It's not fair to compare sports sedans to land yachts

 

Thats why you gotta swap an LS1 into the LS for the ultimate LS LS.

 

that is pretty damn funny... I guess that is why your name is "thinkin"!!!

 

Lets just say with a 4.3L, an above average fuel economy and the size of the LS, its quick on its feet. Is it one of the fastest? probably not, but then again it never pretended to be.

 

I know the Lexus website puts a few a bit faster, but real world, does not seem so. My first suprise was after I just bought my SC430 and the wife pulled ahead of me at a light. I don't know which model GS (this gen) it was, but I had an embarassing bit of road rage, and pulled ahead of one easily on the interstate before letting my McDonnalds Milk Shake fly out of the sunroof. (long story, she really deserved it). Recently a buddy with an IS350 got toasted by our 06 LS.

Lexus lists as follows 0-60
ES 6.8
LS460 5.4
GS 5.4 5.8
IS 5.6 8.3
ISC 5.8 8.4
SC 5.8

2006 LS430 5.9
http://www.topspeed.com/cars/lexus/2...430-ar647.html

It seems Lexus is getting a little off with the numbers. Edmonds clocks the LS460 and the GS well over six seconds.
http://www.edmunds.com/lexus/ls460/2010/testdrive.html

Lexus may list some other models as one or two tenths faster than an LS430, but from experience it is not the case. I think if you leave the F cars out of it, those of us with the last of the LS430 breed may be driving the quickest cars Lexus builds. As the primary driver of an SC430, I kind of wish this was not the case, but I give credit where due.

 

KaiserSea1,

Your 06' LS got a 6-speed where your 03' SC only got a 5-speed, that is one reason why your LS is quicker.

Also the heavy 20" wheels on your SC REALLY hurt low speed acceleration, if your LS got stock wheels, that is another big reason why your LS is quicker off the line

 

Really?!........

 

Not so much, my 20s weigh much less than my 18s. Much debated among the SC owners, no one has tested the models with 6 speeds faster than the 5 speeds. The SC430 performance remained the same from 02-10. This may indicate why sales have been so slow the past few years.

 

Your 20s are much bigger in diameter and width then the stock 18s, unless your 20s are some insane forged magnesium race wheels or carbon fiber wheels, which they are not. There is no way your 20s are lighter then the stock 18s.

Is just common sense, with everything being equal, 1 more gear equal quicker acceleration, even the top speed is higher due to the wider gear ratio. Even the offical Lexus performance claim # indicates it, see for yourself in the Lexus.com links I provided. To bad we live in opposite coast, or I can prove to you in my bone stock 06' SC430.

02-05 5-speeds: 0-60: 5.9 1/4: 14.4 143 mph
06-10 6-speeds: 0-60: 5.8 1/4: 14.3 149 mph

http://www.lexus.com/cpo/model_library/SC/2010.html

http://www.lexus.com/cpo/model_library/SC/2005.html

You are correct, slow sales is due to the car being very outdated.

 

I has a GS350 FWD not that good traded up for a GS 350 AWD better then went fro the 460L AWD and it kicked both their butts 0-60

BIG heavy car but very comfortable

 

I thought the GS350 was an RWD car.

 

My 2005 LS430 with throttle control sprint booster, and the engine running at peak performance, iv'e blown by faster cars on the road by baiting them and being aggressive.

 

As you can see from the posts preceding mine, no, the ls430 is not the second fastest Lexus.

A 98 gs400 will pull on an ls430. Bit then again, as before, its all about perspective. It certainly does get out of its own way, but it isn't "fast" in the most remote sense of the word.

 

I would have preferred had Lexus geared the car for more down low torque instead of power in the upper RPMS.

For a car this size, the power is fine and nothing to be ashamed about, but you really have to lay into it to get it to move.

My wife's GX470 has a much better powerband for my taste, the power is right off the line. More useable power in day to day driving. It "feels" faster even though it's not.

 

I feel like the LS has plenty of torque.... It's no LS1 small-block, but when I drive I barely go over 2300rpm--and still beat traffic...