First I need to say I am old school I grew up in the 60's with GTOs and Super Bees that had cold ram air hoods. With that said and all of the talk about different air intakes why doesn't someone take advantage of the two air ducts in the F Sport bumper doing nothing and make a duct system that brings even more cold air into the air intake area of the air box?

Aloha,
Larry

 

Someone had a similar suggestion. Good idea, however, not much point if the car already gets cold air through under the hood/stock airbox. If you use the lower inlets, you'll introduce a possibility of water getting through to the intake during heavy rain or going through a puddle. Also, the longer the intake pipe, the worse it is as far as I know when it comes to throttle response, etc.

 

Maybe but I had a Super Bee in 1969 that had two scoops on the hood and I drove it daily in the rain and snow with no problems.

With all the hype about aerodynamics why would Lexus put two holes that direct air to no where? I don't get it. Seems like a nice smooth bumper would be better if the ducts (holes) are not being used for anything.

 

Those ducts that are on the sides of the grille, they channel air into the wheel wells behind the wheels to cool off the brakes. The ones on the outer sides of the bumper are for fog lights, but since some models don't get fog lights, you get empty holes Also, I'm guessing they help a bit with the aerodynamics by pushing the front down a bit (just a theory). So, they are functional. But it would be nice if there were a tube that led directly to the rotors or calipers to hit them with some cold air like on race cars. Pointless for daily driving, though...

 

Here is my answer from Lexus:

"Thank you for contacting Lexus Customer Satisfaction. Your concern is important to Lexus, and we appreciate the time you have taken to email us.

The 2014 IS 350 F Sport boasts a distinct full-faced mesh grille and larger cooling ducts to help reduce brake fade. The smaller ducts are nonfunctional and simply cosmetic. Please refer to the following link for further information on the design of the 2014 IS 350 F Sport, http://www.lexus.com/models/IS/explore/"

 

There you go, I guess it reduces brake fade. Makes sense, but completely pointless for daily. They probably think people would take this car to the track or something?

 

if you look in the wheel well you will see the air duct, even my 2IS had them. Putting in an air duct is much better than putting on larger brakes for heat capacity which increase weight. I've tracked my 2IS twice, and planning to track the 3IS in a couple months. Yes its not needed for daily.