DJ SprinklesNJO

yea this new show RIDES is hot, i love it. however its gets me mad when they show 310 motoring and west coast customs do that type of work... bc ultimatly thats what i want to own but here on the east coast.

Mr Johnson

Sweet! Thanks for the heads-up. I'm out of town now but the TiVO Home Media Option took care of that for me!

thisguy_06

If you're talkin about owning one of the custom car shops, just hope that you're not in the same area that lil' kim will be in since you're also in NY. Its a very profitable business and if you do decide to start one, good luck to you.

DJ SprinklesNJO

yea im in the city, i heard awhile back lil kim has a shop. but i wasnt sure, whats it called?

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

Funny Mr J, me too.

I'm just bought a standalone HP DVD burner that should let me archive a video from my Tivo onto a format we can see on PC. I'll see how it works and how big the files are... if they aren't too bad I'll try to host some of them for a while. I have the Funkmaster Flex session with wiz saved as well.

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

<--------- wants to see.

TXSTYLE

iTrader: (1)

Lexus V8-Powered IS 430 Project to Make TV Debut Muscle Car also to Appear at Chicago Auto Show!


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02/02/2004 Torrance, CA



Lexus' recently completed IS 430 project car makes its television debut on TLC's "Rides" series this Tuesday, February 3 at 9:00 p.m. EST/PST. The latest project car from Lexus will also make an appearance at the 2004 Chicago Auto Show February 6-15. Lexus commissioned Rod Millen Special Vehicles (RMSV) to build the car, which is a one-off example of its IS 300 luxury sport sedan powered by a 4.3-liter V8 engine from a Lexus GS 430.

"We wanted to explore the performance possibilities of the IS 300," said Lexus Group Vice President and General Manager Denny Clements. "The marriage of our 4.3-liter V8 with the sporty IS 300 creates a classic muscle car."

The potent V8 engine was paired with a Getrag 6-speed manual transmission and lightweight flywheel, which drive the rear wheels through a stronger limited slip differential and GS 430 driveline components.

Total Performance Approach
The concept direction from Lexus required that the IS 430's handling be matched to the high-powered V8 while maintaining reasonable ride comfort and noise levels. TEIN springs and 16-way electronically adjustable shock absorbers work with the original IS 300 front suspension in addition to selected GS 430 rear suspension components, which help ensure durability against the higher torque of the 4.3-liter V8. Large, sticky Michelin Sport Cup tires on 18-inch Speed Star SSR alloy wheels put the power to the ground.

A similar approach was taken with the cooling system and brakes. A GS 430 radiator was fitted to provide ample cooling for the high-output engine. Large Brembo brakes with vented, cross-drilled rotors and four-piston aluminum calipers are there to arrest the newfound acceleration and speed of the IS 430.

"The standard IS 300 is a robust and well balanced sport sedan, so we thought it would respond well to the additional power of the Lexus V8 engine," said Rod Millen, president of RSMV. "With a package of complementary modifications, it has exceeded our expectations."

Although not a simple conversion, the V8 and 6-speed fit well within the compact IS 300 body structure. Curb weight is slightly higher than the standard IS, some of which is due to larger/stronger components needed to deal with the increased performance and some from the new audio/video system.

"Fitting the 4.3-liter V8 and six-speed manual transmission to the IS 300 was fairly straightforward," said Millen. "The larger challenge was to develop an electronic interface that would allow the V8 engine to work with the manual transmission and IS 300 body - something it was never designed to do."

RMSV's engineering team met the challenge with expertise developed through years of successful racing and building special vehicles for military and automotive clients. They focused on designing the electronics interface while simultaneously working through the mechanical conversion and enhancements. Numerous parts were specifically fabricated for the IS 430 including stainless steel exhaust headers and dual exhaust system, transmission adaptor, engine and transmission mounts, air intake system, wire harnesses and fluid connectors.

"Next Generation" Entertainment System
Pushing the IS 300 performance envelope was not limited to vehicle dynamics. Lexus also wanted to discover the potential of what might be termed a "next generation" in-vehicle entertainment system. Lexus naturally turned to its premium audio systems partner, Mark Levinson®, whose system engineers were eager to gain experience with their advanced system development work and receive feedback from users in the field.

The goals for the experimental system were the introduction of a discrete multi-channel 7.1 surround sound experience suitable for automotive use, complete system integration of audio and video, and advancement of sonic performance beyond previous OEM premium systems.

The result of their vision is a 20-speaker/24-channel, 720-watt* audio/video system using a proprietary DVD video player and removable 6.5-inch wide-screen video display. This prototype Mark Levinson® system is well suited to the expanded performance of the IS 430.

Functional Aggression
To complete the package, Chip Foose from Foose Design was employed to give the IS 430 a more aggressive yet functional appearance. Foose used subtle upgrades including Rhys Millen Racing front and rear lip spoilers and side skirts with a black over red exterior color scheme that emphasizes the wedge profile of the tightly drawn IS body. A mesh grille and gray headlamp treatment is used up front, and the taillights and rear badging are modified for a simpler look at the rear. A dual exhaust system with twin tailpipes improves performance and helps advertise the potent 4.3-liter V8 engine.

thisguy_06

AFter days of waiting, its finally on!!!!!

DrRick

so can someone tell me that with all of the trouble that they went through on this car, why in the hell did they not put a true LSD in the rear. i was watching and they said that they were putting the diff from the GS in the IS. i thought, "thats pretty stupid". thats an open diff. so i thought that they had mispoken. nope. watching him do the doughnuts, only the inside tire was loosing traction. what a disappointment. and 0 - 60 in 4.9.........get the hell out of here. there is now way. the engine only put down 228 (may have been 238) to the wheels in the GS. they really didnt do anything else to it. unless i missed something............


Doc

SC400-V8

iTrader: (1)

They dd a few other things to it... all new performance headers, exhaust sounded beautiful. Intae kit, that probably didnt do too much.. but hey. The team lexus IS430 was capable of 0-60 in the mid-high 4 second range... keep in mind they only gained TWO POUNDS in the switch from the inline 6 to the all alluminum V8.... and not only was it over 100 hp gained, it was an A$$LOAD of torque to back it up.

aliga

iTrader: (147)

I thought the best part of the show was when they explained/displayed that magnetic fluid for the shocks

DrewGS4

Yeah, the magnetic fluid designed for that hummer was pretty cool.

The show was pretty good.....wasnt too crazy about the color scheme they chose for the car. But the dual pipes on the IS and the ground kit made it look pretty mean. The minute they started that car...the car purred liked a V8 GS with exhaust and intake.
How they only increased by 2lbs on the V8 IS was a surprise to me. What other fat does the GS have that makes it so heavy?

jmecbr900

They had a lot of misinformation thru the entire show. That was one of them. They said they used a GS's rear diff, but if you notice when he was driving the car on the track.....he had LSD for sure. They also said they used the GS's drive shaft. That's impossible since the GS is longer than the IS.

I believe they didn't give out a lot of info during the show. Probably to keep copy cats at bay. Personally, that's the only thing I found wrong with the show. Most of us here KNOW what some of the parts for that car were, but they decided to keep it simple for the masses. I wanted to hear more about the technical side of it. All of us KNOW it's gonna take some custom fabricating to shoe horn a V-8 where an I6 used to be. I wanted to know how they got the ECU to read a different motor/tranny combo. I wanted to see what LSD they put in there (probably the supra one since they used the Supra's 6 speed tranny). Stuff like that.

I liked the show, but was a little dissapointed that they spent so much time talking about Rod Millen "the racer" rather than the project itself. You'd think from watching the show it was done in a few days, when we know it took months of R&D before they even started. They should have also gone a little more into the history of the car from Japan forward.

Nice to see ANY Lexus featured on TV.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

they actually put in the supra lsd, not the gs one (that would be the stupidest move). even the lsd on the is300 is better than the one on the gs430.

the v8 is the same weight as the i6 coz' the i6 is cast iron whereas the v8 is aluminum block. this has been covered a lot of times already. though i think the v8 is still a bit heavier than 2lb. but it's definitely very close. that's why the weight of the car practically isn't increased at all.

i am not surprised the car doing high 4. dr rick, you missing a lot of info there. the header is new, and while i am not sure if they played with the internal of the engine (i doubt though), you have to keep in mind that they are using a 6 speed (much less power train loss), and the car is lighter. if you read the spec the car is pushing 340hp (estimated) at the crank. the 300hp engine on the gs430 is putting around 230 to 240 at the wheels. using the same ratio that means the 340hp engine is putting around 270 at the wheel, that's if it's still with the 5 speed auto. with the 6 speed, you can only imagine more

and also keep in mind (not covered in the show) that the is430 rmm made has that big heavy *** 20 speaker ML system in the car. without that, the car will be even faster.

jmecbr900 is right one, i wish they talked more about the project than what they have done with the racer blah blah blah. they really just covered tiny little bit of the project. i mean, pulling out the old negine and putting in the new one is among the simple task already. the big story would be the ecu and computer wiring, which i was not surprised that the show didnt' cover (most likely rmm and lexus they don't want to disclose those info anyway).

Da Hapa

I was actually disappointed in the show.

IMO, way too much time was spent describing what SEMA is, what drifting is, and RM's background in offroad racing. I wanted to see how the IS300 became the IS430 and I think I actually got a lot more out of reading the normal trade rags in 5 minutes than watching a Hollywood produced show for an hour.

Still, that thing sounded awesome.

If you're listening Toyota/Lexus, build this car. I will trade in my IS in a heartbeat.