CEB

I have a 2001 IS300 with 70k on it.  I put on a greddy evo2 exhaust, and injen intake, and the mehgan racing pro1 headers.  everything was good until the headers went on, shortly after they went on my check engine light went on and the car started to perform a lot worse.  i had diagnostics run on it and they said it was running worse than a stock. that basically it was in "safe mode" because the ECU doesnt understand what was going on, that the o2 sensors on either side of the CAT were not sensing a difference.  this guy suggesting finding an o2 eliminator, another mechanic suggested rewiring the ECU to overide the o2 sensors, i have a chart that he gave me it says for turbo applications (which i dont have and dont plan on getting) but if it works that would be ok i guess.  what should i do?? i didnt know this was gonna happen with the headers, should i just take them off?? what  a waiste of money... i dont really wanna run a piggy back system, that seems like messing too much with the car, i am looking for performance gains, better fuel use, but i also want the car to last, help please

pat

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Perhaps you already know but, just be aware that even with the O2 simulator turning the CEL off, you won't pass the sniff test which if I remember correctly, they do in MA.....so you'll have to throw your stock header back in with all o2 sensors.....it is easy to throw the stock header in from the top if you remove the heat shields on the cats.

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Perhaps he's the dealer/stealer.....

Go to car-parts.com and have fun......a nationwide database of used parts....hopefully you'll find something at a salvage yard in your area so you can see it in person.

I need to replace the tires on my '02 IS300. I had Yokohama AVS Sports on them but was not happy with them (they didn't last very long). The people at TireRack are suggesting to go with the Bridgestone Potenza RE750s. I am also looking at the Avon Tech M500s, Continental ContiSportContact 2 and the Dunlop SP Sport Maxx only because they are the other tires available for my car on TireRack. In reality, I am open to any suggestions. I live in Florida so am looking for good wet traction and I would like a decent treadlife.

What do you guys think?

Thanks in advance.

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For long life.....

I got 37K on my OEM Dunlop 9000s (I actually I ran to 40k but it was dodgy)

Great life with even wear until it went beyond 37k. Many other IS owners have gone 35K with these.

Would you suggest getting replacement rotors and pads through lexus??  They charge seemingly outrageous prices compaired to replacing the rotors with slotted ones and getting EBC green stuff pads.

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Personally never through the stealership unless they give a good discount......online is your best bet.

I got my pads, filters from Irontoad.com which is the online sales of Thompson Lexus in PA. I got my stuff in less than 2 days. Pads were 90 for the 4 corners. Shipping was 10.98 for all of my stuff. I think the rotors are around 120 a pair but I don't need new ones yet.

Other good places are Carson Toyota and Sewell Lexus (L-tuned parts.com)

I also thought, gee it would be cheaper with some of the aftermarket stuff but I have just been so happy with my stockers that I don't want to risk throwing in anything else.....and when I heard of Irontoad I found the price was right as well.

Im thinkin about adding an intake to my IS and was wondering is anyone has any feedback.  Seems like the thread favorites have been the K&N fipk and the SRT.  Also wondering if the SRT is worth the extra $$? Im not planning on uprading my exhaust, so if the intake wont be worth it, let me know.  I gotta boy of mine willing to do the install, so difficulty is not rally a prob.  Lookin for a lil extra HP without a big hit to the wallet.

-J

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I think you really need to consider an exhaust....there is nothing wrong with a used one and they are much cheaper.....more important is getting one that has the sound you want.....the stock exhaust is just so restrictive (as evidenced by how quiet it is) It actually has a spring loaded (very heavy spring as well) flap that opens under high exhaust pressure......changing my exhaust (L-Sportline, $200 on sale) made it feel like a huge relief of what was a major constipation problem...and they don't have to be loud either.

For power the SRT is it. My friend's IS dynoed at 210rwhp with an SRT, OBX headers, L-Tuned Exhaust....that's over 240 at the crank and it was a humid 80 degrees plus. I've driven another friend's IS with the SRT and the HKS carbon Ti exhaust and it pulls much harder than my car at the top end as well...both cars rev up faster than mine after 4K.......but my car has a stronger bottom end and is definitely better than stock at the mid/top.....so it's down to what one wants.....The SRT sounds great but it's also very loud. My Joe-Z is barely louder and dynoed at 8 rwhp with the stock filter.

The long pipe of the SRT is also not stainless or aluminium......it was rusting on the inside of a one year old one that I saw recently which is very bad news for the engine.....kind of defeats the purpose of having a filter. Perhaps that was just one badly finished example.

I think you should contact Mo the owner of SRT at sales@swiftracing.com or 301-982-4600.

They are in Beltsville, MD btw.

Good luck.

What's everybody's input on the best rotors and brake pads??  What's the top of the line performance and whats the average joe's best purchase??

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The stock brakes have some of the best stopping times in it's class....nearly supercar numbers.

For anything up to spirited driving the stockers should be the best......the only upgrade that is probably worth it is a big brake set but at 2500 one would really need to consider if the sort of driving (ie race track) they are doing is worth spending this sort of money.

Harder pads will have a better bite and SS lines a better feel but this may not mean shorter stopping distances...actually pads that have too much initial bite are bad because they abruptly upset the balance of the car which can lead to worse performance. Cross drilled and slotted basically just look better.

Until actual side by side tests show otherwise, I will continue to have complete faith in my stock brakes for the spirited street driving (planning auto crossing as well).