I don't own a 350 yet, but I am seriously considering one to replace my 2000 Mustang GT. I need four doors and a more useable rear seat. However, one of the things I crave is the sound of my Mustang GT.

How does the 350 sound? I realize it would not sound like a V8 engine, but it still has 6 cylinders and 3.5 liters of displacement so it should sound pretty good. Can it be heard from inside the cabin at all?

If anyone could post sound clips, I would appreciate it.

 

Beyond the sound, inspect the back seats and check if it is more "usable." For some people, it isn't enough. It may be enough for you but you have to be the judge of that.

As for the sound, it's not "throaty" as a Mustang. You barely hear it in the cabin unless you push it around. Hey, Lexus prefers luxury and quiet comfort over performance and aggressive sound...

 

you can get TRD exaust and make it a bit louder... I doubt you will have problems with back seat, coming from Mustang, I drove V6 2001 for a while and only way someone could sit behind would be to but their legs on the seat and behinds at the top of the seats :-).

In Mustang you hear everything, so IS will not be anywhere like that... do an test drive and check it out...

 

If it's just the lack of a throaty sound that bothers you, be sure to get of of these.

Seriously, the IS350 is simply very different from the Mustang GT in character. If you can't prepare yourself for a change, you'll probably have to stick to one of those American muscles.

 

I don't expect a V8 sound, but I'd like a sporty sound. The 330i and G35 I test drove sounded sporty from inside the cabin. It looks like from the responses that the exhaust and engine noise is muted on IS from inside the cabin. A mild aftermarket exhaust should help.

As for rear seat, I don't see how it could be any worse than my mustang. The Lexus front leg room is two inches more and the rear leg room is about one inch more (according to edmunds.com). I think the extra front leg room translates into a large cabin overall. The big difference is having four doors. I have a young child (2.5 years old) and getting him into his booster seat is much easier with four doors.

 

you can get the HKS exhaust system through lexus parts. Ask your parts department to check their newest parts catalog. It is listed in there! I was shocked when I saw the HKS logo

 

Well, I drove one this weekend and the car is super quiet. For a car that's marketed as a sports sedan, I was disappointed with the lack of sound. Oh well, that's what the aftermarket is for.

 

My S60R lease is up in May so if I want a 350/Nav/ML/Sport I'm going to have to order it sometime in December or the first part of January. I was thinking of adding the HKS exhaust. Does anyone know if it can be done at the factory or is it a port or dealer install?

Would assume its a rather simple bolt on swap. Right?

 

I can't wait for someone who gets the Lexus HKS exhaust system on their new IS to post a video clip of the sound.

Who will be the first? I really want to hear it.

 

My TRD USA guys said that the HKS sound is civilize. Oh! for ones asking why not a TRD exhuast? The answer is. Lexus is trying it's very best to be apart from the Toyota nameplate. One thing he mentioned is getting Toyota or Lexus to accept aftermarket brands is very difficult. It has to go through a lot of testing and it's specs must be approved with regidity. I also ask him why not create factory wheels that has aftermarket looks and he said it basically comes down to approving specs and making sure the wheels fits very well with the car.

 

I'm not surprised. I'm sure Lexus tested a few exhausts and chose the one that would still be pretty mild. That's ok with me, I wouldn't want a crazy loud IS 350, just something you can barely hear inside the interior while driving.

[/QUOTE] I also asked him why not create factory wheels that has aftermarket looks and he said it basically comes down to approving specs and making sure the wheels fits very well with the car.[/QUOTE]

The IS brochure I picked up this weekend had two optional 18" wheels pictured in towards the back pages. One is G-Spider and the other is called ISP Mode.

 

hm, doesnt HKS do exausts for TRD anyway? :-).
So the question is why call it HKS, instead of TRD... and thats probably to not associate it with Toyota...

 

I know that the the HKS exhaust that everyone is talking about is supposed to increase the "sporty" sound of the IS. Does anyone know if it'll add any power too? I've never added an aftermarket exhaust to any car before so, if someone can enlighten me to the pros (other than the sound) of adding the HKS exhaust, I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks in advance,
Erock

 

it SHOULD be much lighter. hopefully the HKS exhaust will weight less than 12lbs (15 at most, but even that is too much imo)... my guess is the stock exhaust is somewhere around 40-45lbs.

i have yet to see a full shot of the exhaust so I am not sure how constricted the exhaust will be, but if you take a look at the stocke exhaust there are resonators everywhere and it is not a true duel exhaust (though i doubt the HKS available exhaust will be a true duel).

unsprung weight, less constriction, and nicer looking tips are reasons why someone would get teh exhaust (plus the sound)

I will wait to see what it actually looks like though before I buy the exhaust

 

The exhaust would actually be SPRUNG weight.