TF109B

All the reviews are driving the same cars over and over but no problems reported. On pre production vehicles at that. Its a Lexus, you think itll have trouble taking a beating?

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

No more than the IS-F, well maybe a little more because of the mass, but I'm not talking about mechanical breakdowns, I'm talking about providing full performance for the duration of a typical track day session without having to nurse the tires by minute 15. Minute 15 isn't the lap 10 Yaguchi talked about, it's about lap 6 going into lap 7. The RCF should clearly outperform the IS-F in all ways. I see little to bolster this in the reviews and in the specs.

Gearbangin

iTrader: (7)

What about the weight? 200 additional pounds correct?

05RollaXRS

Power-to-weight ratio (PWR) factors in the weight. It is still significantly better on the RC-F (9.18 lbs/hp vs 8.47 lbs/hp).

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

Where did you get 9.18 lbs/hp for the IS-F? By the spec sheet it's 9.08 lbs/hp (3780/416), but on a corner weight scale at Roebling Road with spare, jack, 1/4 tank of fuel, engine covers, cargo net, owner's manual, etc.; mine weighed 3742 so it squeaks under the 9.0 mark by a hair.

It's a lot closer than the specs are making it out to be.

05RollaXRS

The test weight has been between 3800 - 3839 lbs by various publications and testers on their scales.

3800 lbs

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...trumented-test

3817 lbs

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...fications.html

3806 lbs

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/..._term_arrival/

3825 lbs

http://www.roadandtrack.com/cm/roada...-IS-F_data.pdf

3839 lbs

http://www.caranddriver.com/lexus/is-f

3801 lbs

http://www.caranddriver.com/features...Lexus%20IS%20F

ISFPOWER

iTrader: (20)

my car got corner balanced as well last month as well, on the scales, with a bit more than quarter tank but no spare, it was 3734 lbs. this is with fatter upsized tires and wheel spacers.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

I doubt they weighed them on "their" scales. A number of us have weighed our cars and they've all been at or below the 3780 claimed by Lexus. Mine was weighed with everything - spare, jack, engine covers, even the owner's manual (it weighs in at a hefty 3 3/4 lbs all by itself.) The only variable is fuel load. Lexus does not specify how much fuel is in the car at their specified weight (which is what everyone is using for the RCF). The IS-F is spec'd at 16.2 gallons, so from bone dry to topped off there is about 100 lbs of variability. Many manufacturers curb weights are low/no fuel with all other fluids at operating levels. My experience with my Supra tells me Toyota aims for the lower numbers with small fuel loads - it weighed exactly 3415 lbs on a certified scale with a quarter tank of gas, and the New Car Features Appendix (where all the spec are published) says a hard top 6 speed TT weighs 3415.

We're also missing a key number - did any of those magazines pull the engine and put it on a test stand to measure output at the crank? I tend to disbelieve any specs published by magazines. I've seen horrid misrepresentations of actual specs too many times. One of my favorites was the supposed aluminum hubs Lexus put on the IS-F in 2011. They did nothing of the sort, and a quick look at the part numbers shows the same part number for all MY IS-Fs. The magazines do get plenty wrong when it comes to hard specs..

The RCF may actually be lighter or heavier. Tossing around numbers based on reality for the RCF is pointless. There are no production models to weigh, there is only the Lexus published specs of what they expect the car to weigh when it rolls off the assembly line. If anyone rolled one onto the scales at Monticello, no one mentioned it. They all quoted press kit numbers.

Gearbangin

iTrader: (7)

Don't get me wrong I want it to be faster and lighter because I plan on picking one up in future! Just a little disappointed with early data.

ISF001

The RCF is not COMPETING with the ISF--it's not even replacing it.

We also do not have a production RCF carbon to serve as a basis for anything. We know what Lexus has published to date with the right to legally change the specs at anytime.

We know it runs a faster 0-60 as currently in the spec, and we know Lexus has stated a minimum of a 12.5 quarter mile run.

ISF owners know the ISF spec was conservative, and this is likely for the RCF.

We know the RCF runs faster times when driven in S+ versus expert mode as stated by Lexus.

I KNOW the carbon model WILL NOT be on the streets in the states until February 2015--just found this out today. And ALOT can change in the spec between now and February.

This discussion will not have much of a foundation until that time.

Til that time...

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

I'm glad you like the Kool-Aid, but those of us in the rest of the world realize the RCF has many competitors and progenitors. Consider the RCF engine got track tested in the IS-F CCS-R at Thunderhill for 25 hours and it's not hard to understand why comparison to the F is easy. Especially when Yaguchi said his inspiration was the CCS-R, even if it isn't his benchmark. We also know the first F was the IS-F, the second F was the LFA, and the RCF is the new torch bearer - all straight from the interview with Yaguchi himself.

So maybe the RCF is no more a replacement for the IS-F than my son is a replacement for me, but there is clearly heritage and lineage so comparison is inevitable.

spwolf

well, pretty much every review agrees that RC-F is much better car in every way compared to IS-F. Thats something they all agreed and something nobody questioned.

I am looking forward to your review (and other IS-F drivers), that is the most important part.