mvalpreda

I'm taking a bit of poll.....how would you modify your IS to get sub 5 second 0-60 times?

yellowssm

With 40 - 50 more hp or lose 200-300 pounds.
Supercharger alone.
A real CAI, catback exhaust, headers, and loss a little weight.

ff_

(Ignoring the obvious and expensive methods of pumping more power to the wheels)

1) Find ways to reduce the weight of the car and/or driver
2) Use shorter gears in the rear end
3) Reduce air intake and exhaust restrictions

The 350 isn't that far away from being a sub 5-second car. If they'd drop in a manual transmission, that alone would probably do the trick.

Tony1

I disagree, I think givien the weight of this car along with the Hp, you won't get much
knocked off the 0-60 time with a manual tranny, (if any)...Just look at the old supra turbo,
it has even more HP and is a bit lighter and in a 6 speed tranny form, it still can't break into the 4 second
range... I think lexus did a great job with this auto tranny (over all)..

mvalpreda

So what do you think a good exhaust and intake would get you? I'm basing it on the average of the numbers I have seen....which is 5.3 0-60.

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

I think the biggest problem with the IS is its weight. The car with passenger(s) touches two tons.

Lose the weight by having sports wheels and tires, changing the leather seats to racing seats, gutting the interior of unnecessary weight, plastics, and sound absorbing materials, try to get an IS350 without a moonroof, carbon fiber hood and trunk, and the driver should lose a few pounds.

Then you can start on the engine and exhaust...

Tony1

Right now, the exhaust system that should give you the most gains is the LMS one,
because it removes the rear cats and replaces the stock resonators with high flowing ones..
It should give you anywhere from 15-20hp... That along with a Joez intake pipe and an HKS drop in replacement filter which should give you another 3-6hp..Total being an increase of 18-26 hp.. For now, that's about all you can do to the IS350 , that i know of..

uschardcor

carbon fiber trunk/hood wouldn't provide any weight advantages really on this car.

and the stock wheels are actually pretty damn light for stockies. the volks i ordered were maybe 2 lbs less

Tony1

This car is not THAT heavy for a four door car, and if it was say 500lbs
lighter, in real world driving, it'd be that much easier to have your back end kick out and
lose control when you hit a bump in taking a hard corner..IE: Corvette..

yellowssm

I think it is a heavy car. My old S4 was around 3800 pounds or so but it has AWD,V8,Bigger inside and out and it felt lighter than the lexus. Id love this car to be 300 pounds less.

Bichon

The whole point of the IS350 is to blend performance and luxury. If an owner is willing to strip out most of the luxury in the quest for more performance, me thinks he bought the wrong car. There are any number of cars, e.g., WRX STI, EVO, that are quick, less expensive, and cheaper to modify.

gonbad

You are smoking crack if you are making any reference to bad handling characteristics of a Corvette.

Lets Drive

iTrader: (3)

Lower unsprung weight in the wheel and tire combo. Get stickier rubber, and take the TCS off. Remove the spare tire, remove the filter in the air box, JoeZ intake to increase flow, and a free(er) flowing exhaust (if necessary),and put the car in power mode. Run less then half a tank of gas. None of its permanent, but should be good to shave .3 seconds off the 0-60.

Flipsonic

I totally agree! After ripping off everything in the car so it goes under 5 sec, why not slap on a number on each door and some stickers to advertise your sponsors. Then get on the freeway and weave in and out of traffic to pass everyone until you get to the finish line. While you're at it, why not get a pit crew? Sorry for being sarcastic but doing all this to beat a number is just pointless to me unless you're planning to race it professionaly on a track. Ok there, I got it out of me.

ff_

bzzzzz Wrong. The more your car weighs, the harder it will be to keep it from being thrown to the outside of the curve, especially when hitting a bump in said curve. More weight = more momentum being forced outwards under cornering forces. So, the lighter, the better.

The heavier cars have to use fatter tires and appropriate suspension tuning to make them handle well in the twisties.

Take a look at the Lotus Elise, Lotus Exige, and Ariel Atom. 3 of the lightest (very light), and best handling production cars on the planet. Lighter is always better (I can't think of any instances where that claim wouldn't hold true).