Dan's 02 Lexus IS200

[dangrant77]

Hi guys,

Bought myself an '02 Lexus IS200 a few weeks a go and though i'd start up a build thread of my progress with it. I'd planned to set up a thread for my old Mazda 3 but never got round to it, so here goes.

Here's the car the day I picked it up. I couldn't believe the condition of the thing when I first saw it in person, 1 owner from new and only 44,000 miles on the clock.. not bad for a 14 year old car! 

Ive read a lot about the reliability of these cars, infact it seems that the only negatives this car carries is its poor fuel economy (ironic considering the first photo I take of the car is during a fill up) and the tendency for the stock stereo to break and swallow CDs (again, ironic as during the journey home, this happened to me..) Ah well, nothing a touchscreen head unit swap won't solve later down the line.

The car is completely bone stock currently, I made sure to wait until an example came up that was completely unmolested and in the best condition possible. I think the only thing different on mine is the chrome mesh grill underneath the number plate, which I can only assume was a replacement for the normal black one. 

Anyways, on to the fun stuff!

I actually bought these wheels a good few months before buying the IS, they're 5x114.3 18x8.5 ET35 Schmidt Space Lines. I'd have a look around for some Jap style wheels for a while, but after seeing a lot of IS builds with euro wheel setups I was tempted to do the same. 

Having them sat in my garage for ages not doing anything was bothering me, so a week or so before collecting the Lexus I decided to give them a proper clean. I used auto gym wheel cleaner for the whole wheel (apart from the chrome lip) and they came out looking quite good. The only downside with the wheels is admittedly they could do with a refurb, but I probably won't be prioritising that anytime soon.

So now with the car home, it was time for a makeshift test fit. Pretty happy with how they suit the car.

Thats about where I'm up to at the minute, plenty planned for March/April including buying some tyres (still unsure whether to go for 205/40s or 215/40s), some BC Racing coilovers and a rear arch roll. Ive also bought a TRD rear valance which will have to get sprayed and fitted at some point, but I want the wheels and coilovers on before I think about that. 

In terms of future plans after March/April i'll mainly be focusing on aesthetics, however we'll see where it goes..

I'll make sure to post again in the next month or so when more develops with the Lex anyway, thanks for reading :)

 

[andyk134]

Welcome to the club and a nice looking car and the wheels do suit that colour very well. I totally love mine and have no intention of changing it until it ceases to be viable. for tyres the correct size is 225/40s to give the same rolling circumference. I have 8.5 X 18s on mine and on reflection I would have gone to 235s as they look pretty stretched but they do fit ok. I have had the rear lip cut away under the arches which is cheaper than rolling them and keeps the lines of the car the same. I went for Michelin pilot super sports that give amazing grip.

BC coilovers are quite hard, I have Meister R;s which have a lower spring rate which I find it better for our excuse for road surfaces in this country! But like everything it depends on how you like your ride. I have spent a lot on mine over the years as you can see from my profile, but dont regret a penny of it. You can have something very different from the usual crowd that's reliable and lovely to look at.

 

be good to see how your build progresses. Enjoy your car.

 

[dangrant77]

Thanks for the reply Andy, really like the look of your car with those rotas on! Just had a quick look through your pretty impressive mod list and saw you've got a power flow back box on yours, how does that sound? Ive been looking at the cobra system a bit but probably won't be messing with my exhaust for a while yet. 

I can't get enough of the stretched look so I think i'll probably go for 215s, 205s might end up being a bit too dramatic so i'm likely to meet in the middle somewhere haha. The 225s on your car look really nice though man!

Out of interest how low can the Meister Rs go? Do you still have a lot of adjustment room in them on your current set up? I plan on running the IS fairly low and from what I've read up BC Racing br series allow for quite a lot of adjustment. If the Meisters can go pretty low I might take a look at them as an alternative as that way i'd have the best of both worlds, however I've grown accustomed to stupidly firm suspension setups over the last few years so i'm hoping BCs can't be as bad as the TA Technix I ran on my last car   

Really glad to hear you've enjoyed your time owning yours mate, when I get chance i'll have a proper read of your posts.. just looking through your mod list has got me pretty interested to see everything you've done to yours.

Thanks again for the nice comments and info man, i'll make sure to post back in here when I make more changes.

- Dan

[HoodRich]

Congrats on the purchase of such an awesome example of an IS. That is super-low mileage - you're quite lucky to have found it.

[dangrant77]

Thanks man 

[andyk134]

,Hi Dan, thanks for your comments. I have had my car for 6 1/2 years now and have gradually improved it year on year with the big upgrade last year to Turbo etc. I did have the Powerflow back box before I went Turbo and it just sounded a bit deeper without intruding and there was a slight increase in response, despite what some will tell you on here about not getting anything if you change the exhaust. Like everything its a personal choice, but I didn't want to make it sound too different and found the Powerflow an excellent compromise.

on the Meister's they will go lower, I am running it higher than when it was fitted because it wouldn't go over some of the speed humps around here and that wasn't set at the lowest point. And I didn't want to make it look too low that's not my thing, but yes it will go lower than my set up. Even with the Poly bushes it isn't as hard as the Koni kit I had on my Civic so very pleased with them.

I love the Rota's too, I spent a long time searching for the right wheels to replace the smoked multispokes I had on as standard and am pleased with the outcome. I still have the old wheels if anyone is interested.

 

[dangrant77]

Quick update: 

Ordered some tyres today, went with some 215/40/18 Nankang NS2s as I had a set of these on my old Mazda and they were great in summer. Not so great in winter but i'll either buy a winter set up for the schmidts or buy a new wheel set up solely for winter, got a while to make that decision yet though.

Hoping i'll have the schmidts on some time within the next 3 weeks or so, and at the end of the month the real work starts on the car which will be ordering coilovers, getting it low and working on my wheel fitment. (The TRD valance and head unit can wait for now!)

Also thanks on the reply Andy, the powerflow seems like a really good option, when I get round to looking at exhausts I think i'll go for something that has a decent sound too it but isn't too overbearing, plenty of time to think about that though..

Thanks for the info on the meisters too, i'm pretty much set on the BCs now after speaking to a few guys in the US who have them so it looks like i'll be running a fairly firm and low Lexus pretty soon haha.

P.s your car even looks great on the Lexus multispokes! Are those 17s? They look a bit smaller than the rotas but still love that smoked look with the red.