Modding the IS350
11-06-05, 02:14 PM
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Modding the IS350
Ok guys, bear with me on this one. I am coming from a 2001 Audi S4. Obviously the German aftermarket scene is much different from the Japanese scene. In particular, there are FAR more tuners on the Japanese side... this has to do with the fact that there are less german cars (in sheer numbers) and in general, the Japanese cars are more inexpensive to tune (this is a blanket statement, there are exceptions to the rule). I am kinda lost when trying to determine who the front runners are, particularly for Lexus
The only tuner I am familiar with is HKS. Are they considered the more premier tuner in terms of quality products? Who makes quality exhuasts for the Lexus (with dyno plots to back it up)? Who is known for their well manufactured intakes? I have heard of some companies but I dont know if they are high end or not (AEM, Apex, Blitz, Greddy and HKS)
I was reading on here last night about Project Mu brake upgrades and someone mentioned they are awesome.. I've never heard of them... If I wanted to get a big brake kit for my Audi I would go with Stoptech
Can someone kinda run through the big players in the industry? Who generally makes better exhausts, intakes, downpipes, brakes etc? There is so much info and so many companies I dont even know where to begin....
The only tuner I am familiar with is HKS. Are they considered the more premier tuner in terms of quality products? Who makes quality exhuasts for the Lexus (with dyno plots to back it up)? Who is known for their well manufactured intakes? I have heard of some companies but I dont know if they are high end or not (AEM, Apex, Blitz, Greddy and HKS)
I was reading on here last night about Project Mu brake upgrades and someone mentioned they are awesome.. I've never heard of them... If I wanted to get a big brake kit for my Audi I would go with Stoptech
Can someone kinda run through the big players in the industry? Who generally makes better exhausts, intakes, downpipes, brakes etc? There is so much info and so many companies I dont even know where to begin....
11-06-05, 08:06 PM
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Lexus Test Driver
Well I'll chime in on this since no one else has... there's not too many clear-cut answers to this questions, but I'll at least tell you from my point of view (from reading reviews from owners of various cars that I've heard and what not).
HKS, Greddy (called "Trust" in Japan), Blitz, APEX'i (APEX Integration), and Tanabe are some of the biggest Japanese tuning companies that we see here stateside. These companies make turbo kits, exhausts, intakes, suspension, and multitude of other products. A favorite of IS300 owners as far as exhaust goes is HKS. With just the rear section, there is supposed to be a 9whp gain. From the friends I have with HKS products, they are very high quality. The Greddy cat-back exhaust system for the IS produces something around 2-4hp... many people think because one of the bends is too sharp and impedes flow somewhat. Blitz is pretty quiet for the IS, but very high quality from what I've heard. APEX'i N1 and GT-Spec are cat-backs, pretty loud, and a little higher pitched. Tanabe Racing Medallion (for any car) is going to be one of the louder exhausts available due to its straight-through design. The Tanabe Hyper Medallion has a more reserved sound.
Specifically for intakes, AEM and Injen are probably the best known in the US for good quality intakes. Many Lexus owners go with SRT (Lexus only tuner based on east coast) intakes though, however, because of the availability of a chip to work with the MAF. However, many owners going turbo get AEM from what i see, because they'll get stand alone engine management anyway.
For suspension, many people go with the company Tein, among other companies.
There are other companies that tune specific brands only. Mugen, Spoon, and Jun are both very well respected, but make products for Honda/Acuras only (i'm not sure actually if Jun does others).
TRD is toyotas tuning arm, and TOM's does toyota/lexus products as well.
In general, HKS and Top Secret (they have some presence in the US, but not too much) make some INSANE project cars. They are definitely on top of their game. Open any import magazine like Super Street or Sport Compact Car and you are bound to see a modded monster from one of these two tuning houses on the cover.
There are many other companies out there. Once you decide on a car, you can specifically see what comapanies make the best products for that car. There are many small companies based here in the US that make good products, but only for a specific car or make. For example, Vishnu is popular with the Lancer EVO crowd, Toyomoto is one that deals with Toyota/Lexus only, etc.
HKS, Greddy (called "Trust" in Japan), Blitz, APEX'i (APEX Integration), and Tanabe are some of the biggest Japanese tuning companies that we see here stateside. These companies make turbo kits, exhausts, intakes, suspension, and multitude of other products. A favorite of IS300 owners as far as exhaust goes is HKS. With just the rear section, there is supposed to be a 9whp gain. From the friends I have with HKS products, they are very high quality. The Greddy cat-back exhaust system for the IS produces something around 2-4hp... many people think because one of the bends is too sharp and impedes flow somewhat. Blitz is pretty quiet for the IS, but very high quality from what I've heard. APEX'i N1 and GT-Spec are cat-backs, pretty loud, and a little higher pitched. Tanabe Racing Medallion (for any car) is going to be one of the louder exhausts available due to its straight-through design. The Tanabe Hyper Medallion has a more reserved sound.
Specifically for intakes, AEM and Injen are probably the best known in the US for good quality intakes. Many Lexus owners go with SRT (Lexus only tuner based on east coast) intakes though, however, because of the availability of a chip to work with the MAF. However, many owners going turbo get AEM from what i see, because they'll get stand alone engine management anyway.
For suspension, many people go with the company Tein, among other companies.
There are other companies that tune specific brands only. Mugen, Spoon, and Jun are both very well respected, but make products for Honda/Acuras only (i'm not sure actually if Jun does others).
TRD is toyotas tuning arm, and TOM's does toyota/lexus products as well.
In general, HKS and Top Secret (they have some presence in the US, but not too much) make some INSANE project cars. They are definitely on top of their game. Open any import magazine like Super Street or Sport Compact Car and you are bound to see a modded monster from one of these two tuning houses on the cover.
There are many other companies out there. Once you decide on a car, you can specifically see what comapanies make the best products for that car. There are many small companies based here in the US that make good products, but only for a specific car or make. For example, Vishnu is popular with the Lancer EVO crowd, Toyomoto is one that deals with Toyota/Lexus only, etc.
11-07-05, 06:50 PM
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Originally Posted by Faraaz23
Well I'll chime in on this since no one else has... there's not too many clear-cut answers to this questions, but I'll at least tell you from my point of view (from reading reviews from owners of various cars that I've heard and what not).
HKS, Greddy (called "Trust" in Japan), Blitz, APEX'i (APEX Integration), and Tanabe are some of the biggest Japanese tuning companies that we see here stateside. These companies make turbo kits, exhausts, intakes, suspension, and multitude of other products. A favorite of IS300 owners as far as exhaust goes is HKS. With just the rear section, there is supposed to be a 9whp gain. From the friends I have with HKS products, they are very high quality. The Greddy cat-back exhaust system for the IS produces something around 2-4hp... many people think because one of the bends is too sharp and impedes flow somewhat. Blitz is pretty quiet for the IS, but very high quality from what I've heard. APEX'i N1 and GT-Spec are cat-backs, pretty loud, and a little higher pitched. Tanabe Racing Medallion (for any car) is going to be one of the louder exhausts available due to its straight-through design. The Tanabe Hyper Medallion has a more reserved sound.
Specifically for intakes, AEM and Injen are probably the best known in the US for good quality intakes. Many Lexus owners go with SRT (Lexus only tuner based on east coast) intakes though, however, because of the availability of a chip to work with the MAF. However, many owners going turbo get AEM from what i see, because they'll get stand alone engine management anyway.
For suspension, many people go with the company Tein, among other companies.
There are other companies that tune specific brands only. Mugen, Spoon, and Jun are both very well respected, but make products for Honda/Acuras only (i'm not sure actually if Jun does others).
TRD is toyotas tuning arm, and TOM's does toyota/lexus products as well.
In general, HKS and Top Secret (they have some presence in the US, but not too much) make some INSANE project cars. They are definitely on top of their game. Open any import magazine like Super Street or Sport Compact Car and you are bound to see a modded monster from one of these two tuning houses on the cover.
There are many other companies out there. Once you decide on a car, you can specifically see what comapanies make the best products for that car. There are many small companies based here in the US that make good products, but only for a specific car or make. For example, Vishnu is popular with the Lancer EVO crowd, Toyomoto is one that deals with Toyota/Lexus only, etc.
HKS, Greddy (called "Trust" in Japan), Blitz, APEX'i (APEX Integration), and Tanabe are some of the biggest Japanese tuning companies that we see here stateside. These companies make turbo kits, exhausts, intakes, suspension, and multitude of other products. A favorite of IS300 owners as far as exhaust goes is HKS. With just the rear section, there is supposed to be a 9whp gain. From the friends I have with HKS products, they are very high quality. The Greddy cat-back exhaust system for the IS produces something around 2-4hp... many people think because one of the bends is too sharp and impedes flow somewhat. Blitz is pretty quiet for the IS, but very high quality from what I've heard. APEX'i N1 and GT-Spec are cat-backs, pretty loud, and a little higher pitched. Tanabe Racing Medallion (for any car) is going to be one of the louder exhausts available due to its straight-through design. The Tanabe Hyper Medallion has a more reserved sound.
Specifically for intakes, AEM and Injen are probably the best known in the US for good quality intakes. Many Lexus owners go with SRT (Lexus only tuner based on east coast) intakes though, however, because of the availability of a chip to work with the MAF. However, many owners going turbo get AEM from what i see, because they'll get stand alone engine management anyway.
For suspension, many people go with the company Tein, among other companies.
There are other companies that tune specific brands only. Mugen, Spoon, and Jun are both very well respected, but make products for Honda/Acuras only (i'm not sure actually if Jun does others).
TRD is toyotas tuning arm, and TOM's does toyota/lexus products as well.
In general, HKS and Top Secret (they have some presence in the US, but not too much) make some INSANE project cars. They are definitely on top of their game. Open any import magazine like Super Street or Sport Compact Car and you are bound to see a modded monster from one of these two tuning houses on the cover.
There are many other companies out there. Once you decide on a car, you can specifically see what comapanies make the best products for that car. There are many small companies based here in the US that make good products, but only for a specific car or make. For example, Vishnu is popular with the Lancer EVO crowd, Toyomoto is one that deals with Toyota/Lexus only, etc.
Thank you for the help (I needed it). I guess I need to start reading some of the Japanese tuner mags. I seems to me that HKS is the way to go as far as an exhaust goes. I guess the best thing to do is just to stick around here and see what develops. I wonder how the HKS exhaust through the dealership is going to be. I do know this, the stock exhaust DEF needs to go... too many bends, mufflers, etc... it is seriously restricted. We'll just have to see the configuration of the dealer offered HKS
Thanks again for the advice and run through, i really appreciate
And if anyone else wants to chime in that would be great too
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