Lexus IS 300

jmess

So the IS isn't a BMW and doesn't drive like one and doesn't cost as much. The IS is sold today by Lexus no matter what they should have done. The IS looks the way it does until they change it. The interior of the IS is the way it is until they change it. The IS costs less but it uses more gas. Nothing new has been said about the IS for quite a while. If it makes you feel better we can all assure you that:

A BMW IS THE BEST CAR
BMW OWNERS ARE SMARTER
A BMW MAKES YOU FEEL SPECIAL
MORE WOMEN/MEN ARE ATTRACTED TO BMW OWNERS
YOUR FRIENDS & NEIGHBORS WILL NOTICE YOUR BMW
BMW OWNER OPINIONS ARE IMPORTANT TO IS300 OWNERS
THE IS300 IS A BAD CAR
DON'T BUY AN IS300
YOU WONT LIKE THE IS300
THE IS300 HAS BOYRACER FEATURES
BOYRACERS FEATURES LOOK STUPID

Any IS owners want to add more?

absolutelyred

BMW driver's teeth are probably whiter
BUT....
I'm lovin' every minute in my '02 IS300 manual. I LOVE THAT CAR. It's fun, it's quick, it's RELIABLE.
The BMW vs. IS300 debate is DUMB. Many of us test drove 330ci, Audi, along with our beloved IS300. We are all looking for different things. In my opinion the interior of the BMW is cheap looking, the exterior is ho-hum, had a 7 series in the early '90's, needed an additional loan for all the repairs - every month that turkey broke down. Never again. I'll take a Lexus over those German turkeys any day.

laithy_74

Lexus is said to be developing a 3.5 V6 engine for the '04 GS350 and '04 RX350. Does anyone know if the IS will get the same engine, at least as an option?

riez

Guys, we're talkin' about gearing. A 6-speed could be used to improve acceleration and economy. That is win-win. There isn't a car out there, including every BMW, MB, Porsche, Jag, Lexus, etc., that can't be improved in one or more areas. I'd like to see an improved IS300. And one that took full advantage of its nice size, weight, and engine. Better gearing could be a big improvement. Wouldn't you like improved acceleration along with less engine wear & noise at high speeds along with better fuel economy?

jmess... Thanks for the nice comments.

silverlex

Great post Jmess...

jmess

I am all for improvements in the IS and I am sure there will be some. I don't want to see the price shoot up towards 40K. I haven't really been bothered by my car turning 3000 RPMs at 72? MPH. The engine is really smooth and I really don't notice any difference in engine noise levels between say 50-90 but there probably is some. As was said there are very few cars that wouldn't benefit from a 6-speed but make mine with the E-shift please. The difference between 20 MPG and 25 MPG is about $225 if you drive 15K miles. So not much of a factor in this market segment where options quickly bump up the price of a car by thousands of dollars.

0-60 times and HP are exciting but most sporty cars like the IS have enough performance to keep you interested. It is very seldom that I find myself on a deserted two lane road where I can push the car for more than a few miles before I hit traffic or back off to preserve my license.

sdenlinger

Excellent posting jmess. Oh, and make mine an e-shift too. Maybe my age is creeping up on me but I don't need to row through the gears on busy Southern California freeways. I've already sowed those oats.

ejsjd3

For what it's worth, I've been driving a 1999 323i sedan for about 3 years--lease is up next month. Loved driving the car--when it was not in the shop. It was truly the most awful experience I've had. I'm sure the car was a lemon as I never heard of others having the problems I had. And the service department where I took the car could NEVER fix the problems. Even now, the SRS lamp is lit. Has been for 4 months. I just don't have time to keep bringing it back to BMW for them to tell me the problem is fixed when I know it is not. The experience has soured me on BMWs and in response I just leased a 2002 IS300. The two cars are different and have different features. But honestly, I didn't notice a huge difference in the handling--if anything I think the IS300 handles better than the 323i. We'll see.

fxashun

a large used car superstore and most of the BMW's that I drove had some warning light on. I would never buy one. But they drive great though. I hope the MINI doesn't share this trait.

v_tech

why don't we turbocharge the IS and put it up against the tin can WRX already. its not a luxury sports sedan so they should just turn it into a rocket and put it up against the wrx. it can't do much else. dump the standard xenons, cd changer, power seats, leather, fog lamps, rims, tires, clears, auto trunk opener, door handles, drilled aluminum pedals and trim, I-6, and that stupid built in cell phone antenna in the back window. dump that exhaust pipe also it looks like it costs a few cents more than the one on the WRX. dump limited slip, traction control, climate control, and the rear cup holders. now this toyota is in a class of its own i tell ya.

maxhonda99

lenscap,

What internet sites? I got pics from thecarconnection.com. you got links to any other pics?

hky,

I did not guess to think that the chip is right in front of you on the windshield.

jdbtensai

i can't tell if that last post was sarcastic or serious.
also, questions generally end with a question mark.

jmess

This is some of the juvenile dribble you see here. Some folks appear to harbor animosity towards the IS because it offers something different than what they choose to drive or can afford to drive. In some circles the IS is seen as a status symbol when compared to a Honda; my wife drives a Civic EX BTW, she loves it. I am sure this bothers some people. So it goes

stanny1

The IS300 came in 3rd in the Feb 7 car showdown because of narrow winter tires. The writers said they wish the alternate wider summer tires would have been used.
What bugs me is why they didn't change the tires and retest.
In the test, skidpad performance, at .78g, was the worst of the seven cars. No other car dropped below .80. The IS was also worst in mph of the lane change maneuver.
Not a good showing. Lexus did not provide them with a properly tired car.

nyccarguy

The test was held in West Virginia in November (I think, don't quote me on it) and they saw fit to equip their test car with the no-cost option all season tires. Lexus kinda shot itself in the foot. After all the criticisim the IS 300 took for not having a manual, I was looking forward to seeing how it faired against the other cars at the top end of the entry level sports sedan category. The Manual IS has been getting great reviews from the press lately too! The Lexus might have placed higher IF it had the Summer tires...

"Nuts" said the Queen if she had 'em she'd be King!

vocus

That was too funny!!!!

laithy_74

The IS300 is not doing that well in sales, but future modification can probably make it more appealing. Best scenario is that the IS300 will get a facelift in 2004, with modified exterior, improved interior, slightly better fuel economy, more power, or both, and more standard features with the base price remaining at $29,900
For 2006, the IS will be all-new and will probably offer two models: the IS300 (210 hp -engine from the Camry) and the IS350 (250hp, engine from Lexus GS), priced at $27,000 and $32,000.
I anticipate these two engines because Toyota is indeed working on a 3.5V6, and with the inline-6 being replaced, producing it in smaller quantities might not be economical. that's why the 3.0V6 comes to mind as alternative. Also Lexus will have to lower the base price, because Infinti G35 is priced at $27,900. Any comments?

seminole_kev

that they're going to drop the straight-six in favor of a V6 from a Camry. I hope that's not the case.

laithy_74

with cars needing more power and smaller shorter hoods, I am afraid inline-6 engine will be a hard fit.

jmess

Here is what someone else thinks about the IS with the RE040 tires. I use to race against the author of this review and he knows his way around a racetrack and fast cars.

http://www.nctd.com/02/lux/02lexusis300.cfm

stanny1

As BMW has proven, the I-6 is the best design for a six-cylinder. It has the best harmonic balance of any engine, and requires only one exhaust manifold and two cams and one head. In a RWD car, the I-6's length should not be a consideration. Volvo even put their I-6 sideways in the S-80 !!!
So Toyota's only reason would be cost savings or marketing slop. A pretty sad commentary on their "performance" orientation. I miss the smooth Supra straight six I had in my 83 five-speed Cressida. Still redlined with 160000 miles and 17 years old. Nothing beats a straight six for long life, low maint cost and smooth power.

laithy_74

you guys are missing the point. The offerings from Lexus, BMW and Volvo are small inline engines with no more than 225hp in normally aspirated form. With competetion reaching up to 260hp (Infiniti G35), They will need bigger engines. Yes both Toyota and BMW will have no problem increasing horsepower from these small engines (like BMW's 3.2L in the M3). However, for strong yet relaxed acceleration, torque is much needed and you can't have that unless you increase the displacement. The current inline engines do fit with no problems, but as they grow up, they become too long. The GS300 has an inline-six, but I do not think a 3.5L-inline will fit there easily. With this war of horsepower, and thereforever engine size, even BMW will probably have to switch to V6 engines in the future.

stanny1

GM's new in-line 6 is 4.2 liter and not that big. You can always follow Japanese precedent and user turbos like on the Supra. If you go on the Supra sites, you will hear of many normally apirated Supra engines cranking out incredible horsepower. The president of the club, Reg Reimer, can be E-mailed if you have questions about I-six capabilities. The current IS 300 engine has more potential in bore/stroke and if the M3 engine is any indication, Toyota can learn a few tricks about valve timing, etc (but I think they know how to do this). We never see the "good stuff" that is running around as everyday transportation in Japan and is never exported. Mercedes and BMW have models in Europe that would be considered exotic compared to what they send us.
The V-6 has no inherent advantage for more hp per cubic inch or cc. In fact, a V-6 has secondary harmonic balance problems as well as more complexity. The only reason it was brought back from the grave was for FWD packaging. Nissan never did get the straight six right because it was a non-crossflow design (exhaust and intake on the same side). Toyota did it right the first time. The G35 will have a V-6 because they are not going to design a new engine for this RWD application. It's easier to use THE engine that powers everything except the 4 cyl models and the Q45. I hope Toyota doesn't go this universal engine route with the V-6. Besides, you won't have room in the engine compartment for intake systems, blowers, etc.

vocus

Road conditions in Japan and Europe and all are alot better than most American roads. That's why most suspensions are tuned differently on US versions of "world" cars (like the Contour/Mystique was), because of that.

8u6hfd

There's no way Toyota is putting a 1MZ-FE VVT-i from the Camry platform into the IS/Altezza. It's true that the 3S-GE Dual VVT-i is a "S" block used in the Camry platform, but that particular 3S-GE motor is dedicated to the IS/Altezza, hence why it is not used in the Caldina GT.

The only other 6 cylinder that is used is the 2.0L 1G-FE motor, though European magazines call it too underpowered with the 6-speed.

If their are plans for a 3.5L V6, I guarantee you if it's a "MZ" block, it's not going into the IS/Altezza.

jmess

I read some rumors a while back about BMW developing a V6 due to improved safety packaging. The V6 is shorter and provides bigger crumple zones.

The IS is the first car I have owned with an inline 6 and I can say I notice the smoothness over the V6s I have had.

I would bet the 2003 IS will have a HP increase via a bore/stroke change; this is the easy way to get more HP.

stanny1

Tan, you seem really up on the Japanese automotive scene. Do you think the current IS300 engine has potential for more hp? The Land Cruiser straight-six (pre-98) had some pretty impressive torque numbers, as did the last non-turbo Supras.

v_tech

thanks for the grammar lesson it was a big help. i didn't graduate from high school but i saved my bag boy money while working in a drugstore and bought a IS300. now i've found that i wasted so much money because it should have been priced at 26K as a toyota. it is depressing because here at edmunds there are so many smart folks who make me feel so dumb and juvenile. especially when i go up against the pretentious bmw owners. oh they are masterful.

laithy 74- i have no idea what all this stuff is about v6's and I-6's. how about this approach??? lexus should offer a north american IS430 sometime down the line that is supercharged stock (they already are going to offer the supercharger as an option next year or something like that). they already have a couple of them running around as pacecars for that lexus race team or whatever it is. the thing makes 260hp how much more do you all want?????????????????? is that good enough for you jdbtensai?????????????????? now sure this thing won't have a base price of 32K but who cares????????????? they can sell a 225hp version for that much and call it the IS350 or whatever. THOUGH THE IS300 WITH MORE HORSES SUPERCHARGED OR TURBOCHARGED WOULD COST MORE THAN A INFINITI G35 IF PEOPLE WANT TO BUY A BORING LOOKING CAR LIKE THAT MORE POWER TO THEM. LIKE I SAID BEFORE GUYS, IF YOU WANT A PRIVATE LEAR JET GO BUY THE INFINITI. IF YOU WANT A F-15 EAGLE OR ATF JET FIGHTER BUY A IS300. IF YOU WANT TO MELT INTO THE SEA OF SAMENESS OUT THERE BUY A BIMMER OR INFINITI. IF YOU WANT TO STAND OUT YOU BUY THE IS300 NO MATTER WHAT KIND OF ENGINE IS UNDER THE HOOD. RIGHT OR WRONG?????

laithy 74- what i want to know is why can't you get more than 225hp out of a I-6 with vvti technology at your disposal??? i don't understand the limitations you are putting on the IS300. these three guys in turbo magazine modified their IS300's into 500-600hp cars with no problems at all. HKS made a monster altezza that makes over 600hp and runs a 3 something 0-60. sure it is ridiculous and i am no tuner expert but it seems that you are overlooking the fact that you can take any IS and modify it right now for a few extra bucks and smoke the daylights out of any infiniti, 330i, or nissan altima. but you want a monster IS stock right?? the supercharger will solve this for sure. i mean with 250-260hp the IS will fly. this car right now is no slouch.

now correct me if i am wrong but isn't the G35 bigger than the IS???? i mean these cars shouldn't even be compared. its like saying the TL is bigger, faster, so it must be better. nimble and tossable?? i think not. the TL and infiniti blend into the landscape about as well as osama bin laden does right now. the IS300 is a shining light, a breath of fresh air for the roads today.

vtech

v_tech

what is the first thing you notice when you see a IS300 streaking towards you??? in the daytime it is its low athletic front and mean wolf-like looks. its shiny graphite polished rims catch your eye in a instant. from the back you can't help but noticing this car whether you like the clears or not. its shiny big tailpipe is not like any other boring stock bmw or nissan. the tires are cool not thick boring all season tires like you see on the altima. the 5 spoke rims are a statement that this car has style and it isn't some cheapy looking stock rim you might find on a A4 1.8T or bmw.

at night??? oh this is the good part. i watch everyone as they are mesmerized by the xenons and yellow fogs. the front of this car grabs your attention immediately. people walk by and they can't help staring at the lights. it is almost a hypnotic appearance on their faces. millions of punks try to race you not because they actually care if their car is faster than the IS but because they are incredibly jealous that nobody notices their shiny cars anymore.

the IS300 will prevail in the future because the guys at toyota are ahead of the game. they have turned off some people with this new stunner but those same people won't be around forever. the kids coming out of high school and college will be there for the IS300 and they won't be wanting some infiniti.

vtec

elsquidroe1

Having seen the G35 at the LA Auto Show last night I don't think I would call it "boring."
The IS300 is always eye catching on the street but this G35 didn't look too far behind. The interior was much nicer and roomier and it does have 255 hp's all for a similar price. I am not even sure I would get a G35, but from what i saw last night I was very impressed.

is300tm7

I was wondering what are some popular colors on edmunds' is300 owner's is300's are? I have GRAPHITE GRAY with BLACK full leather and all the options except VSC and graphite finish rims.

P.S. I noticed this but not sure, most of graphite gray is300 i 've seen have navigation, do you think thats true?

vocus

That is actually one thing I don't like about the front end of the car at night. I thought the fogs would look nicer if they were white and not yellow. Just my opinion though.

jmess

Fog lights historically have been yellow; you can see better in the fog with yellow light. Driving lights are white. As you may already know you can change the color of the bulbs or turn them off.

v+tech, it was juvenile of me not to read some of your other posts and see that you are for real.

laithy_74

"GM's new in-line 6 is 4.2 liter and not that big"

yes but try to squeeze this engine into a CTS? I do agree that an inline-6 is better than a V6 engine in everything except packaging.

stanny1

I'm sure the engine compartment was designed around the V-6. Caddy could make it a little longer for an inline-six. Another problem could be that the current Duramax was built as a truck engine and may have to be extensively modified for light-duty (car) use. I find long hood lines very Freudian.

rickis300

Okay, this is my first post on this board. And I have a question that I hope someone can answer. I recently purchased an IS 300 for my wife. Let's just say she loves it more than her diamond ring. (That's saying a lot) She says it's the absolute best car she's ever owned. And I agree. And I always change the oil on our vehicles, cause I don't trust nobody else too. But when I bought the car, the Lexus dealership told me that if I'm gonna change the oil myself, I should buy an oil filter from the dealership, cause they said any aftermarker oil filter doesn't have some sort of special mechanism in it that Lexus filters do have. Something about if the car sits too long (Like that's gonna happen with my wife driving) the oil might not make it back into the filter, or something to that effect. I really didn't listen too close cause I figured he was feeding me the usual dealership b.s. Is this really true, or was he snowing me so his parts department can make a few extra bucks off me? Any info on this would be much appreciated. Thanks.

laithy_74

"laithy 74- what i want to know is why can't you get more than 225hp out of a I-6 with vvti technology at your disposal??? i don't understand the limitations you are putting on the IS300."

As I said, there is no limitation for horespower. Toyota does have the technology. If Toyota can produce 180hp from a 1.8L engine,it can produce 300hp from the 3.0L inline-6 using the same VVT-iL technology. The question is: Is this the wisest thing to do? Does Toyota really want to do that?
To make it things clearer, let's go back to Toyota's 1.8 engine. In the Corolla and base Matrix, the 1.8L makes 130hp and 125 lb-ft. In the Celica GT and Matrix XRS, the 1.8L (which is a different engine by the way) makes 180lb, but a modest 130 lb-ft. You see where the limitation is? Torque is very dependent on displacement and is limited by it. There is a point where you can't produce any more torque from a normally-aspired engine, even if you were able to produce 1000 hp from that same engine -not with today's technology. Just look at all the normally-aspirated engine that have high horsepower outputs: the 3.2L in the M3 produces impressive 333hp, but torque is 262 lb-ft which is impressive for this displacement but not much more than the Acura 3.2TL type-S (260hp and 232 lb-ft) or the 3.2L in the NSX (290hp and 224 lb-ft. You see how horspower varies greatly but torque has very small range of increase, limited by dispalcement.
Take other engines: Honda's 1.7L. Ouput: 115hp and 110 lb-ft, 117hp and 111 lb-ft, 127hp, and 114 lb-ft. With further enhancement in the VTEC system, Honda can produce up to 200hp from this engine, but I guarantee you torque will not exceed 130hp at best. If you are still not sure, take a look at other engines. make sure they are normally-aspired! Surbercharging (and turbucharging) is the only solution if you want more torque from small displacement engine.
Now, you are probably wonder why torque is important. Torque is important because it's one of the two parameters that horsepower depends on:
hp= torque x RPM / 5252
In other words, if you want more horsepower from a certain engine without increasing torque, the only way is to increase RPM. that's exactly why these engines have impressive horsepower rating. They rev like crazy. the VVT systems help them rev to those degrees without loosing their efficieny or smoothness (it will increase torque to some certain degree because of the better breathing.
If you want more horsepower from the IS300, Toyota will have to make it rev higher. But this is not a race car. it's not an M3 or a Celica GT. It's a sporty near-luxury car: a car that needs relaxed acceleration: speed without having to step on the gas like crazy. rather fun? sure. but not for everyone. The car needs more torque which can be done only by increasing displacement.

riez

If a manufacturer like Lexus or Cadillac wants to, it can design a car clean slate to take darn near any configuration engine. Sure, there will be some impact on styling and size, but I think it is overrated. Love fact that the small IS300 and BMW 3 Series can thrive on longish I-6s but relatively huge cars like new Cadillac CTS couldn't fit an I-6. Right. Cadillac could've put their new 4.2L I-6 in the CTS if it had been designed with that engine in mind. But they went cheap and opted for a mediocre off-the-shelf 54-degree Opel V-6 engine. Thinking the CTS is nearly 18 inches longer overall than a 3 Series. If BMW added 12-18 inches of wheelbase or additional length in trunk to 3 Series, the 3 Series would have limo-like room compared to CTS!

stanny1

Toyota has been saying this for years. So long in fact that every oil filter in existence has this amazing device. It's called an anti-drain back valve. If the oil filter base is up, it's of no consequence. But if the oil filter is on it's side or base down, the oil in the filter could drain out of the filter by gravity and go back in the pan via the pump. The anti-drain back valve prevents the drain back and possible starting without oil pressure for a nano-second. Modern engines have tighter clearances, micro-polished journals and this is not the problem it once was. Yes, if you use mineral oil and it's cold outside, you are pumping mud anyway, because mineral has water as well as other contaminants such as wax (East Coast) or tar/asphalt (West Coast) that cannot be removed entirely. Of course, those of us with performance orientation use synthetic oil to avoid this viscosity change and all the additives used to fight mineral oil's poor physical characteristics. Syn oil is built molecule by molecule for the purpose, and doesn't need all those additives (40% by volume) that mineral oil has. But if your IS is new, warranty considerations are foremost. Syn oil is kind of wasted because the warranty requires changes based on their mileage intervals. Costco sells Mobil 1 10-30 for #21.99 a case (six quarts) which is hard to beat. You can buy Genuine Toyota filters in batches of 6 or so from many dealers on the Internet. Look in the back of C&D or R&T for Toy dealers who do mail order. Many times they run specials on Toy oil filters as a leader.
One note on Synoil. Don't use it for a few thousand miles so the rings seat in faster (mineral oil has more friction). This is not a big issue, as Corvettes come with Mobil 1 from the factory and synoil is required for warranty coverage. After warranty, you can use a great oil like AMSOIL and their increased depth filter and change your oil every six months like I did in my Toy for 17 years (and you could eat off the inside of the valve cover at 160,000 miles). Back to anti-drain back valves. The worst and some of the well known big names have paper valves and the best filters have silicone valves. Go to google.com, enter "oil filters" or "oil filter tests" and see what you can learn. The results on the "orange box" filters will probably shock you.

rickis300

Hey....thanks stanny1! That helped immensly! I'll look up that info on filters. Thanks again!

8u6hfd

stanny1: #1278
The IS300 & the non-turbo Supras have the same motor (2JZ-GE). I would suspect the missing horsepower on the IS300 is due to the retuning of that motor for the IS300 (more mid-range power) and being a little tight under the hood for exhaust components. The 2JZ-GE motor is a very capable motor. Its bottom end is solid. IMO, it would not reach the power levels of the 2JZ-GTE and still be driveable with the automatic transmission (that's where the manual comes in). You could probably mess around with the compression (increasing it) and also the bore & stroke. The 2JZ motor is over-engineered, so more power can be had.

v_tech: #1279
The HKS Altezza race car is powered by the 3S-GE Dual VVT-i motor (2.0L I4). Of course HKS added turbos and other goodies to it.

rickis300: #1287
Mail order the Toyota oil filter for your car. Don't pay the "Lexus" surcharge. If you go mail order, the filter will end up costing around $3-4, instead god knows how much Lexus charges. Some sites include: www.toyotaparts4u.com, www.toyotaguys.com, www.partznet.com, etc.

laithy_74: #1288
Which I6 motor Toyota produces right now that has VVTL-i and produces 300 bhp?

Quick corrections: The Celica GT has the 1ZZ-FE motor which makes 140 bhp. The Celica GTS and Matrix XRS has the 2ZZ-GE motor (making the 180 bhp). Same class of engines though.

parnola

How does the new intensa blue color compare to the previous spectra blue metallic? Is it the same color with a new name or have they changed it? I'd like an '02, but I'm in love with the spectra blue color!

parnola

I understand the center arm rest is new for the '02 ... can I purchase one to have installed in an '01 if I end up buying an '01?

jmess

Some people on is300.net think it can be done but nobody appears to have done it yet. It appears that you can't just order an armrest, you have to order 10 +-? parts.

There is also some talk about about an aftermarket armrest:

http://www.is300.net/forum/viewtopic.php?topic=13289773&forum=4

I have an 02 and I think they added side air bags to the 02 along with a few interior and exterior changes including the armrest. One thing I have really grown to like is the self dimming mirror, which I don't think was on the 01.

stanny1

You are an incredible resource. I knew that the IS300 motor was close to the Supra engine and now I know how close. The Supra boys have already done tons of research and testing, and they have gotten incredible performance out of essentially the same engine.

jdbtensai

i drive neither a bmw nor an is 300. as for my opinion on a 260hp IS, why do you care about my opinion?
oh, and you're welcome for the grammar lesson.

v_tech

i didn't care about your opinion i was showing you that i now know the proper use of question marks. i was saying to you "how about that??????" if you don't get it forget it.

i also wasn't referring to you when i brought up the bimmer lovers. i just think edmunds is crawling with ignorant bimmer supporters who think that just because they pay 35 to 40K for a sedan it must be the bomb!!!!! whatevers. lexus has been teaching so many lessons to the germans their time will come in the entry level market. only a fool would bet against this statement.

8u6- i forgot about the fact that the HKS altezza was a I4 2.0L. but there is no reason why anybody could not turn the current IS300 into a monster as well and i was only making that point.

laithy 74- that was a nice piece you wrote!! thanks. 8u6 didn't read it very well you never did say toyota has a I6 300hp car but they could make one if they wanted to with vvti technology. oh well.

now supercharging will cost more but to me it is the answer because toyota is not like honda and their cars don't rev high. i mean i like the way hondas can scream to 8000 rpms with ease but i guess this isn't in the picture for toyota.

my question is why wouldn't toyota want to make the IS300 rev just a little more??? to me it would be the cheapest way to increase horsepower without having to go to a V6 and sacrifice the smoothness of the I6. heck bmw has already done this like you said with the new M3.

actually, i like the supercharging idea the best. what they should do is increase base hp to 225, supercharge it, and call it the IS430. this car will be the crown jewel. the argument that the G35 can make 255hp for low 30K dollars is a good one but it should be directed at bmw not the IS300. the IS300 is more about value than some MB c class and 330i which both run over 40K easily. the G35 is superior in hp to a 325i by miles and i can guarantee you the average 3er costs over 34 to 35K and that is before tax!!!! it is impossible to say whether the G35 will cut into bimmer sales more than lexus sales. the one thing that the IS300 has going for it is the fact that it is a total gen-x car. the G35 will lure the more conservative old futty dutty (sp?) market that likes bimmers and audi's over aftermarket looking cars like the IS300. right or wrong???

laithy_74

"my question is why wouldn't toyota want to make the IS300 rev just a little more???"

I am not quite sure, but I think they could. However, Do you remember this same inline-6 before it got the VVT-i tech.? It was in the Supra, Lexus SC300 and GS300. The output was 220hp if I recall correctly, at least in the Lexii. In '98, The engine made 225hp, 5 more hp, and achieved LEV status, thanks to the installation of VVT-i. However Toyota backed up to 220hp in '99, keeping the VVT-i at least for improving emissions and low end torque. Therefore, there must be some reason for this backup of power. My guess is the modicore fuel economy. Delivering 18/25, it's nowhere as fuel efficient as its bimmers counterpart. Toyota probably wouldn't want to increase horsepower on the expense of fuel economy which is already unimpressive. Just my guess!

vocus

The automatic mirror I think was new for 2002. The side torso air bags were already there, but the side curtain air bags are new. Also, the armest is a new addition, as ws Brake Assist. And the number of "slats" in the front grille changed.

jmess

I remember reading about how Ford had to beef up the main bearing in the V8 Lightning pickup motor to deal with the load the supercharger belt places on the crank shaft. The point was to insure the engine would last over 100K. When I see supercharger kits I always think about that, yet I never keep my cars for a 100K any way. I also wonder about the resale value of a car with a charger kit. Would you buy a 4 or 5 year old IS with a supercharger kit installed? I don't think I would.

I have read about drive ability problems with the TRD charger in toyota V6 trucks. Running the engine hard on a really hot day then pulling up to a stoplight and sitting for a few minutes sometimes results in a heat soak condition where the intake air temp get too high and you get some stumbling when you take off again; the kit doesn't include an inter cooler which may or may not help this condition. The stumbling tends to be a city only issue and dependant on air temp and humidity. There also have been some issues reported about inadequate fuel delivery under wide open throttle (WOT) conditions. The stock fuel pump and /or injectors don't have enough fuel flow volume and the engine leans out during WOT. The leaning out condition was discovered by owners who dynoed their vehicles after installing the charger kit along with TRD exhaust and intake mods. So that being said the intake mods would contribute to the lean out condiition. The solution was to go to a higher pressure fuel pump along with higher flow injectors and wasn't cheap.

I think TRD is aware of these issues so I would hope that any kit they release for the IS300 would be better matched to the engine. In general I think I would prefer a factory installed supercharger even if Toyota supports the TRD kit.