Some big maintenance items coming up due. Got some goodies from HPS Performance, AMSOIL, new hood struts, and a bunch of OEM parts straight from the dealer. Best time to buy OEM parts is on the big sale weeks. My water pump went bad and have not had the time to replace it for a few months. Around the same time, all dealer website parts department was down as well which even delayed the water pump replacement even more.

Things been done:

Water Pump/ Thermostat Replacement
Serpentine Belt Replacement
Complete Coolant Flush
Upgraded Coolant and Heater Core Hoses
Differential Service
Hood Strut Replacement

Stay tuned...




(08/2024) Almost caught up !!!

 

Keep it up!

 

While doing the water pump and radiator service, might as well change the coolant hoses to add some color to the engine bay. It was a good thing that I purchased them since the old OEM hoses were impossible to take off when I was doing the water pump. I had to cut them all off. The install was pretty easy. These are thicker than OEM so it was little more difficult to get these to fit but if you use some coolant or water to lube up the hoses, they will slip right on. The heater core hoses were really difficult to install due to the lack of space. The hardest part was getting the hoses to fit on the heater core It self and trying to put the clamps on. I highly recommend a vice grip (for the clamps) and a bent nose plier (to install the hose) to make It slightly more easy. After many frustrations, cut marks, and torn gloves later, I finally got them on. Was it worth it? yes of course. Will I do it again? hmmmm idkkkkk probably lol.

 

I had these sitting in my closet for a while and finally getting around to installing them. Very easy install. I recommend having a buddy with you to help you bleed the brakes or you can buy those vacuum bleeders incase you don't have any friends...jk. I would also recommend having rags on the floor so you don't drip brake fluid everywhere when you are swapping the lines. You better be quick other wise you will make a mess and loose too much brake fluid from the revisor. Ask me how I know



(08/2024)

 

Oh my GAWD these look so sexy. I have been wanting a set of RCF wheels for the longest. To me they are a cheap way to get in to some new wheels, especially a BBS wheel. The specs are 19 x 9 and 19 x 10 with 255/35/19 front and 275/35/19 rear. These fit PERFECT (other than the slight rubbing as expected). These wheels made the car too much more nice and I just love how it sits. 19" wheels on the ISC is a MUST. Also, the improved handling and steering response of having big ol meaty tires in the front was great. It felt like I was on rails.

I picked these up form a salvage yard that was parting out a RCF for about $850. It was a pain in the *** to clean with all these spokes but in the end it was worth it. The passenger side wheels had a lot of curb racing due to being in an accident and most of the damaged was on the passenger side, Thankfully only the front right wheel was badly scrapped but nothing too crazy. Still looks better than my 10 year old OEM F sport wheels that were trashed by the previous owner.

Let me know what you guys think of this set up.








(08/2024)

 

So after doing the coolant hoses, I was inspired to see if I can change any other hoses around the engine bay. Now this Is purely for looks and does not yield any performance gains..I think? Took some trial and error and a lot of measuring until I got the right sizes and length.

Let me know what you guys think.












(09/2024)

 

Unfortunately, my time with the RCF wheels has come to an end. The biggest issue I was having was the driver side fenders kept digging in to the tires causing them to strip off little by little. The rear tire cill come off as seen in the photo below on dips. The from tires will just get cuts on them but not peel off like the rear. I was told my shocks is more than likely worn out which is what is causing this. I also think it might be an alignment issue. I previously gotten an alignment for the first time right before I got these wheels and honestly it has been the worst experience I had. My alignment guy had to redo my alignment 5 times until he gave up. My alignment was perfectly fine before and had no issues with tire wear. Now my wheel is still off center and I feel like the alignment is the reason for my driver side tires poking out more than my passenger.

The passenger side tires both front and rear sit flush in the wheel well/fenders. I had 0 issues with them rubbing or getting chewed up by the fender. The driver side however sticks out about 10 mm or so and you don't really notice it until you really pay attention and compare both sides. Never had this issue with my previous wheel set up with spacers too. Till this day, I am still having the same issue and it is very annoying. I wished I never gotten an alignment,, especially from a shop that half asses it and then keeps putting me off.

I ended up selling the wheels for what I paid for and used that money to buy a new set of wheels. Such a bummer





(10/2024)

 

Incase anyone is wondering what is the wheel weight for the OEM 20 Spoke Polished RC-F Wheels. Not to shabby.

Front Wheels: 19 x 9 - 25.75 lbs EACH
Rear Wheels: 19 x 10 - 27.75 lbs EACH

Front Wheel 19 x 9


Front Wheel 19 x 9


Rear Wheel 19 x 10


Rear Wheel 19 x 10

 

Ever wondered how much does the OEM exhaust weights? Well here it is.....44.50 LBS :O. I had to cut these exhaust when I did my custom exhaust because it was heavy and did not help it was very disproportionate so I made I harder to carry. Even carrying just a muffler is some what heavy. A single middler with some piping and tips weighs almost 19lbs. I wish I would have weight my after market set up or even the parts its self because alll the parts alone where lighter than the single muffler.

SO if you are looking for cheap weight savings and performance gains, do a muffler delete LOL



OEM Full Catback Exhaust (excluding cats)


Single OEM muffler

OEM Midpipe

OEM midpipe?

 

Finally got the time to do my transmission service. Honestly, this was way easier than I thought. I was pretty nervous doing this since I did not want to mess anything up. I watched a ton of youtube videos on this leading up to the service. My favorite video was form a Toyota technician who showed me how to properly do it. A lot of people do a simple drain and fill like draining it and filling it up with the same out of fluids which honestly never made sense to me and it is not the correct way to do it. The correct way is to drain the fluid, put new fluid in until it starts leaking form the check plug (which is what is used for...checking the fluid lol) and then you will start the car, le it warm up to proper temperature (my OBD II reader did not have the option to let me look ash the transmission fluid temperature so I ran it for 5-10 mins), row through the gears (foot on the brake) then after that you will continue to pump fluid in until all old fluid is out. How will you know? The fluid will turn form a dark color (what ever color your old transmission fluid is) to a nice red color (what ever your new transmission fluid color is). This took about 8-9 quarts maybe. thankfully I purchased a 2.5 gallon bottle from AMSOIL so I had plenty.

I replaced the transmission filter as well but honestly lookin at it, it would have been fine if I did not replace it. I was taking off the pan anyways to replace it since it had dents in it so I figured why not. It is only $25 for the filter I believe. I also gotten new gaskets and all new bolts for the transmission pan along with the drain, fill, and check plug.

After doing this, I realized that the 3 ton Daytona jacks from Harbor freight do not provide enough room even at the max setting. I ended up selling them and switching to the 6 ton jacks from harbor freight. If you plan on doing work on your car and modifying it alot (meaning you will be under it a lot) I highly recommend the 6 ton. The lowest setting is as high as the highest setting o the 3 ton. If you don plan on being under your car other than oil changes and occasional stuff like rear diff or transmission, then the 3 ton is more than enough.

Let me know what you guys think!





(11/2024)

 

Just got this baby in straight from Japan for a killer deal. I will not be officially mounting it yet but I did some test fits to make sure it will fit.

Off the bat this is a piece of beauty and is very sturdy and got some weight to it. I can use this as a home defense weapon if needed. Fit meant could be better but then again I am trying to mock it top with the wrapping still on it. Personally, I think it will fit when It is time to actually mount it. This is the Late 3IS version meaning it is for the face lift 2020+ IS350 but honestly even the 3IS bar fits the 2IS and vice versa. So I would assume this one will fit. I also saw a post in Facebook that also had this version of the strut bar on their 2IS.

Let me know what you guys think.



Straight form Japan

Initial Fitment


Small Gaps


With out engine over

 

I have been trying to find the exact match of power coat that can match f sport blue. I have ordered a bunch of swatches from Prismatic Powders and narrowed it down to these 3. What do you guys think? I say Savannah Blue is the closest.

 

After owning this RR Racing intake tube for about two years, I think it is time to part ways with it. Some may consider this a down grade but honestly the f sport intake pipe is just as good. The RR Racing intake pipe is clearly more bigger and wide than the F Sport intake. Main reason I wanted to switch it was so I don't have to swap it out when it is time for SMOG it. Another reason was just so I can have all f sport accessories.

What do you guys think?


Before

RR Racing

F Sport

Me Gusta



Finally cleaning my f sport filter after 2 years. I got the f sport cleaning kit which honestly was ok. You can also get the same results with some dish soap and water in a spray bottle. I forgot to take a photo of how it looked after but I recommend you do this on a day that is sunny and when you will not be using the car. It takes a while to air dry.



After 2 years

 

Got some new goodies for preparation for my first ever track day. I will be running with OnGride at Thunderhill West.

I got my self a Pyrotect Helmet, a beautiful ICON split beam torque wrench (since my other one broke), a MOTIVE brake bleeder kit (so I can bleed brakes alone), more Motul DOT 5.1 to bleed the brakes, these cool foldable crates from amazon Japan, and some other misc. items and a tool kit I made my self.

I also opted for R1 Concept Track Day pads

Let's see how she does.

 

Was very nervous for my first ever track day. It was a blast. She did really well to my surprise.


Start of the Day

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Made some friends


End of the Day