My IS-F story so far....

[_ISF]

Hi Everyone,

I joined a few months ago but this forum is pretty quiet so i haven't had much of an opportunity to interact with you all yet. I thought i would put up some information about my IS-F which i purchased in June 2017 and my story about the purchase experience and my time with the car so far. You can read that here if interested.
 

I purchased this IS-F after looking for around 5 months to find a decent example.
 

Previous car history (cars worth mentioning anyway) in case it is of interest to anyone:

• 2007 S14 series 2 200sx (lightly modified 170rwkw) – no build thread
• 2001 S15 200sx (slightly more modified, around 185rwkw) – no build thread
• 2011 VW Golf R (spent a fair bit of $ on this one, 208awkw. Max power with standard turbo) – Golf R build thread
• 2010 VW Golf GTI (also went a bit crazy on this one, 161fwkw. Max power with standard turbo) Another example of the lengths I go with detailing a grotty 2^nd hand car (this one was really grotty inside) –  GTI build thread

 

Pros:

• It was the colour I preferred (I wanted either silver or blue, with blue being my #1 choice)
• Very low km’s
• No accidents or damage or rust (all original paint and bodywork)
• 1 owner car
• Drove beautifully
• Near new tyres (Bridgestone Potenza RE050) all round

Cons:

• Not as tidy as I was hoping for and not what I was led to expect
• Somewhat sketchy service history (although very low km’s travelled so im inclined to let this one slide a bit). I also looked as best I could inside the engine (via oil filler cap) and everything was squeaky clean (no buildup)
• Brakes need replacing ASAP
• Will have to do another oil change (and engine flush) to satisfy my somewhat OCD nature

 

Time for some mods……

• X-force header-back exhaust (sounds great but a little too loud for my liking – had custom rear mufflers made in July 2018 to quieten it down a bit)
• Bonnet struts replaced (old ones were very stiff)
• Billet alloy oil filler cap with F logo from USA
• 15mm SSC wheel spacers (good quality German made ones….not cheap ebay Chinese junk)
• Gutted cats in the headers
• Carbon fibre roof spoiler
• Superpro replacement LCA bushes
• Bayson-R front lip (black plastidipped and actually looks really good)
• Blacked-out front grill
• 5D carbon fibre wrap for the interior trim to replace the tacky silver carbon fibre.
• RR Racing o2 sensor conditioner fitted
• RR Racing air/oil separator (catch can)
• Will also another engine flush and oil change soon also to ensure all the old oil is long gone (so car had an oil change by Lexus at 42k, then by me at 45k, and now ill do another one at around 48k). Might be overkill, but it’s a relatively small cost (and I can do the work myself) to ensure the engine is in tip top shape.
• Ran the car on the Dyno in May 2018 (mods were xforce exhaust, gutted cats, afe filter and HPS intake pipe). Consistently ran 247-249kw atw over 4 runs.
• RR Racing ECU Tune loaded June 2018 (made 265kw after the tune)

 

[rysith]

Great read mate and an interesting insight into what you had to go through.

I live in Newcastle myself and have owned my MY11 Starlight black ISF for over 5 years and loved every minute.

Recently upgraded to an RCF as I was after something a touch more modern and just after a change really.

Let me know if any of your mates are keen to get into an ISF after seeing yours :)

I'm selling my modded one here: https://au.lexusownersclub.com/forums/topic/14098-further-price-drop-2010-my11-lexus-is-f-starlight-black-with-mods-approx-300rwkw/

 

[Babalouie]

Great job on the detailing :)

[_ISF]

19 hours ago, rysith said:

Great read mate and an interesting insight into what you had to go through.

I live in Newcastle myself and have owned my MY11 Starlight black ISF for over 5 years and loved every minute.

Recently upgraded to an RCF as I was after something a touch more modern and just after a change really.

Let me know if any of your mates are keen to get into an ISF after seeing yours :)

I'm selling my modded one here: https://au.lexusownersclub.com/forums/topic/14098-further-price-drop-2010-my11-lexus-is-f-starlight-black-with-mods-approx-300rwkw/

 

Is your RC-F grey? If so, i think i saw you a few days ago on Industrial Drive (might have been Wednesday afternoon at 5pm). And yes i have told one of my friends about your car, but he has 4x modified Toyota's in the garage already and is building a house - so funds are tight.

[_ISF]

Fwd Brakes Direct New Order # 17-00003087.msg

17 hours ago, Babalouie said:

Great job on the detailing :)

Thanks - it certainly was a big task but i enjoy it. Now that the car is clean, it's so much easier to keep it that way with a weekly wash and vacuum, and a polish/sealant a few times a year to keep it glossy and protected.

Should see the before and after on the brake calipers!! I wish i had taken some "before" photos of the paintwork but it just didn't occur to me at the time.

[rysith]

22 minutes ago, _ISF said:

Is your RC-F grey? If so, i think i saw you a few days ago on Industrial Drive (might have been Wednesday afternoon at 5pm). And yes i have told one of my friends about your car, but he has 4x modified Toyota's in the garage already and is building a house - so funds are tight.

Nah it's white with the carbon pack (bonnet, roof, spoiler) - but I often travel on Industrial Dr, so it may have been mine with bad lighting (or it's dirtier than I thought :) )

I'll give you a wave if I see you around :)

[Gen03]

How much did the rotors and pads cost all up ?

[_ISF]

3 hours ago, rysith said:

Nah it's white with the carbon pack (bonnet, roof, spoiler) - but I often travel on Industrial Dr, so it may have been mine with bad lighting (or it's dirtier than I thought :) )

I'll give you a wave if I see you around :)

Cool - ill keep an eye out. I have seen an orange one around (actually i think its an RC 350, not an F) and also that grey RC-F but dont think ive seen a white one. I'll keep an eye out.

3 hours ago, Gen03 said:

How much did the rotors and pads cost all up ?

Front disks $ 450 (DBA2758X | DBA Street Series X Gold Cross Drilled Brake Rotor)
Front Pads $ 245 (Winmax W1)

Rear Disks $ 435 (DBA2759X | DBA Street Series X Gold Cross Drilled Brake Rotor)
Rear Pads $ 211 (Winmax W2)

If you are interested, I have replaced these Winmax pads with some Bremtec ones as I was trying to get rid of a persistent squeal from the brakes that developed a few months after installation. Turns out it was the rear pads making the noise – so I wouldn’t want to sell those unless it was for a track car or something. But the front pads were noise free, worked well and have only done about 3,000-4,000km since I fitted them. You can have them for $150 if you are interested.

[_ISF]

Busy weekend and today on the ISF....

• Wash and mini detail
• Installed carbon fiber roof spoiler
• Another oil flush and oil change
• Wheel balance and alignment
• Installed new Frush multi layer exhaust gaskets on my xforce exhaust (confirmed the crappy graphite gaskets that came with the exhaust were leaking in several spots)
• Re-aligned xforce exhaust to sit a bit neater
• Arranged for custom rear mufflers to be fabricated to replace the xforce rear mufflers
• Gutted my primary cats (sounds dirty now)
• Installed my RR Racing O2 sensor conditioner device
• Booked her in on Friday afternoon for a dyno run at my regular place (hoping for around 250-260kw)

 

[_ISF]

Just an update - RR Racing tune is now on the car as of last week and my custom rear mufflers and Magnaflow cats should be getting fitted next week. Tune feels good so far even though i have only driven about 30-40km since uploading it and had my daughter in the car so wasnt being too much of an idiot. Car feels peppier and throttle response is better. Keen to see what that bum dyno feeling translates to on the dyno (lets see if it does give me 30-50hp atw like RR Racing say).

And my friend spotted my car parked down near the beach on the weekend (was freezing cold and super foggy) and took some photos of it for me. This was not planned, he just happened to see my car parked and decided to take a few snaps with his Canon SLR.

[_ISF]

I do 6 month oil changes on my cars (overkill perhaps, but cheap insurance to know the oil is clean and not contaminated) and it was time for another one over the recent Easter/Anzac break. Its super easy to do a service on this car, no need to remove the whole under tray as they designed little windows that unbolt to allow access to the oil filter canister and sump area.

A few months prior i had access to a hoist for a short time (at the Lexus dealership my brother works at) so i changed the diff oil and brake fluid while i had the chance. In hindsight i should also have done the engine oil at this time because of the convenience of having the car in the air....but it wasn't due yet.

I love how easy and straight forward this car is to work on - no special tools needed for anything, parts are cheap and readily available too. The most expensive part is the oil, as the sump holds about 9.3L so i alwasy buy the oil when its on sale at Supercheap or Repco etc and either grab a 10L drum or 2x of the 5L bottles depending on which one works out cheapest.

I was due for some new front tyres as these cars are well known for wearing the outside edge out prematurely (soft lower control arm bushings). After researching tyres i decided to go with the reasonably new Falken Azenis FK510's which have rated quite well in multiple tyres tests both locally and overseas. The IS-F is a bit under-tyred from factory so most people throw a wider tyre on the factory rims. Stock tyres are 225 up front and 255 at the rear. I have now gone 245 on the front and will go with 275 on the rear in a few months once i finish killing whats left of the rear tyres.

Happy with the Falken's so far, very grippy, quiet, let you know when you are pushing the limits and they have a nice looking sidewall too. The wider tyre looks better on the rim and fills out the guards just that bit more too.

[Peterkay]

4 hours ago, _ISF said:

I do 6 month oil changes on my cars (overkill perhaps, but cheap insurance to know the oil is clean and not contaminated) and it was time for another one over the recent Easter/Anzac break. Its super easy to do a service on this car, no need to remove the whole under tray as they designed little windows that unbolt to allow access to the oil filter canister and sump area.

 

 

 

 

 

In regards to the overkill, NO IT IS NOT. Fuel is the killer of oil so the cleaner the oil the better. I do mine every 6 months also. We travel roughly 150-200 kms a week. I keep an eye on the Repco retail catalogues in regards to oil specials. I use Castrol Edge 5w30. But the Penrite oil you are using is great also. I also change the diff oil every 2nd service as well as the transmission fluid. Extra nutcase fussy i guess. And when i do the service i also through a bottle of Nulon PEC Fuel Additive.