Is the 8 speed really that much better then the 6 speed?

 

my opinion it's for gas economy, 8 speed is better... and also obviously a much stronger transmission...

 

Yeh fuel economy is better but is the 6 speed considered a slouch vs the 8 speed?

Reason I'm asking is because RWD is350 can't have ML audio, AWD is350 can get ML audio but no 8 speed. But I really want the RWD is350. the packaging stinks in canada

 

In Canada you can get USB.

Check mate.

 

Check out this link: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...nvince-me.html

One of the members on the forum has described the difference in details between 8-speed vs. 6-speed. I hope this helps.

 

Canada = Snow, but AWD = More Gas and perfect for snow, RWD = Less Gas but No perfect for snow... also ML Audio its good but you can live without that and save some thousand.

Personally I have RWD/8 Speed/ML Audio but I live in FL so it's complete different scenario.

 

Same dilemma. Now I ended up going for the non. F Sport IS350 RWD with luxury package. Yes it sucks not having the ability to add ML and LED headlights in RWD on Canada.

For me, the reason is I prefer the 8-speed as I have been driving the 2IS 350 RWD with 6 speed for nearly 7 years. Time to change.

 

In my opinion, the 8-speed is superior from a performance standpoint!

From the Youtube videos you clearly hear the difference between the 8-speed and 6-speed tranny. 8-speed revs and shifts a little quicker. The 8 speed almost sounds like a (fast shifting) manual when shifting - you hear the throttle disengaging for a split second, then throttle kicks in again - it's that good.

The 6-speed sounds more typical - smooth power during the shift - not as exciting in my opinion.

IS350:
IS350 F-Sport (listen to the shifting at 1:40 to 1:46 WOW!!) :
IS250 AWD (same 6-speed as the 350 AWD to give you an idea):

 

Well yeah the 8-speed has shorter ratios and a tick faster shift times..

 

The 8 speed is better in that it has shorter shift times and rev-matching on downshifts. (I don't believe the 6 speed does, at least it doesn't on my 2006 IS) I don't think the 2 additional ratios are helping all that much though.

 

The 8-speed transmission (by Aisin)is the same one found on the ISF. It is designed to respond exactly to what the driver wants. No delay when shifting (after 15MPH) and predictable. It has all of the characteristics that a manual box so why is it better? First, It's faster than any human will ever be. To give you a reference point, the Aisin 8-speed can shift in 0.1 secs... Formula-1 vehicles shift in 0.05secs. I don't care who you are out there, you CANNOT shift in less than on second let alone come close to a tenth of it. Secondly, it only shifts when you want it to (when its in Manual Mode) and yes it mimic's clutch lockup (2nd thru 8th gear only) so the gas is there when you want it to be, not like when the old transmission felt like it.. Thirdly, it throttle blips downshifts matching engine and gear speed to avoid engine breaking.

Not "racing"? Not a problem. Eight gears (on auto mode) only means you can run at a lower RPM during those long drives up and down the 101 making this IS a bit more gas efficient. In fact, ZF has just announced that they will be releasing a 9-speed G-box fairly soon so it seems that the 8-speed is the least amount of gears you should have going forward. IMHO.

So faster when I want it to be, and more gas efficient when I want it to be? sounds like a win/win.

Good luck...

 

What's the final gear ratio of the 3IS 8 Speed? The 4.08 final gear ratio of the 2IS 6 Speed definitely contributed to getting 0-60 times in the high 4s.

 

The 3IS 8-speed has shorter 1-6 gears..

 

Yes, but the final gear ratio of a differential makes a significant difference in how aggressive the transmission behaves.

Does anyone know if Lexus has published the final gear ratio of the 3IS IS350 differential yet? The spec details on the Lexus website lack this information.

IF the 3IS 8-speed transmission has the same final gear ratio in its differential that the IS-F uses (2.93), then that would explain why the current 0-60 times in the new IS350 are not near the 4.9 - 5.1 times of the previous generation IS that uses only a 6-speed transmission (besides the 66lbs of extra weight and Turanza tires). This would also explain why those that have owned a 2IS IS350 and switched to a 3IS have said that the new gen doesn't "feel" like it accelerates as fast as the previous gen does when flooring it from a dead stop.

The differential ratio in the 2IS is very aggressive (4.09) and is highly suitable for drag strip style racing. Some IS-F owners have experimented with swapping out their IS-F differential (2.93 final ratio) for the IS350 differential (4.09 final ratio) and noticed a significant improvement in acceleration but it also results in a lower top end speed.

Here's the IS-F thread:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...s350-diff.html

 

Here some information from Lexus