Peter P18

Hey Stuart, I'll pop a new thread up soon to catch you guys up on the latest raft of modifications I've done. I actually have a tune already on my car right now. The current one factors in my H&S exhaust, and the RR-Racing intake pipe/TRD panel filter. Also moves the rev limiter to 7,200RPM from the 6,800 OEM limit. I've been doing a load of 4th gear pulls recently to get things bedded in. Butt dyno says it's more responsive than before, and pulls stronger especially in the mid-range. The beep for the rev limiter still goes off at 6,800, but the needle does keep going round to the 7,200 mark. Should be fun with these next bits done. Been waiting a while for this stage!

Cheers Chaps. Dropping the car off tomorrow with Lee at SRD to have the PPE headers, PPE mid-pipes with race spec hi-flow cat's, and suspension raised a tad! Lol. Once that lot is done, car will be treated to it's RR-Racing performance intake and further tune from the OBD 2 hand controller. That I believe is as far as I can go for now, as the only other real performance step left is the RR-Racing supercharger kit. That'll hopefully be next year if I can save up enough dosh! Matt is a master when it comes to lighting, angles, dramatic backdrops etc. So glad he was happy to sell me the photos he took. I'm going to get them printed off and framed at some stage to hang in the garage (wife won't let me have them up in the house! Lol).

Here's a few more. Would highly recommend Matt to anyone looking to get some good photos taken.

Thanks to Matt Woods for these epic photos he took of my car for the Banzai feature back in October.

Worth every penny in my opinion guys. Transformed the handling on mine. Need a proper LSD at some point soon, but busy getting the performance mods fitted first. Should have my PPE headers, PPE mid-pipe with hi-flow race cat's, tuned RR-Racing intake, and the RR-Racing tune all fitted in the next month or so. Their USRS kit is really good though. Still on the MPSS tires I bought when I fitted my new wheels 2yrs ago! Granted it's not a daily driver, but the wear is spot on across the full tread. Think the nitrogen helps, but there really isn't a lot of stiffness/firmer ride with these. Anyone with the earlier suspension setup should 100% swap it out for the later setup, or BC, KW, Penske's. That was another noticeable improvement for my car. Hoping my bonus will stretch enough to add some two piece rotors, larger 4 pot rear calipers, and new pads as well. That just leaves the LSD, and supercharger kit!

Great stuff! As we said a while ago, you really can save a fair chunk of cash by shopping around for parts, and getting a good local garage or mechanic to fit them for you. Glad to hear you are getting on well with the Hawk ceramic pads, not everyone will know this but I was the guy who got in touch with Hawk directly and asked them to develop matching rears! They really are a great option if you want OEM (or better) performance with less brake dust. Anyway, well done mate. Keep it up. Cheers. Pete

Hey Russell, Try Mike at Figs Engineering: http://shopfigs.com/v3/index.php?route=product/category&path=41_120_43&page=4 Both are listed on here. Might be able to bring them back in late January for you? Drop me a PM if you like mate. Cheers. Pete

Cheers Mark. Agreed. Given the work and quality of all the products I have had from Rafi/Simon at RR-Racing, I have no reason to believe the reliability should be an issue when I do finally add their supercharger kit to my car. It's just nice to read/see how the pioneers are getting on with the kit first if that makes sense? I also want to try and get more use out of the car this year if I can. Think that's the one big sticking point for me. I've obviously spent quite a bit of money on it over the past few years, but don't feel like I have any real experiences/memories to recall. The fact I can't take it on a track with the current exhaust setup is a big pain in the rear. Hoping when we develop the titanium version with Paul we can come up with a method to reduce the noise low enough for me to do some trackdays. Let's face it, normal road use is pretty dull and repetitive these days! Seem to spend most of the time stuck in traffic! Lol.

Hi Mark, So I doubt there are any real gains from the TOM's/intake pipe in terms of HP, but the quality of the filter is worth the cost to minimise any unwanted debris slipping through. The pipework is also more streamlined than the OEM design, so improves the airflow/less restrictions. It won't add anything to the intake noise (but also won't take anything away, so the secondary intake still kicks in nicely when you reach that magic band in the rev range), but does seem to give better initial response/pickup over OEM. Again, it's all subjective, with no real numbers as such to consider. Main thing for me was I didn't want to lose HP with an intake, and I wanted the air to flow as easily as possible for when I remap/add further modifications. Hope this helps. Cheers. Pete

Hi, As others have said, higher mileage isn't necessarily a cause for any real concern provided the car has the complete service history to back it up. Mine is still relatively low at close to 60K, but there are plenty of examples out there with close to double my mileage in good health. I've seen newer cars with low miles on cheap budget tires! You need to keep an open mind and assess each car on it's own individual merits. Best of luck with your search though, and if you have any questions, fire away. Cheers. Pete

Hi Russell, Why not order the HPS ones? You could also grab their intake pipe at the same time? Might get a deal on it if you order them together?! Just a thought. Cheers. Pete

Hi Mark. I am only going off my own personal experiences, but I wouldn't go for the Takeda if I was in your position. When I first bought my car, I actually bought a Takeda from the States due to the savings from Black Friday (it was actually before I had completed the purchase of the car itself, so that just shows you how convinced I was that I would be buying an IS-F!). When Eurospec dyno'd my car, I had a nasty spike on my AFR readings, and the car was down on power compared to others with stock intake setups. I replaced the Takeda with an HPS silicone pipe, stock airbox, and a K&N panel filter. When they did another dyno run, the AFR issues was gone, the car gained back the lost HP with a few extra added on for good measure. I can't deny the intake noise from the Takeda was a nice touch, but it wasn't worth the cash in my view. Like James, I now run the TOM's panel filter in the stock airbox with the RR-Racing Titanium intake. Whilst this wasn't cheap, it really is eye catching in the otherwise dull engine bay. The removal of the two hoses that go into the intake was also a big plus for me, as this coupled with the AOS from RR-Racing now means I have literally no oil going into my intake manifold. You would be surprised at how much oil is getting in there based on the residue/what I empty out of the AOS. If you aren't planning to spend a lot on other things, the titanium intake and AOS would be my top two suggestions for the engine side of things. For handling purposes, you should really consider getting the RR-Racing USRS. Makes such a noticeable and confidence inspiring change to the cars handling characteristics. If you have any questions or concerns, please fire them up on here. I'll be checking in more often to try and help where I can. Cheers. Pete

Greetings one and all! I must admit my absence from this forum has been something I am very much aware of. As others have said, the number of posts and topics on the US forum are far broader and frequent than they are here. Whilst I know some of you were keen to follow my progress on my own car, others were understandably not as keen to see how my modifications were going, favouring the stock or mildly modified route (again, no issues with that, it's a personal choice as we have discussed in the past). I do think the lack of posts could also be attributed to the relatively bullet-proof build quality and reliability as others have pointed out (almost the old saying no news is good news!). I will however make a point of keeping things moving on here as much as I do on the US forum (that's one New Year's resolution taken care of! Lol). Next steps for me are as follows: - Fit the PPE headers currently sitting in my garage (these took a bit longer to get a hold of, as they don't stock RHD versions). - Use the OBD2 handheld controller to read my ECU so I can send the data back to Rafi/Simon to work on a new map for me (waiting for the headers to go on first). - Buy a set of 2013 headlights to go with the Aimgain front bumper I am in the final stages of buying from a forum member in California (God knows how I am going to get that one home! Lol. Doubt I can check it as luggage, but might try as I am due over to LA in February!). - Fit the carbon rear panel that replaces the one below the rear lights (where you have the badges etc). Not sure if the weave pattern will work with my boot spoiler and diffuser, but worth a try! Finally, get the car over to Whifbitz at some point so he can start building me a titanium exhaust! Weight saving should be worthwhile on it's own, but it's also a good opportunity for Paul to develop a product that should sell well in the States. The current offerings from any of the big names in Japan command mega money, so if Paul can come up with something in the middle ground, he should do well I reckon. I'd like to top things off with the RR-Racing supercharger kit, but that may have to wait till early 2018 given the costs involved. I also think it's good to see how others are getting on with the kit in the US first (saves me being the guinea-pig! Lol), although as expected no one has had anything concerning to say about it so far. I should be able to reschedule my trip to New Jersey at some point. If so, I will be heading over to finally meet Simon and Rafi to see what they are working on, and hopefully hear/test the Supercharged shop car for myself. There was also mention of Rafi coming over this way to do the Ring at some point....... If so, I'd love to put my car to good use and head over with him for a few laps. Will let others know more as and when I hear anything. Could be an epic meet if a few of us wanted to convoy over there for a long weekend?? Hope everyone had a great Xmas, and look forward to seeing/hearing from you in 2017. Cheers for now. Pete

Hi Guys, Unless you're talking about the RR-Racing performance intake, there isn't much in it with things like Joe Z, HPS, RR-Racing, Takeda etc. As it stands, the stock airbox with an updated panel filter (take your pick, there's plenty!) and an improved intake pipe is the best option(unless you have headers and the tune, in which case it's the performance intake with larger MAF from RR-Racing). I prefer my titanium intake elbow from RR-Racing because the intake breather pipes are removed, and instead go through a small K&N filter. The AOS I have fitted proves there is a tendency to get oil in your intake/engine with the stock setup. Whilst it's not a huge deal, I'd prefer not to have it there, so these two mods are doing wonders. Cheers. Pete

Hi chaps. Indeed, my headers were delayed slightly due to me having to postpone a trip over the pond, but should be arriving via a friend this Tuesday. I'll be sending my car off to Lee and his team at SRD in West Sussex early next year to get them installed along with the hi-flow race cat's/mid-pipes. As an aside, got the OBD 2 hand controller from RR-Racing as well. Hopefully Simon and Rafi can send me a tune to install after I've had the headers fitted. May also be losing my car for a bit at some point next year. Looking to take the plunge and have my mate Paul Whiffin put together a titanium system from the mid-pipe back. Be interested to hear where the op had his headers installed if he has done so already?? Cheers. Pete

Glad to hear you got it sorted. Often unplugging the harness and re-connecting it will do the job. Not had this with mine, but the reset method works on most things electronic! Hopefully you'll have plenty of hassle free miles ahead to enjoy it. Cheers. Pete

I'd also add the journalist driven cars are beaten on pretty badly whatever the make/model. My 08 has been a lot smoother with shifts since I had the transmission fluid changed at the last service. I would also add that article probably came out early doors in terms of the IS F being produced. If so, it won't account for the later cars that had the better mechanical LSD installed, or the softer suspension.

No issues with the gearboxes on these. Funny story from the US forum about spare boxes being sold for peanuts due to the lack of sales! There are numerous examples in the States with well over 100K/200K on the clock still running their original gearboxes. I'd have a look at their site and see what threads are doing the rounds if I was you. Last one I recall was the ticking from the engine due to cracks in the OEM exhaust manifolds. Will be interesting to see how mine look as and when I can afford to have SRD install my PPE headers. Reliability is true Lexus standards even for this performance model. Most aired on the side of caution, and bought extended warranties just to be safe. Don't think anyone has had anything catastrophic happen to their cars in the 2/3yrs I have been on this forum??

Thanks Stuart. Glad you liked it.

Cheers James. May be able to remap sooner than you think! Pretty sure once Rafi and Simon have bench read my ECU next month, they can send the maps to me to upload to the OBD II reader I will be getting, and I can then remap other IS F's as well. Exciting times!

Very kind words Dave. Really hopeful the word gets out to other enthusiasts that haven't really heard much about the IS F, and gives them another option to consider as a fast, semi-practical, reliable model that is worth investigating further. With prices hovering around the high teen/low 20's mark, I really can't think of many cars that offer a similar balance to these amazing cars. Looking forward to getting my headers and mid-pipes next month.

Nice one Dave. Let me know what you think of it.

Hi Stuart, You can always download it from here to an iPad or iPhone: https://pocketmags.com/banzai-magazine/october-2016 Failing that, I would imagine you can buy it from them for delivery? http://www.unitymags.com/Banzai-s/1817.htm This doesn't show the latest issue that my car is featured in (October), but should go on here at some stage. It's issue 180/October 2016. The ISSN is 1468-456X I would imagine any newsagent could order it for you if they don't stock it? Hopefully one of these options helps!

Hi, yes, I'm finding it quieter than it was before. Hoping now I've got the article out the way, I can arrange another dyno run to see how it compares to the last pre X pipe run it had. Performance was the main consideration as far as the X pipe, but it has made a noticeable difference to normal driving. Now I'm on the verge of adding PPE headers, it'll be interesting to see how it turns out. I'd like to do more track days with the car, but that may require a complete re-think with the exhaust. The fact RR-Racing are looking at different headers from PPE, could mean the exhaust needs to be changed to 3' from the current 2.5' setup. If so, I'd like Ian to develop a system that keeps the db levels under 100.

Hi James, I do the exact same thing when I cold start at my parents house! Even shifting straight to 'D' emits some noise, but 100% quieter than leaving it the 30-40 secs to quieten down on it's own. Can't see yours being that different to mine chap? When H&S tested mine pre-X pipe, it was 92.8db at idle, then 118db if blipped. Not sure what the law says on this, but don't see how anything below 100db would be an issue??