mallninja

I owned a Chevrolet SS Sedan prior to the IS-F and the Chevrolet certainly knows how to build great cars. I felt the SS was a better drivers' car and was more engaging to drive. The magnetic shocks was the best thing since sliced bread, the LS3 was a charming engine, and a manual transmission just sealed the deal. I only felt the Chevrolet lacked the refinement that the IS excels at. I only hear better things about the Alpha platform and what the SS could have been if it was allowed one more run on the newer chassis.

isfvss

Its a Holden SS made in OZ with GM running gear. I have owned and driven many even the HSV LS1,2,3 and they are nice but NO WHERE NEAR THE FUN A TUNED ISF GIVES and the build quality is slack. The last ever Holden SS , 304KW FOR A LS3 a bit slow RIP GMH.

I8ABMR

hey guys !!! I just wanted to pop in and say THANK YOU to all of the members with the kind words. I LOVE LEXUS !! Always will but just wanted for focus from my car. My issue is NOT with the ISF at all. The ISF was a solid attempt for Lexus but the RCF and GSF are far from competitve. When I was looking to replace the ISF or modify it I looked at like this.......I can drop $9000 to add ECU, headers, intake, RR penske coils, plus install on a car that is worth $26,000 and has 72,000 miles on the clock or simply drop $3000 on a new lease for a track car. I shopped the ZL1, GT350, and the RCF. The RCF was so light in the resume that I literally didnt even get out to test drive the RCF the second time I went back. The RCF was too small inside for me, engine was torqueless, BUT its a sexy *** car and I love the interior.

The reason I went with the Camaro. The power, the focus, the tech, and the power lol. Anyone who knows me knows I HATE GM. I have never been a fan BUT I had also never driven a Chevy spprts car because, like many of us, we all think they are trash. I used to scream it from the roof tops. Then one day I saw the Motor Trend video and was bored and decided to just pop in and see what they look like. Didnt even know where a Chevy dealer was lol. When i arrived the dealer opened it up and started it and I was amazed. Noy by the noise but by the INTERIOR!! The interior is covered In Alcantara, theres a Heads up display, Apple car play, drive mode, Traction management , and so many great design features that blew mt mind. I went home and couldnt sleep for 2 weeks deciding . I went back to test drive it a second time and this time actually put the car in sport mode and played with the PTMS and OH MY DAMN !!!!!!!!!!! LMAO I was SOLD !!! The performance was insane, the handling seems super natural, and I cant get this thing to understeer no matter what !!

I usually get emotional when I trade in my cars, but this was the easiest. I loved that ISF, you guys could tell Im sure, but that is how good this ZL1 is. I honestly feel like Im driving a 2 door CTSV. Its so quiet and refined inside and roooooomy ! especially for my BIG ***. The duality is like no other car Ive ever driven. Dr Jekyly and Mr. Hyde BIG TIME!!

I leased because its still a Chevy and I want to track it and trash it in 3 years for another car. I guess after decades of tuning cars I got tired of chasing it. Trying to make cars something they arent at a large cost that I never get back because I do part out I part ways usually. Thats why i modded less and less. Just makes more financial sense to take that 10-12k and just buy a new car that doesnt need to be modified as much or at all. I have put 1500 miles on this thing and Id have to be high to mod this car. it doent need a thing . ITS SCARY FAST..........LIKE VIOLENT ACCELERATION !!

I have signed Carmella ( my name for her) up for Big Willow, Chuckwalla, Mondo, and Wild Horse Pass . WHP is this Saturday !! I asm so excited to see what thins can do. I have an appt for full fluid change on oil, trans, and diff on monday !!

Back to Lexus, So my critique isnt with the ISF, its with the RCF and GSF and frustration of being an F fan and fanatic who feels like he would be foolish to move into a new F car BECAUSE THEY ARE SLOWER OR EQUAL. How could I take my $70,000 budget and buy a GSf or RCF and feel good about it knowing all I did was be a fan boy and bought an inferior car ( performancewise )? They gave us nothing extra in 10 years of development of the F car other than 51hp and a drop of extra torque. Where's the BEEF!? Where is the torque? All we got were heavier cars, that are less competitve in its class than the ISF was. We got the TVD which was great but how about actual performance from the performance line?? its not there.

Like I said in my video I wil always respect and love Lexus but I am just not going to be an owner right now. I am in awe that GM sells the ZL1 doe the same price as an RCF. Its a dollar to dollar performance comparison. To say the RCF isnt in the same class isnt totally correct. If I want a go fast 70k car I looked at the RCF and even the M4 but both are a joke performancewise compared to the ZL1 and the ZL1 was more comfortable.

I guess it goes back to the old exspression , " its not what you buy, its what you build"............well thats one way to do it, but what Ive learned is that engineers know what they are doing. Its all about balance. Adding power to a car is not the key. handling, braking, and chasis cant keep up. then you start modding all parts of the car to balance it but at what cost and is it really faster or more reliable that way?

To each his own, I just wanted more focus in my next car and Lexus failed to beat really anything I was looking at. It made me sad, confused, frustrated, and angry. I felt like they let me down. Like the road had ended with no sign. I couldnt go any further with them.

I8ABMR

There was one more thing that I wanted to mention. When we drive special cars like we do it's fun to have people acknowledge it. Feels great. What I noticed is even with my beautiful red ISF Lexus guys wouldn't even look or comment. It was rare as F for someone to say, " hey nice car man ". With the ZL1 I CONSTANTLY have men , women, adults, kids, and even had a cop stop me to tell me he loved the car. ( scared the F out of me lol) . No I do not buy a car for people to fawn over but it does feel great to drive a car that people seem to really like and they actually know of. I've never owned a car that got attention like this. I walked out of a CVS store and had a group of 4 kids around the car taking pics. I get thumbs up from
so many people. Again it's not primary but it feels good 😊. Opposite of having Lexus guys tell you their F sport is an F too or having your service advisor call it an F sport. They also only let master techs work on Z cars ( Zl1 and Z06).

I am have to say I am also loving the Chevy app on the phone ! So cool and so convenient . It has all the cars vital information like tire pressure, oil life, cars position, manual, self start and stop, and you can even book a service appt from the phone. Recalls and TSBs all show up on the app so notices are so much faster .

Also the Apple Car play!! How can Lexus not have apple car play?!?! It's the newest latest tech and is amazing. My phone becomes the dash display so it's easy and familiar to use. Siri becomes your car!!

PTMS ( performance traction management ) allows you to slowly loosen traction control and then to even turn off stability control while maintaining traction control . It's amazing because you can drive this 650 ho car even as a novice .

I felt like I made so Many assumptions about Chevy based on what I heard in the past. What turned me was just going to look. My God even sales experience was amazing relative. No arguing, no fights, I told him I wanted the car for X, and I wanted x for my ISF with the mods and he agreed over email. I just walked in after work Friday night , signed, and drove away.
It was painless! It was the only car I ever bought where I didn't get really emotional about leaving my old car and my F was the best car I've ever had ........... that's how good the ZL1 is. As far as I know I am the second CL ISF owner to buy a ZL1. Met the other guy ( nice guy) on the Camaro 6 forums !


An in depth review of the ZL1 that I did on YouTube and some other stuff

Jz39

iTrader: (2)

Awesome review and glad you are enjoying it! I understand what you say about the Camaro drawing attention—in my earlier post I noted that my base model rental had a kid rubbernecking it as I drove by and then another Camaro owner wave to me in my base model...

Enjoy!

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

cant argue with performance per dollar for the newer american performance cars

FFM

If that’s your primary goal, then I agree. Otherwise, I don’t feel they do anything else very well.

Check back in a couple years on how those interiors are holding up lol.

suprasupra

You mean like all of the ISFs with the doors melting! LOL

FFM

No idea what you guys are talking about. 11 with 120k on the clock not a single thing deteriorating and none of the “common” mechanical issues to date.

Climate can play just as big of a role as the owner in certain cases.

suprasupra

The Lexus is a great car and my wife is enjoying our 2012 as her daily driver, but the ZL1 may be the best overall bang for the buck fun car out there . Here are a few pics of mine and a buddies ZO6 my Camaro ( The Mullet LOL) stayed right with it from a 5 -10 MPH roll thru 4 gears I also had a rider in mine( he was alone) pretty impressive that it was that even.
I think the ZO6 is faster but not by much.
I'm still an ISF owner who thinks its a great car but for track duty not even in the same league.

Vitveet

2 good looking cars^^^!

V.

5ltrv8

Have you tracked your ZL1?

Weapon F

This must be the longest farewell in club Lexus history LOL.😆😅🤣😂

RRRacing

iTrader: (1)

He has a facebook page called "F the Track." I so enjoyed getting daily, even hourly updates from him, and now, in a span of a few weeks I think he changed the page to "F Lexus," go figure

I've said this many times. The ISF and RCF are great cars, but out of the box, they are not great track cars. I don't think anyone who buys these cars is under the illusion that they are going to be breaking lap records. BTW, that goes for many other similar cars, like ATS-V's, M3/M4's, Porsche's (anything short of a latest 911, GT3, etc), all of these cars are great cars, but not great track cars.

and here is some more food for thought... I think that true track driving is about skill, not necessarily about power and theoretical lap times. The vast majority of drivers would crash the ZL1 without all the nannies saving your ***. With performance traction management, you can literally floor the 650hp ZL1 in a corner and nothing bad will happen.

So that said, a few little stories:

(1) I used to tune STi's for many years. When the EVO9 came out, we did a back-to-back gymkhana test comparing similarly tuned 2005 STi and EVO9. With a good amateur driver at the wheel, the EVO9 was 3 seconds faster. With a pro driver (former Formula 2 driver) the cars were even. The answer is simple... the mechanical diffs on the STi require a driver to have skill to maneuver the car... the EVO on the other hand uses a very advanced yaw a sensors and electronically controlled diffs that will get the car to turn and point wherever you steer it (much like the GTR). The computers are hard at work and literally compensate for bad driving! So which is a better car for the track? Depends on if you are trying to be a better driver or get a faster lap time...

(2) I was at NJMP track day chatting with the owner of Phoenix Performance. In case you guys don't know, Phoenix is a professional race team that runs vettes and 911's in Pirelli World Challange and other race series. The owner is also a pro driver who purchased a c7 Z06 for himself. He swears that he does not turn off PTM, because in his words everyone who does, even highly experienced drivers, inevitably crash.

Put this into perspective, a c7 Z06 has about 150hp more than the C6R Corvette that won Le Mans

So in the end of the day, if you are looking for a "true" track car, there are many very fast cars you can buy, like the ZL1, Z06, or GTR. But are they great track cars? What is the end game with these cars when their stability and traction systems are so incredibly advanced that they are literally doing a significant portion of the driving for you? The only thing they cant do yet is to correct a drivers steering inputs, and that is coming very soon as more and more cars are switching to completely autonomous electric steering, without any mechanical connection between the steering wheel and the wheels!

Soon you will be able to take your car to the track and put it into autonomous mode, then brag about your car's lap times, even though you weren't even in the car, lol

Anyway, just my opinion...

Rafi

mk416

In other words, those guys with old Civics breaking lap times on the track are better than you with a world-class ZL1, GTR, Z06.