Building the Perfect Beast: Lexus IS F Track Build
Club Lexus member turns his Lexus IS F into a race-ready demon. Then proceeds to track the heck out of it!
While the owners of many luxury performance brands rarely come close to touching their rev limiters, that just isn’t the case with Club Lexus members. In fact, many routinely rag out their rides on the local tracks. This is especially true in regards to the excellent Lexus IS F. For good reason, of course. The compact sports sedan makes an excellent track toy with minimal effort.
The latest Club Lexus member to take his turn tracking a Lexus IS F is Gearbangin. After locating a clean and suitable candidate, he began the process the right way. With a build thread, of course!
“So I’ve been enjoying my Lexus I SF for going on five years now. The past two, I really got bitten hard by the track bug. The car is a 2008 Neiman Marcus Edition purchased used from Texas. So here are some before pics. Only mods are the Weddsport wheels.”
Of course, no build thread would be complete without a host of performance parts! So the OP started adding on all sorts of goodies.
“Then the mods started:
PPE Headers Catless
Borla Mid Pipe Resonator Delete
RR Racing Magnaflow True Dual Exhaust
F sport rear sway bar
Figs Two Piece Rotors
Stoptech Stainless Braided Brake Lines
BC ER Coilovers springs are 18kg, rears are 14kg.
RR Racing Titanium Intake
Big MAF
RR Racing Tune
Racing A/O Separator
Battery relocation Kit
Ultra racing Front/Rear Strut Tower Braces”
But those bits were only the beginning.
“OK so now on to the evolution of the Track F. Car’s in the shop now getting lighter and more rigid. Here a few teaser pics. More to come.”
Soon, a cage and sheetmetal replaced the back seat, and a carbon fiber hood and decklid went on. Then lightweight racing seats. The OP then added a touch of class by covering the rear cargo area with Alcantra and milling a custom “F” logo out of aluminum.
With fresh paint on the new carbon bits, the track ready Lexus IS F was looking killer.
And finally, a complete list of mods and specs appears!
“PPE Headers Catless
Borla Mid Pipe Resonator Delete
RR Racing Magnaflow True Dual Exhaust
F sport rear sway bar
Figs Two Piece Rotors Front/Rear
Stoptech Stainless Braided Brake Lines
BC Racing ER Series External Reservoir Coilovers springs are 18kg, rears are 14kg.
Megan front upper control arms,rear lower control arms, traction, and tow bars
RR Racing Titanium Intake
Big MAF
RR Racing Tune (426 wheel about 500 at crank)
A/O Separator
Battery relocation Kit
Ultra racing Front/Rear Strut Tower Braces
Recaro racing Seats
Rear seat delete custom alcantara aluminum enclosure
Matching alcantra headliner
Custom Roll/ Harness Bar
Brembos same color as roll bar
Custom Alcantra flat bottom steering wheel
Custum Alcantra headliner
Custom water jetted logos (on rear seat delete cover)
Custom Black Carbon fiber interior
Torsen LSD Swap
2011 LED headlights.
Carbon-fiber hood, trunk, and side mirrors
WEDSSPORT SA67R Circuit Black (Special Edition) Rims
Gutted rear trunk to bare metal, removed all sound deadening when they pulled floor for install
RR Racing Lithium Ion Lightweight Race Batter
Schroth Racing Harnesses”
And just like that, the sinister looking Lexus IS F hit the track for the very first time.
And with a little bit of practice, the OP was getting the hang of his new ride.
“Just three track days last week. First was too crowded to get clean runs as it was an SCCA Track Night. Now this weekend was a two day event and I smashed my previous PB by over two full seconds. I went from a 2:04.9 last year down to a 2:07.6 this year. One of the other guys in the advance group with me who was running a brand new Z06 said, and I quote, ‘that car runs good.'”
Since then, the OP’s new ride has logged a ton of track time over just a few months. His times keep getting better and better, and he’s uploaded plenty of track videos documenting his runs. You can (and should) check out the entire thing here!
Join the Club Lexus forums now — FREE!
