smooth1

Agreed. But I haven't seen a single car in the history of car making that was purchased by several thousand people, and not one of them had a complaint of some sort about the car. Heck, I know the owner of a Bugatti Veyron, ($ 1.4 million car!), and even he does some snivelling about the car! One day I imagine we will be able to go into some computer program and design and create our very own personal transporter via some yet undiscovered Nano technology. But until then, under 40K, when I view the available selections that represent my requirements, ( 4 doors, look great, descent gas mileage yet fast enough not to be pushed around, toys and luxury stuff, and not to mention going to the Lexus service dept. is way nicer than the Ford, or Chevy places, and most other for that matter,) , the Lexus IS 350 fit the bill pretty nicely. We allways want more power. We allways want better gas mileage, we allways want more. I have an IS 300 that came stock with 200 hp. that wasn't enough...so I installed a turbo and went to 450 hp. that was great!, but after awhile, I wanted faster than that!, So I got a bigger turbo, and a stronger motor, and now we are looking at going to 1000 hp! Should be pretty fast. We'll see. ;)

tien coilovers if your still wanting advice. I would get the CS.

There are no "cheap" reliable turbos. You get what you pay for. I would look at the SRT system, or the Turbonetics system. They also make the rev hard system, but the T-60 turbo they use in the regular system is a ball bearing, very fast spooling turbo. I ran it at 12 psi on a 2JZ and made over 400 rwhp. But don't forget, you can't just drop a turbo in your set up. You need to go to a 3'' exhaust to keep the back pressure from destroying you turbo, which is another grand, and the new AEM fic is the way to go hands down for fuel mgmt. and tuning. Your gonna spend $7500 or more. That's just the cost of doing business at the finish line.

I can tell you that AAC has the same issues. Although I also heard they have a new ballast system. I don't think the new ballast addresses the cold issue, I think it's just a better ballast. Those ccfl's look alot differrent also. When i was working with the AAC ccfl's they were really fragile. Are those thicker? they look like they have the ccfl tubing and then have a case around that?

LOL!!! I like smoothies. :) we have Planet Smoothies nearby, and I usually get a Vinnie Del Rocco or a Shag a Delic. Yummy!! I don't understand thier sizes though. A small is enouph to make a meal, and a large smoothie would put a strain on the US gross national product import tables!!! Who can drink that much fruit? Anyway,,, I'm probably more of a Coconut. I like to hear peoples opinions and subject them to my own, debate subjective ideas, and even create new ones. But here on the forum one of the "rules" I like, is that they all have to be based on facts and correct information. Otherwise we all just end up posting a bunch of BS and there is no integrity. For example, if you or someone here had posted " The Lexus IS 250 produces 204 hp and according to the torque curve, 90% is available at around 2k rpm to redline, but even with those numbers, I am not happy with the amount of pull I feel in the car, and wish there was more there." I could understand that and respect that. But to simply state that the facts of the data are just a bunch of lies and your "butt dyno" is more accurate and knows that there is no way that the IS 250 is producing the numbers that Lexus states is somewhat ridiculous. Even your example of a good race car driver and a tuner that can detect changes. very correct. But in a very controlled and specific enviornment. Your talking about a three man person. The mechanic, the tuner and the driver. They have to work as one to be able to produce the right combination of torque, horsepower, grip, suspension settings, gearing, and confidence for the current track conditions. Your reference about the driver telling the crew about how the car responds to input and adjustments they have made, and his or her's ability to detect minor adjustments. Imagine if they had to set up that 1 car for 10 drivers. You think all 10 drivers, even being professionals would all come to the same conclusions? Someone would walk away all upset about how the car enters a corner to sloppy, and another would not be happy that the suspension is too stiff. And yet another would like the power to come on earlier in the rpm band while another would argue that it makes the car to jumpy. They would all have to make some sacrifices in thier own prefrences. Well, when it came to the IS, someone was afraid of too much acceleration, and wanted to be able to apply the gas without having thier head being jerked back everytime, and others wanted more acceleration and loved the speed. Someone else wanted good gas mileage and thought a smaller engine would be good, while someone else said forget mileage, I want power, and hence came the ISF! Thankfully Lexus saw that they couldn't fill all the varying expectations so made 3 IS versions. I actually applaud Lexus for their attempts and hope they continue. Until 1989, the European car companies have had a lock on the Luxury car market, and now, they are getting a test on the luxury performance vehicles as well. Nissan just came out with the GTR rocket!!!, Lexus has the ISF, and is rumored to be working on the GSF. The LFA should be coming soon, a V10 Lexus super car!!, Acura is redesigning the NSX, and Cadillac just spanked the BMW class M5 with the new CTS! ( we'll see about that though, I'm kinda skeptical, but I am open to the idea of an american car whoopin a BMW.)

Why, it's sooooo easy! All you do is wipe it on with a cotton towel.

LOL! Do I qualify?

Well, if you have the 2+1 performance chip for $6.95 + shipping and handling, that's good for 75 hp and an additional 20 miles per gallon. ( I'm not making that up, it really says that on the website!), Then put on the Turbonator for $89.95, which is good for another 30 hp, Then add the new Sonic Spark plugs, ( http://www.enginebrain.com/ ) that's good for another 15 hp. Then put on the ever so popular throttlebody spacer for another 25 hp gain, Then you'll be ready to use the new Torque Master latest and greatest oil additives for another 15 hp, as it super lubricates everything, Add Marvel Comics X-Cooler to the radiator for another 10 hp gain as it lets your motor run cooler, then don't forget the Future Science direct from the space shuttle program for a new Magnesium based fuel additive that just give you a 15% gain acroos the boards!! Truly a performance add on that can't be missed!! Then you will need to purchase the latest Chip Foose Design Speed stickers which is garrenteed to take seven tenths off your quarter mile time. Then coat the entire car in that new Alien technology paint sealant that actually reduces co-efficient drag by 45%, and helps reduce the weight of the vehicle by 15%! So, for less then $200.00 bucks, you can have a real rocket! Just look for yourself:

Hahahaha!! You probably don't have have the Ebay cold air MAF resistor set up correctly. Cause that's good for another 30 hp easy!!

I have especially enjoyed the "Turbonator" ads that have been running. How dumb can people be?

It suffices to say this is not the "Pursuit of Perfection" as it was claimed. 204 hp is a lot if a car is really equpped with a 204 hp you'd feel it. Peak? You would not get 204 even if you rev the engine up to 7k rpm. I may sound odd to you but still entitled to say my opinion and I am always against fraud. Well, I don't think it's Lexus' fault that you don't understand the mechanical application of hp and torque. All manufacturers state horsepower created at the flywheel, or crank horsepower as it's called in the garage. As the motor produces hp, and sends it thru the torque converter, then thru the transmission, then down the drive shaft, thru the differential, and to the rear axles, the most usable horsepower and torque numbers are produced there. But typically you see a 15-20 % loss of hp from the crank to the rear wheels. Every dyno run and sheet I have seen on the IS 250 falls right into that. I think your expectations of a 2.5 liter is just not founded by any facts. The IS250 was marketed to look good, and get better gas mileage. The IS 250 does 0-60 in 7.5 seconds, which by the way is .2 seconds faster than the Audi A4 Turbo!, and does the 1/4 mile in 15.8 seconds, which is tied with the A4 Turbo. While the A4 has a nice mid RPM pull once the turbo spools up, the IS 250 does have a very wide torque curve. Also, Never be overly concerned with the peak hp number. That number is only produced for about a second or 2 before you shift to the next gear, The bigger, more important number is the average hp number. And the weight of the car. Those are the better numbers to go by. And once you see that the IS 250 produces a 130 average hp ( which is the real everyday driving number, then you would have gotten a much better scale for the butt dyno to judge to). Let me break this down further. A 2 liter 4 cylinder engine, that produces 250 hp, a 3 liter V6 that produces 250 hp, and a 4 liter V8 that produces 250 hp. If they were all put in equal weighted vehicles, do you think they all would be equally fast? I'll give you the 2 liter, and I'll take the 4 liter, and we can go and race. Edit*- I just found this: http://www.edmunds.com/apps/vdpcontainers/...28/pageNumber=2 Are you not getting these performance numbers? Well, I don't think I need to do Dyno or any other theoretical tests; did you examine the tests conditions? Where in the world would you find these conditions? Why won't these guys think of reality rather than cosmetics and falsification of reality? You are happy with 64% efficiency (130hp/204hp). I drove other vehicles which their nominal output hp is less than what Lexus claim the IS250 has and they are more powerful and faster than the IS; I guess these car manufacturers are naive, they should prorate their hp by a 100/64 factor. Speaking about the link you provided, here what they wrote at the end: Squeaks & Rattles Other than the whining-gear sounds emanating from our car's manual transmission, this IS 250 was squeak and rattle free. They rated it 8/10. Is this right? When these bogus things are to stop and we get real trustworthy assessments? As I pointed out before, we're going down as far as quality concerned; not only in auto industry but in other industries, I gave an example from the software, where MS is going down year after year. There are some exceptions though. Good luck and do not take it personal What are you talking about? Test conditions? 64 degrees and 57% humidity at 1100 feet above sea level is some secret formula for showing bigger numbers? I live in Florida. We have many a Saturday night Test and tune runs at the Orlando Speedway. From December to May, there are many nights with even better conditions, and we are under 500 feet to sea level. ( The lower you are to sea level, the more oxygen or concentrated the oxygen levels are, which help produce more hp. Also colder air contains more oxygen. So, at 55 degrees, with 30% humidity, at or just above sea level would produce more hp, and an even better time, let's say a 15.5, and someone in the mountians of Colorado posted a 17.2 1/4 mile, you can use that same formula that shows the corrected time which accounts for the elevation and temp. So you can compare the numbers. Gaugster's time is right in the ball park to prove that the time and numbers they show are very close. What's your problem? No, that's why I bought an IS 350. With 270 rear wheel hp, to your 160 ish rear wheel hp, I get to look back at you and wave bye-bye as I run 0-60 in just under 5 seconds to your 7.5 and drop 1/4 mile times in about 13 seconds which is about a full 3 seconds faster.( I'm grinning while I type this by the way.) Really? what cars are you talking about specifically? Let's not forget that gearing does play a role here as well, but even in that case, lower gearing will feel like a stronger take off, but lose their breath quickly, and hence in the quarter mile they can actually be slower. So what cars are you doing this comparison too? As for the rest of what you wrote, I think you have to remember that most all magazines, test panels and review systems are a conjunction, and a collective of opinions. You don't have to agree with them. You can have your own opinion. I very often disagree with test panels and reviews of cars. That's why I don't buy them. Which is why I'm wondering how and why you bought an IS250?

Welcome to the LOC. 17's were stock on the 03. Michelin pilot's or the BFGoodrich Pole positions. Quiet, great tread, strong shoulders for quick turn response. If you do a search on the forums you'll find tons of info. We have gone over this more than a few times. Especially in the wheels and tires forum.

And no you don't charge sales tax. When they apply for a new title the DMV will charge the tax accordingly.

When they called, I just arranged a time and place to meet, and when they go to drive it, I take thier liscence and put it in my pocket, then I let them drive with me in the car. Bring a friend to raise your comfort level if you need.

Mazda makes a good product. Ford and Mazda are actually good vehicles mechanically. I had a 1996 MAzda B2300 pick up that I bought new, drove it for 162,000 miles over 8 years. Then it became the "shop truck" and another 100K put on it. Never a problem. Only routine maintenances and tires. The cable on the lift gate broke. So I stand corrected. I paid $36 bucks for a new set and replaced them in 15 minutes. The Mazda 3 has gotten alot of well deserved good reviews. I'm not crazy about the looks of the 3, but that's a personal taste thing. It's good that your doing the tranny fluid and keeping up on the stuff most people ignore. If you plan on having that car for a long time, it's only to your benefit. As for "Lexus-izing" the Mazda, hahahahahaha!!! My wife drives a Volvo S40 turbo. She refused to let me do any work outside of factory replacements and repair for the first 5 years she's owned it. She said she was very happy with it, and wanted it to stay that way. I respected her wishes and did as she requested. About a year ago over dinner she said the Volvo didn't seem as peppy as it used to be. And she was getting hung out to dry going thru this certian road that drops from 3 lanes to 2 lanes about 1/2 mile after a stop light. I told her I would take a look at her car for her. So after going over it, I determined that the car was just getting a bit older, and everything was working fine, maybe it was time for a new car. She refused saying she loves her car. So I said alright, and decided I would dig deeper and take the turbo out and inspect it and make sure it was in good repair. So I took the turbo out, and ( Man was that a tiny turbo! It looks more like a toy turbo than a real one!, So, without geting her permission, I sort of "upgraded" the turbo, and put in an aftermarket air intake system. I cleaned the 02 sensors real good, and replaced the exhaust system. The car was still stock quiet though. MAybe a decibel or two louder, but not noticable. So I took it out for a test drive and at the first stop sign proceeded to light up the front tires!!! Smoked em for about 40 feet and chirped second!! I thought "Oh $hit!!!, that's way too much, she's gonna kill me!" But it was late in the evening and I figured I would back the turbo down a bit for her in the morning and make it more "wife friendly." So I go inside to wash up for dinner and while I was in the shower she came home and grabbed up the keys and took it for a drive. When I got out of the shower, she was already gone. All I could do was grin from ear to ear as she pulled up in the driveway. I didn't say anything. She didn't say anything. We ate dinner talked about our day, and regular business. Nothing was said about the Volvo. About bedtime she comes over to me and says," Yeah, so about the car." And proceeded to thank me like only a loving wife could!! LOL!! She loves it! She doesn't want me to do anything else to it, but what I did do she says is awsome. She blows by those guys now and takes em to school at the light!! LOL!!! Iv'e had to replace the front tires in 25k miles ! Those were 60k mile tires on there!!! She is thinking rims now, but we'll see. So atleast now I have an understanding spouse. I love it when she braggs to her friends about her car! It's great.

I put my 03 IS300 in Auto Trader for 24k, and it sold in 10 days, buyer showed up with a certified check. We went to the bank, I cashed it and deposited it, we went to the DMV and turned in the tag and I signed over the title right there. Iv'e sold alot of cars that way.

If your having that much of an issue, I would strongly consider a tranny cooler. $150.00 might save alot of wear and tear on the tranny and make the fluid last alot longer.

Gaugster, I would really like to see your "after" timeslips if you get a chance. And what intake, headers and exhaust combination you decide to go with. I have seen alot of people get,,,,"more hp" and end up actually being slower on the strip. I'm not saying or implying in the least that is the case here. In fact, after reading and seeing some of the results that Mazzuri is getting, I'm sure there is alot of hp to be had there. And you would definately see it on the strip. I think they got about 15-18 hp just with replacing the headers! And he claims about 25-30 hp on the IS 350! So I'm curious what everyone is getting even if they don't use the MAzzuri headers or what not to see if those gains are because of the Mazzuri header system, or if it's really just hp laying out there for most systems to have.

Hahaha, The New " SuperFlow ButtDyno 2000" !!! That 's right, you'll never need EX LAX again. Feel the torque and !Removed! in tune. Hahahahahaha!!!!

It suffices to say this is not the "Pursuit of Perfection" as it was claimed. 204 hp is a lot if a car is really equpped with a 204 hp you'd feel it. Peak? You would not get 204 even if you rev the engine up to 7k rpm. I may sound odd to you but still entitled to say my opinion and I am always against fraud. As long as you understand your opinion is wrong. The car has 204 crank hp. If it didn't, there'd have been lawsuits. See also when Mazda had to buy back peoples RX-8s because they lied about horsepower, other companies have been through the same. The butt dyno is a reliably horrible way to know the actual power of a car. An -actual- dyno tends to work better. Wow... I hesitate to spend much time here getting into the details of these comments because we all have our opinions and some have lots of very good information to share. First, a "butt dyno" can be as reliable as any SuperFlow SF-902. If you have competitvely raced, you would most likely know this. An good engine dyno and a good dyno tech can produce really neat torque data over RPM ranges with specific software algorithms that make some assumptions, but on a race track the driver can tell you things about "actual power" that a $100K dyno cannot! Randy ????? Can you share some of that stuff your smokin?

As much as I have come to love the ISF, I have to admit that the new Nissan GTR is also an amazing car.

It's even nicer! I did some hot laps in one at Moroso Speedway. I kept having to tell myself that this was a factory stock ride!!! Amazing!!

I found this video and was completely blown away by it. I find it so amazing what the human body and mind are capable of. http://video.stumbleupon.com/#p=0k4lsi1dql

My first pick would be Corbaeu, the LG1's. You can use those with a 4 point harness. And they look great, and weigh almost nothing! Direct fit is allways my prefrence also. Takata makes an awsome seat belt and harness system that fits in nice with them. Very comfy for as aggresive as the side bolsters are. Recaro's are nice, but I tend to think they sell on name more than quality.

Their new CS is really good stuff. I gave that a try then put the Z-8 over that and man, the gloss is amazing!!