Hello
Welcome to my build thread. Car is a 2008 lexus is250 AWD. Got it earlier this year with 95k on it, as a replacement daily to my previous car (16 Fiesta ST). I've since done a few mods and some basic maintenance so thought I'd share the progress.

Primary purpose of this car is a fun daily. The goal is to make it as driver focused as possible, without breaking bank. I value handling over straight line acceleration (not that there is a choice with the 250 =P) so most of what you will see me do is chassis/suspension stuff. Coming from a FiST I find the performance - trade-off - to added creature comfort to be more than reasonable. I like this car so far.

SERVICE HISTORY
The dealer provided a maintenance log documenting the vehicle history. Turns out that the car had two previous owners who leased the car at this particular dealership, and performed all of the service there. The first thing that stood out was the oil service intervals occurred everyy 5-6k miles, like clockwork, over the life of the car, which is always a big nice thing to see. There were records of front and rear brake replacement, wheel alignments, wipers, handles, loose cv boots that needed re greasing and re-seat, etc. basically all the little but not insignificant things that are generally covered under the warranty period, like it should be. Every thing looks good until. The following parts list, consisting of: a cylinder head gasket, six piston and piston rings, valve kit, and new catalytic converters. Service performed: cylinder head removed and decarbonized, piston and valve replaced.
Yup, the dreaded carbon deposit issue.
The fact the engine got rebuild on this thing was a little unsettling. What does that mean for resale value? Is there a design issue with the engine? Is the issue going to come back later down the road? I don't know about you guys, but these were the type of questions that almost made me walk away.
In the end I decided to roll the dice but be as proactive as possible with regards to keeping valves clean. Things like running 93 octane gas, using high quality oil, and giving it the ole 'Italian' tuneup every now and then, are on the pledge.
Delivery taken a few days later.


MAINTENANCE DONE SO FAR:

• replaced worn front lower control arms with OEM units. The strut bushings were badly worn, on both sides
• ISF spec FLCA bushings. More steering feel, less inner tire wear, at zero NVH cost penalty (read about these on this forum, lots of good information. thanks guys! )
• new inner tie rods. The threads had corrosion damage that made getting an alignment a problem.
• new front sway bar end links. The rubber boots were cracked.
• front wheel bearings. Started to notice grinding noise when turning. Decide what the heck, may as well replace them sooner than later. Turned out to be a really good thing. Got rid of the noise and tightened up the front end!

Current mileage: 115k.




This is the car on Day 1.

 

Had an underbody inspection performed. It looked fairly clean, next to zero structural rust, no oil leaks. Rubber bushings and fasteners in decent condition. A fair bit of surface rust on some of the exposed driveline components. Could use a round of under body protection like Ziebart, etc, but for the most part, its not that bad for a 10 yr old car from the midwest.

 

 

I'm big into function over form when it comes to wheels and tires. So after going back and forth on a few options, I decided to prioritize weight savings above everything else. The GSE25 platform is a little under powered to begin with, and any help in the weight department sounds to me like a good investment. To get as much bang for the buck, options were limited to 17x8 or 18x8 size. A 'meaty' sidewall was also on the must-have list because of all the broken road in Detroit.

Enter these 17x8 Enkei RPF1 wheels wrapped in 235/45r17 Michelin Pilot Sport 4S.
At roughly 16 lbs a wheel, a few pounds less each tire, this setup saves roughly 7 pounds per corner. When you budget in the unsprung vs sprung weight conversion factor (4-10 to 1 lbs is pretty typical) the total weight saving is... well you just do the math!

 

Nice wheel/tire combo there! The corner weigh savings is a nice bonus.

 

Thanks! The change in pickup is well appreciated. Fuel economy improved by a solid 2 mpg, too.

My only gripe is how the stock offset tucks them well into the rear wheel wells. It's less noticeable in the front, but the rear is pretty bad. Not sure why lexus couldnt just widen the rear track width on the awd! (Rwd folks out there dont know the struggle haha)