front and rear)
That really helped to change the handling, it's so tight and well balanced now, very little body-roll and less of a feeling that the "tail is wagging the dog" when cornering. I'd say it's a 8/10 compared to a BMW (which is great, it retains the Lexus comfort, but has just the perfect amount of "sport"). It also sits lower, with less of a wheel gap (I don't understand why Lexus allowed it to have such a huge gap, it was like driving an SUV!)

Performance:
F-Sport Intake. Supposedly adds HP, but I'm more into the deep burble noise above 3k rpm, sounds great! I know there were other options, but needed to keep it CARB certified.

Cosmetic:
Replaced the steering wheel with a custom flat bottom wheel
Replaced shifter with a perforated Leather/Chrome version
Tinted it
Replaced the whip antenna with a short stub antenna
Replaced HIDs with 6000k
Added 2011 Lexus RX headrests (with Tilt), painted it Saddle Tan to match interior color. I couldn't stand how I couldn't rest my head against the headrest, so this solved that.
Purchased new OEM Wind Deflector

Options:
Intuitive Park Assist, Luxury Package (Bi-Xenon HID headlamps with LED daytime running lamp, Espresso Bird’s-Eye Maple wood trim with Saddle interior, Driver’s and front passenger’s seat memory (three-position), Heated/ventilated front seats, Illuminated scuff plates, One-touch easy entry driver and passenger power seats with tilt and slide, Outside rear-view mirror functions (electrochromic, memory, reverse tilt-down), Perforated semi-aniline leather-trimmed seats, Rain-sensing windshield wipers, Steering column with memory), Mark Levinson with HDD Navigation (Bluetooth® hands free phone and music streaming, HD Radio with iTunes tagging, Lexus Enform® with Safety Connect, NavTraffic, NavWeather, Rear back-up camera, Voice command casual-language voice recognition system, Mark Levinson Premium Surround Sound system (12 speakers, advanced discrete amplifier design with 300 watts continuous power at less than 0.1% THD, 7.1-channel speaker architecture), Pre-Collision System (PCS) with Dynamic Radar Cruise Control

Apart from doing all the changes myself, I also changed out the oil, spark plugs and cabin filter. The car had a full Lexus service history every 5k miles and has all original paint, no dings/scratches. Overall I’d give the exterior and interior a 9.5/10. I'm really looking forward to tacking the miles on this one and keeping it for a while!



Obligatory Top-Down Pic


Top Up Pic:


Flat bottom Steering while and Perf leather shift ****:



Stub Antenna:


Lexus RX Headrest with Tilting Option, painted Saddle Tan:



Tilted towards driver:


F Sport Intake:

ryanSC300lover

iTrader: (1)

lockedlex

Hi, I'm in Los Angeles, but travel to SF often, what about yourself?

The headrests I got from ebay, then just used an airbrush and acrylic leather paint that matches the Saddle Tan. The seats are the original ones that came with the car. The suspension I got from Lexuspartsnow.com. It was around 1700 with shipping and tax. The headrests were just around 80. I did the install myself so not sure what that would run.

This first pic shows the wheel gap with the standard suspension (the gap is HUGE, like an SUV), the second pic is after the F-Sport (but before it's "settled" so would probably drop a tad more by the time it's done):



Regarding the headlights, the OEM was OK, but after a few years of use, the Xenon Gas breaks down, so it's just not as bright or as "white" as it used to be. Here's what new bulbs at 6k looks like (left) compared to the stock (right) which is usually around 4300k. And since these bulbs can last 100k miles, they're rarely changed, so it can have a lot of drift and you don't notice it until you replace it. Newer is much brighter and whiter/bluer:

ryanSC300lover

iTrader: (1)

lockedlex

Just added the key card!



Added carbon vinyl to protect it.

lockedlex

Sure thing, pm me and we can try to coordinate something .

IZA350c

Hey Gents!!

Also located in LA! Like yourself, I came from BMW's and also never had a convertible and didn't like the body flex. I just did the sway bars as I really like the ride going over these wonderfully pot holed Los Angeles city streets. I have been going back and forth trying to decide if I change out the shocks and springs too. I just don't want too stiff of a ride -- do you do a lot of city driving or mainly high way?

Can you tell me about the key card upgrade? I would love to get something a bit slimmer.

Thanks!

2013FSport

iTrader: (2)

OP looks nice.
I'm sure you did the right thing but I'm just going to throw out something the DIY folk overlook, only tighten the pinch bolts of lower shocks, A-Arms, and/or any other rubber bushing when the suspension is at ride height!
If tightened when hanging down, the core gets over-rotated when at normal ride height and the rubber bushings fail.

Enjoy....

lockedlex

This is critical and must absolutely be done when the suspension is loaded, not free hanging. It's also part of the installation instructions.

lockedlex

The ride isn't stiff really. I'd say the biggest change is it removes any floaty feel and makes the steering more communicative. Before the car had a tail wagging the dog feel whenever you would turn.. and now everything feels more solid and connected. It also reduced the bodyflex and cowlshake perceptably, but I can't say it rides harsh at all. I think that's why I stuck with OEM to keep it lexus-like. If I went with BC coilovers, etc, then it would have been much more harsh.

The key card is about 250 and requires techstream to program it. Lexus can also program it, but sometimes it doesn't work, have to be sure to get the compatible fcc id version. Would cost about 200 for them to program it and you need a new one, a used one can't be programmed. There are some decent write ups if you do a Google search for key card Lexus programming.

IZA350c

Can you share the part number on the Key Card, I've tried ordering it but, they are saying it is not compatible with my car (which is the same as yours)

lockedlex

Here's the part I used, (YMMV):

89904-50481