Torii

driving this car at high altitudes I am having problems, it is always at 4k rpms driving 55 in the mtns and it shifts constitantly if I try the cruise control(at 55mph) who drives 55 anymore, its worse at 65-70. in towncity driving is even slow acceleration wise(granted its 100 freaking degrees out.

So I am wondering if there is anything to give me more power?

I am in Utah right now, in case any where wondering.

conekiller

For any substantial power increase available right now? Trade it in for a 350. You have a ~3300 lb car with a scratch over 200hp and pitiful torque. What you describe is normal.

tgara

Any car is going to have problems at high altitudes. Higher altitudes means less ambient air pressure, so there is less of a gas/air charge in each cylinder. This translates into less power.

The solution is either drive at lower altitudes, or get a turbo.

inecstaz

I dont know how high these mountains you are talking about are... but I've taken my 250 to big bear with a full trunk and 3 other passengers and it did fine. I was even driving at high speeds at times.... no problems.

Secondly, you're not suppose to use the cruise control in mountains or hilly roads, because it will constantly be switching gears to climbs the hills.

If its really as bad as you make it out to be, you should probably bring it in to get it checked.... sounds a little abnormal.

Torii

I dont think anything is wrong mechanicaly, just wondering if a new exhaust or intake or chip or whatever modders do can gain 25-50 more hp out of this car, btw my 250 says it weighs 4100lbs, its an awd.

tonyxcom

you would be lucky to get 10hp out of bolt ons much less 50.

Ramon

AWD really kills the 250's perforamnce unfortunatly, and being at altitude makes it even worse. In addition to the extra weight burden the AWD has, it also has to power up an additional two wheels. You could get an intake/exhaust for some power but I honeslty don't think it will help you too much. My advise for anyone who wants/needs an AWD vehicle would be to take a look at the GS350 awd when it becomes available, or seriously consider Infiniti's offerings with AWD.

CarDudeRI

something i've noticed with my 250AWD... i have about 13k miles on it, and it's definitely not acting the same as it did when i first got it - this all started after i got my 1st oil change... it's lost a lot of it's oomph... i know it's not nearly as quick as the 350, but it was still a lot quicker up until that 1st oil change... at this point, i'm convinced that my scion tC was quicker which is pretty scary. one thing that definitely stands out to me is when i stomp the accelerator while cruising on the highway. it used to jump down to 3rd gear, and pull hard. Now, it only jumps down to 4th, and kinda lags and takes it's time to climb up the tach and shift to 5th... this happens in both Auto and Sequential mode. I brought this up with the dealer at my 2nd oil change and they said they couldn't find anything wrong... but, I know i'm not crazy, and that it is MUCH different now than it was during the 1st 5k miles. anyone else experience something like this? Should i just get my tranny re-flashed to day 1 settings at the dealer?

Bichon

Is it possible someone flipped the transmission switch from "pwr" to "normal"? I know that when I had an IS250AWD loaner, it seemed to make a big difference. If you're not using PWR mode, you ought to give it a try.

Pittdawg

You get 6 or 7rwhp just from the Joe Z intake tube...

CarDudeRI

good thinking, but not the case here. I always have the switch set to PWR... and i did check it... in fact, i switched it back to normal and drove it for a little while, and then put it back to PWR, and it didn't make any difference. it is still acting the same.

ISbb

I think IS250 is enough power for me since Macao is a small city compare to the state... I find the D mode is a bit gentle but if you turn on the PWD and shift to S you will feel much better!! I think 200hp is just a number maybe it cheat some of it but still IS is a big OK for me... By the way my one is FR...

Chi-town

I agree with Ramon, and I will take it a step further:

If you want luxury AWD, right now, with a little more power, check out the AWD Lexus GS300 (soon to be obsolete, but can be had at a great bargain), G35x (good bargain), 330ix, M35 awd, etc. As it appears that the Lexus IS250 AWD, in terms of HP/TQ is not giving you what you desire.

Note: I intentionally left out the GS350 AWD because I don't see that being out in the near future, but if you have the time I would wait it out for that.

If trading is not an option, then I believe that you are stuck. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I just don't see the aftermarket being that wide open for the AWD Lexus IS 250.