14868Upon hearing that someone is going to customize and modify a Lexus or other such luxury-brand car, it's only natural that visions of dollar signs, clinking cash registers and extreme, money-no-object one-offs quickly arise. As an old song says, however, "it ain't necessarily so". Perhaps you've stretched your finances to get into the Lexus, be it new, used or "certified pre-owned", of your dreams. You want to personalize it, but don't have a bottomless pool of cash to do so. The solution, then, is to modify smarter, not flashier.
Stuart Randall of Horsepower Trendz magazine summed up the dilemma very well <A HREF="http://horsepowertrendz.idigitaledition.com/issues/august2007/">on page 32 of the August 2007 edition, in an article titled Budget Build.</A> As the article reminds us: "Most of the cars we feature in HPTare ones that have been built without a budget and their owners have spared no expense in building their vision. So what happens if you actually want to build and drive a car that you can be proud of but you don't have the gross national product of many small countries to put into your car? Well, if you ask John Campbell, you start with a good, solid foundation and do your research in order to find the best possible deals for adding modifications. John told us that he has spent less than $3000 in his aftermarket modifications, and that includes the wheels."
You may be asking yourself, "Who is John Campbell, and why is he telling us this?" To put it simply, John just happens to be my.IS member cameronusmc2001, and the car that inspired Stuart Randall to write those words is John's 2003 Black Onyx Lexus IS300. Among the modifications John has added to his ride are a Greddy cat-back exhaust, Megan Race Pipe, SRT intake with an ECU, Brembo cross-drilled rotors & calipers, TCSportline front & rear tower brace bars, KYB GR2 shocks & struts, Eibach Pro lowering kit, Wald front chin lip, Altezza grille, TRD rear spoiler and Stern 18" wheels on Kumho SPT 225/40R18 tires.
As John tell us in the conclusion of the HPT article, these modifications are just a starting point, but he wanted to show it in its current state and show how a nice car can be built on a conservative budget. Lesson learned, John, and we wholeheartedly agree with you and are looking forward to phase two of this project...
Stuart Randall of Horsepower Trendz magazine summed up the dilemma very well <A HREF="http://horsepowertrendz.idigitaledition.com/issues/august2007/">on page 32 of the August 2007 edition, in an article titled Budget Build.</A> As the article reminds us: "Most of the cars we feature in HPTare ones that have been built without a budget and their owners have spared no expense in building their vision. So what happens if you actually want to build and drive a car that you can be proud of but you don't have the gross national product of many small countries to put into your car? Well, if you ask John Campbell, you start with a good, solid foundation and do your research in order to find the best possible deals for adding modifications. John told us that he has spent less than $3000 in his aftermarket modifications, and that includes the wheels."
You may be asking yourself, "Who is John Campbell, and why is he telling us this?" To put it simply, John just happens to be my.IS member cameronusmc2001, and the car that inspired Stuart Randall to write those words is John's 2003 Black Onyx Lexus IS300. Among the modifications John has added to his ride are a Greddy cat-back exhaust, Megan Race Pipe, SRT intake with an ECU, Brembo cross-drilled rotors & calipers, TCSportline front & rear tower brace bars, KYB GR2 shocks & struts, Eibach Pro lowering kit, Wald front chin lip, Altezza grille, TRD rear spoiler and Stern 18" wheels on Kumho SPT 225/40R18 tires.
As John tell us in the conclusion of the HPT article, these modifications are just a starting point, but he wanted to show it in its current state and show how a nice car can be built on a conservative budget. Lesson learned, John, and we wholeheartedly agree with you and are looking forward to phase two of this project...
