Justin's IS F: Rekindling An Old Romance
Photo: Nolan Muna
Justin had his first shot at track days back in 2003, but that one afternoon at Thunderhill East in his 7th generation Celica GTS would be the last time he’d set a tire on track for nearly twenty years. Still, he managed to set a 2:15 at that event, so at least he had demonstrated his chops in the process.
Then life intervened. Marriage, children, divorce, and other financial priorities forced him to put his racing aspirations on the back burner for the better part of two decades. During his seventeen-year sabbatical, he dabbled with motorcycles and a third-generation Mazda RX-7, but never took either to the track.
Once the kids grew up, Justin saw an opportunity to return to the track. Then the pandemic hit, and to make matters worse, he lost his job. For a bitter moment, his chance to return to tracking seemed to fall just out of reach. Rather than fall prey to despair, Justin began consulting, then went into business with a close friend. Fortunately, that career move proved lucrative.
So much so that he could suddenly consider several supercars. “I debated between an NSX and an R8,” he said, “until my fiance made a suggestion. She said, ‘Instead of dumping a lot of money into one of those, why not buy a cheaper car you can modify your own way?/”
Cogent question. Justin started considering the criteria he was looking for in a mid-tier car. Reliable, large displacement, naturally aspirated, and as he thought longer and longer, he grew to like the idea of a four-door. He cast his mind back to a stoplight-to-stoplight race during the time he was driving his RX-7. “I remember an IS F totally smoked me,” he recalled. Seemed like the big Lexus sedan fit the bill.
And so he started scouring the more reputable classifieds. There wasn’t much he’d find that seemed like a suitable candidate. Ironically, it was only after four fruitless months that he capitulated and started scrolling through the Craigslist pages, where he only spent a few minutes before finding the perfect car. Better yet, it was parked just a little down the street from Justin’s house.
With only 77,000 on the clock, one owner, and complete service records tucked neatly away in a binder, this immaculate machine held a lot of promise. However, Justin being a prudent guy, he had his friend at Magnussen’s Toyota inspect the car to be certain it was the gem it appeared to be. After performing the PPI, his friend told him, “If you don’t buy this car, I will.”
Justin didn’t give him the chance. With his new acquisition sitting pretty in his garage, Justin began researching what a track-ready IS F had over his bone stock example. At the very least, any set of performance shocks and brake pads would keep it from falling on its face. However, Justin being well connected in the industry, he splurged for the fancier stuff: Carbotech XP10 pads, Michelin PS4S, and HKS Hipermax coilovers.
His return to the track—Buttonwillow this time—after seventeen years away was comically carefree. “It’s just like riding a bike,'' he told himself. He set out brimming with pride and excitement, but he quickly realized just how tire technology had come in the last two decades—and how rusty he truly was. After dropping two wheels at the exit of Bus Stop, he reigned in some of his exuberance and started to drive much more sensibly. “It was eye opening and humbling, to say the least.”
A trip to Thunderhill West a few weeks later was not only humbling, but dispiriting. The IS F’s inability, so he thought, to handle the constant barrage of corners put him in a foul mood. In fact, he was considering abandoning the platform that day at a somber lunch.
Post-meal, he found a little more encouragement from the car and managed not only to stick in a respectable 1:33, but he executed a spectacular pass around the outside of Joe McGuigan, who was then riding shotgun in a student’s car.
Two months later, he had his 22/20k setup that convinced him to give the platform a fighting chance.
Joe, another proponent of the Lexus sport sedans, could see by the IS F’s bucking-bronco body language that the damping was insufficient for the workout Justin was putting it through. Following Joe’s recommendation, Justin reached out to Shaftworks and ordered a custom set of coilovers to suit the heavyweight.
“That’s when it spiraled,” he laughed. Along with those new coils, he picked up Ultra Racing chassis braces, FIGS arms and bushings, Sikky swaybars, and a few other items that stiffened the chassis to the point he could drive the car as aggressively and accurately as he hoped. Of course, the newfound cornering forces required some additional core support for the driver, so he threw in a Recaro Profi XL.
It didn’t take long before he had to fortify the platform again. With all the extra energy he was putting into his wheeling, the tires and brakes were struggling to keep up. “I tried RT660s, but they got greasy too fast. I spoke with a Camaro owner who recommended Goodyear Supercar 3s and figured I’d try ‘em.”
Now that the car’s sorted and sweet, he has to be careful not to overdrive the car. “It will do what you want, provided you keep it within a certain window,” he added.
Wrapped around a new set of Momo Catania wheels measuring 18x10”, he was thrilled with the newfound consistency these new tires provided him. “Once they’re warm, they remain at the same temperature for the rest of the day—it’s a little like cooking with a cast iron skillet.”
Naturally, the added grip strained the binders to the point of developing stress fractures and mirroring some. In their place, Justin added a set of GS F calipers, bigger OEM Brembo rotors, and a set of Carbotech XP12s to bring everything up to a dependable par.
Swept away by the rate of development and the improvements he was enjoying, Justin asked himself, ‘What could it hurt to have a little more power?’
With a custom tune from Tuned by LOI, full bolt-ons, and a tankful of E30, the 5.0-liter made a very healthy 438 horsepower and 401 lb-ft at the rear wheels. To make the most of this bump in grunt, he added a Sikky carbon driveshaft and an OS Giken 1.5-way LSD.
With the level of funding he’s put into this machine, Justin decided to make this former heavyweight into a svelte track-only sedan—and is leaving it to the pros to help realize its potential. Additional cooling, a welded cage, and some lightweight body panels are just a few of the additions Race Factory will be making this summer.
If all goes to plan, he’ll be trailering this beauty to several shakedowns next year before entering in Global Time Attack, where he hopes to make a splash in the Street Class. With the good luck he’s had thus far and the wise McGuigan to guide him on his way, he has a shot at making some waves with this (perhaps former) heavyweight.
“I just want to thank my family, friends, and the car community for being so supportive. Without all three, my return to motorsports wouldn't have been anywhere as fulfilling as it has been.”
Photo: Nolan Muna