FITYSCENTS

Wow I never new how big of an impact weight could have on performance. When I have more than one person in the car(IS350) it feels completely sluggish. I am helping my brother decide on a car and we was were looking at the M3. Here are the 0-60 stats.

m3 coupe
4.8 seconds
m3 convertible
5.4 secon


The convertible only weighs 350 pounds more but loses .6 seconds in the 0 to 60.


Two questions

How fast do you think the IS 350 would be if it was 350 pounds less?


Isn't

FITYSCENTS

Don't you think this should be more of a focus by Lexus in their future cars since ours are usually heavier than our competition?

STIG

search under user name RoRo. he did some weight saving and run 1/4 mile.

I think the best place to look for weight saving is the motor. it's probably the heaviest single object u can remove quickly.

STIG

here you go.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...highlight=roro

conekiller

Try dropping 8-10 lbs from each wheel and see what happens...

FITYSCENTS

interesting what Roro has been able to do to his car. I am going to assume a car well into the low 13's should be well under 0 to 60 in less than 5 seconds....

conekiller

that would be a poor assumption

FITYSCENTS

Explain your logic sa to why this is a poor assumpton. Obviously you know something that I don't know. So inform me.

conekiller

Low 13s in a 300hp car that weighs over 3300/3400 lbs doesn't mean its 0-60 time is "well under" 5 seconds. Cars well under 5 seconds are much faster than the IS350. Quarter mile times are also a very poor rule of thumb when making an estimation of 0-60...cars that are otherwise slow to 60mph can blow the doors off a Lexus in the quarter (highly tuned VW/Audi 1.8Ts for example)

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

I think that losing weight on the car will help, but it's not the solution. The weight right now will probably be o.k. with fast acceleration at low speeds, but it will be too heavy at higher speeds. Keep the IS on the road, not the track.

There are heavy materials such as leather seats, all the mechanical comfort gizmos, sound deadening materials, etc. that make the IS a Lexus. Take that all away and you'll probably get the rumored Supra...

You willing to wait?

ff_

How so? Losing weight is just as effective as adding power in apples-to-apples amounts. In fact, since losing weight will also improve handling, I'd make the argument that it's actually more effective than adding power (which itself oftentimes adds even more weight).

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

It's true that losing weight will help the car, but the solution lies not in breaking down the IS, but rather finding something that will suit your needs better if you want a faster, more agile vehicle.

Call me a purist. I got the IS as a whole package. I will most likely not do any engine mods on the car. I understand that the car is sometimes sluggish and numb, but 99% of the time provides me will all the power and handling that I need.

I am always interested in modified cars and how people can make the IS better. My brother suggested that I find ways to drop the weight when he drove my car for a day, and I laughed at his idea of having racing bucket seats instead of my ventilated leather ones.

I would love to see how your car turns out if you get the chance to drop the weight. Keep us informed with the progress if you achieve such an accomplishment.

Tony1

I think with a car like the IS350 that doesn't have relatively strong torque numbers,
losing weight would help greatly... (With the 0-60 time , that is)..

Lets Drive

iTrader: (3)

Trap speeds are an indication of speed. 0-60 is largely dictated by traction and power which gets to the ground. In a simple example, if you have more HP than your tires can grip in the first few gears, you'll make a 'poor' 0-60. However, if you gain traction, you'll theoretically regain the distance covered, and finish the 1/4 mile at a high(er) trap speed. Conversely, some cars make great low end (or launch in their power range) and have enough traction (AWD or good tires), but don't have the guts to keep up through the 1/4th; great 0-60, but poor 1/4th time.

Hypothetical:

Car A: 13.7sec. // trap 100mph in the 1/4th

Car B: 13.7sec. // trap 107mph in the 1/4th


They both make the same elapsed time, but which do you think is faster 0-60 (again in theory)?

In all honesty, I think its a fair assumption with some exceptions. If a car is making low 13s, it probably does 5.X sec. 0-60 give or take a few .X, but to be picky, its not always the case. Depends on how technical you'd want to be.




On the weight vs power. I'd take less weight ANY day. Braking, cornering, acceleration, fuel consumption, wear etc. are improved, and its 'cheaper'. You can always build for power.