New poster, new lexus owner.
Currently an 07 IS250 with the X package. I'm wanting exhaust and intake combo that will sound good at WOT and faster driving, but not be annoying while cruising. This is by no means a race car, I just want mods..

Right now I'm looking at the JoeZ intake pipe and Toms Hiflow filter. I'm wanting to keep somewhat stock appearing due to the warranty I was given by the dealer I just bought it from.

Exhausts: I love the look of the greddy, but I'm open to all others. I do want bang for my buck, so the systems with the most hp/tq gains seem like the best for ME. Price isn't really a big deal, I figure its a 25K$ car. I want quality, looks, and fit. Idling I'd like a little more aggressive over stock, but nothing annoying. I would like it to sound good on acceleration and at WOT. Not a fan of backfiring if it can be avoided. I like the idea of Wald, but I've got a stock bumper and don't want to have to mod it.

I know this seems like alot of info, but I figure I'd answer every question you guys might throw my way off the get go. I've been scrolling through the forums for a couple of days now (only had the car 7 days) and most posts that associate with mine haven't been updated/posted in for awhile. I'm wanting the most up to date info I can get. I've previously had a FC Rx-7, as well as an FD, and a cpl of civics. You guys know your stuff.

 

there is no real gains for any mod. joe intake, and tanabe would be a good combo. maybe an invidia midpipe too

 

How much louder does the midpipe make it?

 

Any knocks on the Invidia exhaust plus the midpipe?

http://www.invidia-usa.com/Products.aspx?ProductID=165

 

Just to give you a realistic understanding of gains:

Any intake: 0-5 hp. Joe Z is most gain for least money.

Any axle-back exhaust: 5-7 hp. Only difference will be noise and in same cases quality/fittment.

Any midpipe: 1-2 hp. This is probably the worst bang for the buck mod on earth for hp gains, but some folks like the noisier exhaust.

There's also full exhausts like the Joe Z, roughly 8-12 hp depending if you remove 2 cats or 4...illegal either way though. If I was gonna run an illegal exhaust I'd just go with the Joe Z setup long before I did an axle-back and midpipe... costs won't be too different and you at least get a full exhaust all engineered to work together. (and you help a forum member out since he designed it)

 

IMO, the f-sport intake with the f-sport exhaust is a great combo but kind of pricey. The joe-z intake and the f-sport intake are pretty much the same except the hole in the box which you can cut yourself( the joez is also significantly less expensive than the fsport)...so i guess my vote goes to the joez intake and the fsport exhaust. other nice exhausts are the hks (same thing as fsport but rare O.o)/hks-hipower. my personal favorite is the wald but that's a damn expensive exhaust

 

I understand about what kind of gains to expect, I mean I'm not expecting a 50hp increase on intake and exhaust..

As far as exhaust, I'd like to keep my cats intact (for now) and quality/fitment/ gains are all pretty high priority. I won't be able to do the exhaust until August just due to loans/etc from being a med student and in the national guard. I figure that way I can go with the best system and not just the best price. I like the JoeZ for a full cat-less exhaust, but that will have to wait awhile until I hit residency. Right now the top 3 exhausts in my mind are:
Fsport
HKS Hipower
Greddy SE

I noticed that some of the exhausts were having issues with hanging even... Some had left sides lower, etc.. Anyone know if all 3 of these do that, none do that, one of them.. ?.?.?.? I read the easy fix with the zip ties, but if it can be avoided I'd like to.

Intake: I might go with the Fsport 'just because', but the JoeZ pipe is appealing. Did the same guy on the forum do the intake design as well as the JoeZ exhaust? If so I'll just get the intake pipe and a hiflow filter...

 

best gains for it's price right after a joe z intake seem to be the ppe headers.

 

I have the F-sport intake with Tanabe exhaust on my 250 and love the sound. I have had the Injen and Joe-z with a hole in my intake box. But like my current setup the best. The F-sports intake pipe is alil larger but don't know if it matters. No difference in pwr, but it was all for sound and looks anyway.

 

Ya I'm leaning towards the Fsport (actually going to order it in the next 2 or 3 days). Man I have to admit the blued tips on the Greddy and Megan exhausts look sexy as hell. I can tell that the exhaust system is going to be a REALLY hard decision to make. None of them will be cheap and will most likely be a one time deal to try and get what I want.