TRD Performance Dampers!

Ok - so it's been a couple of months since I last updated this blog, and although I have spent most of that time focussing on my GT-R - mainly due to it now being a "Speedhunters Project Car" - I HAVE been working on the Lexus as well. For example, these "dampers."

As I had had these installed on my GT-R, I know that they work, despite the loads of skepticism I've seen often on the forums - mostly if not all by people who haven't had these installed on their cars.

http://www.trdparts.jp/english/lexus/isf_ccsp.html

Made by Yamaha, when I fitted the Nismo versions on my GT-R, I immediately noticed a difference -the entire car seemed to ride smoother and handling felt a bit sharper.   But basically, all those micro vibrations (which I hadn't noticed before) were now absorbed by the dampers, making the entire ride seem smoother.

So while I knew that these work, I wasn't quite sure how they would on the Lexus, as it already has a relatively smooth ride.  In fact, the reason I ended up installing these, instead of the retrofit of the 2013 ISF shock absorbers (made by Sachs, vs the Tokicos the earlier cars have), was due to the advice by Ishikawa-san at the local Lexus dealer - the TRD parts have a 1 year warranty while installing the Sachs would invalidate the warranty my car currently has (at least with respect to the shock absorbers).  Whatever!

On the dedicated TRD website for the ISF, they claim:
Rigidity is improved by coupling the left and right sides of the body to achieve a flat and high-quality ride. In addition to firming up the body, these dampers increase the feeling of the wheels on the ground to ensure the chassis performance that enables steering to react linearly.

Here is what TRD claims (from http://lexusboutique.net) for the next generation IS cars:
Borrowed from TRD engineering the performance damper further improve the drivability of your 3IS. The Performance Damper is a chassis damping component that is set in the structural areas of both the front and rear of vehicles. It is a device that controls and absorbs minute distortions and vibrations. Mounted on the front and back of the vehicle, it rapidly absorbs the slight jolts and vibrations that road surfaces present. With this application, car body movements as a result of steering maneuvers are countered quickly, providing increased driving stability as well as a decrease in road noise.

In any case, I figured that I'd eventually install these TRD dampers at some point anyway, so might as well do it now, in the hopes that the ride quality would improve.

So when the car was getting the new front bumper cover installed, I had them also install these TRD dampers (installation requires removal of the front bumper cover anyway!).

My impressions - at low speeds, the car seems, for some reason, eerily more quiet. Was there some kind of low frequency vibration before? Not sure but for some reason the car is bank vault quiet.

Then at higher speeds yes the ride is marginally improved - maybe a subjective 10-15% better, but still not at the all around level of feel that the GSF had with its Sachs dampers.

In other words, I may still have to upgrade to the OEM Sachs at some point.

The biggest difference however was that indeed, the steering felt more direct and precise, with less on center numbness (the area of numbness seems reduced). However, after getting the Ohlins DFVs on my GT-R rebuilt, and experiencing how good those coilovers are, I now realize how much refinement is lacking in the IS-F.... what to do...

Takata Airbag Recall, Part 2!

So it turns out that, with respect to the latest Takata airbag problem, the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MILT) is taking matters into their own hands.

On May 27, MILT published this, which is basically the same information as I posted in my previous post regarding NHTSA and American Toyota's efforts on the Takata airbag recall (that the IS-F is subject to recall):

This is basically a schedule on how MILT will begin issuing recall notices for affected cars.

Then today I got an email from my dealer apologizing for basically not really understanding what I was upset about.  It turns out that today, Lexus Japan posted the following:
https://lexus.jp/recall/2016/recall_160601.html

Hello, yes there is a recall...

Listing all models of the IS sold in Japan subject to the airbag recall.

Interesting for me was, over 4 years they only sold 2638 IS-Fs in Japan??

Yep that airbag assembly thing

What is most interesting is that Lexus Japan says that replacement parts are likely to be available by mid-August. Perhaps it's the low number of cars affected, but that timing seems much faster than what is going on in the USA.

For me, I'm just not going to drive with passengers in the front seat for a while...

Takata Airbag Recall!

Great, just great. Even though I had done research on this issue before I bought the car, it turns out that the passenger side airbag inflator is made by Takata.

Just a couple of days ago in the US, Toyota Motor Sales, USA announced that it would be recalling several cars, including select Lexus models.
http://toyotanews.pressroom.toyota.com/releases/toyota-takata-expansion-may23.htm

    * 2009 - 2011MY Corolla, Matrix 

    * 2006 - 2011MY Yaris 

    * 2010 - 2011MY 4Runner 

    * 2011MY Sienna 

    * 2008 - 2011MY Scion xB 

    * 2007 - 2011MY Lexus ES 

    * 2010 – 2011MY Lexus GX 

    * 2006 – 2011MY Lexus IS 

Give that the interior of the IS-F is near identical to the IS, I suspected but had no confirmation that the IS-F would also be included.

However, just last night I stumbled upon this:

https://techinfo.toyota.com/techInfoPortal/staticcontent/en/techinfo/html/prelogin/docs/cp/g2gg2hlofaq.pdf

Which explains the 5 phase recall in detail, and the reasons why. Most importantly however was this graphic at the end:

which clearly shows the 2008-2011 IS-F as one of the affected models.  I've emailed my dealer and he is trying to get information, but for now, it's wait and see...

Do You Smell That? Nope, I Don't Either...

Buying a used car means, no "new car smell."  That, I understand. And yet, to me somehow the car, when I checked it out in Tokorozawa before buying it, still seemed to retain the hint of someone else, I think.  Not sure how to describe it, but it's not a bad smell. Just like a presence, kind of like a hand me down shirt.  Even though Kabe-san at RAPT later reassured me that the car smelled like any other Lexus IS, I'm still not convinced.

So I began to do some research, and ended up buying one of these even before I took delivery of the car.  It wasn't until after a few days with the car that I learned that the IS-F actually has a built-in "Plasmacluster" ion generating function in its A/C.

First, a quick review on how this "PlasmaCluster" system is supposed to work, from Sharp's Australian website:

Plasmacluster Ion technology is an original Sharp sanitising technology that purifies the air by emitting positive and negative ions. Plasmacluster Ion technology deactivates suspended airborne mould, viruses, dust mite allergens and bacteria. It attacks a wide range of odours including  pet, cooking, garbage and cigarette smoke. 
Positive and Negative Ions : Deactivates airbourne allergens, bacteria, mould spores and viruses.
Positive and Negative Ions : Reduces unpleasant  odours at molecule level.
Negative Ions : Refreshes the air by replenishing it with negative ions.

 Plasmacluster Ion Technology  :

• Reduces suspended allergens and floating mould spores with positive and negative ions.Plasmacluster Ions are helpful in deactivating  allergens caused by dust mites and in deactivating mould spores that can cause mildew in the home. Sharp Air Purifiers and Ion Generators help to improve the quality of the air you breathe. 
• Reduces suspended viruses with positive and negative ions.Plasmacluster Ions break down and remove projecting spike-shaped proteins of suspended viruses such as influenza, reducing their effects.
• Neutralises odour-causing molecules with positive and negative ions .Plasmacluster Ion technology helps reduce the source of a wide range of unpleasant household odours including cooking, pets, garbage and cigarette smoke odours. 
• Freshens the air with negative ions.Using negative ions, Sharp Air Purifiers and Ion Generators help to clean and refresh the air. Sharp’s range of Air Purifiers and Ion Generators release negative ions creating a “feel good” atmosphere similar to naturally occurring environments like a rainforest or near a waterfall.

So what does this really mean? I really wasn't too interested in the first two bullets, more in the second two about neutralizing odor and freshening the air.  Can I really believe this propaganda?

First, this is not an ozone generator, which, despite its effective smell reducing technology, is now widely accepted as being hazardous to one's health. And it's not a HEPA filter either (although the ISF has a "pollen mode"... I will have to research that).

Some articles do say there is a small health risk associated with OH hydroxyl radicals (aka PlasmaCluster), but when one carefully reads these articles, you can see that they are usually trying to sell a competing product. I would also argue there is a risk to DRIVING so a small risk from hydroxyl radicals is not going to keep me from trying to use the unit to eliminate smells in the car.  Because, once those smells are gone, then I no longer would have to use the PlasmaCluster?

******
So I wrote the above soon after taking delivery of the car.  I used the Plasmacluster and I think it helped but it took a full detail, inside and out, for the car to regain a true "new car smell."  I had actually done the chemical clean:

From: http://www.earth-chem.co.jp/top02/car/kuruma/mukou.html

As well as applied these Zaino items for leather surfaces of the car:

photo courtesy of: http://www.lazaino.com 
Zaino Z-10 is supposed to bring back the most authentic "leather" smell.  
In Japan, most Japanese cars with leather interiors purposely do NOT smell like real leather, 
because apparently the Japanese don't like that smell. 
I beg to differ so I plan to see what I can do with the Zaino.

And both helped, to some extent.   But as I will blog next, the detail that Kabe-san at Rapt did, was what really made the difference, although I wasn't as happy with the results as I had with my GT-R.

 Stay tuned!

New Bumper Cover... Part 2

Two days after I dropped off the car at the local Porsche shop CREF, I went to pick up the car.

That is one tasty 911 GT RS3....

As if not obvious by now, I had gone to this shop because they seem to be one of only a very few places in Japan that specialize in the application of protectant film for cars (they had a Bentley in the shop when I had arrived, and a Gallardo on the way...). Rather than anything from 3M, they use the Xpel line up, and in particular they used the latest self-healing type (Xpel Ultimate) for my car. Here is a video clip I found:

And here is a link to the nationwide association in Japan these guys at CREF actually head up.  I had gone ahead and ordered the full front bumper (of course), the door handle cups, the top of the rear bumper, and lastly, some custom work on the rear door entry areas (because of the kids). What's interesting is that, while the bumper of course is brand new, the other areas had some slight scuffs in the clearcoat - and yet as Ishiguro-san at CREF promised, once the film was applied those slight imperfections really can't be seen!

Yes, slight orange peel visible, but now I can fly on the expressway with no worries...
(the hood already has too many chips for me to care)

In any case, this being Japan the craftsmanship was, as usual, nearly perfect.

Door handle cups - all 4 done!

Upper bumper area which often gets scratched when loading stuff. You can see my finger pointing to the line

On the rear door entry areas, we originally were planning just a simple strip on the edge, but they went ahead and put down a whole lot more, just in case (and without changing the estimate!)

Arrow pointing to upper edge

Arrows show bottom edge and how it extends to the side.

Obviously several other areas of the car still need work - for example the hood needs to be repainted in places and the right rear quarter panel has some paint chips. But for now I'm happy with the additional protection.

I'm not done with CREF though... turns out they have 2 other key items I've been looking at getting done...

New Bumper Cover... Part 1

So, as the title says, one thing I had done at the Lexus dealer was to have the beat up original bumper cover, with all of its scratches and chips thanks to the previous owner, replaced with a brand new bumper cover from the factory. Being a Lexus factory part, the paint is absolutely perfect.

Beautiful!

But to stay absolutely perfect is not possible, not matter how much wax or sealant is applied, especially when the car is on the expressway often as it is in my case. But, I had, even before buying the car (but after seeing it), thought about getting certain parts of the car repainted so I had ordered several pieces of 3M clear protection film pre-cut for the ISF, from the US.

Here are the film cutouts for the bumper and mirrors.

On my GT-R, I had successfully cut my own templates, from which I cut headlight protection thickness 3M clear film, and then applied to the headlights. So, I figured that with lots of time and patience, application of the bumper piece on the ISF would be the same, especially because it was already pre-cut.

So, I took off the (required in Japan) license plate and its holder:

This must be the cheapest piece on the car. Will have to upgrade soon.

Those are some LARGE holes...

And then I washed the bumper and used a Zaino claybar to remove any dust, just in case:

After it was all clean, I sprayed the front bumper with the distilled water and baby shampoo mix:

The bumper film has yet to be peeled away and is sitting upside down on the hood

And then, as deftly as possible I removed the 3M film from its backing and tried to apply it to the bumper:

Was ok so far...

Finally got it on, somehow....

And then came the process of using the supplied squeegees to remove the activator fluid of distilled water and alcohol.

When I finished, however, I learned that 1) in getting the film to fit in some areas, I had overstretched the material so it would not fit in others, 2) despite my washing down the garage some dust had gotten trapped and caused some rough spots (redoing the application in places to remove this dust was driving me insane) and 3) some fluid just could not be removed.

What it looked like when I gave up...

Finally, after spending the entire afternoon doing this, as it began to get dark I decided to give up. The photo above was taken right before I walked away disgusted with myself.

The problem remained, however, what to do - could this be salvaged (I guess I could drive it around looking horrible until it was fixed) or was there another solution?

For the GT-R, I had also wanted to install some paint protection - I had bought a can of the 3M Paint Defender as well as a container of the Road Warrior Plus because I was concerned that I would not have the talent to cut bulk sheets of the 3M film to fit the GT-R.  But of course, for some reason I searched my garage and could find neither of these.

Finally I gave up, made some calls, and then found myself on Wednesday morning at a famous Porsche tuner in Yokohama, just 10 minutes away from where I live.

Stay tuned in Part 2 to see what I had done...

New IS200t Loaner!

So after the car's 6 month inspection, I decided to order a few parts to begin the process of improving the car. Just some minor tweaks. Yes, famous last words.

Anyway, because the car was kept overnight they offered me the use of a loaner car - in this case the new IS200t - four cylinder with single double scroll turbo (I think that is what Dino said, anyway).

The white one next to my car, with number plate 200, is the IS200T they lent me.

Since I'm not a motorjournalist, I won't bother with all the photos of the exterior and interior, etc. Just a few thoughts on the car itself compared to the ISF.

First, the car felt shorter than it really is. When I parked the car at home, I discovered that it barely fit in the garage, putting the rear wheels against the same bump stop as the ISF. I read somewhere that Toyota had engineered the car to be welded in more spots, and that they also used a new type of adhesive, in order to obtain better body rigidity. Makes sense, because my GT-R felt shorter once I had improved its body rigidity too.

Second, the engine I think is only mediocre. A car this class, I think, needs more power. I haven't bothered to check how much horsepower the car has, but at low speeds it is very Lexus like, quiet, but once acceleration happens the engine is working hard. Too hard, maybe? Still quiet but not the effortless power the ISF has.

Third, even in Sport+ mode I was not happy with how the car felt. Still overpowered and too light, although I think the suspension does a good job of a decent ride. Brakes were strong though.

Fourth, interior - I do like the new LFA inspired OLED gauges, but I think I still prefer 2 stand alone tach and speed gauges. Keep it simple.  The seats were too soft even after 5 minutes, too.

Fifth, exterior - I do like the way it looks. I do like the modern aero touches that probably came from the LFA, like this A-pillar "fin"... I think I saw something offered for the ISF which I will have to get eventually.

I like the way the front of the car looks. The rear, looks like it wasn't quite finished.  I found this, and if Lexus had offered an ISF based on the new platform and it looked like this, I may have gotten it.

why didn't Toyota offer the ISF in this new model?

Rear looks awesome!

Close up. See, that looks great!

In any case, in my next posts I'll show you what I got, and my impressions. Hint, one IS a TRD part...