syzygy

I'm really glad you brought this up. It would appear that the ability to modify your car from a performance standpoint is pretty important to you.

In this case, I would not suggest the IS350 or the IS-F.

A BMW 335i has tremendous potential from a "modding" standpoint, but will provide you with awful reliability, so you have to be able and willing to deal with the hassle of that.

lexy250

iTrader: (4)

The 2IS has a ridiculously limited market for Tuning unless you go full custom work. Which would easily equate to the cost of a IS-F, if not more. This wouldn't even be a question in my mind. IS-F hands down if I had the funds.

benca1

and to everyone here is what i am saying ?? not is the IS350 going to blow the doors off the IS-F .. its more of .

one am i going to keep the wheels that come on the IS-f ? no
will i be changing the body components on the IS-F ? yes new lip kit or body kit
Will i change out the springs/shocks? yes new coilovers
Will i address the engine of the IS-f? yes but will do that on the IS350 also


so what i am saying is it worth it to spend the money for the IS-f when in reality 330-385hp is plenty which 320hp was awesome on stock supra.... so as far as comparing the two i know its not really apples to apples ..

but with the IS350 what would you have to spend to make it close to the same hp as the IS-F?

there is no use in paying more money up front, bigger car note, more insurance if i can build a IS350 to perform close to or equal to the IS-F

and dont really care about 80mph and above. I do almost all city driving

i hope i addressed everything in that to make sense .. busy at work and trying to type and work

ben

syzygy

Also, if you want a car that you can take to the track (windy roads), the IS350 is not for you because it has an automatic transmission only. The paddles are not shifters, they are gear limiters.

Furthermore, some of the posts I've read on CL appear to suggest that even though some people realize from a "definition" standpoint that the paddles are "gear limiters" and not "shifters," they continue to talk about the paddles as though they are shifters.

Gear limiters are almost an entirely novel concept that most people aren't familiar with before coming to the IS line.

For all intents and purposes, the IS350 is a purely automatic transmission car. You can sometimes force the car to downshift a single gear at a time, but there is incredible delay in the process because you are not actually directly downshifting the car.

You can never force the car to upshift. Upshifting is entirely controlled by the computer. Some people still continue to treat the paddles as though they give you the ability to upshift the car manually, and they end up looking silly. Honestly I don't blame them, even the official Lexus website falsely advertises the functioning and capabilities of these paddles.


"but with the IS350 what would you have to spend to make it close to the same hp as the IS-F? "

I explained this in my previous post. You can temporarily make the IS350 as fast as an IS-F, but it requires the use of nitrous oxide.

There are 0 permanent performance modifications available for the IS350 to make it as fast as an ISF up top. They don't exist and probably never will.

I think there are 4 or 5 IS350 superchargers in existence (and chances are you'll never get your hands on one of them), and none of them offer performance equal to that of a stock ISF for high MPH rolls. They end up being somewhere between IS350s and ISFs.

benca1

ok so it truly is better to own a IS300 than a 2nd gen 250/350???

since the supra engine has a ton more of mods/parts available?

Dunkin1222

I say the heck with both of them and get the HS Hybrid

benca1

hey thanks a ton for this info as i thought the market would be flooded with great hp increases for the IS 2nd gen line up ...... like garret turbos, supercharges, headers, exhuast, etc etc.... so it sounds like this hasnt caught up like the first gen did with the 2jz?

syzygy

From a performance moddability standpoint, it is better to own an IS300 than a 2nd gen 250/350. You are correct.

From an interior luxury standpoint? No. From a stock performance standpoint? No (if you're comparing to the IS350). From a longevity/reliability standpoint (comparing a modded IS300 putting down 700 whp to a stock IS350). No.

The question now becomes what do you value more and how much do you value it?

shhhua

If you don't care about 80mph+, sounds like the IS350 is a better choice for you.

Personally, I'd get the F.

GiantsFan

iTrader: (9)

Id get the F ... you get a LOT more than just 100+ hp. Torsen LSD, BBS wheels, just to name a few..

syzygy

Correct. There's virtually nothing.

The only thing the IS350 has is exhaust, intake, headers. You can add ~25 whp, max. That's it.

From a quarter mile standpoint, stock IS350s run 13.2 - 13.7 seconds, largely depending on weather (specifically density altitude) and traction. With intake/exhuast and really cold weather, you can run 13.0 flat. With Intake/exhaust/cold weather, and the front passenger seat removed (huge weight reduction), you can run 12.8.

If you added a 100 shot of nitrous oxide but don't remove the passenger seat, you could run mid 12s. That's the limit of the IS350, and mid 12s is only temporary (governed by how much nitrous oxide you have).

With a supercharger, you can run high 12s to low 13s consistently as opposed to the 13.2-13.7 that is typical of a stock IS350. IS350s with just intake/exhaust/headers will probably run 13.1 - 13.6, consistently.

Kybball#1

iTrader: (20)

Yo Benca1, can you hook me up with a IS-F for 38,500 if so please PM me and I will trade my IS350 in on it in a heartbeat. For real, and im just down here in TN. lemme know.

Initial B

iTrader: (2)

If you can afford an IS-F, then it's a no-brainer. Besides the extra HP, you'll also get much better front seats (I HATE mine, no lateral support) and a more responsive tranny.

benca1

\

yeh if we get one traded in .. or lease turn in .. ill let you know .. any certain color you are looking for ?

and to everyone else yeh i am not one that builds a car without seats , or halfassed like body kits/ lips not lining up right, otherwise bootleg builds........ i build mine like they would show in sema or magezines. So i am never going to really need the Hp just like to have it .. but with the options not there it sounds like either find me a great low mileage IS300 with one or two owners previously that has been garaged and pampered or just buy an IS-F... I would just hate buying it and wasting half of the things on it .. like the suspension and wheels as they will be replaced anyway ..

thanks a ton for everyones input it seems i have some thinking to do ..

benca1

yeh we are only talking about 185.00 more a month than what i currently pay .. like i said IS-f only mid 30's so not insanely high .. like i said not buying a 09 or 10 .. so not paying anything over 40k