This is my first time posting a thread on this website, i came across it when i was researching about the car and i really like the way how the people here interact with eachother, and help each other out. Anyways, after looking for the right car to buy for 7 months, I ended up purchasing a new 05 RX 330 AWD, and the wait was definitely worth while. I've been careful not to overrev the engine (trying not to get it above 3500RPM) But the thing that intrigued me the most about the car is its posted acceleration by Lexus, which claims that it can accelerate from 0-100 in 7.8 seconds. AAHHH it's soo tempting to weld the pedal to the ground with my foot, but i've only done 300miles, and i care about the car's long run performance as much as its "instantaneous" performance. But is it true that it can accelerate that fast? Has anyone actually tried it before (c'mon I'm sure a bunch of you have!!) And for how many more miles is it recommended that i drive it easy before unleashing full throttle? For a person who used to drive a 740iL (my dad's), i sometimes really miss a good acceleration, that i drive the beamer again instead of the lexus, just to get that good ol feeling back inside me again

 

Welcome to ClubLexus!

Joe, that's 0 - 60 (not 100) in 7.8 seconds . I haven't read any specifics for Lexus engines, but typically you baby an engine during break in for the first 1,000 miles.

 

Thanks Dave. Sorry about the mix up, i live in asia, so i'm used to kilometers rather than miles.I meant 100kmph which would be about 62 mph.

 

Nope, try 0-60 mph in 8.9 seconds for the awd RX330. You would be very lucking to get anything under 8 seconds in a fwd RX330. Problem? Too heavy and not enough power. If our RX's came with the new 3.5 V6 in the Avalon (probably this fall/winter) and had at its 280hp, sure much better 0-60's but with the current 230hp engine?

 

setup on Germany Autobahn last Tuesday, March 1st:

Tachometer reading 104 km/h equivalent to 100 km/h as per GPS reading.
measured 3 times :
1. 7.0 sec
2. 7.3 sec
3. 7.2 sec

no luggage, 3 passengers, around 70 kg each

 

You may have mixed it up with the RX300's 0-60 mph performance number. The AWD RX300 do it in 8.8 sec.

The AWD RX330 can do it in 7.8 sec., FWD RX330 can do 7.5.

 

I think the engine is fine; if that lag wasn't there between first & second, I'm sure that would shave off at least 0.2 - 0.5 seconds off the 0-60.

 

Joe, my "buttometer" tells me that Lexus' quoted figure is likely close. However, it's not the most mellifluous engine note above about 4.5k, a bit un-Lexus like even.

And Dave is right; try to resist the temptation until your breakin period has elapsed.

 

+ 10 for increasing our word power for the day

 

I remember reading somewhere that my RX does 8.8 secs at sea level I assume and something like 16.8 for the 1/4 mile.

That being said, I have no way of truly verifying this as I am at altitude and my 60 foot times in the 1/4 mile vary between 2.7 and 3.0+, which I understand is slow for sea level but fast for where I live. In a 1/4 mile at about 7,300 feet (where one track is), I regularly clock 18.5, but if I go up to about 8,600 feet (at the other track) I can barely get better than 19.0.

I have seen Cherokee V8s and Mercedes ML350 struggle to get anything better than a 19.0 at the 7,300 foot track.

I have buddies with 10-second sea level vehicles that can rarely get lower than 13.5

Do not laugh, I have seen fellow Gringo racers come UP HERE and cry at their times.

Neversatisfied, so true about the lag between 1st and 2nd you are mentioning and I feel it even more up here. However, the RX does roar to life in the high gear.

TG my reaction times are in the .500s

Saludos from Mexico.

 

Professional driver logs the test drive number. Cars have better hp after breaking in.
For your own experiement, don't just leave it to D when accelerating from zero, rev up the engine in N to high RPM, shift into 1, go to redline, then 2 and so on. It is hard to do with automatic, but that is why professional drivers logs faster time.

 

Actually that depends on the vehicle. Some cars have less horsies after breaking-in according to Car & Driver long term tests.

Dropping the clutch is not how pros do it. That's how people abuse rental and loaner cars. The correct way to get fast time with automatic is brake-torquing. Leave it in D, step hard on the brake with your left foot, and rev the engine. Let go the brake when the light turns green.

Lexmex you might want to try this on the track to see if you can get better time. It will improve your reaction time as well. Good luck and let me know how it goes.

 

If you are referring to powerbraking, I am actually doing that now.

I have experimented with a variety of different methods, including PWR button, overdrive, flooring it. Not too much difference, with a variation of .3 on the 1/4 mile.

Only conclusion I came to was that it made sense to leave the overdrive on.

Doing this only gets the RPM up to 2,000. I hate to try anything else for fear of messing with the tranny as I am over 800 miles away from a Lexus dealership and Toyota, although helpful, cannot do a thing here when it comes to major repairs.

Whenever I do anything other than powerbrake, my reaction times are like .600+

I usually let her fly just before the third light. Going on the third light does .600s

Up here, you really need to shovel in air and my recent bullhorn mod does that, but have been too busy to test it at the track.

Turbos can lag big time up here sometimes, but superchargers are always consistent.

 

I noticed my 00 RX AWD will shift gear around 2000-2300 rpm if you leave it at D, PWR will shift at 4000, but that is not optimum since you will never reach RX's high hp band near high rpms. If you are powerbraking, don't you leave it at 1 instead?

 

I checked my altitude number again after someone gave me incorrect ones, it should be 7,300 feet and 8,600 feet above. He gave me the wrong meters for conversion.

I have tried on a powerbrake leaving at 1,000 RPM, but still not much difference, in fact a little worse. Earlier this year, I did go on a not so busy night and just ran different tests. Overdrive on seems to be a must, but I found little difference between PWR and just flooring it. Though 99% of the time I leave PWR on.

When I go for records, I find that often leaving PWR off and just flooring it will help me.

That may be due to the fact that I drive with a lead foot (you would if you had the freedom of driving you have in Mexico).

But in pure competition, especially bracket races, I always powerbrake.

My record up here is an 18.416

Only thing I remember about that night is that I think I accidentally overfilled my oil a little that day, and I felt a little more pressure.

I am not sure if my math is right, but it seems that every 400 meters and lower, I drop about .5 in time. My approximation puts me at about 15.75 in the 1/4 mile at sea level. That might seem about right as my times were about 19.6 or so when I first set foot on the track with my RX as stock and given the fact I am about 18.5 now.

I still need to try my bullhorn intake to see if the increase in air gives it a nudge on the time. Will keep you posted.