specONE Remakes His 2014 NGP IS 350 F Sport

A Labor of Love

Without a doubt, the third-generation Lexus IS 350 is stunning, to say the least. Its bold and dynamic sheet metal design and attention-grabbing front fascia, athletic stance are just some of the reasons it is regarded as one of the most appealing entry-level luxury sedans on the market. Rodney Auyeung, also known as ‘specONE’ on most online platforms, endeavored to make his 2014 NGP IS 350 F Sport even more captivating; it is safe to say that he indeed succeeded. In addition to further beautifying it, Rodney also modified several other aspects of his car in a way that is sure to impress you.  

Rodney Auyeung is an automotive electronics guru with over 15 years of experience in this field. He is also a die-hard Lexus fan. With his magnificent 2014 NGP IS 350 F Sport custom build, Rodney demonstrates that passion can empower you to do extraordinary things. The 2014 NGP IS 350 F Sport is a labor of love. With a modification list of well over 30 items, Rodney went way beyond what your average car enthusiast would do when working on a custom build.  

How It Was Originally

Rodney’s 2014 NGP IS 350 was new when he bought it and still had polyethylene wrapping when it came off the transporter truck. It already looked awesome thanks to its ‘F Sport’ package that gave it 18-inch alloy wheels with summer tires, LED headlamps, LED daytime running lights, and a sport-mesh grille. This car also looked grand on the inside with its standard LFA-inspired instrumentation, and its soft-touch NuLuxe interior trim with silver accents. One thing that sets Rodney apart from other custom car builders is the fact that he modified a brand new car. Most custom car builders prefer to modify cars that are a couple of years old in order not to void their manufacturer warranties, but not Rodney. He knew what he wanted and had made up his mind to do it even if it meant losing out on the advantages of his car’s warranty.    

  >>Join the conversation about specONE's IS 350 F Sport right here in the Club Lexus forum.

Tinting and Mirror Mods

It goes without saying that one of the first things you ought to do if you want your car to look cool is to get the windows tinted. Rodney got 35% tint all-around for his car as a start, and he also installed LED puddle lights on his side mirrors. While working on the side mirrors, he also managed to configure the side mirrors and make them tilt automatically when reversing with the help of a KP Technologies Mirror Tilt Module.  

>>Join the conversation about specONE's IS 350 F Sport right here in the Club Lexus forum.

Air Suspension!!!

One of the main focuses of Rodney’s entire build was a radical air suspension system. Right from the onset, he knew that for the best results he had to go for an Accuair Air Management system and an Airrex Suspension.

>>Join the conversation about specONE's IS 350 F Sport right here in the Club Lexus forum.

Setting Up the Circuit Breaker

Rodney had to install a circuit breaker to power the air compressors and several other components of the air suspension system. However, getting an appropriate place to mount it required some innovation. He opted to cut, bend, and mold a piece of sheet metal to form a metal bracket. He then mounted the bracket by merging it into another joint that is right next to the battery, which means that he didn’t have to cut or mold anything under the hood to fit the bracket. He then fixed the circuit breaker onto the bracket. 

>>Join the conversation about specONE's IS 350 F Sport right here in the Club Lexus forum.

Mounting the Distribution Block

Rodney then fed the air suspension system wires from the circuit breaker into the trunk and mounted a distribution block.

>>Join the conversation about specONE's IS 350 F Sport right here in the Club Lexus forum.

Mounting The Air Tank

Rodney purchased a 5-gallon air tank with a dual compressor setup for his car’s air suspension system. For the air tank, he chose to try something different from the norm: A floating tank setup behind the rear seats. He attached two compressors onto it and tested the setup as shown. 

>>Join the conversation about specONE's IS 350 F Sport right here in the Club Lexus forum.

The Air Tank Setup

Here is how the air tank setup looked before being finally mounted. This was after several weeks of hard work. 

>>Join the conversation about specONE's IS 350 F Sport right here in the Club Lexus forum.

Setting Up the Bags and Struts

The next step was setting up the suspension system’s struts and bags. Setting them up was basically straightforward and hassle-free. Once they were installed, the difference was quite noticeable; the car looked slammed even while on the jack stands.  

>>Join the conversation about specONE's IS 350 F Sport right here in the Club Lexus forum.

All Air'ed out

Here is how the car looked with the air suspension system fully set up. 

>>Join the conversation about specONE's IS 350 F Sport right here in the Club Lexus forum.

Mounting the E-level Controller

Rodney also had to mount an e-level controller next to the center console for easy reach. He chose to build the mount for the controller from scratch using a Kuda mount and some magnets that he would use to mount the e-level controller.  

>>Join the conversation about specONE's IS 350 F Sport right here in the Club Lexus forum.

A New Look Center Console

While was setting up the e-level controller, Rodney ended up scratching the center console in several places. With that said, he also set out to change the look of the center console to cover up the scratches and match the finish of the Mark Levinson audio system. 

>>Join the conversation about specONE's IS 350 F Sport right here in the Club Lexus forum.

New Spoiler

Another mod that was on Rodney’s list was a new spoiler. He had actually tried other spoiler options but ended up settling for a new '15+ factory optional spoiler as shown.  

>>Join the conversation about specONE's IS 350 F Sport right here in the Club Lexus forum.

JDM Door Visors

Among the next items that came in the mail were JDM door visors. Rodney had to wait two months to get them but they were well worth the wait. 

>>Join the conversation about specONE's IS 350 F Sport right here in the Club Lexus forum.

Front Strut Bar

To help improve how the car handles around corners, Rodney chose to improve the rigidity of the front section of the car by installing a front strut bar. He got a CUSCO Front strut bar that was actually meant for a Lexus 2IS. He had asked around, did his research, and had found that 2IS strut bars could be used on 3IS models. Fortunately, this proved to be accurate. 

>>Join the conversation about specONE's IS 350 F Sport right here in the Club Lexus forum.

Performance Exhaust

The next mod was a Lexus OEM factory F-Sport Performance exhaust system for the 2014-2015 IS350 (part number PTR03-53140). This stainless steel exhaust system gives a brilliant shine when polished, and it guarantees an increase in horsepower as well as a distinctive husky growl. The best part about this exhaust system is that it is designed to use factory pipe connections and hangers.   

>>Join the conversation about specONE's IS 350 F Sport right here in the Club Lexus forum.

Rear Diffuser

Next up on Rodney’s list was a Seibon rear diffuser that he ordered a while back. Here is how it looked fresh out of the box. Rodney took the diffuser apart and then sprayed all the parts black. However, when he finally installed it, he didn’t like how it sat with the F-Sport Performance exhaust system. With this diffuser, the F-Sport exhaust tips looked sunken-in from the cutouts, so Rodney resolved to sell off the Seibon diffuser and remain with the stock rear bumper. 

>>Join the conversation about specONE's IS 350 F Sport right here in the Club Lexus forum.

Skipper Lip Kit

Rodney also offered a full body Skipper Lip Kit. It came all white as shown here. A new paint job was all that was needed once all the planned mods were installed.

>>Join the conversation about specONE's IS 350 F Sport right here in the Club Lexus forum.

Rear Roof Spoiler

To finish off the show-car rear look of this car in style, Rodney also added a C TYPE Roof Spoiler. Made from good quality ABS Plastic, it looked durable and fitted perfectly on the 2014 Lexus IS350. 

>>Join the conversation about specONE's IS 350 F Sport right here in the Club Lexus forum.

After Many More Modifications…..

Rodney kept at it for many months. Among the many additional mods that he added to his car were yellow fog lights, 19”x 9.0” + 32/19”x 10.0” +40 silver wheels, a Nano Block N3 Amplifier, an Alpine 10" SWR-T10 Subwoofer Type R Shallow mount, an Fsport Air Intake Filter, an Fsport Intake Pipe, a Custom Fsport Aluminum Oil Cap, an Ojocam Mini 0801 Dashcam, a Beat-Sonic BB6223EP Navigation and DVD Control Bypass Module Combo, a ECU reflash - OVtuned with Stage2 Tune, an RR Racing USRS Front Bushing, Lsait Android interface Module, and many more.  

Here is how the car looked after the bulk of the mods had been installed. Amazingly, Rodney says that he is still not done with tinkering with his car. He says he’ll always be looking for a way to make his 2014 NGP IS 350 F Sport even better.

If you want to get more information about specONE’s 2014 NGP IS 350 F Sport, click here.

>>Join the conversation about specONE's IS 350 F Sport right here in the Club Lexus forum.

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