Lexus IS300

So after all those pics in South Carolina, the next stop was the meet in Atlanta (I already posted those pics). All of the pics thus far were taken on the same day.

The next day, I headed back home via The Tail of the Dragon through Tennessee and North Carolina. Talk about a blast! When I drove it last year, my car was too low for all the tight corners. But I ripped it up this year. The professional photographers were out, snapping pics, and I bought several of them to post later. For now, just a few that I took along the way.

















I'm not particularly happy with the way this set turned out, oh well.

The pic's are nice Chris I do like 5 N 6 in particular.

very nice pics indeed chris, loving the 4th from the bottom

oh wow what a scenery and angles and how can i forget that lovely is300 is therr to.make it better

i still wish it would have been ur ae101 rather than this...but i gues u pulled it of with this is300 its like our corollas mid life crisis old bro

Thanks guys!

OK, these are the last shots I took on my way back home.

you really have been having fun havent you

travelling everywhere, good to see tbh. plus the car does look amazing

Well, cars are meant to be driven!! I'm not afraid to put many KM on this car, since there are other cars I want to buy after this one But yes, I am trying to get out and do more things

good for you chris, i wish i could do the same, hopefully one day i will.. road trip with missus across europe

Here is a set of professional driving photos that I bought recently. I had to buy them after I saw how awesome they came out, unlike any pics I've ever taken.

The car is being driven HARD around corners, but it still rides perfectly flat and balanced, the suspension is perfect for corners! No rubbing, scraping, or bottoming out.

The pics are unedited, not even resized. Click them for HUGE full size. lol. Enjoy!

wow they are amazing shots chris

Shots look awesome man.

Here is the last batch of photos from that shoot... and the last pics before I put the Works on!

Those are some awesome pics Chris, car looks great buddy.

Thanks bro!

The new wheels are on now

If they're on, why are you not showing us them? :O xD Pics, pics, moar pics! xD

Because I just posted all kinds of pics!!!

Moar! xD We want moar!

Well I don't have anymore


Wait, maybe this one lol.


Ravens by gold94corolla, on Flickr

Hahaah that's a pretty groovy seat cover. Always dig your rides, Chris, this is really nice, and I have to admit, the old blue beauty was worthy of the name too.

lol I put it on there just for this game we've got on the IS300 forum. It was only on for that picture haha.

Thanks for the compliment! This car is just an extension of the Corolla, like one spirit, but a new form, an evolution.

Ooh Ravens..............


The action shots look sick. How about some pics with the new wheels?

Coming right up! In fact, I've been quite busy, so a huge update is coming...

Excellent.

Well this has been a busy weekend, I finally got off my butt and worked on the car for the first time this year. (click the pics to enlarge)

First up, wheels!

Front tire comparison, the new tires are the same with and about the same "stretch". The overall diameter is a little smaller though, though still larger than stock.



The back tires are over an inch wider, but the same stretch Again, the overall diameter is inbetween stock and the old tires (the old tires messed up my speedometer too much).



So off came the old wheels and wheel spacers. On with the new wheels and lug nuts!

I was worried though, because I didn't know they'd fit the fenders. The front wheels poke 7.35 mm more, and the rear wheels poke 10 mm more.



They fit perfectly!!! I think they look OK, they'll grow on me I'm sure.

I installed the wheels yesterday, but wasn't able to get any pics until today. I shot some really quick just to have pics. Yes the car is not in presentable condition lol.















No rubbing, or additional fender mods, fits perfectly! Still on "stock" camber as well. Performance and looks at the same time.

If you're wondering why the back is so high relative to the front, well I'm replacing my stereo next. The interior (mostly the trunk) is gutted in these pics. It actually felt lighter without the sub, rear seat, spare wheel etc. Oh well.

Here's all the stuff I removed....lol. Pretty self-explanatory I guess.



Here is a pic of all the parts I'm getting ready to install (click for huge size).



Here are links to the parts in the picture:

• Subwoofer: Fi IB312 Infinite Baffle 12" 2-Ohm
  
• Custom Carpeted 12" Infinite Baffle Mount
  
• Scosche ls2075b Faceplate/Dash Kit
  
• Scosche 1200W 6-Gauge Wiring Kit
  
• Sub Amp: Alpine MRP-M500 500w RMS
  
• Pioneer Avic-D3 Stereo with wires and GPS CDs (bought used)
  
• Beat Sonic SLA-91AD Radio Wire Harness Adapter
  
• ScanGuageII (bought used)
  
• V-LEDs #74 blue and red LEDs for the instrument cluster
  
• Carbon-Fiber TRD Vinyl for the instrument cluster (the window switches were included for free lol)
  

Yeah I've had these parts all year lol, it's about time I got to installing them!

One of the reasons I gutted the trunk so much was because during my trip to Atlanta, I had an extra 5-quart bottle of oil open up in the trunk and get all over everything. So the parts up there ^^^ I had to wash to get the oil out. I also took a brush and hose to the inside of the trunk. You can see all the old wires for the sub, those were about to be removed and replaced with a new, thicker-guage kit!



Ripped the dash all apart. The old wires are again all still in place, they are all coming out and being upgraded. The gauges are removed to run a speed-sensor wire to the new headunit, and to install the vinyl and LEDs. (Pollen FTL lol)



Getting ready for running new wires to the sub....





After those pics, I was able to rip out all of the old wires, then I ran the new wire kit for the sub, and I ran the cable for the Scanguage.

While I was changing the wheels, I decided to figure out why my passenger fog had stopped working. Turns out the HID bulb fried again, so I installed the only bulb I had available, a 3000k (left) vs the 5000k (right) I was currently using because the 3000k had stopped working long ago. (basically, I've got a white HID and a yellow HID set, one of each works). It doesn't bother me so much, since I don't use these all the time anymore with the switchback Triton LEDs in the turn signals.



I inspected the broken bulbs, and for some reason, the insides have all turned shiny, like aluminum or mercury. ???? Oh well lol.



Finally.... I got this TRD replica front lip recently because it is incredibly rare, maybe I will install it.



If I do install it, you can see that it is a bit smaller than the lip I have now, which I think will be a good thing with the smaller wheels, but it means that I have to shorten my sides and rear to match (which would be irreversible) so I put it in the attic for now lol.



Since tomorrow is a holiday, I hope to finish up the interior, and then share a few pics of the result! Hopefully the new sound system literally blows me away lol.

I hope you enjoyed some real work, it feels good to DIY again.

I love the new wheels. They're so wide it's awesome, makes the car look so much more aggressive.

And nice to see you doin more DIY, I'm also gathering parts to completely re-do my cars stereo. 2 of the 8 speakers are blown Looking forward to seeing everything done!

Also, looking at that lip, I tihnk I like the one you got on there currently a little better ;P