Nabeel

For what it's worth, I've driven many '92-'96 ES300s and saw no difference whatsoever in power throughout the years. I remember getting '94-'96 dealer loaner cars when our '93 was in for service, and they drove the exact same. When push comes to shove, the later models are maybe very marginally quicker, if at all. Car and Driver got the exact same 0-60 and 1/4 mile numbers from a '92 and a '94. Oh, and I would LOVE to get my hands on a manual ES300. There was a nice black/black '93 on ebay several months ago, but I couldn't buy it because it would have required me to sell my Audi first, in order to get the money. Ah well. Oh, and here's another manual transmission pic. Kinda weird to see 3 pedals down there in an ES300 B)

ya well NOT in my eyes. tom crean sucks.... -Nabeel (U of KY student still sore about his school getting its azz kicked by Marquette in the NCAA tourney) :P

I'm betting Lexus will follow their already-established pattern for the ES series. So mechanical changes for '04 and cosmetic changes for '05. You heard it here FIRST :P

Lexus reccomended 32 psi all around for the '92-'96 ES300.

Michael Jordan's dad was behind the wheel of an SC400 when he was killed. I also remember seeing a few Lexuses on MTV's Cribs show. I can't remember who they belonged to though.

Err....the hp only went up by only 3 (185 vs. 188). Torque went up 8 (195 vs 203). Engine block was now aluminum instead of iron, and the compression ratio was bumped up from 9.5:1 to 10.5:1. A lot of the major internals were changed, but driving a '93 and '94 back to back, you will feel virtually no difference whatsoever. Tranny was indeed a slightly revised version of the previous '92-'93 version. Here is a rundown of changes between '93 and '94, in addition to the mechanical differences above: - passenger side airbag added - interior gets an outside temp button - remote entry gets a 'beep' tone when locking/unlocking, volume adjustment is inside. (the earler models did not beep) - cfc-free air conditioning system - Lexus Portable Plus cellular phone becomes optional - No more manual transmission Changes between the '94 and '95 models were cosmetic: - rectangular fogs instead of the round yellow projectors - revised tail lights - smoked headlight housings with faint horizontal lines across the lens So yeah, there is a synopsis of changes withing the gen-1 ES300 production cycle. Its interesting to note that during the gen-2 cycle, Lexus followed a similar pattern. The car debuted in '97, received mechanical changes 2 years afterward in '99 (VVT-i engine, new tranny, etc.), and cosmetic changes the next year, in '00. It will be interesting to see if the gen-3 follows suit. The 3.3 liter engine will debut next year, but cosmetic changes are unknown so far....

Oh, and all ES are great cars, BUT....... My fav has to be the old-school (and rare!) '92-'93 models with the manual transmission. Once I came across what has to be the rarest type of ES300 out there. It was about 3-4 years ago. Black/Black '93 ES300 5-speed. Cloth interior. no sunroof, no cd changer, no heated seats, no nothing. Just basic ES300 without any extraneous shet. I dunno why, but I gravitated toward that car on the dealer's lot for a good half-hour. Maybe the purity of the thing, the simplicity. Ok, I better get to bed because i am tired and I feel i'm not making any sense now. what was the original question? yeah, 'what is my favorite year es300?' Yes, i like the '92-'93 manual. What's that, gen 0.5? LOL :P And off to bed i go.........

gen 2 vs. gen 2.5 Red/white tail lights versus red/amber turn signals/white. Revised front grille. More agressive front bumper. Optional 16-inch wheels that look frikin great. Like the style on the gen-1, but larger with sharper edges. Cars with the xenon headlamps have clear multireflecor-type lenses. Subtle, but noticable when you look at a xenon and non-xenon car back to back. Interior had a little more wood trim, around the radio and a/c controls.

Yes it is definately possible because I've seen people do this. I don't know how they did it, but I'm pretty sure that the yellow piece is only a lens, and the actual light behind there is white.

OC gaskets, motor mounts, cv boots, burnt out needles in the instrument cluster, I'm sure I'm forgetting some common ones....

Go Speedracer go!

3 whole mpg is one helluva increase in milage from just a filter. I put a K & N into one of my cars and did not notice any substantial mpg differences, and only slight performance gain. I would say that K & N are most definately worth it though, just for the fact that they are reuseable. Some engines must benefit a lot more mpg-wise than others. I'm curious if there is anything unique about the design of the '02+ cars that make them better suited to K&N than most others. Is the stock filter really that restrictive? Thanks for the heads-up steviej.

Welcome!

$11K is a really good deal for a '97 ES300. Congrats on the purchase! In regard to the question in your initial post about the sound system- the '97 ES300 had no real 'premium' system. It is written on the head unit, but all '97 cars came with the same system. It was developed and made with Pioneer components. Starting in '98, a Nakamichi system was made available, with a slightly higher power output (230 watts vs. 195) and clearer sound. The base system is still very good though. Audio has always been a Lexus strong point, compared to other cars.

Those painted headlight housings look really good!