Hello all!

As you guys can probably tell I'm pretty new to CL (just made an account today for this question), but I've been a lurker here for about a year now getting help on my old '04 rx330 and stuff. Anywho after about 3 years of hard work I saved up enough to buy a cute 2016 is300 base model! just got it a week ago and im absolutely in love. The only question though, is if it will survive the track in the summer. I know the f sport 3is is track tested and is good to go from factory, but what about the base model? I'm less worried about oil temps and such as much as braking and body roll, b/c of the suspension and sway bars the f sport gets. Then again im not that experienced anyhow so maybe i should worry about oil temps lol. Any help would be appreciated!

 

Honestly the most I would do is autocross so you learn your cars limits. a real track can do some nasty stuff if you starve your engine of oil too long or smash into a barrier at 100 mph. your insurance wont cover any of the above either. even real performance cars sometimes have issues at a real track. so don't push your IS too hard. there's lots of compromise to a street car vs. a car that sees actual race duty. race tracks destroy purpose built six figure race cars. imagine what it'll do to a mass produced parking lot cruiser.

you'll be fine temps wise at autocross.

 

Biggest issue will be transmission temps. There is no external transmission cooler on a 3rd gen IS. They actually use the engine coolant to do it. I watched a video of a 350 FSport vs a Cadillac ATS at the track and both overheated quickly. The IS had a transmission temperature warning pop up after 3 laps I believe. My personal recommendation would be to be very careful you don’t want to burn the transmission fluid (Toyota WS trans fluid does not take high temps well). If it’s something you really wanna do and on a regular basis you should switch to AMSOIL or RedLine ATF (auto trans fluid) or invest in a aftermarket external trans cooler.

But quite a few ppl here have done track days and auto cross, so maybe one of them can chime in. But I vividly remembering watching that video of a 350 on the track overheating after a couple of laps.

 

ya it'll come down to what kind of track he's doing... autocross is very different from real track.

 

The reason I ask is because I've been with friends to the track before (my buddy took his stock base 2015 wrx) and we had a blast his oil temps didn't get too high but then again that's probably the functional hood scoop coming into play lol. And yeah i was worried about that "lifetime" transmission fluid. The track that i would be taking it would be Blackhawk Farms Raceway btw, so its not a really crazy track or anything either.

 

You could always invest in an ODB2 tool to monitor temps while doing your thing.

 

My transmission temps from regular daily driving fluctuate anywhere from 190 to 212. At what point is too hot? Beats me... jus thought I'd share that info. On average it's in the low 200s.

 

I have tracked my 3is never had any problem with transmission overheating issue. Although the longest time I spent on anyone session is around 10 minutes including warm up and cool down lap. I can around good 6 sessions a track day.​​​ I think the key is to get your car serviced prior and after the track day. Few of the things I do:
- Engine oil change before and after track day.
- tyres and brake pads
- transmission fluid change at 50k (best to change before your track day)
- Brake Fluid Dot 4 minimal changed yearly

Most important get the feel of car's limit and don't push beyond that, because at the end of the day you don't want to see your car write off with no insurance cover. You probably won't mind if your taking your $500 tin can honda Civic, but certainly not a 3is. Just enjoy the track, don't get to competitive as 3is is not a sports car and is not design that way.