This has likely been hammered over here already, but I am eyeing the RR Racing plug n play tuner for the IS300. My question is, how “risky” is it to take the stock IS300 2GR up to, say, IS350 levels via an ECU tune? I understand they share the same 2GR engine, but what would the drawbacks be if mine has 90k on the clock? Would this reduce the longevity of the car as a daily driver? It doesn’t have any other mods, save for coming with the F Sport Performance exhaust. Would I suddenly start seeing dash lights, or other possible computer-related problems? Also, what is the case if the tuner is run for a while, then unplugged? Does the car revert to stock ECU settings, or something else? Any input would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

I went with the D3 Performance tune for my 2018 IS300 back in October 2022 and have had zero issues. Have a little over 70K miles on the clock now - so probably have close to 25K-30K miles of trouble-free driving with the tune.

Whereas I cannot speak for the RR Racing tune (it was not available when I purchased the D3 tune), I imagine it would be just as safe.

Pretty sure the tune is flash update via OBDII port (D3's is), so if you want to revert to stock you need to flash it back (part of the procedure is to save the stock tune before upgrading).

Hopefully others will chime in if they have had different experiences, but mine have been great and would not hesitate to recommend.

 

Thanks so much. Answered a lot of my questions. I have one more: does it make the scanner port unusable for diagnostic as I’ve read in other places? I’d like it if the car was still readable by a professional mechanic.

 

Regular diagnostic tools work on a car that has an aftermarket map flashed, The modified map is only changing certain parameters on certain tables, no worries.
Keep up with maintenance schedule and frequent oil changes and don’t worry too much. Car will not revert to stock by itself, it has to be flashed back to stock with the tuner box.
Want to sell or trade the F Sport exhaust ?

 

When we tune the IS300, we are removing the restriction that Lexus puts on. Doing that is zero risk whatsoever. It just makes it an IS350. Beyond that is where are tuning comes in. This is a marginal improvement in power since these are normally aspirated engines. Nothing drastic is being done at all so your engine is not at risk at all.

When you tune the car, you pack up the equipment used and store it away. The OBD port is accessible for any code reading in the future and the tune stays in there.

 

MForce was my first choice but they claimed my Calibration ID was not yet supported by their tune software, so idk why they would even have the option for my 19' IS350 Fsport on their website. Anyway I am also now looking into the RRR or D3 tune, D3 mainly because of the optional pop and bang tune. But in my experience of reading so many RRR reviews, I think I might go with them because they have more exposure and good word out on them, never seen anything negative said. As for D3, many of the reviews on other forums are scary so I'm hesitant with them. Ik there are other tuners as well that you can find on IG but I feel that going with the ones that have repeatedly tested and refined their tune for maximum potential would be in everyone's best interest, RRRacing. Would be nice if they also offered some additional pop tunes

Mods: PPE Catless Headers, Apexi Midpipe, Remark Axleback (muffler delete), HPS Shortram Intake

 

Where are the bad D3 reviews? D3 is fantastic on the 8AR-FTS with no issues by anyone.

 

Im not sure what their reviews are on other models, but I have a 2019+ 2GR-FKS engine. And the 8AR-FTS is boosted, so I expect they can provide a bit more in performance as opposed to my NA engine. But anyway Ive seen a few videos on the tune for my engine specifically and apparently some are having transmission slippage, long engine warm up times and a substantial fuel economy drop from what you would already expect from a tune. Not at all trying to put a bad word out on D3, but Ive seen maybe a handful of bad RRR reviews, so I might go with something that gives a little piece of mind. Any advice or questions appreciated

 

I arrived here about a year ago from the Subaru world. I’ve had many wrx and wrx STi that I went thru the tuning process with. Both dyno and e tune, the process of getting a vehicle properly calibrated requires lots of patience. Even if you buy a tuning box that already comes loaded with tunes it does not guarantee that every vehicle is going to respond positively to the new map. I have a 2017 IS300 naturally aspirated, I purchased a VF Tuner box and went with Loi for the recalibrated map (tune). First and second map put my car on limp mode, all that means is that the calibration required further adjustment. You can’t just flash a modified map to your ECU and expect perfect results immediately. In fact if your car responds without any issues it means the map is only making mild modifications and is probably some weak sauce. With my Subaru e tuner we would sometimes have over 30 revisions looking for the sweet spot where the engine would not knock, have great driveability and make awesome power. I got 3 maps from Loi, car runs strong but I have to figure out the VF Tuner logger so I can send Loi a few logs and get the most performance without knock and proper driveability. Meaning the tuning may or may not be completed on my vehicle. I’ve been driving it and it definitely feels good but there might be a little more on the table. I know it’s not knocking because I know what that sounds like and I have also not felt the ecu pull timing so it is pretty good. All I’m trying to say is if you venture into increasing your vehicle performance, do expect to put in the effort to get it right. It takes patience and work to go back and forth with the tuner to get it just right. But choose your tuner carefully, make sure the tuner isn’t looking to do a quick job and ignores you when things aren’t right and your car is a ticking time bomb. I don’t have an RR Racing setup but I can see from their responses here that they are committed to delivering the best product to their customers. No company is perfect and sometimes customers don’t really know what they are getting into. I know nothing about D3, so I’ll say nothing about them. I can certainly recommend VF Tuner and will say Loi is also a choice for consideration if you are going to get your vehicle modified and recalibrated. There is plenty of information on the forum about all you need to know, do your research before you go for it because it is not exactly inexpensive and it can be a very frustrating experience if things take a bad turn before things turn around the right way. It is simple enough to just flash your stock map and keep driving. If you have a heavily modified turbo vehicle it gets a bit more complicated but you should still be able to flash your stock map and stay out of boost on your way home. I’m and old guy, I find those pop and bang maps are ridiculous and they are certainly not good for your engine. If that’s what you want then make sure you’ll have enough money to repair or replace your vehicle once it is broken. Finally, if you increase your vehicle performance to the ragged edge you are also decreasing reliability. Take it to a safe state of tune that gives you plenty of performance without sacrificing too much reliability. Good luck with your tuning experience.

 

My 15 IS350 is Full bolt on (PPE headers, RR Tune, Ark catback, K&N filter). I chose RR because in 2017 no one else was tuning Lexus cars and it was and is a OTS tune. There are other tuners out there like D3, Loi, Reflash RD, etc who hold records for fastest ISF , IS350, etc. Are you looking for a OTS tune or looking for custom tune? I can tell you with RR tune I have had ZERO issues in the 130,000 miles I have been tuned. Again, this is my experience and I am not the fastest IS350 out there and I am sure other cars who are custom tuned can probably put 1-2 cars on me if we were to race.

@jgscott is tuned by D3 and has had a positive experience with his supporting mods.

But one thing I can say - before you tune make sure your car is up to date on maintenance. Many people slap on a tune and their car is running like s*** and then experience problems and then start immediately pointing fingers.

 

Anyway I am also now looking into the RRR or D3 tune, D3 mainly because of the optional pop and bang tune. But in my experience of reading so many RRR reviews, I think I might go with them because they have more exposure and good word out on them, never seen anything negative said. As for D3, many of the reviews on other forums are scary so I'm hesitant with them.

I have a D3 tune currently, never heard of any issues from anywhere about it myself. When i got the tune a couple years ago the tune seemed somewhat decent, but barely a change that i could tell. I visited RRR one day and Rafi himself test drove it and checked the graphs. Seemed there was something off with the tune and the power was lacking if i remember correctly. Once i reached back out to D3 support they then inspected and realized there was a slight issue with their tunes, and made a change a couple weeks later. That did infact make a difference. However i have not yet made any dynos so i cannot state exactly the power or performance changes on paper. Im still waiting on the superchrarger kit for the 2018+ so im holding off on getting the 350 tune they have to offer now.