So if your IS350 is your daily, what's your weekend toy? What's everyone's fav JDM coupe? Fav sports car in general? May end up with a DD and a weekend sports car so wanted to get a feel for what's up.

 

My IS350 is my daily and weekend -- everyday. It's good enough for both.

 

Same here. And when it just can’t go any further or starts to turn brown. I’ll buy another.

 

Have the SC430 as the weekend car.

 

Encouraging to see these. I started getting sucked into looking some FRS's. Not being able to buy the car for 8 months is hard to stay on track hahaha

 

I'd LOVE to have an LS-swapped Miata for on the weekends and tracking!

 

there's a guy on our boards with like an IS350 and a lamborghini Huracan.... I think he might've gotten rid of the IS350 by now irrc

 

013 350 is the DD and offers one stop shopping.

July 2017 ~ 50,000 mi
Sept 2019 ~ 86,000 mi

 

Get an e30 325is and you'll experience what inspired Lexus to build the IS350.
Once you compare the two, you'll see how totally different they are (especially with stick) and how disconnected the steering and handling are on the IS350.

Regardless, I still enjoy both for what they have to offer.

 

O/T - your steering ECU stock? If yes, an upgrade could be the best money ever spent on the 350.

/return

 

I know there’s countless threads on the steering ECUs,
which one is the best to upgrade to ?

 

I've been running the ISF 08-10 for about 3 years now. No problems. From what I read on the forums people complained about the steering feel being the heaviest. For me it suits well, because coming from the stock AWD ecu it just plain had too much assist! Any little rut would make the steering wheel go all over the place. I also added the ISF steering wheel weight too. Literally now the wheel just tracks straight. It takes more effort for it to veer off in another direction.

The 08-10's can be had for about $200 range vs. The 11+ will be in the $500-$600 range.

 

I would say that the E46 3-series was the inspiration for the IS350. Both cars share very similar dimensions (wheelbase, track width, etc), weight distribution, and acceleration (E46 M3). Unfortunately, Lexus dropped the ball with its factory suspension tuning, overreliance on its VDIM system, and steering feel (though all three can be rectified with OEM upgrades such as the ISF Steering ECU and TRD/F-Sport components).

My recommendation is the 11-12 ISF Steering ECU. It provides, IMO, the best bang for your buck in terms of steering feel and feedback compared to the cheaper 08-10 unit or the pricier 13-14 unit.

Oh yeah, to answer the OP's question, my IS350 is both my daily and weekend toy.

 

As few F-Sport owners post on here, I'll share that I've driven stock 250/350's and the F-Sport option is night and day worth every penny in my book. That said the steering ecu carries many of the feedback traits of the ISF during normal driving. It's only until pushed to traction loss that the driver notices differences between F-Sport and ISF.

 

F sport sounds like the way to go from the build threads I've read as well. And I see that steering ECU mentioned all the time as well. Do you just replace your stock one and then drive it to lexus for calibration?