Just a heads up I was browsing the steamship website and it appears the alcantara steering wheel is unavailable, possibly discontinued. I went on Several parts websites and it’s being discounted. I guess if you had any plans on picking one up might want to do it sooner rather than later. I found it on college hills for 269 this weekend. Best price I found so far.

Anybody have any luck with a Type S cover or a recommendation for a quality all weather one?

My ideal color combo would be Double Apex Blue and red/black interior, but I know that’s not offered. So if you were me, which route would you go?

A) Double Apex Blue with black interior

B) Platinum White (my 2nd most preferred exterior) with red/black interior

Yesterday, after waiting 4-ish months for my TSP downpipe delivery, it finally arrived. After watching countless videos I thought it would be worth giving an overview of my experience and what it took for me to install it in my driveway using only hand tools and jackstands. Maybe this can help someone make a decision either for or against doing the install themselves. Sorry no pictures, but I don't think any I post are ones you can't find through a Google search anyway. Hopefully its not too rambly.

My Skill Level

Medium? I maintain my own cars (oil changes, brakes, etc), have partially restored an old mustang, am pretty handy. I am not a mechanic and likely do things more slowly than most.

Tools

These are the tools I used. Some may be needed and some may not for your particular situation. My only suggestion is to not start the job unless you have every tool you will need. Don't want to be 3/4 of the way into the job and find out you are missing something.

• Sockets - 14mm, 13mm (maybe?), 10mm, 7mm.
  • 14mm was the main one required for removal of the downpipe. I think I used a 13 but that may be wrong. 10mm for removal of an O2 sensor bracket bolt. 7mm for the clamps on my TSP turbo inlet pipe.
• Ratchets - 1/2" and 3/8" drive.
  • Both had their uses at various times.
• Open end wrench - 14mm
  • Just an additional option for reaching the bolts which I used multiple times.
• 1/2" drive breaker bar
  • This was used to gingerly break the bolts loose connecting the downpipe to the turbo
• 1/2" and 3/8" drive extensions
  • I couldn't get a single ratchet and extension combination on every bolt so come prepared with different lengths
• Screwdrivers
  • phillips and flat head for removal of the skid plate
• O2 sensor socket
  • Ordered from amazon 7/8" / 22mm, 3/8" drive.
• Floor jack and jack stands
• Safety glasses
  • Things happen fast and safety squints never cut it.

Time

I completed the install in around 3.5 hours, but started the process about 12 hours before that around 7pm. Again, I'm not the fastest mechanic out there so ymmv. At 3.5 hours nothing went wrong, but there were a few bolts that gave me trouble, mostly the ones that connect to the front pipe because of the angle required to remove.

Preparation

Breaking (in a bad way) the bolts or studs connecting to the turbo was my biggest fear. I did not want to deal with removing these and was the biggest factor in deciding whether or not to take this job on. All the videos suggested to "soak" the bolts and studs in penetrating oil, whatever soak means so that was my initial goal. The night before I planned to start the removal I drove my car home from work and gave it about 45 minutes to an hour to cool down which put the upper heat shield in a temperature range that I could touch it but wasn't happy about it. I think spraying while it was hot was a good thing but may be making that up. It's only three bolts but removal of the upper one required my turbo inlet pipe to be removed, which wasn't a big deal. The upper O2 sensor needs removed at this time as well, but more on that in the O2 sensor section below. Once removed I sprayed each bolt and stud with PB blaster, front and back where visible, every hour for about three hours until I went to bed. Once I got up in the morning I gave it another spray and sat down for coffee giving it probably another hour to sit. This was the extent of the preparation with the whole goal being to spray the bolts hot and let them cool completely overnight.

The Bolts

I was extremely nervous about this. I used a 1/2" breaker bar (maybe a foot long) with the 14mm socket and various extensions to reach all the bolts. They all came off like butter. I used some amount of force but never struggled. They all gave an audible crack that made it obvious they had gone through many heating and cooling cycles but after that it was very easy to remove them and I can't recommend the preparation enough for a successful outcome....hopefully.

O2 Sensors

Most of the videos I watched glossed over this section. They aren't hard to remove but can be very frustrating and if I had this job to do over again I would do it a little different. The top one must be removed before taking the downpipe out, the lower one needs unhooked but does not need removed from the downpipe. My suggestion for ease of removal is to unbolt the bracket holding the O2 sensor wires which makes unhooking them infinitely easier. I was struggling with unhooking the wires but once the bracket was off I could see what I was doing. The lower one was easy to remove once the downpipe was removed from the car.

Removal from frontpipe

This portion actually took the longest because of the angle required to remove the downpipe from the brackets. I sprayed the three studs with penetrating oil about 5 minutes before I attempted to remove the nuts and didn't really struggle for any reason other than I was laying on the ground under the car with limited room to get leverage. I recommend taking the two small phillips screws out of the plastic piece that is blocking you from easily accessing the bolts because this will allow you to pull it down to get more leverage. I didn't fully remove it which would have helped immensely, but I didn't want to deal with trim pieces. Make sure you fully remove the brackets because they will prevent you from removing the downpipe. Once everything was off I pulled the downpipe out of the top of the car with minimal trouble.

Putting it all back

The downpipe comes with bolts instead of studs for installation so don't have a momentary freak out like I did thinking I didn't have the right hardware. Also, pay particular attention to the orientation of the provided frontpipe to downpipe gasket, it does not go on the way you think it should. You do not need the provided large plug, I believe its for installation with Accords. You will need the white O2 sensor extension for the lower O2 sensor. It's too long so I zip tied it up once everything was back together. Internet indicated 35-40 ft/lb for all the bolts and studs but my torque wrench starts at 60 so I just tried to emulate how hard they were to remove. The heat shield was easy to move from the old downpipe to the new downpipe. I read about a lot of people struggling with this part. Just don't tighten any of the four bolts down until you have them all thread in partially and you won't have any problems.

Additional

I purchased a turbo blanket that I had planned to install and was also going to get the downpipe blanket at a later date. For various reasons this didn't happen and you cannot install the turbo blanket under the existing heat shields comfortably. Could I have forced it? Probably. But I just left it off and will decide about it later.

Final Thoughts

Not a bad install, but definitely the scariest one because of the implications of a broken bolt or stud. I've only driven it on two short trips so not much to report yet. It sounds throatier in sport+ and maybe a little more in comfort mode. Unsure of any power gains yet but I'm sure they are there.

Wife and I are thinking of taking the plunge on a new or CPO Type S. It's kind of the midpoint between the wilder models I like (Type R, GR Corolla, etc) and the lux brands she likes (Lexus, BMW, etc).

I'm curious what other models you all considered before you ultimately chose the ITS and how happy or not you were with the decision?

Context: wife is early 40s, I'm early 50s, have always driven used. Her family owns a Toyota/Lexus service shop so she's always been in used Lexus (SC and currently IS250 convertible). I've owned two cars in the last dozen years: a 2003 350Z from 2014-2020, and a 1996 LX 450 from 2020-present.

We've decided we want to buy a new car that we'll both love—which is to say, performance dynamics for me and luxury enough for her. We intend to keep it for 10 years.

ITS is our current front-runner, but we're willing to shop around and test drive everything before taking on a new payment.

Anybody running 19x9.5 +35 with the stock tires?
Curious if there was going to be poke or would it be flush?

Recently started scoping out some local dealers willing to sell a NEW 2026 ITS for $50k , is this a good price ? What have people been paying ? Also, are there any hidden fees I should look out for or make sure to negotiate upfront ? Currently driving a Golf R but slightly underwhelmed by the fun factor , transmission (6mt) is meh despite some upgrades and the steering could be a bit more lively . Also, how is this car in the winter ? She will be a daily

I've tried contacting them over 7 times through email or phone and not a single response. Customer service is dogshit rn and I'm upset cuz I've been waiting on my inlet pipe for over a month now. Absolutely no information from them regarding delivery times.

How do I fix this

So far I have the PRL HVI and RMM. On a budget of say $1000 or so, and an end goal of improving horsepower and handling, but no track/racing plans, what would be the best next mod(s) that will actually make a difference?