H3XME

Y55 is auto and Y54 is manual diff IIRC. Different ratios, but compatible yes. If your car is auto, you won't make things worse. If you have a manual, you don't really want the auto diff due to lower ratio (3.7) so worse acceleration but higher top speed - downgrade in my opinion.

Auto diffs are 3.7 ratio. Manual are 3.9.. i've seen the prices of used ones and if i was to change the diff, i'd upgrade to GT86 diff (torsen lsd) with 4.1 final drive.. it'll give you a noticeable acceleration boost. I'm not sure which IS250 specs etc had open or lsd (torsen diff), but keep that in mind.. I've had my dealings with 2 manual IS250s, both pre-facelift and both with factory limited slip diff.. my 2 mates with auto facelifts also have LSD.. I presume maybe IS220d or very very basic spec 250s had an open diff. If you're going to replace the diff, make sure you don't downgrade 🙂

@Brian260158 try here https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324698767585 They're breaking SC430 with the same wheels.. make them an offer 🙂

if it's only £200, go for it. If you don't like it personally, find some used boxes and sell the "delete kit". It just bolt on where the stock ones would bolt on so perfectly reversible, but yeah like Chan said above, look at YT but take everything with a pinch of salt. It's never really accurate to IRL sound.

It really is. I feel like the HKS might be a bit quieter but more throaty / deeper tone. That F-Sport exhaust sounded quite raspy in a couple of clips.. That's just sound in general, sound waves travel slower when it's cold so stuff is louder - not just exhausts.

Yeah I do actually. You hear the exhaust when it's under load around 2500-3000rpm, but just cruising on the motorway with cruise control at 70mph gets you like 2.8k rpm? It's fine, quiet then. Only when you floor it in that range it's coming to life. F-Sport exhaust is not the same as HKS - you can see the backboxes are different shape & size. Judging from the video below, it's similar but difficult to tell which is louder. What I like about the HKS system is that if you want, you can drive quietly, during normal acceleration it's fairly quiet even between 2500-3000rpm. Like I said, it only really gets loud when you floor it in the range. Would be best to meet up and hear it in person..

I do, but that's only because of my exhaust 😂 when i drove my mates auto-250 from London back to Midlands, i felt like there was no need to step on it. Can't hear anything, so what's the point 🤷‍♂️

Air Filters and their gains is a minefield.. every manufacturer will want to tell you it's better than others.. I've been using HKS air filters for years in all my cars and on the dyno (in my gt86) it make a whopping 2hp difference.. nothing you'd feel. However, I'll go for that over OE filters any day of the week. https://www.part-box.com/product/70017-at116-hks-super-drop-in-panel-air-filter-toyota-mark-x-lexus-is250-4gr-fse-05/

I'm sure we're all on a budget. It took me 2 years to get the IS250 where it is now.. You always have a choice. You wait, save up a bit more and do it properly. Or rush into it, get lots of sh*t and then it shows. I've learnt the hard way, I did it with my first car and looking back at it, I don't know what I was thinking. There is definitely the right and the wrong way of doing things regardless of whether it'll make you smile or not. You live & learn. If I had someone tell me all this years ago, I probably wouldn't of done so many "sh*t" mods to my first car. People need educating. Especially when it comes to good & bad parts/brands. A lot of mods are very subjective, everyone has a different taste (not all good) but the worst thing is when people go around saying eBay this, China that is just as good as genuine parts from real brands that have been around for decades just because they've never been educated about the parts. Cheap china coilovers and cheap wheels from Wheelbasealloys for example are the best ones to look at. Cheap coilovers will definitely RUIN the car, and this where the misconception comes from. People not using proper parts. Coilovers will not ruin the car, not in even in terms of comfort if using the right ones. Wheels.. sure, why pay £1.5k+ for a set of wheels when you can buy a set for £700 from JR, Bola, Rota etc. You will find out when you hit a sneaky pothole at 60mph or clip a kerb at high speed. You'll end up with hexagon wheels (softer material hence the price) or worse.. shattered alloy which will then lead to an accident. I'm not trying to argue here with anyone, just stating facts. As much freedom as you can get with modifying your car to suit your taste, there is a right and wrong way of going on about it.

No sensors that far back. Straight bolt on. Plenty of room. It's made for the car 🙂

Thing is, insurance is never the same for different people. I don't honestly know how they work out their prices, that still baffles me but until last year they have been the cheapest for me. That being said, I only look for modified car specialists.. And comparethemarket and such is a rip off. Online quotes always come up way dearer for me.

I can vouch for AF. Was with them for some time but GreenLight beat their quote for me last year. Competitive market but never had any issues and no premium for modifications 😛

Nothing wrong with VIP. I like it, I just couldn't do it because 1) it's my daily driver 2) UK roads suck. People who dedicate their car to a VIP build generally do things properly and don't cut corners. Ford/Vauxhall owners on the other hand.. Their idea of a modified car are sh*t non-colour matched bolt on over-fenders with pops and bangs map. When it comes to modifying cars in the UK, people often lack imagination. Very rare to see something different. This is why I got an IS250 and did a thing or two to it that is quite tasteful in my opinion. Can't go wrong with subtle mods. It gets silly once you start seeing cars with mismatch parts, big, non-functional wings etc.

High-flow cats will not make enough of a difference to otherwise standard car to justify the costs in my opinion.

Nope. Just an SE-L (I think? Leather, sat nav, camera, M&L audio etc) & manual gearbox. I have 3 close friends with automatic 250s and they all have a torsen lsd too.. This torsen is the same unit as the one in the BRZ/GT86.

No worries. I'd give you (or anyone else who's intrigued) a ride but obviously you're nowhere near Birmingham haha. I wouldn't overthink it. The primary purpose of coilovers is track (performance) use. Nobody buys them for comfort, but it doesn't mean you can't have that with the correct spec.

My 250 has a factory torsen. It drifts and does burnouts 😉

If it's an open diff it's not an lsd at all. Open differential doesn't allow for Limited Slip. Basically, Do everyone a favour and just do a burnout.

I am due a secondary de-cat. We have 4 on IS250s. 1 on each header and then 2 in the Y-pipe. The secondary (Y-pipe) cats are a good mod in terms of tiny bit of sound and torque. Pulls better without it and still passes MOT if tested HOT. However, if you have a stock exhaust system, removing those 2 cats is not going to make a huge difference Matt. I've got HKS axle back and I think that might just give you the rumble you're after. It sounds really good in my opinion. Tame, nothing annoying. Doesn't drone either and only comes to life under load and you hear the change of tone between 2,5k-3k

I said this in a different post, but for the sake of cheaper tax, the diesels are just not worth it. This is not a german diesel and there is a reason why lexus only did one diesel - fiasco. IS250 / 4GR-FSE is such a smooth, reliable engine with reasonable MPGs. It'd be silly to go for a diesel. I get 43mpg on the motorway and 28-30 around town when driven sensibly. Never mind the running cost, it will work out a lot cheaper in the long run to own IS250 since you won't have to be replacing anything to do with the engine really.

For the money you'd be looking to spend, you might as well just buy the £520 XE30 bumper to fit XE20.. new shape bumper with the big grill. It's on eBay from a seller in Latvia.

@RookyCoilovers being harsh is a misconception. It really depends on the coilovers, spec and brands. Coilovers are only as harsh as the spring rates. Generally, lowering springs are harsher than coilovers because there's only the spring lowering the car while factory strut is always compressed and not working properly. My car is on TEIN Flex Z coilovers (£732) that come with 8kg front & rear spring rates. That's very soft for such a big car. My coilovers have improved the ride quality as my stock suspension was tired after 129k miles. Even now, when people get in my car they always compliment on how comfortable it rides and they couldn't even tell that it's on coilovers if it wasn't lowered. Sure, you can find cheaper coilovers, but they will be crap. These are the entry level branded coilovers that are best bang for your buck. Fully height adjustable and also damping adjustable, so you have the adjustment of how hard or soft you want the damping to be. They will stiffen up the car a bit overall, it will feel safer when turning as they reduce some body roll too, overall the steering is more direct too. Can't go wrong with these. Here's a few pics of my car. It's about 70mm lower compared to stock, but it retains comfort because 1) spring rates are soft 2) dampers work as intended. Stock dampers will be too compressed 24/7 on lowering springs so half of your suspension becomes almost obsolete. At the end of the day, they are coilovers, so don't go driving over speed bumps or potholes are silly speeds, but I can't recommend these enough on this car.

I'm glad, but not surprised that you're enjoying it 😉 1. As far as I'm aware, all IS250s had Torsen LSD. Yes, GT86 Torsen LSD is a straight bolt on and with GT86's 4.1 final drive, you'll gain little bit better acceleration too. Auto IS250 has 3.7FD and Manual has 3.9. Best thing, put your wheels on the grass and floor it. If both wheels leave marks, it's LSD, but I'm 99% sure it will be LSD 🙂 2. I can't say I've never noticed that, might be something to do with your air con, is it on recirculation? It's a bit weird when it's on, but it makes sense. There's no new air going in - might make it feel warm if it's coming from the leg heater which is under the steering wheel. 3. No idea - I don't have that one, but my mate's working fine, so just check it out and maybe spray some WD40 on it 😂 4. Again, no experience with this, might just be a worn rubber seal, mine shuts fine. 5. You have to take it with a pinch of salt. I don't even look at it anymore. Generally. When the fuel light comes on you have around 30miles left to empty according to the display, but I can get a minimum of 20miles from the point of it saying 0 miles to empty, so from the moment the fuel light comes on, you have 50miles or so. I never ran it to empty but when I did 23miles on "0 miles to empty" and filled up to full, I still had 3 litres left in the tank. Make sure you reset AVG MPG after you fill up. Just hold the display button down for 3-5s. 6. No idea - I've got the same issue. I've never seen it on an UK car, it might be something you can order from USA cars. Don't see why it should be a problem to retrofit it though. 7. I believe it was an option as mine doesn't have it, but my friends Facelift has it - also has the auto-dimming rear view mirror. 8. I believe the fuel cap says 95oct+, I run mine on 99Oct. Just make sure your car can use the new E10 fuel they introduced, but I'm not sure what it's like outside of the UK. Here, IS250 made between 2005 and September 2007 are not compatible with E10.

Prius or other Toyota Hybrid is a good shout. IS250 Automatic would be a great candidate, but not the most economic for short town trips averaging circa 25MPG. However, if that's not an issue, go for it. Reliable and comfy 🙂

You're correct