bartkat

You left out the effective filter area. Start with a media of the same porosity, and make one filter with deeper pleats, and more area, and you get less pressure drop. Higher pressures, will sooner or later result from filter blinding, and particles will be pushed or pulled through the filter. The wider area filter will go much longer before it starts to blind, therefore making it more efficient. If you check, you'll find that K&N, and others of that type have more filter area via more depth of media plus a bigger filter area. That's how you get the lower DP in the beginning and how you also have a lower DP after the same amount of use.

I would assume that a lower pressure drop has absolutely nothing to do with the filtration efficiency. So, I consider this statement incorrect! <_< ← Why would you assume that?

Small IS350 Realplayer video http://car.nikkei.co.jp/stream/metafile/is.ram

Pics of the new IS in different colors http://car.nikkei.co.jp/gallery/index.cfm?i=20050418p1000p1

K&N filters are just fine as long as you clean and oil proplerly, which you don't have to do very often. I got the TRD filter for my IS300 since it's engineered for Toyota and has a really good fit. It's been on there now for 2 years. I had a K&N drop in filter on my '94 Firebird LT1 for 10 years and it was still on there when I sold the car. The very fact that you have a lower pressure drop across the filter improves the dirt holding and the filtration ability as well. I've had this type filter on 4 different cars now, with nary a problem. Add it to a good intake pipe and you will actually gain some noticeable HP. The best way to get whatever performance or mpg gains there may be is to reset the ECU after installation, so it learns the "new" airflow right away.

How can one reset the ECU? ← Disconnect the negative (BLACK) battery terminal for about 15-20 minutes, then take the car out and drive hard for 15-20 miles. Then, every once in awhile make a couple of hard runs. If you go back to a sedate driving style, the ECU will relearn that, but if you get on it occassionally, the ECU will learn that driving style.

Which one is the Ford?

Right. All the new Lexus look more like Pontiacs.

Sure, if that's alot different than your previous driving was. Also you've had some pretty crappy weather around Cleveland this winter, and that's not good for mileage. If you really want to test it, fill up and take off on the interstate and try running on cruise control for 100 miles or so, then return. Fill up again and figure your mileage. That will tell you for sure what the car can do. Maybe jump on the turnpike and head west away from the city to minmize traffic, etc, or maybe down I71 towards Columbus, if there isn't too much construction going on.

I dunno what the cd is for a 400h, but that's usually a problem with SUV's at speeds above 55 MPH.

When you get into 3 or 4 year old cars, it's the mileage that really counts, and of course, the previous maintenance. I bought my 2002, two years ago, (it was one year old at the time) and it had all the Lexus service records and updates. I've got 36,000 miles on it now and it's good as new. The I6 engine, properly maintained, will run for 200,000 miles quite easily. Besides, from an appearance standpoint, a 2001 and a 2005 don't really look any different. Mileage and condition are the biggies.

True story. I used to attend textile machinery shows quite regularly. They didn't allow cameras. Quite often we would go to look at a new European machine, and there would be Japanese guys with little notebooks and sketch pads swarming all over those machines.

There is no "true" CAI for the IS. The intake snorkel is up under the hood lip, so you are already getting cool air. You might want to consider a Prolex or JoeZ intake tube to eliminate the resonator box, and a TRD or other low resisitance drop in filter. Eibach ProKit springs is a good mild setup. You only get about 1" drop, so it's not radical, and adujstable Koni's work pretty well. Some might suggest coilovers, but that's a bigger expense and, IMHO, not a really good daily driver setup. My personal preference is stock exhaust, since the Lexus was meant to be quiet, and about all you get out of aftermarket exhaust is more noise, and a $500 to $700 hit on your wallet. Unless you plan to go FI, I don't think exhaust mods are really needed.

A similarly equipped 2005 new IS300 would price as follows. $34,615 MSRP $30,289 Dealer Invoice $31,435 True Market Value (what cars are actually selling for.)

That sounds about right for a private party sale. $16,752 Wholesale/trade in $18,753 Private sale $20,735 Dealer retail Clean Some normal wear but no major mechanical or cosmetic problems; may require limited reconditioning. http://www.edmunds.com/tmv/used/2001/lexus/is300/index.html

Here's a bunch of Japanese guys from Pontiac copying the IS.

The car won't shift to any higher gear than the one you have selected. If you are in "3", then 3 is as high as it will go. You won't hurt the car any though because when you hit red line, the engine will cut out. Downshifting too early might be a little jerky, but I don't think the car will get hurt. If you just drive in manual mode, and leave it set in "5", then the car will shift normally, you just have the option to use the steering wheel buttons if you wish.

If you remove the stickers, a shadow will always still show. There are some Lexus logo stickers you can buy that are just the right size to cover them up, though. http://www.is300.net/store/customer/produc...115&cat=&page=1

Reset your ECU, then go out and do some full throttle acceleration runs, then get on it every once in awhile for a couple hundred miles. This will make the ECU learn a more agressive driving style and you should see better performance. On IS300's this techinque has showed +15 HP between before and after dyno runs.

Germany isn't a good place to make MB's either, according to reliability reports from the last few years. Maybe it's a company problem.

If it looks good, inside and out, it would be hard to go wrong for $10K, IMHO>

http://response.jp/issue/2005/0418/article69949_1.html

If it doesn't sell, email the seller and make arrangements to go see it and drive it.

Yep, that's the first thing you should try. While you're at it, you may find a loose or corroded connection.

The only intake that I've seen that adds much power is the SRT. It comes with an add on ECU that allows the motor to take advantage of the extra air without causing a CEL. http://www.swiftracing.com/ Dyno of the HFI system vs. Stock: DYNORUN.001 = STOCK GS400 DYNORUN.004 = STOCK GS400 w/HFI system only