I love the new IS and particularly the IS-F. However, I strongly feel that a $60,000 - $70,000 car (when you look @ options and taxes) should have bigger brakes than what the IS-F comes with. The same can be said with the M-# and many other performance cars.

Don;t just get happy b/c its a Brembo kit but it should be a really big kit. We are talking the most high performance Lexus ever and it should have brakes that are reflective of this.

Attached is a pic of what Porsche does on its Cayenne and the front caliper is EXACTLY what I think is needed and appropriate for the IS-F, M-3, Corvette Z-06 etc etc etc.

Thoughts?

ted

 

When comparing the IS-F brakes and rotors to other Lexus models, I personally think they are huge. Also, having driven the IS-F, I think the braking power is suitable for the performance.

-Regan

 

I agree, those are some serious brakes. You have to remember this is a high performance sedan that will probably just be a daily driver for most people. The brembos are more than enough stopping power for this car. If people want to make their IS-F a race car they will pay for bigger brakes. No sense in making everyone pay for them directly from the factory.

That Porsche has to weight like a thousand LBS more than the IS-F. I think that's why they look so big.

The z06 only has 6 piston front and 4 piston rear. So only 2 more pistons in back, that's it.

The cayenne turbo, pictured above, also has 6 pistons in front and 4 pistons in rear.

 

so your only concerned with how the brakes look? Hardly a performance defining characteristic

 

i think my point was not clear. Any top Level Perfromance Flagship model such as the IS-F is for Lexus or the M series is for BMW, or a Z-06 is to a Corvetee should have really top level BIG *** BRAKE SYSTEM.

Who cares if the IS-F brakes a bigger than the piny little ones on most Lexus cars? Thats not the point. For a car to be taken really seriously as a PERFORMANCE BEAST, which is what the F Series and Is-F in particular are trying to do, they need to play like the big boys. Put massive calipers on the front and big ones on the back. Porsche doesn't mess around. They do it right, as the picture shows. The same can be said of AMG. Take a look at the S class AMG or CLS AMG, and the front calipers are ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE. Its like 2 calipers in one!

You can look at car's brakes to see if its really a perfromace beast or simply masquerading as one. Anything really serious will have brakes to match.

IS-F, Z-06, Infiniti S Series etc have a lot of room for improvement. While AMG, Porsche, Aston Martin etc. are good to go. You shouldn't have any need at all to upgrade brakes in a serious $70,000 performance car- they should already have them to begin with.
I just think that is the Lexus F series is going to truly play in the BIG LEAGUES OF HIGH PERFORMANCE then it needs to step up its Brake Game and also they need to be first to market with some serious perfromance items as opposed to just following what others do.

Ted

 

Ted,

Got to totally disagree.... The picture and example you gave is also in direct opposition to the point you're trying to make.

BTW, the 'yellow' ceramic composite brakes on the Cayenne Turbo are an optional ~9K upgrade to a $93,700 (base) vehicle. Here's what they come with stock in various trim levels up to 14.49 inches

You're also comaring a high powered SUV with a curb weight of 5,192 lbs, you should be looking at a 911 if you want to do a closer comparison.

On the Porsche 997 911 GT3, the brakes are MUCH smaller than those you pictured on the Pepper. They come with 13.78 inches in diameter both front and rear. The IS-F brakes are BIGGER than that if you're all about optics and size, and close to the SUV you pictured
IS-F You do know Lexus has the ceramic brake option if you want it? Not widely available but I've heard you can still get it if you want to spend the $$$

 

all u are talking about is CAYENE, S class, CLS...they are all big and much heavier cars!!! look at the same c63amg..same size brakes as isf,m3, rs4..

looks of brakes, is not a way of showing how 'big' u have...

no offence, just IMO u're talking ****..

 

i highly disagree. if anything, it's the pistons area that counts anyway. the is350 has HUGE caliper, but the pistons areas are still pretty small. having a relatively "thin" looking caliper doesn't mean small pistons areas

moreover, rotor size is just as important as well. the larger the rotors, the more powerful the brakes are. is-f has 14.2" rotors up front, that's BIG, you don't see that often out there.

calipers size, that's very much cosmetic

 

Also, bigger brakes increase unsprung weight. The IS-F's brakes are MORE than adequate, I think you have no point whatsoever.

 

Wow, I was totally shut out.

Well, some of you make some good points but I just think that having bigger calipers along with the big rotor that is already offerred will only help to show the perfromance aspects of the car.

ted

 

Let me put this in perspective.....the brakes on my IS-F are a tiny bit bigger than my Porsche 997 Twin Turbo. I think that the IS-F is in good company.

 

I agree the brakes are fine, buy why didn't lexus go 4 piston on the back...

 

brake balance is the key, going more pistons doesn't mean much. i need to dig through info, but i would guess the piston area on the is-f is larger than that of the is350

 

I went to the IS-F event at Moroso. I didn't stay the 2 hours, I stayed the ENTIRE DAY.

I am simply amazed that at 5pm the brakes stopped just as it did at 9am There was no hint of fade.

14.2 in front and 13.6 in the rear is huge! They don't clear the 18" IS wheels, you need 19s.

The days of brakes fitting flush with the wheel are over. Wheels are just huge today.

Even the largest brakes around, I believe on the Bentley Continental are behind 20" wheels and well, your spending 300k on this car!

New carbon ceramic brakes further improve all-round performance

The braking system of the standard Continental GT already features the largest diameter brake discs of any production passenger car on sale today. The new Continental GT Diamond Series further extends the car’s performance boundaries by using new carbon ceramic brakes, a first for a production Bentley.

Boasting 420 x 40 mm carbon-silicon carbide, cross-drilled front discs and 356 x 28 mm rears, the new brakes are even larger than the standard GT. The new brakes offer significant performance benefits together with a 23 kg reduction in rotating unsprung mass benefiting steering response and handling.

“The standard Continental GT has the biggest brakes fitted to any production car, so braking performance is already superb,” says Member of the Board, Engineering, Dr Ulrich Eichhorn. “The carbon ceramic brakes deliver a major improvement in braking performance and pedal feel, while their lighter weight benefits both vehicle handling and steering response. Bentley believes in building the ultimate. Carbon ceramic brakes are another example of this philosophy.”

The Continental GT Diamond Series features new open-design 9J x 20-inch, 14-spoke forged alloy wheels giving a good view of the handsome new brakes and their impressive black, 8-piston front callipers. More importantly, these bigger wheels improve road holding as well as brake cooling.

 

ted, i think ur just after the bling look of having a HUGE caliper that sticks out rather than performance... u should be glad that lexus decided to fit 6pots up front instead of just fitting IS350 brakes...