actually, i don't think at all that my car looks like or could be mistaken for a Camry.

there are similarities but i don't think there is enough of one to mistake the two.

front, back, windows are different. i think that would be enough to distinguish the two models.

I don't know much about mods, what can I do for more speed & better acceleration???

most people can't even tell that it is an es, unless they are a car person. usually it's "oh, this lexus thinks they can beat me. ha ha ha"

oh i'm not saying that they think your car is a camry. i'm saying that they will compare it and say oh, its only as fast as a camry. its a midsize sedan with no power or elegance

you can get a filter, intake, cold air intake, mufler, NOS, advance timing(only one person has done this) and a few other things.
I am still learning though, so I can't help you that much. I am going to try to make my own cold air intake pretty soon. I have my filter so I'm going for the works

I just don't understand why anyone wants to try to race an ES. I like to drive fast, and at 140 mph, you can outrun several vehicles in an ES. But it's not a drag car. They are meant to cruise comfortably and have just enough power to climb a hill without strugglin. My ES can't begin to hang with my '94 Civic until it tops out at 133mph. But my Civic can't compare interior-wise to the ES. You guys can do all you want to the ES with your intakes and crap, but it will always be slow.

"I don't drag race mine, I just drag it"
http://www.tuckintoyz.com/images/lex/forsale5.jpg

I have owned a number of cars and motorcycles including sportbikes.My 99 es 300(soon to be replaced with an '02) is pretty fast in my opinion.Not too many other cars have beaten me in most freeway/street road conditions.It's acceleration reminds me of my old '72 Monte Carlo which had a 350 cu. inch V-8.And it has never required a valve job!

acceleration and first gear on the ES is excellent in my opinion. if youve ever driven a rwd car like the GS, you can tell that there is a split second from when you punch the gas pedal to when the car actually starts moving. the ES is a relatively light car and when you step on it, it moves. reminds me a little bit how a rotary engine car acts. imo, the ES, when kept clean and all, is a keeper.

I agree the initial acceleration on the ES is great, but it's not a sports car its a luxury car. All I know is when I leave the light all I can see is the other cars in my rear view!!!!!

yes, accell is good, also when it growls

nevermind

The ES will always be a relatively slow car unless you do something major (ie supercharger, etc.). With that said, I've driven a 5-speed ES and it felt quite a bit quicker than my auto. It had much more of a free-revving feel and seemed to have a stronger midrange, but this is probably because of the shorter ratios of the 5-spd vs the 4-spd auto. The shift linkage needed some work, but I was having fun driving the 5-spd ES - something I can't say about my auto ES.

sean says that his 5 speed doesnt seem much quicker than the auto. and he has parts on his also. he said it had slower accelleration, but quicker acceleration only in the high end

Yea, i hate launching mine or punching it going slow, just because of the horrid wheel hop. Otherwise, i'm pretty happy with the accelleration. And, it puts my 2002 to shame :)

Really? The manual ES I drove was a '92, and it felt quite a bit faster than my '93 auto. Perhaps it was just a 'stronger' car than usual.

Racing ES= Bad idea. There's no aftermarket for it. It's easy to beat. People should give up on the ES as some sort of performance car. It isn't and wasn't intended to be one.

It was intended to be nice and luxurious, etc. And it's a great success in those respects.

What you can do to an ES is drop it, put some rims on, maybe a nice body kit, etc. No one can argue about a sharply-dressed ES, no matter how fast their car is. :cool: