I had everything on the kit coated black so it would look as stock as possible. Other than the catback, nothing looks aftermarket on the car. As it stands, if you pop the hood it just looks like I've got an intake. You really have to look to see anything else.

I'm expecting 425-450 whp on the same dynojet once it gets a little cooler. The outside temp reading has shown 103-105 every single day the last two weeks, so I'm expecting a completely different car once we get some cooler weather in Texas. Of course, Houston summer can always last until October so we'll just have to see.

Yeah, the weather is killer here. I have never dyno my car in the fall/winter time. I am tempted to have my intercooler sprayed black for looks & cooling. I like the polished pipe under the hood but really want to hide that front intercooler.

I wouldn't be surprised to see a 40 whp swing between winter and summer here. On my previous turbo car, even a front mount IC, meth, a turbo blanket and a metric ton of Thermotec header wrap only partially cured it.

If you want to hide the intercooler, just grab a can of Eastwood radiator paint for $5. I'm not 100% convinced that the thermal dispersant coating makes a real-world difference. In a testing envirnment, sure, but there's just too many variables out in the real world to quantify.

Great first couple of posts Chuck! i had a manual 2003 IS300 as well.. hahaha

anyways im super jealous and congrats on such a well thought out build. enjoy the car!

:tiphat: Always glad to help car enthusiasts irritate their wives or help cover bare walls in their garages with quality women...err...art!

I apologize for the lack of decals. Shoot me a PM with your preference, I will be glad to correct that mistake.

I've still got mine. It's parked by the garage waiting to get gutted and turned into a track slut. I got lucky enough to find one with a 5 speed and LSD. I swapped out a good chunk of the suspension, so it handles wonderfully. It's low on power, but it'll be a great track toy once it's gutted and caged. It's also depreciated enough to not hurt my wallet too bad if I wad it up at the track. Once the engine blows, it'll get some flavor of LSx and a T56.

You have no idea how true that is. The gf immediately rolled her eyes and complained. She must not have been in many garages. That's where you're supposed to put those. She backed down once I told her they could either be on the garage wall or bedroom ceiling, her choice.

Had to get the Wife's( Boss,lol) Blessing on going FI.. Funny how we are with them :ughdance:

i went thru three manual trannys in that b1tch.....:shakes head:

OEM transmissions, or did you swap in the Mk3 NA supra trans? (W158, maybe?) Supposed to be cheap and a little stronger.