is350 JDM Lexus IS350 2nd Generation

[MattDH]

So I thought I'd create this thread as there isn't much info on here about IS350s. Well, certainly ownership in the UK. 

 

I thought I'd share mine that I am in the process of modifying.

 

Current mods: 

- RAYS Homura 2X7s 

- HCmotion rear lights 

- Flappy Paddle extenders

- OEM Wind deflectors 

- K&N Panel filter

- Heads Up Display

- Powerflow Exhaust (muffler delete)

My other planned mods for the near future is the 4is front bumper conversion with either Vland or HCmotion headlights.

I have an Instagram account for my car so feel free to follow and reach out to me - @jdm_is350_uk

[Mr Vlad]

Blimey I didn't know this section existed lol.

[MartinH]

Tax regime wd not have been kind to this car had it been offered in the UK. Still, a pity we missed out on it!

[EP80]

Car looks really clean. I am wondering what route was taken for the rear foglight switch?

From what I have been told you can remove the JDM stalks, install UK stalks swap wires and it should work OK. A standard Toyota swith in one of the blanks should work either.

[H3XME]

23 hours ago, EP80 said:

Car looks really clean. I am wondering what route was taken for the rear foglight switch?

From what I have been told you can remove the JDM stalks, install UK stalks swap wires and it should work OK. A standard Toyota swith in one of the blanks should work either.

I can't speak about the IS350, but other newer Jap cars come with fog lights anyway. Even more so IS250s and the 350s etc have fog lights inside the tail lights so I don't see why they wouldn't come with it even in Japan. However, if it doesn't have rear fogs, I'd just simply hook it up to the ACC and slap a little switch by your right knee, where the sunshade, windshield wiper defroster etc is located. 

It is different on older cars, yes. Like my soarer had a little fog light switch by the steering wheel for the rear fog light. I'd normally just run with it tucked under the rear bumper as the brackets allowed two positions - hidden and exposed. 

[H3XME]

On 9/23/2022 at 7:50 PM, MattDH said:

My other planned mods for the near future is the 4is front bumper conversion with either Vland or HCmotion headlights.

I have an Instagram account for my car so feel free to follow and reach out to me - @jdm_is350_uk

Love a nice 350! Not many of them around. I'm sure many of us here are jealous as we can all agree that 250 could do with a little more power considering its weight. 

I'd love 4IS bumper but they're still well over a grand at the moment... I think I'm going to just treat myself to 3IS bumper as they're sub £600 delivered. (+ paint on top)

High five for the wheels! I'm also on RAYS - GramLights 57CR

 

[MattDH]

On 9/25/2022 at 9:18 AM, EP80 said:

Car looks really clean. I am wondering what route was taken for the rear foglight switch?

From what I have been told you can remove the JDM stalks, install UK stalks swap wires and it should work OK. A standard Toyota swith in one of the blanks should work either.

So I got it from a person who personally imports cars from Japan and he had a switch fitted where the rear shade button is (circled in red). 

[MattDH]

9 hours ago, H3XME said:

Love a nice 350! Not many of them around. I'm sure many of us here are jealous as we can all agree that 250 could do with a little more power considering its weight. 

I'd love 4IS bumper but they're still well over a grand at the moment... I think I'm going to just treat myself to 3IS bumper as they're sub £600 delivered. (+ paint on top)

High five for the wheels! I'm also on RAYS - GramLights 57CR

 

It's just perfect. Luxury, reliability and speed when you need it. I've actually got a quote directly from the manufacturer for $800 shipped which includes 4is bumper PLUS hcmotion headlights, bargain! However, one caveat is that they will only ship to a Port due to the size of the box that it comes in. But nothing a Enterprise van hire won't accommodate 

[zoricib]

How is the insurance like compared to the is250? 

[MattDH]

53 minutes ago, zoricib said:

How is the insurance like compared to the is250? 

For me, personally, without any mods it would've been around the same price. But I'm with a different insurer now with better cover and it's more expensive 

[EditionL]

Ive got the late 08 facelift model from japan with the hid lights , my insurance first year was only 245.00  as i had another car with them , second year they stopped doing jap imports and i had to rush somewhere else that almost doubled it to 460, i am going to try adrian flux later this year .   Whats that thing on top of your dash ? i got my speedo converted in japan to mph but when i matched the gps to it , its reading about 9% fast which is a little annoying , i could go 19 wheels and slightly increase the sidewall but just living with it and i have converted the legal speeds in my mind when driving (:.  How do you use the paddle shifts ?  i find the delay on upshift frustrating , also if you increase  the throttle too much to  overtake it goes to auto kickdown which also annoys, i tend to just drive mine in auto . thats probably my only slight complaint about the car , the early paddle shift design is just a little too delayed

[MattDH]

1 hour ago, EditionL said:

Ive got the late 08 facelift model from japan with the hid lights , my insurance first year was only 245.00  as i had another car with them , second year they stopped doing jap imports and i had to rush somewhere else that almost doubled it to 460, i am going to try adrian flux later this year .   Whats that thing on top of your dash ? i got my speedo converted in japan to mph but when i matched the gps to it , its reading about 9% fast which is a little annoying , i could go 19 wheels and slightly increase the sidewall but just living with it and i have converted the legal speeds in my mind when driving (:.  How do you use the paddle shifts ?  i find the delay on upshift frustrating , also if you increase  the throttle too much to  overtake it goes to auto kickdown which also annoys, i tend to just drive mine in auto . thats probably my only slight complaint about the car , the early paddle shift design is just a little too delayed

I thought 09 was the first facelift? Blimey that's cheap, still a lot cheaper than mine. I'm on my 3rd year NCB so waiting for the 4th so I can protect it.

The device on top is a HUD which can display speed, altitude and time amongst a few other things.

I actually quite like like the paddle shifting and the auto box. It certainly down shifts quicker than me when I want to overtake. Means I can keep both hands directly on the steering wheel for extra safety. I've learned how the gearbox works now, at first I didn't get on with it as it wasn't how I expected a normal manual mode automatic to work. But now I get along with it just fine. I mean it's not as quick as the ISF at shifting on command, but it's quick enough for my liking.

Come join my JDM Lexus Owners club on Facebook. It'd be good to have another follow UK owner on there https://www.facebook.com/groups/540929091142549/

[MattDH]

Got a video of my exhaust, waiting to add a 1792 resonator and then I'll be happy with the setup on that part of the car for now

[zoricib]

@MattDH think I saw your IS listed for sale on Facebook? any reasons you're looking to part ways with it?

[H3XME]

1 minute ago, zoricib said:

@MattDH think I saw your IS listed for sale on Facebook? any reasons you're looking to part ways with it?

Probably because of the 23% extra duty to be paid on fuel from March 🤣

I'd have it for £6k 😅

[MattDH]

Thinking of a change of the 2nd Gen IS. Not 100% convinced myself yet, had a few offers but waiting to see if some other Lexus model intrigues me 

[H3XME]

1 minute ago, MattDH said:

Thinking of a change of the 2nd Gen IS. Not 100% convinced myself yet, had a few offers but waiting to see if some other Lexus model intrigues me 

There's a JDM import GS350 on eBay for 4,5k... I was tempted myself since I'm looking for a daily again. Looks very tidy and only 60k miles..the only thing that put me off was the fact they don't have the paddle shift 😑

[MattDH]

1 hour ago, H3XME said:

There's a JDM import GS350 on eBay for 4,5k... I was tempted myself since I'm looking for a daily again. Looks very tidy and only 60k miles..the only thing that put me off was the fact they don't have the paddle shift 😑

I'm sure I've seen someone retrofit paddle shifts on a 3rd gen GS before. Or maybe it was to a 2nd gen IS which didn't have it (Advance model)

[Barry14UK]

Am I correct in thinking the market for JDM imported cars into the UK has shrunk? Many years ago I was tempted by a Soarer and also an Aristo, the latter of which I came very close to buying  but prompted by a TV programme about stolen vehicles, I had a good look at the serial number under the bonnet and the colour there was slightly different. The car was taxed insured and serviced in the UK but when I contacted Lexus, they established that there was no such number as had been (over) stamped on the car.  Luckily I avoided that one, thanks to that TV programme highlighting a number of cars affected this way, many of which were GTR's that were to be parted from their current owners. 

It's strange though how Japan reserves some of their best stuff for their Domestic market.  I am currently awaiting a JDM watch, ordered through a legit source in Japan which has been delayed by them being flooded by orders they tell me, knock on effect of Covid and people buying for Christmas. 

[ColinBarber]

7 hours ago, Barry14UK said:

Am I correct in thinking the market for JDM imported cars into the UK has shrunk?

It doesn't feel as big these days but still a lot of Toyota Prius cars get imported - probably more than all others combined.

[Aadilh92]

@MattDH Do you still have your IS350? Also, can you share some information on the heads up display and the HC Motion. Where did you get these from and did you do a self install? Thanks.

[MattDH]

No longer have it, long story.

I got the HUD from amazon and HCmotion from Aliexpress. Yes I installed them myself.

I'm actually selling a 4is front bumper conversion, HCmotion headlights and VLAND rear lights if you're interested 

[Aadilh92]

Was the HUD any good? Do you have any pictures of what this looked like?

How come you have one of each and not a complete set for the tail lights/headlights.

Waiting on my IS350 to arrive in the new year. Will think about mods etc. then I think.

[MattDH]

Yeah the HUD was great.

I purchased a full upgrade when I still had the IS350 and it's taken 3 months to get here, so I've got the kit but no car to put them on. Hence the reason I'm selling them.

[Aadilh92]

HUD does look good tbf and sorts out the kmh/mph issue I guess.

Aaah I see. I'll probably be in touch in the new year, if you still have it lights.