grmpwr

Hey guys whats up.... new to the forum.. ok i am about to purchase an is250 6speed... but i am a little worried about the power level.. i dont want a 350 because its an auto... i come from the world of bmw,audi,vw, vr6s, v8s.. never ever owned a japanse car in my life i am so used to having a very tourqe, powerfull cars... i will be purchasing the new m3 in about a year... but in the meantime i wanna get the is250.. because the looks and the gas milage.. i will be driving 50k a year in it... so dont wnna racj up the milage on the M... But i am worried when i get it i will hate driving it... what can i do... no ECU upgrade right? headers? how much power.. exhaust i am not sure i wanna get becuase of the noise.. intake?.. anything you guys advice would be great.. thanks

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

Peronally, if the feeling of power and torque is your think, I wouldn't get the IS250. I like manual transmissions myself, but I would choose the automatic 350 vs the manual 250. That extra 100 HP does make a difference. I would say the IS250 may be similar to driving a 325i manual in terms of power and torque feel. For most of the day to day driving it is more than enough, but for those times where you want to punch it on the freeway on ramp or because a car is closing in on you fast as you merge into traffic, it really will show its lessor power. My BMW 330i feels more powerful than an IS250, but even then at times I feel it has a lack of power.

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

The best way to add a lot of power to an IS250 is to trade it in for an IS350.

The auto on the 350 is -excellent- by the way...while the stick on the 250 has had a lot of complaints.

Short of that, the mazzuri headers will add about 25 hp to an IS250, and run you around $750 if you can do your own work, probably about $1000 installed. They will fail any visual emissions inspection though since they delete the primary cats. You might can find an exhaust shop to add some generic cats at an additional cost, and that might skate past an inspection if you're not in california.

And that's about the only part that adds enough power to be worth buying... intake won't do anything but make it louder... exhaust will run 600-1200 bucks and make it louder AND add maybe 5-10 hp tops.

And that's about it.

Scottina08

iTrader: (1)

I have to disagree...I think the 250 is just fine....and this is coming from someone who has owned 5 3000gt's/Stealths...3 of those twin turbo...and one over 600 hp. My wifes 250 with the Joez and blitz has plenty of power for anything you want to do...except maybe running the 1/4 mile. i dont drive it that much...but when i do i thoroughly enjoy it. First of all...the quality of the vehicle is the best i have ever owned or test driven...and that includes all the usual suspects---bmx, audi etc. The car is so smooth and refined....but activate the paddle shifters and it has a little sting thst you dont expect. The power is more than fine for merging, passing and lane changes etc. But if you want to race stop light to stop light vs. sports cars...this is not it. but if you want 25 mpg's in the city and 35 on the hwy....and be refined, quiet and very comfotable...the 250 wins hands down. Just my .02====

Recluse

So you're going to get an IS250 6MT, put 50K miles on it, then get rid of it and get an M3? Or are you going to keep and continue to drive the IS as your "beater" after you get the M?

If the former, as a random suggestion, what about getting a reliable used car with 20K-30K already on it, doing your additional 50K miles, and then dumping it when you get the M? Because an IS with 50K on it in one year will take a serious hit in resale value.

In any case, have you driven the IS250 6MT? If not, I STRONGLY recommend that you try before you buy. For as long as the dealership will let you.

In my 11 months of ownership, I never really had issue with the car's power, but I didn't really enjoy driving it, either. The car itself is VERY refined, but the clutch and shifter performance is not, which makes it seem down market by contrast.

grmpwr

thanks guys for response.. first yes i will be keeping the is250 even after i get the M. only reason i am not getting the M now is i want the premuim in the price to come down.. plus work out any kinks in it the first year... fig i would use the is250 as a daily after... roads on the east coast eat up nice cars like crazy.. plus the M would get lousy mpg... fig the is would get good mpg, and reliable.. and who cares if i put 100k or 200k on it.. its a little more replacable... so headers would be the best bang for the buck huh... isnt removing ther cat lose some back pressure? i wish the is at least had an ecu upgrade like most cars.. for an easy 10hp.. i guess maybe headers.. anybody on here have one on their car... maybe i will just be stuck with droping it with eibach pro kit... spacers in the back.. and a drop in filter... and just driving it..

Brian231

You will enjoy the 250 as a daily driver. Especially with gas prices pushing well over $4 per gallon for premium this summer.

ISmy350JDM

go with the is 350....if auto is just too much for you look for another car

grmpwr

You will enjoy the 250 as a daily driver. Especially with gas prices pushing well over $4 per gallon for premium this summer.
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yes.. i agree thats why i love the is250 so much.. i have a 05 bmw m3.. and a 1998 bmw m3... and a 04 vw r32... 245whp... all of them so much fun... but gett between 12-20mpg... yes i could get 25mpg in the 05 m3.. but i would have to drive it like a grandma.. so whats the piont of having an M. then anyway.. so i fig get something with good gas milage and dont mind putting miles on it... my choices were the is250... acura tsx.. good mpg.. but front while drive... or a audi a4 turbo.. but not as reliable as the others.. the is 250 wins. looks good... rear wheel drive a big plus..manual.. and toyota reliabitly and good mpg

rfx45

Isn't that kind of an oxymoron since the M3 has the least torque in it's class?

grmpwr

Rfx45.... i see your point i was more taking about my audi s4 v8... or my r32 vr6.. were theres tons of tourqe from 2k.. 80% of it... yes even my old 98m3 had good tourqe down low.. weres the 05m3 had full tourqe from 4k... the m somehow defise all this yes it only has 280ft tq.. with chip, but how the tq and hp meet as the motor climbs.. it feels tourqe and very willing to rev to 7.5k with ease...

CAIFAN_64

iTrader: (1)

why dont you just buy the IS-F and save some money??? instead of buying two cars.

grmpwr

Is-f is great car... but first no manual.. i dont like the smg... if i wanted a four door, sport car i would get audi RS4 or bmw M5... plus i would rather have a v8 M3 and is250 for daily.. i just wanted a little more power... plus a v8 m3 would be great just do go out and relive stress...

Cali2is

If the price of gas keeps going up I might just trade for an IS250...

grmpwr

cali2is... LOL.. i am a commidity trader. trade, oil, gold, currencies, and gasoline futures... expect another 10-20cent max this year.. drop in the fall for a while... the bad news is in the next 5yrs i see it rising another $1-2.50 per gallon... unless the economy slows down, less demand, dollar gets stronger. or we find more oil and produce more gas... either way you look at it were screwed in europe there paying $8 bucks a gallon... and we will see that soon...