I'm gonna try this again, as somehow my first post got lost in the ether somewhere.

Just bought myself an '02 IS-300. it's got about 91k on the clock, but other than some expected wear, looks pretty clean.

It's a one-owner, 5-speed, with LSD. And overall, so far, I'm pretty impressed. Smooth ride, nice power, and great handling.

A few questions:

Anyone auto-x one? If so, what class does it run (car is bone stock)? And is it fairly competitive?

If I decide to do basic mods, what's the best place to start? Does these cars respond better to engine mods (intake, header, exhaust, etc.) or suspension work (springs, shocks, sub-frame, yada-yada)? Obviously I want to eventually do both, but which should be addressed first?

Anything specific I should look out for on an IS with 92k, besides the obvious things you'd look for on any other car with this many miles? I know there's the 90k service that should be done (water pump and timing belt - correct?)

Been around cars all my life, but this is my first foray into the Lexus/Toyota world.

Of course, I've got pics...

 

Good pick up.

5-speed =

90k service: you got it, if you have a non-Lexus garage you trust doing the service there are a few other preventitive things you can do at the same time (I forget exactly what they all are but at the time I remember thinking 'yes, I will do that now instead of later')

Basic mods: does not include things like headers though doing the entire air system will get you some good results. Little things like a drop make some nice difference, you get better handling (less squishy through the corners) and a better appearance out of it.

Welcome

 

Please explain? Is it that you consider headers beyond the basics? Or are headers just a 'given'? Is there something about the IS that makes headers more difficult? Just curious, since it's one of the first couple of things I do to any car.

A drop of about an inch would be nice. Probably not gonna be my first priority though. I'm thinking some beefy sway-bars and a bushing kit will be the first things in the handling department.

The car is gonna primarily be a daily driver, so I wanna keep it fairly mild. Don't need a SEMA show-stopper, or a full blown 'street-prepared' auto-x'er. Just something to have a bit of fun with.

How difficult is the 90k service? If it's reletively easy, I'll do the water-pump and timing belt myself.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

heres my 2 cents

im getting ready to upgrade my airflow system, doing K&n typhoon and obx shorty headers, gonna do exhaust later after i do some more research on it. Most would agree that the beefy part of the powerband lies above 4k rpms, i went with this particular intake and headers because both are supposed to be good for lower than 4k rpms, im hoping this will give me that bang below 4k

suspension is next on my list of things to tackle, i was gonna do the whole sway bar trick and everything but from what ive been reading and after talking to people they say best bang for your buck is coilovers, so im lookin at some tanabe coilovers

as far as maintenance goes, its a pain in the ***, all of it, oil change is a pain (ive got it down pat now but), spark plugs are underneath the throttlebody, brakes are so easy its a sin, but even the license plate light are like a half hour to an hour ordeal

theres tons of info on the web for this car, same engine as in the toyota supra so lots of parts available too, clublexus is a good forum, isfanatics.com is great im over there a lot, my.is probably has the best info for this car out of all of them but those guys are really hard on new people and heaven forbid you searched and didnt find the one thread from 7 years ago that almost answered your question

nontheless welcome

where in PA are you btw?

EDIT: if you do change your timing belt, write up a DIY guide for it

 

Thanks for some of the info.

Doing general maintenance, even if a PITA, is no big deal. I'm fairly mechanically inclined, have more tools than I know what to do with, and sometimes even enjoy the work. But reading around on the net, nothing seems to be a simple, 2-beer job on the IS. I could do most things on the old CRX or Miata in my sleep, but I guess those days are over.

Probably won't tackle much in the way of mods any time soon. With three motorcycles in the garage, and winter on it's way, I don't wanna be doing much in a snowy, icy driveway. Plus, most cash is going to the new baby-girl we had in June. Which is why I had to replace the Miata with 4-doors. But I'm always thinking for the future...

I've already been over to the my.IS forums, and though the info is good, I see what you mean. Some places just have that personality I guess.

I'm in Pittsburgh. So the first order of business will be some cheap 16/17" rims with a set of Blizzacks. If the IS had 4-lug wheels, I have a beater set from an old Sentra that would work, but alas...

Where in WV are you?

 

Welcome, and congrats on your nice GGP 5 speed. All the others have covered everything else, but I ran my IS300 when it was completly stock in autocross, at the time 2004 it was in h stock, this could have changed, because SCCA changes classes all the time. It is a very competitive car in autocross, being rear wheel drive, 50/50 weight distribution, and good weight for the class. Find out were the fast ones are running and set the car up for that class. As for best first mod, I would go for a intake, it really wakes the car up, and you get a nice roar in the 4-5k range, but at lower rpm it still sounds like a quiet Lexus, I like this dual personality!

 

Thanks.
Forgive my ignorance (still new to Toyota's and Lexus') but what does 'GGP' stand for? I've seen the term thrown around a few times now.

Pulled up SCCA's SoloII GCR, and the car currently runs in D-stock, which I think includes the WRX, 3-Series, Type-R, etc... So it's a pretty competitive class in my region. No biggie, as I just go out 2 or 3 times a year to keep up my skills and have fun. Besides, I was used to running the old Miata in CS - talk about a competitive class!!! :lol:

I'll look into intakes. Just have to be careful, as I don't want to get bumped into Street Prepared too quickly, as it's a feeding-frenzy. Had a CRX that fell into CSP, and got my a$$ handed to me regularly by trailer queens. Again, I don't really care, as I'm just out to have fun once in a while, but It's still nice to be competitive.

 

Never mind. Took some digging, but I found it:

GGP - Graphite Grey Pearl

And here I though it was some weird chassis or engine code...

 

lol i didnt get it at first either, i was like what the?

no engine code 2jz-ge or 2jz-gte, like this