Lexus IS 350 Build Aims to Be a Corner Carver

Dual Purpose Build

Sure, we all love a nice pull. But when the road turns curvy, do you have to let off, or do you stay right in it? The right suspension setup can make a modern-day Lexus IS the proverbial "have your cake and eat it too" kind of ride. And that's exactly what Club Lexus member redspencer set out to do a few years back with his particular build.

F-Sport to the Rescue

The OP has owned his IS since it was new, and always wanted a little something more out of it in terms of cornering performance. Luckily, Lexus soon delivered by making a variety of F-Sport parts available to all IS owners. And he was quick to jump on a bunch of them.

>>Join the conversation about this forum member's IS performance build right here in the forum.

Picking up Speed

Right off the bat, he ordered up a set of front and rear sway bars, shocks and springs, a chassis brace, Tanabe under brace, solid billet aluminum rear subframe braces, and a GT Spec 4-Point lower tie brace. That combination of suspension goodies gave the OP's IS much more balance, which also helped him maintain more speed in the corners.

>>Join the conversation about this forum member's IS performance build right here in the forum.

Cheat Code

With all of that work done, a couple of drivetrain changes were also in order. The biggest was an OG Giken Super Lock limited-slip differential, which proved to be a major upgrade. “The OS Giken is a cheat code," he said. "Absolutely unreal what you can do with a rear end with it. This is easily my most favorite mod that I’ve done to my IS350." And the OP added a set of Titan Motorsports rear diff solid ear mounts as well, which virtually eliminated wheel hop.

>>Join the conversation about this forum member's IS performance build right here in the forum.

More Power

Of course, adding performance is never a bad thing. Thus, you'll notice a few upgrades when you pop the hood. This IS sports an F-Sport intake pipe and F-Sport box, which adds power, sound, and improves throttle response. The exhaust is a carefully selected combination of PPE headers, Megan Racing midpipes, and F-Sport exhaust. It's all capped off with an RR Racing ECU Tune that really woke this car up.

>>Join the conversation about this forum member's IS performance build right here in the forum.

More Grip

Of course, all of that extra power and those suspension goodies are wasted if you can't transfer speed to the ground. Therefore, the OP went with a set of larger and lighter Enkei PF01 wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires for less rolling resistance and way more grip.

>>Join the conversation about this forum member's IS performance build right here in the forum.

Steering the Way

The steering system of this Lexus IS wasn't left alone, either. The OP immediately went for an IS F steering ECU, which quickly became one of his top 3 favorite upgrades for its vast improvement in feel and feedback. Coupled with a set of Figs LCA poly bushings, the IS 350 suddenly felt like a completely different car.

>>Join the conversation about this forum member's IS performance build right here in the forum.

Stopping Power

Of course, doing all this work and not upgrading the brakes would be downright silly. The OP went with ECB slotted rotors and Project Mu RC09 Club Racer pads. Since this car was going to see plenty of track time, he also switched to ATE Type 200 brake fluid. The result of these upgrades was zero fade across some pretty long track sessions.

>>Join the conversation about this forum member's IS performance build right here in the forum.

Road Map

That carefully selected list of parts made a huge difference in the way this Lexus IS drove, whether that be on public roads or the track. Which, of course, makes this particular ride a fantastic roadmap for anyone looking to improve the corner carving capability of their IS. 

>>Join the conversation about this forum member's IS performance build right here in the forum.

All Reward, No Risk

And that's exactly what the intention of this build thread was - to help other Club Lexus members who might be wanting to get more out of their rides, but aren't sure where to start. Thankfully, our gracious OP has already done the legwork, so we get to reap the rewards without the typical trial and error!

>>Join the conversation about this forum member's IS performance build right here in the forum.

For help with your do-it-yourself maintenance and repair project, please visit our how-to section in the forum.