Hi all.

I am new to Japanese, and Lexus as well.

I have had German in the last 15+ years. I own an S4 which has a supercharged 3.0 V6 (factory rated 333hp). I test drove the is350 2017 and there was a pretty significant difference in power delivery; I was hoping the is350 would be a tad slower than the S4, but it what it is.

​​​​​​So I was looking into Lexus because of its solid reliability compared to German cars (even though the 3.0T is a solid platform), and I wanted more luxury versus Toyota's, subaru, Honda, etc. I also want awd.

Anyway I discovered that the is300 and is350 share the exact engine, and that a tune on the is300 will land you an is350. The price difference between the two is significant here in Canada. That said I have many questions...

Q1) Can the tune be detected by Lexus? I know on German cars, if you tune it, they will know, not only through the flash counters, but other ways like torque figures, etc, and the data will be sent to germany directly and the car flagged as TD1 (tuned). Is it the same with Lexus, even if u flash it back to stock?

Q2) besides a tune, what do I need to get an is300/350 to 400hp?

Q3) who offers the best tune for this platform? First to de tune, and second, to 400hp (I guess it would take a turbo or supercharger for that).

Thanks for any information, feedback, and help.

 

You're not gonna reach 400hp in this car with bolt ons and a tune. I'd argue you could reach 350 (at the crank)/ 290-300 wheel from what I've seen, but definitely not 400. If you want 400 or higher, you'll need to jump for a supercharger. RR-Racing has pretty much established itself as the most well-known tuner for this car. D3Performance is new, but I don't know enough about them to provide commentary.

 

Thanks for your reply.

What kind of mods would bring it to 350 besides the tune?

Would you say just the tune and a good air filter would bring it to 315sh?

 

The difference between the AWD F sport 350 and 300 are the stock tune and the front shocks/AVS motors. (no AVS if it's a non f sport 350). The tune can take care of the power difference to make it the same as a 350 or a tad more if you'd like. No idea about adding AVS to a car that was not factory equipped with it. It's a simple system of a little motor clicking the dampening settings to 2/3 different levels depending on year of the car. no real on the active adaptive dampening or anything.

Supposedly the OEM F sport axle back and intake both add about 3% more power each, so about 9 crank HP each. A mid pipe/ cat back exhaust should add a little more on top of that.

 

Anyone has solid Intel or can confirm if the dealer can detect the tune after switching the RR tune back to stock?

 

This isnt really answering your questions but I'd really recommend an IS F or a GS F, for your criteria.

 

Guys asking about a Recent AWD car....Most ISFs are around a decade old now, and a GSF pre owned is twice the price (if not more) than a pre owned IS....And neither of the Fs are AWD...

 

I have taken my 300 in on a couple of occasions where they had to use their tech stream to fix error codes within my vehicle. Not once have they mentioned detecting the tune, although there are notes in my service history that does indicate that I have aftermarket intake and spacers on my front wheels. Marked with an (*) so I am pretty confident that if they would have found it, they would have definitely marked it. As far as I know the only way they will tell is either by driving it to the revised redline or by actually going into it perimeters looking for it. Other than those it would remain your little secret.