Ultrasonic IS F

Hi all I fitted a HPS intake tube and AFE air filter about a month ago and thought I'd report on my findings. Very easy install. Parts fitted well. The main difference I have noticed is that when changing gears manually at high revs the change is even smoother than before. I found previously when changing up (say 2nd to 3rd) at high revs the gear would "bang" in a bit. Not unpleasant but a noticeable feeling. Now it seems to change much smoother with less "bang". Secondly, perhaps a little less induction sound across the rev range. Still roars above 3k rpm but maybe not quite as loud. No real sense of performance improvement as such but perhaps feels a little stonger at the top end of the range (perhaps because it seems smoother and breathing easier). Anyway, just my impressions.....

Sorry, I suffered from premature posting there.....My questions: 1. Assume there is no rubbing at all with this tyre size on the OEM MY11 rims? 2. No impact on speedo reading? 3. Does the car get bogged down a bit more trying to get going with the wider rubber? 4. Is there noticeably higher levels of grip in dry and wet conditions? 5. Are they noticeably noisier? (Considering moving from the RE050s to Pilot Super Sport) 6. Anything else worth noting? Assume they would wear no different to the OEM tryes? Thanks all.

Hi all, been a while since I've been on here and looks like many of you are doing some great (and not so expensive) mods to the excellent IS F! I did an advanced drive course at Calder park a few back and was really impressed by the way the car handled. There was an imported, right hand converted Shelby Cobra in the group of cars and while he probably had me for outright straightline speed, in all other respects (braking, cornering, slalom etc) the F was well in front. It was great to have the chance to see what the F can actually do when pushed. Now on to my question. I have read how many of you have gone for bigger tyre sizes and I was hoping for some more feedback on that now that you have had them on for some time. The combination of 245/35/19 F and 275/3019 R seems popular. So.... 1.

I agree that the ML audio seems to lack a little "punch". I've had the IS F now for about 6 months (love it) but have found the audio just ok. My other car is an Audi Q7 with just the standard audio system and in my opinion it has a much better depth and quality of sound. I have fiddled with the settings but still not really satisfied. I agree that classical music sounds excellent and I have also noticed that if you play a music DVD the sound seeems sharper from that also (not sure why a DVD sounds better than an iPod which I thought was a digital signal as well but there you go).

Just to make you all feel better my other car is an Audi Q7 and I had to get the brakes and rotors replaced at the 30k service and it cost $3,300!!! Gotta love that Euro premuim.

Whatever and however it works, it works very well!

Sport mode is excellent. I tend to flick it on and off (having it on the steering wheel does help) like last night when stuck behind a truck coming on to an on ramp to a freeway and then the on ramp broke into two lanes so push sport button, indicate into right lane, drop right foot and oh my goodness......My previous car was an Audi and sport mode on that was impossible to live with because it effectively kept the car bouncing up around the top of the rev range which yes meant it was in the power band at all times but made driving much jerkier and no doubt fuel usage much higher. The Lexus set up seems far more user friendly.

Thanks for that. I found this site which suggests it is quite an issue in the USA! http://www.lexusoverride.com/index.php I also saw that there is an override product made by the prestigioussociety.com that provides a manual override switch (other on this forum have installed it I see). Views from other forums seem to suggest this works pretty well (not as good as there being no lock out but not bad as a second choice!). Might need to invest in it. Really hard to see why Lexus have gone this way when it's competitors do not!

Hey looks like I was close on the number of cars sold!! Would love to see your IS F up close Mike but I'm in Melbourne! When you say you had to "roll the guards" what does that mean?

So I have had my IS F now for about 6 weeks and I am loving it. Wish it had just a tad more head room but apart from that the only thing that is really bugging me is the nanny Nav and phone system that blanks out most controls when the car is in motion. The car I sold to buy the IS F and the family wagon have in car Nav systems and phone bluetooth connection that allow full use while the car is in motion. I can search my phone address book, punch in a phone number or set a Nav destination. Yes of course you need to be careful doing these things when the car is in motion but often it's the passenger that does it anyway. So am I just whining or do others share my nanny Nav concerns? Any way Lexus can be pressured to fix this? They must be able to change the software if they wanted to. Strange that Lexus have chosen to impose the nanny Nav on their cars when most other manufacturers do not.

Hey Mieknbn, might I have seen you around the OzAudi forum (I am an irregular user "A3&Q7")? I recently moved to Lexus power with a MY11 IS F from my A3 2.0TQ. Am happy with the step up! I believe you were/are an S3 driver? Agree with your sentiment - it really does balance so well the luxury and the performance. I've been very impressed. My only gripe is that you seemingly can't manually override the gears when it is in D like you can with the S-Tronic paddle shifters. Yes it will kick down (not that quickly) but then you seemingly can't continue to manually override as it just seems to allow you to hold the gear or go back gears. Other than that very small complaint, I am loving the IS F. Hi mate Yes that's me - I had a stage 3 S3 & a C63 previously - sold both and now the ISF. Congrats on yours, glad your liking it. I think the ISF is so understated esp when you bring it up in any convo on EURO forums - I do my best to keep it objective but some ppl are just narrow minded when it comes to badges ;) I've just done the suspension and wheels - looks and handles like a dream Cheers Mike I saw your pics in the other post. What size tyres are those and are those rims the same as the rims on the US market IS F's? Looks very similar. Have your changes increased the harshness of the suspension? Any rubbing of tyres on the wheel arches? Looks great by the way......

Hey Mieknbn, might I have seen you around the OzAudi forum (I am an irregular user "A3&Q7")? I recently moved to Lexus power with a MY11 IS F from my A3 2.0TQ. Am happy with the step up! I believe you were/are an S3 driver? Agree with your sentiment - it really does balance so well the luxury and the performance. I've been very impressed. My only gripe is that you seemingly can't manually override the gears when it is in D like you can with the S-Tronic paddle shifters. Yes it will kick down (not that quickly) but then you seemingly can't continue to manually override as it just seems to allow you to hold the gear or go back gears. Other than that very small complaint, I am loving the IS F.

Finally, someone from the magazine knows how to drive the isf!. 4.8 stock seems about right. My best time stock 0-100 clocked around 4.5 seconds (with the aircond on!), but 4.7-4.8 was the average (using a gtech GPS timer.) however if the journo doesn't know how to launch, the isf will bog down off the line. It would be interesting to read this article. The article seemed to suggest the IS F has launch control? Certainly can't find details of that in mine. So what is the best way to launch them for a quick time? Is it simply turn off all traction control, left foot brake and right foot squeeze the accelerator up and then let go left foot? How well does the transmission cope with that if there is no launch control? Some cars have programmed launch control that suggests would be kinder on the transmission than imposed launch control. Interested in your responses.

I think 350

Interested to hear you say you thought the S5 Coupe was underpowered. It has the 4.2V8? The S4 with the 3.0 supercharged certainly did not feel underpowered but I think it is rated as quicker than the S5.