mcelligott

Anyone run their es300 at the track at all? Lexus' claim is 16.1 for a '92 es -- my best run was 16.3 with a racing clutch and no airbox at the time. I think everyone at the track was running crappy, so hopefully i can break into the 15's on friday at edgewater.

BriGuyMax

Racing clutch...I didn't know that ES's came with manual trannies?!?

mcelligott

Briguy -- 1sicklex and myself love when this topic comes up -- yes, there were about 200 manual es300's made between 1992 and 1993 -- they are probably the oddest 5-speeds you will ever encounter since you have to floor the clutch to even think about shifting -- check out the es300 gallery for some pics of our 5-speeds!

BriGuyMax

that's awesome....you learn something new every day!

CPerez100

you can find out the some of the story about stick shift at

http://www.vmrintl.com/Usedcars/Car%...es300_92-9.htm


Carlos

Lexpusher96

What's bad is that my wife runs the quarter in the 15's in her 4 cyl. SOHC Honda Civic with minor performance modifications (I/H/E). I hate when we take separate cars when we go out! My ES just struggles...

mooretorque

Ironic.......when I went to the Lexus dealer here for the very first time, it was to inquire about the ES with 5 speed. Didn't expect that they'd have one. Matter of fact, since it was mid 92, they didn't have ANY ESs and the only demos to drive were LS400s. But..............there was a customer's SC400 (remember, I said this was 1992, and it took 6 months to get one.....amazingly, the dealer talked the customer into letting it sit on the showroom floor for a week) on the floor, and, unfortunately for my wallet and my ES 5 speed aspirations, I thought it was the most gorgeous car I'd seen. 4 months later, I had one........but i always wondered how many folks bought the ES 5 speed.

Thanks for the memories, guys. Hadn't thought about that in a while.

VZV21

I get flat 16's on my 88 Camry V6 5-speed, with a worn OE clutch (and K&N cone filter). Say which clutch are you running right now? ACT or Centerforce.

Don't you love the clutch? Mine is on the stiffer side as well.

Also....to improve your times....new spark plugs, distributor cap/rotor, and wires should help also, since worn plugs can cost you around 10 bhp.

CPerez100

is there a way to convert an automatic into stick shift?

VZV21

Yeah you can, but it's pretty labor extensive (thus high $$$). Of course you'll need the tranny, clutch cylinder, slave cylinder, flywheel, pedals, ECU, etc.

mcelligott

I have the ACT extreme clutch -- it's great --- i love it! I got my timing belt changed, water pump replaced, oil changed and all my other 120k stuff done, so im hoping my ES will be running at full performance this saturday at the track -- hoping to get anywhere in the 15's range.

BTW, i am planning on getting a wet nitrous kit this week -- i'll keep you guys posted on that one!

VZV21

Isn't that the 6 puck unsprung clutch?

mcelligott

yea, it took a while to get used to

meanboy

I saw an ad for a ES300 with a 5 speed a couple of days ago and I thought "this guy must be on crack".

Learn something new everyday.

CPerez100

LOL