the 250 transmission got shorter ratios i heard, so its a bit faster but loses some mpg

 

Finally! Thanks for posting that up!

 

I wish they did the 8 speed on is250 as well. BMW did it on 335i and 328i.

 

The final drive ratio is a bit disappointing in the 8 speed automatic. It is a bit too tall at 3.1:1. I am not sure why Lexus really gave it 8 gears and then fit it with a very tall overall final drive ratio.

The new IS350 8 speed auto has a final drive ratio of 3.1:1 compared to the older 6 speed auto in the 2IS that had a final drive ratio of 4.083:1 so the 2IS probably overall had shorter gearing. I am confused why Lexus did this?

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...ar-ratios.html

 

The 8 speed RWD transmission is FAR superior to the 6spd AWD transmission.

It may have just been the car I was driving, but the AWD shifts very slow compared to the 8 speed.

 

I originally ordered a IS350 RWD with the 8speed because of how it performed at the track day Lexus Canada setup. After a couple days I decided to switch it to the AWD because of the Canadian weather and I do like to drive up north quite often for ski trips. Had an Evo IX and an X3 before for this so I decided to stick with the AWD I'm used to and no worries about getting stuck on the mountains during the winter.

To sum it up the RWD does offer more spirited drive but AWD may make sense for some depending where they live and where they plan on going

 

It was a move to increase MPG, since the 3IS gained a bit of extra weight..

But non the less, the 8-speed ratios are very nice & quick.

 

The 3IS IS350 will probably take out the 2IS IS350 after 140mph

 

No, it won't. Especially considering they're both governed at 143

 

I had the pleasure of really putting my foot into the car (IS350 AWD F-Sport) this morning. Turned the **** to Sport +, and was thoroughly impressed.

The car dropped from fourth down to second and took off quite nicely. I was pleased how quick the 6-speed shifted, nice fast/hard shifts. The on-ramp is uphill and a right-hand curve, the car really gripped and pulled itself around the corner.

Great car, I'll avoid ever driving a RWD version with the 8-speed. Don't want to ruin how much I love my car.

 

lol. That's good to hear.

In my opinion, as great as the RWD 8 speed is, from the eyes of most drivers out there, even those that call them enthusiasts, they will be hard pressed to complain much about the 6 speed in the AWD. Either way, the power output is the same, but the way the power is delivered is changed up sure, but I'm sure those experienced with manual shifting in D+ mode will be able to do whatever they want with the 6 speed and still have plenty of fun.

 

You need to take into account the transmission ratios, everything needs to be matched. You cannot just look at the final drive ratio. With the exception of 8th gear being a taller ratio than 6th on the old 2IS, all other gearing is actually shorter on the 3IS than it was on the 2IS. The final drive ratio they chose makes perfect sense with the 8-speed. The first 4 gears are mostly the same, after that they split things between 5-6 to 5-8.

Overall gear ratios:

2013 IS350 RWD vs. 2014 IS350 RWD

1st: 14.37 / 14.40
2nd: 8.34 / 8.59
3rd: 5.72 / 5.84
4th: 4.08 / 4.59
5th: 2.91 / 3.86
6th: 2.38 / 3.13
7th: ---- / 2.58
8th: ---- / 2.15

Jeff

 

^
Good Point.

 

this is an old post but i noticed the driver of the isF never even put the car in S+ mode the entire time! if the car was equipped with VGRS that would have never been used either.
LAME