Under braces...installed

GT Spec under braces Install.

Factory mass production car often lack the ridgity under certain conditions. the chasis will have certain amount of flex when the car is being pushed to a limit during corning, to reduce that aftermarket company like GTspec has produced some of the highest quality under braces for Lexus vehicles.

These braces are tied into the front and rear subframe points to offer additional support. A front strut brace are used to offer additional support for the front end. when combined it offers a greater amount of resistance to chasis flex.

F-Champion

I've a huge announcement to make here, I've just received notice today that Lexus is having the training class for the IS-F in Las Vegas at the las Vegas motor speedway in February, and i am honored to be one of the very few candidate to be selected to participate in this special training event. Special thanks to the General Manager Mr. Bill Finsilver at Rallye Lexus for selecting me to be one of the candidates.

what makes this extra special is that not every dealer in the area are sending someone. the dealership has to participate in the program and the canadate has to be selected, so i am very pleased to be the person representing Rallye Lexus and in the metro NY region. so far I know the training is going to involve 3 days on the track with the IS-F and total brake down of the specifications of the car.

I'll be taking pictures and possible videos of the car on the track... so stay tuned and check back here often for any updates.

WOOT!!!!!

JDM Side Marker Install.

IS 250 and 350 sold in Japan are equipped with these. They are factory part and they are available here at Rallye Lexus and can be ordered right here at our parts department. I'll let the picture do the talking on this one.






Before picture 1.

Before picture 2.

Before picture 3.

I had to make my own side marker template for the install, location were determined by following the body lines and were marked by masking tape.

A closer picture here.

To get to the headlight harness connector the fender liner had to be removed to gain access and to run and secure the sidemarker harness properly.

The red and white with black tracer wire on the right side of the harness connector are for the lights.

Here's another view of the connector.

The light installed onto the fender.

A closer look.

Finished picture 1 right side.

Finished picture 2 left side.

Finished picture 3 right side.

Finished picture 4 left side.

Project BBK on IS250 AWD

BBK or big brake kit is something thats very common in the tuner scene to have it fitted in place of the factory brakes, company like StopTech, Brembo Brakes, and AP racing and the manufacture list goes on and on. Aftermarket BBK not only looks nice but they also improve the braking distance and feel tremendously over the factory system, its my opinion that peole should only use this when the dealer or manufacture does not offer a factory upgrade.

In the case of the IS350 compared to the IS250, the rotor size went from 296 mm on IS250 to 334 mm on the IS350, rear rotors went from 291 mm to 310 mm, this yielded in a rough increase of 12.8 percent front and 6.5 percent rear for the rotors. beside the obvious bigger caliper which house 4 small pods on the IS350 caliper compared to the smaller single big pod on the IS250 calipers.

This project was interesting that its done on a AWD IS250, until now to my knowledge no one has done it at all.

Shortly after my post on the clublexus forum about my brake upgrade, email and forum post flooded in, i was answering emails and call about it from quite a few people who read the post and wanted someone who has the know how to do the work, but unfortunally none of them are close enough to actually come to Rallye and have the work done.

Finally, lets move onto the the install, first some before pics, picture 1,2,3 from the top.

modification had to be made to the backing plate and hub to fit the rotor properly, pictures 4,5,6,7

modification was needed for the bigger rear rotors to fit properly, picure 8

onto the caliper install

Steel braided lines, pictures 9,10,11

and finally bleed the brake system

finish picture 12

The install took about 6 hours from start to finish, a final road test confirm stopping and brake feel and now the customer has the bragging right to be the first IS250 AWD to be fitted with factory BBK and no one else with the car has.

I have been working on several projects over the summer, stay tuned for updates on JDM sidemarker install, brake upgrade on AWD IS, My IS and whats to come, also some nice install we did on a Lotus Exige.

Lexus has developed the standard in the automotive industry for its Luxury vehicle and its outstanding customer service since its launch in 1989. On December 6th, 2006 Lexus announced it will stage the world premiere of the 2008 IS-F sport performance car and an concept vehicle at a press conference at the 2007 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

IS-F which will be equipped with an V8 powerplant with 400+ hp and a rumored V10 under the hood of the LF-A with 500+ HP capable of going over 200 mph. Not only did this news created a new hype over the car manufactures arena, it also had sparked a new generation of sport car enthusiast for Lexus.

Customers who used to be attracted to cars like the BMW M3, Infinity G35 and entry level Porsches like the Boxer are now paying close attention to the upcoming release of the IS-F sport sedan. Clearely Lexus has widened its product line to take a aggressive stance against its competition brands.

With already extensive training received from Rallye Lexus on Lexus product and its philosophy, I believe that i can take it to the next level, to achieve public recognition and attract potential new car and parts buyers from the grassroot level.

This is not just about the car, its also about the product that is going to be used on the car. I am presenting a great opportunity to have a excellent foundation for R&D on new parts for this new untapped market with the Lexus brand and this will not be possible without the participation of interested companies like yours.

It is a fact that racing events have a huge following. Racing fans are strongly loyal to the sponsors and products advertised by their favorite drivers and teams. Fans associate the purchase of sponsor products or services to the personal support of their driver or team. with the sponsorship from your company it will establish a firm ground for the future, a market attracting both new performance car and performance parts buyers.



What is the intention of this sponsorship?

- To gain public exposure via local car club HPDE, Autocross and time trials.
- To have a platform set for future growth
- To have involvement in car sponsorship and race involvement at grassroot level.



How it will Benefit the company?

- Gain public knowledge of it new ideas and new product line.
- Gain Exposure opportunity at the track - before, during or after a race.
- Gain Exposure at local Autocross events and car meets.
- Internet exposure as build progress moves forward at Lexus car forums.
- Effort will be applied to gain entry to "MODIFIED" magazine listing and artical write up when car is complete.



Performance Mods already done and future plans,

Current:

- Factory IS350 brake upgrade. front and rear calipers and rotors with Stoptech Steel braided lines.
- BC Racing Coilover installed.
- Torsen LSD.
- Works XT7's 18x8.5 front and rear
- Yokohama Advan A048 25 40 R18 front and 265 35 R18 rear


Future:

- AutoPower Roll cage - to be determined by autopower due to custom fabrication.
- Greddy V-manage (VVT-I controller)- pending on release
- 2GR-FSE engine, harness and ECU - Power increase at 102 hp over current.
- Megan racing header and exhaust system for 2GR-FSE engine.
- Intake system for 2GR-FSE
- 4 point passenger restrain harness system.
- Sparco speed/evo2 seat for passenger side.
- Seibon carbon fiber hood and rear spoiler.
- Front air splitter/rear diffuser.


Some of the above items are already available, some dont even exist, some requires fabrication and some requires full sponsorship, but with committment from companies like yours, it will make things from drawing board to reality.

With the combined effort from both parties I believe we will gain not only publicity for the effort and products but set a new standards in aftermarket parts support for Lexus brand vehicles.

"If you think you can't, you won't...
If you thing you can, you will !
we can, we will. " *


Thank you for your time.

* taken from the Lexus Covenant


References,

Here are links to lexus forums on two modification post i've done and both have already gained over 1800 hits combined in less than two month. special thanks to Lee Morse from Rallye Lexus and Mark Chin from GTspec with parts.

http://clublexus.com/forums/showthread.php?t=283260 Coilover install

http://clublexus.com/forums/showthread.php?t=270983 brake upgrade