A bit of spit and polish...

[PhoeNicks]

This has been a little while coming, so please bear with me. I'm a bit of a perfectionist (it's a curse) and never more so than with my cars. 

I have a bit of a history with 'refreshing' cars. This usually involves returning cars to a better than pristine state and then (lots of money later), getting bored, selling and starting again. Thus it's hard for me really appreciate my cars and to keep them for any long duration. Like I said, a curse.

Anyway I'm hoping to change my ways with my move to Lexus. It just ticks so many boxes for me right now.

The base car was a really good place to start: low mileage and a full service history from the original dealer. The car had been well looked after; the paint work original, in good nick and the mechanicals sound. However, as with everything that gets used, it picks up some perfections along the way.

The first thing I wanted to do was sort the paint. The car had picked up some front end blemishes/marks and the odd chip. To do this properly required a complete front end refresh. The next issue is that nothing lets a fresh paint job down more than putting tatty trim back on. So new headlights, grills, and a plate mount later and we were looking good.

I love the original look of the ISF, so while salivating over an amazing set of forged Vossen alloys, I chose to refurb the oem 10 spokes for now. I didnt want the car sitting on axel stands for a week, so i opted for getting another set. After sourcing a great set from a very helpful member on here, we got these refurbished and sent up to me. The wheels came with new Bridgestones, however I'd already bought some PS4Ss which had been in the garage, getting in the way of the Mrs. I really rate these, having used PSSs for years. New wheel centers finish these off well. Turns out the old ones were actually in very good condition anyway. 

The ISF's interior is in really good condition, if a little dark. Theres nothing i hate more than saggy seats with crumpled bolsters. It was also a nice surprise considering how badly my previous new Audi seats wore over 2 years of light use.  I toyed with the idea of a quilted cream retrim, having seen how good the colour looks combined with an USB car. I'm going to sit (haha) on this for a bit as it strays from original and I'm not sure how well it resists dirt (i have a little one on the way). Ive settled for now with a new set of Lexus mats, Lexus boot liner and some replacement plastic trims (replaced some scuffed boot trays and sill trims).

Finally, to tie everything in, the car came back today after several days away with a really nice man called Clark. His reputation preceeds him and im never dissapointed with his work. He treated the ISF to a paint correction, detail and a protective quartz coating on the body, trim and wheels.

Next plans... well I'm currently trying to source a Jap s/s & titanium exhaust to help the v8 sound a bit meaner. Then I'll see how I feel about the Vossens and the retrim again.

Big thanks again to Mr Rat and Sam at Lexus Cheltenham for helping me out big-time with the wheels. Top blokes.

Right, ive prattled on enough, see what you think:

[tomRCFcarbon]

16 minutes ago, PhoeNicks said:

This has been a little while coming, so please bear with me. I'm a bit of a perfectionist (it's a curse) and never more so than with my cars. 

I have a bit of a history with 'refreshing' cars. This usually involves returning cars to a better than pristine state and then (lots of money later), getting bored, selling and starting again. Thus it's hard for me really appreciate my cars and to keep them for any long duration. Like I said, a curse.

Anyway I'm hoping to change my ways with my move to Lexus. It just ticks so many boxes for me right now.

The base car was a really good place to start: low mileage and a full service history from the original dealer. The car had been well looked after; the paint work original, in good nick and the mechanicals sound. However, as with everything that gets used, it picks up some perfections along the way.

The first thing I wanted to do was sort the paint. The car had picked up some front end blemishes/marks and the odd chip. To do this properly required a complete front end refresh. The next issue is that nothing lets a fresh paint job down more than putting tatty trim back on. So new headlights, grills, and a plate mount later and we were looking good.

I love the original look of the ISF, so while salivating over an amazing set of forged Vossen alloys, I chose to refurb the oem 10 spokes for now. I didnt want the car sitting on axel stands for a week, so i opted for getting another set. After sourcing a great set from a very helpful member on here, we got these refurbished and sent up to me. The wheels came with new Bridgestones, however I'd already bought some PS4Ss which had been in the garage, getting in the way of the Mrs. I really rate these, having used PSSs for years. New wheel centers finish these off well. Turns out the old ones were actually in very good condition anyway. 

The ISF's interior is in really good condition, if a little dark. Theres nothing i hate more than saggy seats with crumpled bolsters. It was also a nice surprise considering how badly my previous new Audi seats wore over 2 years of light use.  I toyed with the idea of a quilted cream retrim, having seen how good the colour looks combined with an USB car. I'm going to sit (haha) on this for a bit as it strays from original and I'm not sure how well it resists dirt (i have a little one on the way). Ive settled for now with a new set of Lexus mats, Lexus boot liner and some replacement plastic trims (replaced some scuffed boot trays and sill trims).

Finally, to tie everything in, the car came back today after several days away with a really nice man called Clark. His reputation preceeds him and im never dissapointed with his work. He treated the ISF to a paint correction, detail and a protective quartz coating on the body, trim and wheels.

Next plans... well I'm currently trying to source a Jap s/s & titanium exhaust to help the v8 sound a bit meaner. Then I'll see how I feel about the Vossens and the retrim again.

Big thanks again to Mr Rat and Sam at Lexus Cheltenham for helping me out big-time with the wheels. Top blokes.

Right, ive prattled on enough, see what you think:

Bagsy first in the cue when you ‘get bored’ of it!

fantastic work!

[PhoeNicks]

Haha, hoping to hold onto this one a bit longer 😉

[Tfp]

Stunning.

[doog442]

That plate WTF 😉..must be worth a bob or two

Lovely car...lovely garage as well 

[Guest]

Fantastic looking car and if that’s your garage we’re all jealous.

[PhoeNicks]

Haha, sorry i feel like a bit of a charlatan now... sadly the workshop isn't my garage. The pics were taken just before I picked the car up. My garage is fairly normal and currently full of spare wheels and tyres. My workshop is also full of junk...

Thanks for the comments guys.

[Big Rat]

@PhoeNicks Nick the car looks absolutely fantastic, most impressive let’s all hope you stay on board here with us, as that number plate may suggest you could easily pop over to the @Warrington guy Dave camp.😂

Thanks for the mention regarding the wheels and tyres and yes Sam at Lexus Cheltenham has done a great job on the refurb for you.

Big Rat

[PhoeNicks]

Thanks Paul. It's been a bit hectic trying to tie-in all these streams of new parts, refurbs, the car being away for a week, getting everything swapped over and organising myself around work (which has been has been crazy busy of late). Gladly it's all come together as you see in the pics and I'm really happy with the car now.

Yeah I think I'm going to hang here for a while and explore things further with Lexus. Ive done BMWs to death and this feels like a fresh start.

Im conflicted about keeping the car original or moving away down the modified route. I'm going to look at some areas where things can easily be put back to stock and see how we go. This is my daily so I don't want to upset the balance too much. I'll be sure to continue to seek advice from you guys as this is a great forum with plenty of knowledge and ideas 😎 👍

[Big Rat]

@PhoeNicks Always happy to help Nick there are some great people on here with a lot of knowledge of the cars and a few changes if that’s your desire that easily reversible all add to the ownership enjoyment, some I have experience of but not carried out myself so you you could have a natter with for instance @emjay82 for media upgrade and a switchable exhaust, or @Womble72 for a catback exhaust.

Someone like @Peter P18 for carbon interior and exterior parts don’t let him lead you down the supercharger route though may be just to much extra thrust with that new baby on board 😂

Big Rat

 

[NothernDan]

Stunning car Nick, bet it didn't look that good out of the factory!! 

[Jon_B]

Fantastic car and looks amazing.  Would be keen to know more about your paint correction and coating.  May do this for my RCF 🙂

[AlanS]

Looks awesome, ultra blue was my first choice when looking for an ISF.

what stuff did you used to put the number plates on?

[PhoeNicks]

11 minutes ago, AlanS said:

Looks awesome, ultra blue was my first choice when looking for an ISF.

what stuff did you used to put the number plates on?

Not going to lie, I fell in love with the colour as much as the car itself. Having tried different foam pads, i settled on 3M clear double sided acrylic square pads. Do a search on amazon and you should see various option. Simple to use and stick very well as long as you clean the surface properly first.

 

 

41 minutes ago, Jon_B said:

Fantastic car and looks amazing.  Would be keen to know more about your paint correction and coating.  May do this for my RCF 🙂

It really depends on the condition of your paintwork, your detailer would need a viewing to make a judgement. My car had a correction to remove any minor marks/scratches and bring the deep luster back to the colour. This can take several days depending on the paint hardness and amount of defects to correct. My car looked very good, but still took several days, apparently the paint was original, but quite thick and hard.

After this a Gyeon durabead ceramic coating was applied, rather than polish. This takes up to a day to apply to the bodywork and wheels but suposedly lasts up to 5 yrs. It can protect the paint from minor chips, blemishes and dirt, making it much easier to clean. I used it on my last car and essentally the finish was more durable, lasted longer and stopped dirt and bird crap from etching to the paint. There are many different coatings out there, depends what you want, how much you want to spend and what your detailer is familiar with.

[Twellsie]

looks stunning, i know what you mean about tying all the work together, when I first got mine I had planned a number of things on a pretty tight schedule, new suspension, wheel refurb, caliper refurb etc non of which I have managed to achieve in the time frame, it is however booked in for detailing end of this week for paint correction and ceramic coating, so supper excited!!!

[PhoeNicks]

Thanks. I wasnt really planning much initially; I knew I wanted to protect the paintwork and put new tyres on, but then I had the option to move my detail from Dec to Oct and it all snowballed from there. 

At least I'm happy now the paintwork and wheels are ready for winter, not that she'll see much use anyway.

 

 

[Peter P18]

On 10/13/2018 at 11:24 AM, Big Rat said:

@PhoeNicks Always happy to help Nick there are some great people on here with a lot of knowledge of the cars and a few changes if that’s your desire that easily reversible all add to the ownership enjoyment, some I have experience of but not carried out myself so you you could have a natter with for instance @emjay82 for media upgrade and a switchable exhaust, or @Womble72 for a catback exhaust.

Someone like @Peter P18 for carbon interior and exterior parts don’t let him lead you down the supercharger route though may be just to much extra thrust with that new baby on board 😂

Big Rat

 

Hey Nick,

If it’s modifications you are looking for, I’m happy to help. 😎👍

Pretty sure mine is the most modified IS F in Europe (for now anyway), so have either had or know about pretty much all areas you can change/improve.

I’d highly recommend RR-Racing in Pennsylvania (not for the supercharger kit before Ratty starts! Lol). Depending on you’re plans, I’d be looking at their USRS for handling, along with their Air/Oil Separator (AOS) unit for cleaner running. Everyone who has fitted this has discovered the same traces of oil in their intake pipe, so it actually does serve a valid purpose.

Carbon goodies are easily added, but can be pricey as with most cars.

Hayward & Scott (H&S) do a couple of nice exhaust options, but again they aren’t cheap. You do however get a lifetime warranty for the duration of your ownership, but may not work given you’re habits in the past! Lol. 😉😂😂

What I would say is I was just like you with chopping and changing cars all the time before I settled on my IS F. Despite a few wobbles, this will be my 4th or 5th year with it, so maybe you’ll settle down with yours. That detailing work is spot on by the way. 👍😎

For intakes, don’t go with any induction kits unless they are part of the kits from RR-Racing. I’ve tried most of them, and suggest a better intake elbow with an updated panel filter from say TOM’s. Add the AOS to remove the hoses from the intake and you’ll be good to go.

PM me with any questions, happy to help. 👍😊

All the best,

 

Pete 

[Twellsie]

2 hours ago, Peter P18 said:

Hey Nick,

If it’s modifications you are looking for, I’m happy to help. 😎👍

Pretty sure mine is the most modified IS F in Europe (for now anyway), so have either had or know about pretty much all areas you can change/improve.

I’d highly recommend RR-Racing in Pennsylvania (not for the supercharger kit before Ratty starts! Lol). Depending on you’re plans, I’d be looking at their USRS for handling, along with their Air/Oil Separator (AOS) unit for cleaner running. Everyone who has fitted this has discovered the same traces of oil in their intake pipe, so it actually does serve a valid purpose.

Carbon goodies are easily added, but can be pricey as with most cars.

Hayward & Scott (H&S) do a couple of nice exhaust options, but again they aren’t cheap. You do however get a lifetime warranty for the duration of your ownership, but may not work given you’re habits in the past! Lol. 😉😂😂

What I would say is I was just like you with chopping and changing cars all the time before I settled on my IS F. Despite a few wobbles, this will be my 4th or 5th year with it, so maybe you’ll settle down with yours. That detailing work is spot on by the way. 👍😎

For intakes, don’t go with any induction kits unless they are part of the kits from RR-Racing. I’ve tried most of them, and suggest a better intake elbow with an updated panel filter from say TOM’s. Add the AOS to remove the hoses from the intake and you’ll be good to go.

PM me with any questions, happy to help. 👍😊

All the best,

 

Pete 

@Peter P18 What concerns do you have with the breather system feeding back into the inlet?

[Peter P18]

24 minutes ago, Twellsie said:

@Peter P18 What concerns do you have with the breather system feeding back into the inlet?

Oil in the intake is not good. It will reduce performance, and untreated over a longer period of time could result in costly engine work. 

If it works it’s way through the combustion process, it’s going to trigger the ECU and take out power.

There’s plenty of info on the US forum, and on the RR-Racing page for their AOS.

[Twellsie]

21 minutes ago, Peter P18 said:

Oil in the intake is not good. It will reduce performance, and untreated over a longer period of time could result in costly engine work. 

If it works it’s way through the combustion process, it’s going to trigger the ECU and take out power.

There’s plenty of info on the US forum, and on the RR-Racing page for their AOS.

if you are getting excessive amounts of oil breathing there is already an issue, these engines run scavenge pumps so unless under really heavy track use should be absoluetly minimal (yours is an exception being supercharged as you may experience some piston blow by) however this being said oil as we know is a combustable and is being added to the inlet after the MAF so will be enriching the air/fuel ratio thus running rich, not so much an issue as running lean.

 

Even under heavy constant breathing (worn rings etc) the ECU can account for running rich by adjusting  the fuelling/ignition timing based on the lambda values, this would effect performance but would still be safe (the bigger impact on performance would be the worn rings themselves)

 

These Engines consume a huge amount of air, it would take a considerable amount of oil to cause any detriment.

[PhoeNicks]

Thanks Pete, I'll definitely come your way re modifications. I have to be careful when I look at or read about your beast... far too helping to follow suit.

Interesting note about the AOS. Does this only affect modified cars or standard too? I'll check out the US forums this week.

Yeah I've been bad for wobbles in the past, however the ISF is my first decent all rounder that has the power to make it really fun. 

Do you rate the H&S system quality wise then? I've read a lot of feedback on them recently, but there's also much that is mixed; some examples show really poor workmanship, like it was just rushed. Ive been looking also at Jap systems but the price with import duties and carriage make them pricey. Need to think really hard on this as the build and finish looks stunning.

 

[Peter P18]

I don’t disagree. Way I saw it was preventative maintenance for a moderate cost. 

The resevoir doesn’t actually hold a great deal of oil, nor do I empty it very often. Usually once a quarter, and even then it’s maybe half full?

Clearly not an issue given there are plenty of examples on 200K+ without one fitted, so it’s a personal choice. 👍😊

[Big Rat]

@Twellsie Matey when the ISF was first released they had the car on Top Gear I think it was I’m not sure but I will look for the vid in my collection.

It showed the ISF moving off with huge plume of blue oil spoke, I’m guessing the car did this as it was probably drive hard then allowed to tick over for some time....,

And then gunned off the line 

Big  Rat

[Twellsie]

4 minutes ago, Big Rat said:

@Twellsie Matey when the ISF was first released they had the car on Top Gear I think it was I’m not sure but I will look for the vid in my collection.

It showed the ISF moving off with huge plume of blue oil spoke, I’m guessing the car did this as it was probably drive hard then allowed to tick over for some time....,

And then gunned off the line 

Big  Rat

seems unlikely as the consumption of the oil would be pretty much instantaneous, but as said is not really detrimental anyway.

Just been reading up on the RR-Racing AOS and was a little concerned to read that it is sealed system, given that they state it runs high PCV's!! 

[Big Rat]

@Twellsie I’ve found the video Matey pretty sure this is what @Peter P18 is talking about....

Watch the whole thing by all means but especially at 8.30 the Red ISF being driven by the stig

Big Rat