95bat

hmm... I am not sure. They can correct for temperature and elevation, but I dont know if they correct for gearing. Lower gearing has a higher torque multiplier, I'm guessing it would be way more work to correct for gearing when you can just put the car in the right gear.

MYIS500

I agree with you. When your friend said it had torque for days in the lower gears I agree. I watch these youtube races, which do not have professional drivers and I see the IS 500 holding its own on the hole shot. I want to see what it does win or lose with a real driver along with speeds and times throughout the run.

95bat

That would pretty much be Motortrend or the like. This car is tire limited for sure. World's best driver won't make it faster tho lol it's running at peak potential with the mid 4s 0-60 and high 12s. Which is fast on the street!

I think our car does really well in the real world. I've even ran a Tesla (slower one lol) and stayed really close with their instant torque. BUUUUUT.... many cars in the segment or even other segments comparable in price have the potential to run faster. I think we especially keep up with the turbo cars that are faster on paper because of launch control. In a real life race where both people smash the gas on a green light we are a lot more competitive. The larger NA motors and PD blower cars will deliver the real torque though.

DLPTony

Oh my God, all of this. 👏🏽👏🏽

With the right tires and in the correct mode, our cars are freaking rockets! I’ve said it earlier and some folks here didn’t believe me. Now that a few more have picked up the cars, they’re posting the same experiences.

Now there are some instances where I’m like: “Dayum!” I was in the right gear at peak torque, but this older S550 got up on its toes and that big ole a$$ was GONE! 😳🤣

arentz07

What I always think about with this car and 0-60 times is the tires. The RC F is a perfect example. It comes with better tires from factory, and wider ones, too. It regularly achieves 0.3-0.4 seconds shorter 0-60 in journalists' tests.

DLPTony

I agree 100%.

Carolina50

DLPTony

So funny… Most reviewers aren’t journalistic enough, but this guy tried too hard to emote; “I’m a journalist!”

Huge points for doing his homework! I didn’t hear anything egregiously incorrect.

604GSE21

He sound so funny by trying so hard

TGPCanada

This has got to be one of the main reasons behind the IS500's slower 0-60 times compared to its competition in this segment? I think a decent comparison is against the RWD M340i, which does the 0-60 sprint in a 3.8 seconds compared to the IS's 4.4 seconds. The M340i has almost identical weight, has a RWD variant, has an 8-speed trans, and makes almost identical power (BMW's stated HP/torque is actually at the wheels (not the crank) based on numerous Dyno tests over the years). If you actually believe the numbers are in fact at the crank, then the comparison becomes even more perplexing as to why the bimmer accelerates that much quicker. So what is going on here? Gearing must be playing a role here. I find it hard to believe that the drivetrain losses in the IS500's 8-speed are that horrendous compared to other transmissions out there. The few IS500/RCF dynos have shown ~400 hp at the wheels, which represents a ~15% loss, which is a very typical number, especially for a RWD, front engine car.

Here's the gear ratios between the IS500 and the M340i. The bimmer has higher torque multiplication in gears 1 through 4 (especially 2nd, 3rd, and 4th). Out of curiosity, I've also shown the gearing for the 10-speed in the LC500. Look at the torque multiplication in 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th gears ! If the IS500 had the 10-speed transmission, it would be an absolute missile. So it definitely seems the 8-speed in the IS500 has tall gearing which is affecting performance. Sure , putting better tires will help, but it just seems the IS500 is not fully utilizing well all that 472 horsepower. This is alot of power for a car of this size /weight. And yes, the M340i has launch control which the IS500 does not. So that for sure it also helping its performance figures.

IS500:
1st: 4.60
2nd: 2.72
3rd: 1.86
4th: 1.46
5th: 1.23
6th: 1.00
7th: 0.82
8th: 0.69
Final drive axle: 3.13

M340i:
1st: 5.25
2nd: 3.36
3rd: 2.17
4th: 1.72
5th: 1.32
6th: 1.00
7th: 0.82
8th: 0.64
Final drive axle: 2.81

LC500:
1st: 4.92
2nd: 3.15
3rd: 2.35
4th: 1.88
5th: 1.46
6th: 1.19
7th: 1.0
8th: 0.79
9th: n/a
10th n/a
Final drive axle: 2.94

AmbyBomb

The tires are a big factor, as is the way the IS500 makes power. With no launch control, it doesn't get out the hole as fast as it's on paper competition.

604GSE21

just realized something after watching this video, you guys in the states don't have headlight washer for the 500?

04gita

Nope. It's pretty common for US cars to omit headlight washers, even when the Euro or Canadian version has them.

DLPTony

Funny…my ‘06 IS350 had the headlight washers, but my ‘16 IS350 didn’t. His one mistake, saying the ASC switch was an interior dimmer. 🤦🏽‍♂️😂

Side note, did the passenger headrest have a stain?! I almost pulled the trigger on a USB/White many moons ago, but felt I’d be insane with the interior upkeep.

arentz07

This one was a little frustrating to watch because he gave up on the paddles quickly and said not to use them. Bruh... you clearly filmed this first thing in the morning and didn't warm up the transmission at all. The paddle delay is less than half of what you showed in the video when the car is warmed up. Otherwise, pretty solid review; he seemed to really like the car overall and got all the facts right.