Another thing to consider, if you're planning on competing in autocrosses or track events, is that there is a HUGE scoring penalty for running a tricked-out car. You can run the same size wheels, and competition tires, with no points against your time. If you start changing suspension and engine parts, you're going to be running against people with race-prepped cars. Cool if you want to, but be forewarned.

Even so, for years in the Baltimore-DC area, club autocrossing FTD's were regularly set by a guy with a bone-stock 325i rolling on competition rubber. He was finally dethroned by....

.... his son, running the same car.

 

thanks guys for making me feel more comfortable..

to be honest, i'll proly never really race in the IS300 anywhere but on the freeway, and any "joe" can do that..

as far as power goes.. intakes and all that cool stuff are really neat.. but, since my parents did get me this car, i did promise them no engine work or nothin. This is the second car they have bought for me.. my first was a 97 V6 camry...
though, i keep my hopes up on a bolt on exhaust and drop in BLITZ filter

body work is ok, i can do small stuff, like new grill and wing.. but no kit , cuz my drive way is its own mountain, and if u dont go up the right way ( at an angle) u can scrape the stock IS300.. once my friend got his bumpber ripped off by going straight down in a 97 camry.. thats how high it is...

auto cross racing sounds really cool, and given the opportunity, id love to learn how to race in mud on a track or whatever, but i'll proly never get that chance any time soon..


but its nice to hear that guys are taking their cars (especially lexus) to the next level and beyond..

well, take care in all your races guys!! and keep me up to date on all your wins and successes!!!

thanks

 

Brian, I had a question, does your WIN Strut bar help that much? Did you feel a noticeable difference? Where did you purchase it from and how much are they because I cant find strut bars anywhere for the IS.

Also, what do you think about the AEM Cold Air Intake thats coming out for our cars? How much will it be when it comes out? Thanx for the info bro.

 

You need not be intimidated. It took me at least two years to learn to drive the car I was autocrossing at the time; an '85 Corolla GTS (AE86). Although I would win my class in '87, it took a long time of making mistakes and DNFs to get to that point.

The point I'm trying to make is you will never know how much fun it is unless you try it. Your driving will improve that much and your knowledge of how your car behaves during extreme driving will be greatly enhanced.

 

BlueIS---I bought the WIN bar from shadoh6 from the is300.net site.... he got two from japan, I got one and he got one... I can feel a difference yes.. it goes into and out of turns much better now... it was 250 and made out of aluminum.. it looks real nice...

 

im not intimitated..
its just i never get a chance to open up the car anywhere..
the only chance i get to do it is when my frineds and i go up to the mountains..
thats about it though..

if i ever got the chance..yea, id race ya

david

 

This is a really good thread. I've enjoyed reading comments on mods and driving skills. I don't have any plans to mod my IS300. I bought the IS300 because I wanted something smaller and more fun to drive than my Toyota Avalon XLS. I used to call my Avalon my "old farts car". It was really comfy and drove well. Taking turns (highway exit ramps) were less than thrilling in it though. The IS300 is the other end of the spectrum in fun.

I use my IS300 everyday to commute to work. I wouldn't have a chance to leave my car at a shop for any period of time for a mod. How many other folks here commute to work in their IS300? With all of the talk about racing and autocross I gather that many of you use your car only for sporting events.

I completely agree with the comments that the driver's skill is more important than anything the car has in it. Does anyone know of any web sites with driving skills information? How about 1,2, or 3 day driving schools? I live in Michigan so information on a driving school in MI or Ohio would be great.

- tom

 

Grom.. I am sure Mid Ohio racecourse has some sorta driving school going on there.. try callin them..

 

Thanks for the pointer to Mid-Ohio. They do have a driving school with varying levels of driving classes. Check it out at www.midohio.com You can take classes using your own car or pay more to use a Honda Accord. I'll be going with my IS300 for sure. ;-)

After the talk about AutoCrossing... I looked for info on that and found some at www.scca.org. Looks really interesting.

- tom