When you are buying an IS300 with a manual transmission, is it really that difficult to find these ? I have heard on different forums that Lexus only had 15% of their IS300s with a manual transmission. If that is the case, would getting an automatic and converting it to a manual be worth it or hard? Would it run the same?

Also, how do you exactly shop around for titles that are clean? Doesn't the amount of owners matter? I'm aware that the maintenance is the most important but this can be hard as looking at online listings different than actually trying the car.

 

It's really difficult and then there is the issue of pricing. People looking at IS300's are usually just after a low budget car. Manual transmission cars are the racer boi holy grails and have a higher asking price. Manual transmission swaps have been done but I guess it depends on your skill level.

As for the second question you are basically asking how to buy a car sight unseen without any risk...that is a hard thing to do. Find one you like and go see it.

 

Really? Low budget? Gee I thought that IS300s had a legendary status because of the 2JZ engine inside making it even more pricey like a clean Toyota Supra. I guess it's not good enough to get that same recognition.

Can you elaborate on skill level? Do you mean that if I were to do the swap by myself? I'd rather pay someone to do the job for me. There's lots of knowledge required in order to do that modding stuff as seen in Donut Media's video series on modding their 350Zs. They showed various times where doing that stuff yourself can be tricky without professional help

 

Itz better than a soopra....it just did not have a movie made about it...so you know, potato potatoe. And you are right about the t00 j4y z33 y0! Itz jdm tight.

Yes. I meant as if you were doing the job yourself. There's various transmissions that fit with anything from minor to extensive modifications plus a bunch of spare parts. Search the forums, there's various write ups on what all is needed and how to do it.

 

Please don't type like that. I never cared about the Fast and Furious movies that much nor do I use the references from those movies.

I actually got into the IS300s when I was actually walking out of an Autozone one day due to needing to add more oil into my BMW. I saw a person working on his IS300 in the parking lot and it looked nice in real life. The styling is great as well as the fact its from the 00s. I was looking up the car's name online which I ended up learning more. I didn't realize the specs of the car until later which made me like the car even more. Hence, why I am here asking about the status of buying one!

 

Yes they are rare-er and hard-er to find....but its not like it's a once in a blue mooon thing. Well people call them unicorns. I call an alfa romeo 33 stradale an unicorn, hence my sarcasm. Manuals can be fun and stuff but they ARE the weaker transmission end of story. I've seen them hold up to MILD boost and I also BLEW third with NA mods. Bottom line, just get the best car you can find. Buying stuff over the internet is a coin flip...that is why it is best to actually go see the car in person....bring the money and you might be driving it back. They are bad on gas just in case you care

 

The W55 isn't that strong. We shopped for a 2nd IS300 for weeks and weeks all over the country except for rust belt cars...... and couldn't find ANY that weren't beat to **** or expensive af. The five speed cars all had monkey mods done to them like mid 20 year olds owned them on a budget and tried to do some sweet formula-d drift styleez for their gf.

Good luck finding a 5 speed that was owned by an adult and taken care of.... and even if you do... get ready to spend some $$$$ on it. Again, they're very hard to find in good condition because all the fan bois have found out they have a 2jz in them and started buying them up.

 

Can either of you two explain as to what makes a manual transmission weaker? I thought automatic is just having the gear switching to itself instead of a human being. Is there a performance problem with the IS300 when using a manual?

I'm surprised that the 2G IS300 is high in demand as well since it doesn't have the 2JZ. Well I can relate, I was looking at Mitsubishi Eclipses 3Gs online and most of them look terrible. The Eclipses that I was looking at looked like Frankenstein monsters of what stock photos look like.

 

I can't. I've only been on this forums since 2012 and have 36 posts but I've had my car (and been involved in community) since 2006 and have waaaaay higher post counts elsewhere. Regardless of what makes it weaker, the fact is that it IS weaker.


Is the 2G IS in high demand too? Is that what you are saying? I'd be surprised as well...because no 2jz yo.

 

Your engine creates torque. This torque goes through the gearset's teeth and get's transmitted to the drive shaft -> the rear diff -> the rear wheels. When you make enough torque you will break the teeth off the gearsets. This is the problem with the W55. It's gearset is not strong enough in stock form to handle the amount of extra torque over stock that a turbo or nitrous engine may produce. You could build the W55 if anyone offers stronger gearsets for it.... but that is going to cost a lot of money and you're still going to end up with a 5 speed transmission. Most newer vehicles are using 6-speed for a reason, and most newer automatics are using up to 9 gears.

An automatic transmission is stronger because the gears are stronger inside of it. There is a LOT more meat on automatic gearing than on the clusters in a manual slush box. That doesn't mean that there aren't strong manual transmissions, there are..... but the W55 is not one of them. The other thing you have to consider is that the stock clutch is not going to hold a lot of torque. So, immediately if you're making more torque than stock you will want to put a different clutch in the car. This is no easy/beginner job if you've never done one. Most stronger pressure plates are going to make the drivability of the car not enjoyable anymore. You will feel like you're on a stair stepper when you press the clutch in vs. the nice "soft" stock pressure plate feel. The stronger pressure plate has the "added benefit" of straining the hydraulic system more as well, so finding that your clutch slave or master begins leaking after installing a stronger pressure plate is not uncommon.

 

This is very interesting stuff to hear because I would expect the engineers at Lexus to be able to craft a manual to handle the stock engine. I guess modding can be inevitable. I was hoping that I could have enjoyed the IS300 in it's natural state. What's yours like? Did you ended up switching yours out?

 

I paid to have the A650E built. I have other fun cars that are turbo and stick shift so I wanted to keep my Lexus nice instead of ragging it out like some modded POS.

The W55 can definitely handle stock power of the stock motor. What I'm saying is that if you do anything to upgrade the power then it's just a matter of time before you're replacing stuff. I've never owned or driven a stick shift IS300 and I have no desire to do either of those things either.

Auto trans is all day long faster and stronger than stick shift and just about the only thing you can do to kill one is over heat it.... but that's what a trans gauge is for. The stock auto in the IS300 has a weak 3rd gear sprague but I would say that's probably it's only downfall.

 

You're not a real racer, smdh. Checklist for platzform to be fun:
1. Manual transmission, duh!
2. RWD with LSD.
3. Compact
4. 500hp

Seriously. Out of all the cars I've owned, the funnest car has been by far my 1983 Fiat x/19 with all of its 80hp. As soon as I get a garage there's one coming to it. Way funner than my 2jzgte IS300 which for lack of a garage right now I daily drive

For straight line high hp racing, automatic. For track duty, automatic, and when i say automatic i mean a modern one that can shift quicker than you can. For daily driving around town and to work, manual, it's more fun though not in traffic.
But then....you don't need RWD and LSD and more horsepower and compactness to drive around town and to work. Bottom line, it never is about what is better, it is about what you want.

Disclaimer: Regarding my checklist, sarcasm does not transmit well across the internet. Ye be warned.

 

My 2 cents! If you are not going FI, the manual is fine. I would say if you dont have a manual on hand when you go to buy the car, dont buy the car. Either that or you better be pretty committed to the swap. Have someone do the swap for you. Unless you are a good grease monkey or gear head, why bother. Dont settle on an auto, they suck! Sluggish, and very lacking. I own a 5sp, but occasionally drive 2 different slush boxes. There are a serious disappointment to drive. Just no go.

So my poor 5speed is surviving-
K&N FIPK
Adj timing gear -3.5deg
225/45r17 tires
HKS Drager
3.93 lsd
CDD
Turbo Supra flywheel and clutch