IS-F Tune Released

[TrevorM3]

anyone know why the ecu took so long to crack on these cars?? Weird considering its a a lexus. figured this would be first and the M's and amg's would be behind.

[dparm]

Originally Posted by TrevorM3

anyone know why the ecu took so long to crack on these cars?? Weird considering its a a lexus. figured this would be first and the M's and amg's would be behind.

Lack of demand? I think the production numbers on the IS-F were much lower than the E9x M3 (and E6x M5/M6, which shares a similar ECU). The BMW aftermarket is also enormous compared to the Lexus one.

[Da Hapa]

Originally Posted by dparm

Lack of demand? I think the production numbers on the IS-F were much lower than the E9x M3 (and E6x M5/M6, which shares a similar ECU). The BMW aftermarket is also enormous compared to the Lexus one.

This

[whats77inaname]

Originally Posted by TrevorM3

anyone know why the ecu took so long to crack on these cars?? Weird considering its a a lexus. figured this would be first and the M's and amg's would be behind.

Like the new M3/M4, the ECU is encrypted, IIRC. Lack of real demand didn't make de-crypting a priority as it was a low production car, relatively speaking. Remember when the F10 came out? That encrypted ECU couldn't be cracked for a couple years. And then the F80 platform came out and it was done in months. Subsequently, the F10 was cracked as well, using the methodologies learned from the F80. Supply and demand....

[PizzaHut]

Originally Posted by wheatpaste

Don't forget the idiotic tailpipes.

Those tips are actually functional, Lexus engineer didn't have to use a larger trunk spoiler because they could create downforce with the tips.

Anyways, most people with high performance V8's go aftermarket exhaust anyways.

[PizzaHut]

Originally Posted by dparm

Lack of demand? I think the production numbers on the IS-F were much lower than the E9x M3 (and E6x M5/M6, which shares a similar ECU). The BMW aftermarket is also enormous compared to the Lexus one.

It's more like every Toyota/Lexus ECU, Toyota really has them locked down in order to ensure nobody messes with them and possibly tarnish their "godly" reliability reputation.

It actually took a company in Italy to crack and release the protocols for the ISF ECU, now that the ECU is able to be fully tuned, their aftermarket is going to explode in the next year or so I predict. The engine is more than capable, it's pretty beefed up from the factory. Titanium valves, direct and port injection (Full benefits from Direct Injection without the carbon issues), fully forged internals and additional oil savaging pumps.

[TrevorM3]

Originally Posted by Dan37Tz

It's more like every Toyota/Lexus ECU, Toyota really has them locked down in order to ensure nobody messes with them and possibly tarnish their "godly" reliability reputation.

It actually took a company in Italy to crack and release the protocols for the ISF ECU, now that the ECU is able to be fully tuned, their aftermarket is going to explode in the next year or so I predict. The engine is more than capable, it's pretty beefed up from the factory. Titanium valves, direct and port injection (Full benefits from Direct Injection without the carbon issues), fully forged internals and additional oil savaging pumps.

you would think the germans would do this too. although we know they aren't as reliable. but 2x more expensive to fix shit

[dparm]

Gotta love how everyone chastised them for the "tips that aren't even connected" but that's become the norm on tons of cars now. Hell, BMW does it on the 7-series.

From a styling perspective, the stacked look is obviously a subjective thing.

[Bucki14]

Originally Posted by Dan37Tz

Those tips are actually functional, Lexus engineer didn't have to use a larger trunk spoiler because they could create downforce with the tips.

Anyways, most people with high performance V8's go aftermarket exhaust anyways.

I'd daily that in a heartbeat!

[dparm]

Dunno why you'd change the exhaust out on that thing, it sounds amazing in stock form.

[davcrz5]

Originally Posted by TrevorM3

anyone know why the ecu took so long to crack on these cars?? Weird considering its a a lexus. figured this would be first and the M's and amg's would be behind.

Hey TrevorM3, actually it's opposite Lexus/Toyota are so heavy encrypted, they write protected ROM so code can never be changed among other things they do to ensure ECU remained encrypted. Knowone has been able to hack Lexus/Toyota ecu's until now. Take the Supra for example to this day they still haven't been hack. In order to tune you Supra you must run standalone or piggyback, once done everyone knows the factory blocks are incredibly strong and Capable of huge amounts of boost. You can run standalone or piggyback on 90's car but not on modern car such as ISF. If I ran standalone I would lose most of functionality of car trans,nav,dashboard,etc.

There's been demand for tunes and several large tuning companies tried but failed to hack ecu. RR racing is planning to release tunes for RCF, GSF, and LS for now and thats not including IS350 and RC350' s and thats just one tuner. Over the next 2 yrs as other tuners begin to create tunes this segment should grow.

[davcrz5]

ISF Meistershafts full exhaust

[davcrz5]

Novels titanium full exhaust companies from Japan

[Shredicus]

Originally Posted by dparm

Dunno why you'd change the exhaust out on that thing, it sounds amazing in stock form.

Much like the M3 all I hear is induction noise, which is undeniably glorious on the IS-F as well.

Stock exhaust note is very quiet to me

[Z K]

Originally Posted by Dano335i

There are no fake vents on the ISF.

Every part is functional, even down to the exhaust tips. The vents on the side fenders channel hot air out from the engine bay. The large inlets on the front bumper channel air to brake ducts that cool the brakes. The exhaust tips produce downforce at 130+ MPH speeds.

Great, so it looks ugly for a reason.

[davcrz5]

Originally Posted by Shredicus

Much like the M3 all I hear is induction noise, which is undeniably glorious on the IS-F as well.

Stock exhaust note is very quiet to me

Your 100% right they both sound great, over 3500rpm secondary induction flap opens up sounds good but once I installed headers and exhaust the three together sound fantastic. I have PPE/JOE-Z setup.

[husks002]

Originally Posted by Dano335i

There are no fake vents on the ISF.

Every part is functional, even down to the exhaust tips. The vents on the side fenders channel hot air out from the engine bay. The large inlets on the front bumper channel air to brake ducts that cool the brakes. The exhaust tips produce downforce at 130+ MPH speeds.

I hope you are kidding about the exhaust tips comment above....because that is absolutely ridiculous.

[PizzaHut]

Originally Posted by husks002

I hope you are kidding about the exhaust tips comment above....because that is absolutely ridiculous.

It's actually true though.

"During testing of the IS-F, they originally had a classic twin tip can design but at high speeds (130+MPH) the car became unstable because of the turbulence that developed in that area of the car. The test drivers told the engineers that they needed to change something to make it more stable at higher speeds. So, through testing they now have the current configuration of quad stacked exhaust tips with diffuser panels around them and air foils under the trunk belly. This significantly changes the air flow in that area of the car and made it much more stable at high speeds."

Remember, the ISF has a higher top speed than the M3, governed at 172MPH. Also if you examine the ISF exhaust tips up close you will see they are not just finishers attached to the bumper, they're quite intricate pieces with scoops and stuff in front of them.

[PizzaHut]

Originally Posted by Z K

Great, so it looks ugly for a reason.

Well that would be entirely subjective, I must admit when the ISF first came out I was not a huge fan. It wasn't love at first sight like the E9x M3 was for me, but over time the looks has really grown on me. I think it looks fantastic now and seems to age a bit better than the E9x M3. Again, all subjective.

[dparm]

It has become the trademark F look. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

[8600RPM]

Why would an isf owner of that many years be on her re posting about an isf tune? Lol. I can't imagine posting on an isf forum if I wasn't in tge,market for one

[whats77inaname]

Originally Posted by 8600RPM

Why would an isf owner of that many years be on her re posting about an isf tune? Lol. I can't imagine posting on an isf forum if I wasn't in tge,market for one

Because this section of the forum is titled "M3 vs....Discuss the M3's competitors (no racing stories)." Since the IS-F was designed with the M3 in mind, I don't think the post is inappropriate at all. Since I run into a lot of IS-Fs down here, it's nice to know what I may be up against