A look back at some previous topics...

Over the past few months I have made a few interesting opinionated write ups on the IS-F. Check out my opinion on the IS-F here:

IS-F's Future Value

Why the IS-F is superior

My First experience in the IS-F

And here are some posts describing aftermarket modifications:

Carbon fiber mods

IS-F Borla Catback Exhaust

Artisan Twin Turbo Kit

Take a look at some of the previous posts, they offer great information on IS-F aftermarket mods.

The quickest way to wash your car

I'm not a big fan of sacrificing quality for time, but not everybody has the free time to wash their car thoroughly or to even give it to somebody to wash for them. What should you do if you have little time? Definitely do not wash your car in a soft bristle wash. Although technology has improved over the years, the soft bristle, automatic car washes are still not perfect. They still contain dirt from previous washes and the brushes may not be soft enough for Lexus paint. If you absolutely have no other option, I would suggest using a touchless wash. Before you heard to your nearest touchless wash, first consider your current car protection. If you are using a wax protectant on your car, forget touchless washes. If you are using a tougher sealant, you can run the car through the touchless. The problem with most touchless washes is their high levels of detergent, high water pressure, and recycled water. As of today, it's not possible to get a thorough touchless wash without high pressure or detergent. The high pressure can blast the dirt already siting on the car diretly into the paint, causing fine scratches and marks. The detergenets can strip the protectant off the vehicle. Only run your car through a touchless if you have no other resort. It's not necessarily a harmful wash, but it will put the vehicle at risk of being harmed if consistently used. If the wash is really bad, you can severely damage the paint. You can always correct the paint with a detail and polish, however you can only polish a car so much before the clear coat finish is worn to the bottom, making the paint appear dull. I run my IS-F through touchless washes and have certainly noticed small swirl marks and etchings from the touchless washes. My experiences differ from wash to wash.

The LF-A has been released!

It has been several years since Lexus first announced their intentions with the Lexus LF-A, the second addition to their F performance lineup. Although the wait may seem reasonable, a view of their new promotional video will quickly change your mind. The car will be sold around $350,000 USD and will only be produced for two years. This is a super car. The performance per dollar can be disputed, but this car is not intended to be bought by the price conscious consumer. This vehicle represents a milestone in Lexus development, being their first automboile to achieve 0-60 times in under 4 seconds. THe LF-A will be in competition with some of the most famous automobiles available on the market. This vehicle truly makes a statement as to where Lexus is headed with their automobiles. The fully electronic dashboard seems years ahead of other manufacturer's capabilities. The design is obviously in the eye of the beholder, but nonetheless exhibits super car properties. The high revving engine achieves a sound that only F1 cars can produce. We are very excited to see this vehicle on the road, but do not have high expectations at spotting one. Only 500 units are to be produced.

The Official Lexus LF-A Video

The Lexus "is just a Toyota" debate must end.

How many times have you heard somebody mention the fact that Lexus is just a Toyota? Yes, it is a division of the Toyota Motor Group. Does it share the same quality as Toyota? In a reliability sense, yes, but in a luxury sense, obviously not! Many car connoiseurs try to play off Lexus as a cheaply upgraded automobile being sold at an unreasonable price. If this were true, then how has the LS460 flagship model become the best selling super luxury sedan amongst it's competitiors, while selling at the lowest price? Lexus is a Toyota in the sense that it is owned by Toyota Motor Group. Saying Lexus is just a Toyota is exactly the same as saying Audi and Bentleys are just Volkswagens, Mercedes Benz is just a Chrysler, and Cadillac is just a GM. While in some respect, it may be true, however we do not associate these labels with their more affordable images. I do not think it is Toyota's fault because nearly every Lexus model utilizes completely different bodies from Toyota. The Lexus IS line has no matching Toyota body. These luxury models carry a different name for a reason. Take a look at the Volkswagen Phaeton, which was discontinued due to poor sales. This vehicle sold poorly because it carried a $80,000+ price tag but still bore the Volkswagen image. Similar models sold by Audi have been a success. This leads me to believe logo and image play a big role in sales. The general public is diluting the Lexus brand and needs to stop spreading false information. Perhaps it is just a desperate attempt for European owners to retain their benchmark luxury status. Sales and rankings are telling a much different story though.

Review: Lexus IS-F K&N Typhoon Intake

I'm generally an easy person to please. It's very difficult for me to write a bad review for a product, but in this case I am. I was skeptical before I even opened the box. It promised 20+ hp gains. I would have believed this had Lexus placed a restrictive stock intake system in the vehicle, but they clearly did not. The intake system is marketed as a cold air intake system. I was puzzled. The goal of a cold air intake system is to breathe air NOT from the engine bay. A quick glance at the intake system shows a small heat plate sucking in air from relatively the same area. It seems the stock intake system is setup better, with a secondary intake system for 3000+ RPM that takes air nearly directly from outside the hood. I had it installed at a local shop. I was really excited to hear the sound on this system. The sound was immediately noticeable at lower RPMs. This intake system turned my plush, luxury car into a hot rod. The sound it makes at full throttle makes the car sound like an F1 race car. It sounds like the car is angry. The sound was great and gave me a false sense of speed, but over time, the electronic controller on the car started adapting to the new intake system and the sound was lost. Secondly, I was not noticing an increase in horsepower. I never dynoed the car, but I ran several 0-60 tests with the intake installed. These tests proved the ineffectiveness of the intake setup. Here's a test video of my vehicle on a closed course. I apologize for the poor footage, but I had to take advantage of the cool weather, to give the intake system the benefit of the doubt.

How to extract a better intake sound out of your IS-F

So your stock IS-F is not sounding muscular enough for you? We've discovered a simple modification that will greatly improve the sound of your IS-F without impacting the performance of the automobile. Do no be afraid, this has been tested and will not throw any type of error code to your engine! This modification simply disables the hose that restricts the secondary intake from running at lower RPMs. The result, more air intake and a nice sound!

To do this simple modification you will need:
1. Electrical tape or vacuum seals
2. A Lexus IS-F
3. 5 minutes of your time

Simply pop open your hood. Look to the left of the vehicle. You will locate a small setup as shown in the picture. Simply remove the end of the hose and either add a vacuum seal as shown in the picture, or simply tape it up with electrical tape. We prefer the vacuum seal just to be 100% certain nothing can clog up the tube. You should experience the same throatier sound you experienced at higher RPMS, at lower RPMs. The efficiency of this modification has been debated, since nobody was really sure why Lexus built a dual stage intake, but the general consensus is that Lexus implemented this setup to preserve the luxury aspect of the vehicle. This in fact makes the car louder and muscular, which Lexus clearly does not promote. Some have debated that there is a mild performance decrease, but nothing has been proven as of yet. If you feel uncomfortable with the modification, you simply have to remove the plug or tape and place the hose back on. There is zero risk of damage to the vehicle with this modification, however we do suggest restoring this before sending the car into maintenance.

The Borla Catback Exhaust

One of the most common modifications on an automobile is the exhaust system. Most exhaust systems are designed to be cost effective and not necessarily to maximize performance. Although the stock IS-F exhaust system is much better than the typical automobile system, there is still room to improve, and Borla has really maximized the efficiency of the exhaust. The car's acceleration is much more noticeable with the ehxuast on, at even the lowest RPMs. The current setup will set you back $900-$1500 for a catback exhaust system, which is not street legal in many states. You are getting a quality product that will add about five ponies and will enrich the sound of the vehicle. The only problem with the installation is the lack of free space while installing. There is very little room for error while installing this product, and it may have to be returned to the shop to be corrected for heat adjustment, since installers do not have sufficient time to test the vehicle. Borla is well known for their exhaust systems and have managed to create a quality exhaust that retains the stock tips (hate it or love it). Be prepared to keep some free space in the garage for the factory exhaust, just in case you decide to revert to the system. Some buyers have reverted to the stock exhaust due to excessive drone that can be heard on the highway. I personally have no issue with the drone and feel it's mostly based on the fact that the IS-F is an eight speed system, and the tone change is easily heard throughout the acceleration process. Once the car is at a stable speed, it's easy to focus on the drone and I could easily see how it could become a problem for some. If you are looking for horsepower at an affordable price, go with the Borla Exhaust. You will not be disappointed by the performance of the exhaust.

A new turbo setup

Elite Autosport has begun work on a new, single turbo kit for the Lexus IS-F. The team is putting the turb kits together for $12,000 including installation. This is not a bad price given the significant gains. After installation, the IS-F will certainly run sub 12 second quarter miles and achieve well over 500 rear wheel horsepower. There is a price to pay though. Elite Autsport has not been able to thoroughly test the tunes, so they are not sure if the ECU will re-learn and destroy the custom tune, rendering the turbo useless. The first five buyers of the kit will receive the kit at a 30% discount. This kit will be mounted on the engine bay, which is a big improvement from the rear mounted turbos offered by Artisan. The team is currently unsure whether or not methanol injections will be required, which is a big factor for some turbo kit enthusiasts. Apparently, this team became inspired with the IS-F after repairing a car that had the Artisan twin turbo installation, which turned out to be a very poorly installed piece of equipment. The wiring job was poor and there is no actual tune done to the car with the turbo kit, aside from methanol injections. Methanol injections allow modification to the fuel-air mixture, which can improve compression ratios which are optimal for turbochargers. The Artistan kit, originally sold on Turbochargers.com is no longer to be found. This may have been the result of customer complaints or due to a simple takeover in sales. I am assuming the Artistan kit will not be sold until the initial problems have been resolved. The Elite Autosport kit appears to be much more efficient, using only one turbo to spool faster. It will be interesting to encounter reviews of this kit and I will keep posted when news becomes available.

The not so pretty, new IS-F interior options

I've said it many times before, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but Lexus has really stretched their imagination with their latest interior options. The latest options include a terra cotta interior that simply does not match with any components of the vehicle. The F logo contains a blue etching. The new seats are partially red, and partially black. This combination simply does not work with the IS-F in any color combination.The same issue has been brought up with the lower model IS350 and IS250 convertible editions which have very space age like interior combinations. These combinations sound good, but simply are an eyesore in person. I highly doubt many variations of seat colorings will sell. The IS350 and 250 seats are much different from the IS-F seats, however. The IS-F seats are firmer, fitting, and more rectangular. The IS-F seats do not match the comfortability of the lower model seats. They also lack the seat coolant feature, which can be useful in warmer climates.Thankfully the new seat styles are optional, and the black and white options are available without any two tone styles. Lexus is definiately trying to spark customized interest in the vehicle, which should be done considering the steep entry price. As the IS-F progresses, it will include more customized features such as the seats. For example, the newer models also come with a darkened navigation unit, which fits more flush with the rest of the console. New owners will appreciate this, but older owners will feel disappointed they are unable to upgrade these features on their car without paying a substantial price. The IS-F certainly makes a statement with the new color options, along with the original car paint options, such as the bright, ultrasonic blue flagship model.

Neiman Marcus Edition IS-F

Last year, the Lexus IS-F saw entry into the expensive Neiman Marcus catalog. A special edition of the IS-F was made for the catalog. The Special Edition's features included a special crafted set of BBS wheels, hant stitched seating with an embossed F logo in the headrests, and even driving lessons with the famous driver, Skip Barber. I'm not sure how many people buy automobiles out of a catalog, but I'm willing to venture that not many people were willing to pay an extra $5,000 for such features. Although the trip to meet with Skip Barber includse all expenses, it seems a bit pricy. The Neiman Marcus Edition IS-F was only sold in obsidian black. In the previous years, the catalog sold LS600h Lexus, S600 Mercedes Benz, and BMW M6 vehicles. The IS-F in the Neiman Marcus catalog just does not seem to target the proper audience, as the IS-F is clearly marketed toward the younger crowd. Most likely, some units sold, but the question is, what did Lexus do with the remaining units?