zazzn

Hi Guys,

I just recently moved to the Bay area and had to sell my mk4 and aristo... My mk3 sits in the garage as it's done so for years, but I'm on the hunt for a replacement.

I just test drove an 08 ISF and was pretty impressed especially at how good the auto is. Normally I'd never consider an auto but after driving the ISF I was very impressed with it.

I know the 08's don't have a Diff, and saw there is the OS giken diff avail.

I'm trying to decide between a 335, ISF or a 996 Turbo.

Basically here's the break downs...

I'd pay upwards of
25k for a 335i 07/08
30-32 for a ISF that is for sale locally with 60k miles (08)
38 for a 03 X-50 996 turbo

I will only have one car and reliability is somewhat a concern. I'm a single guy with no debt and don't plan on any and the Porsche is at the top of the amount of money I'm willing to spend on a car.

I LOVED my mk4 supra and wish I had it every day I drove it (it was a RZ 6 spd RHD with a single 67) and i'm looking for something to excite.... Unfortunately the 08 M3's are still in the low to high 40's as I would want a 6 spd coupe.

How have you loved your ISF's and what made you buy them?

Evil Teo

iTrader: (13)

I bought mines cuz its unique and exclusive. Not many on the road around where I am. I only spotted 1 ISF on the road to work to work so far. Most of the time I only see another ISF is at a meet.

VtotheJ

iTrader: (2)

Just like Teo said, rarity.

The fact that I can ride quietly (stock exhaust) and have great mileage (when disciplined around 26-28mpg on hwy), and switch to manual mode whenever I please, was also appealing. Traditional manual is still my favorite, but there is nothing like being able to switch to AUTO when in traffic, for example.

Hearing the secondary intake at 4K RPMs is bliss.

mr2fast

I loved my F and highly recommend it. I't s a fantastic car, however the 996-T is tough to beat in terms of easily available power (unless you slap NOS on your F ) . Just really depends on what you want. For me in the end, I rarely have passengers and missed being in a tiny nimble little sports car.

dinardalvi

Love the ISF, it's my daily driver too. Used to drive the STI before the ISF and really wanted to go into auto in traffic.

Also as someone has said earlier the experience when the secondary intake opens at 4000 is awesome.

As this car is my daily driver I wanted reliability and did not want to be in the same shoes as my buddy who drives a M3.

Rolotomasu

iTrader: (1)

Since you loved your Supra, skip the 335i. Now if you need 4 doors and a backseat, then get the IS-F. Otherwise, I would get the 996T. I was in a similar situation earlier this year, and opted for the IS-F. Good luck!

wiredGS400

you can't beat the reliability of a Lexus. It sounds great when on it, easy to live with in Norcal Traffic, room for friends to hit the town, and quite exclusive. Sure, the 996 and the 335 have more power adder potential, and that is something, but since you have other cars to play with and mod, that really shouldn't mean much. BMW has horrible reliability (dont get me wrong, I would love to have one as long as it was on lease and within the 3 year pay for everything warranty) and I am absolute Porsche fan, and considered a used 997 Turbo when I was shopping for the F. Loved it, but the guy had just replaced the clutch (maybe he was a ****ty manual tranny driver) and that just turned me off--especially since this is my daily driver (I have a play thing as well, nothing as fancy as the Supra, I have a 1991 DSM race car) I helped a friend purcahse an M3 with DCT about 2 months before I got my car. She had major issues witht he DCT within the first 2 months, so much that they replaced her tranny all together. That aint so reliable. All in all, my wifes 2005 RX and my 2008 F have never needed anything but routine maintanance. And, I still notice people notice my car, I get questions about it every so often, and most of my clients, when they see it, mention that they should be paying me less

I chose the F, and I am in a fairly similar situation as you (minus the freedom, of course) and considered the exact same cars you are, and I think I made a great choice. Good luck.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

I bought the F after having an IS350 for a couple of years. The F is a great DD, and I needed four doors, plus I already had the Supra and had no compelling reason to sell it. Still don't. However, I prefer to drive the F over the Supra for a lot of reasons - the gearbox is better than the V-160 from a user perspective, and it never misses a shift or lets me over/underrev the engine. My Supra has been meticulously maintained mechanically (by me), and everything works as it did the day I bought it. Its reliability gave me the confidence to buy something more technically advanced without fear of having issues - short or long term.

The only unfortunate thing about the F - common wear parts are quite a bit more expensive than the Supra.

zazzn

So question, what are the costs of break job?

I saw on TOYO DYI it's stupid expensive like 600$ for the front pads, and if it's that for the pads don't even want to think about the rotors.....

However, I found pads (regular crap) from http://rockauto.com/ for like 30$ so I don't know what to believe.

I'm hoping someone can answer these questions

Does the ISF over heat when tracked? The 335 has oil and coolant problems when lapped... Does it run well? Too heavy? Auto hold up?

Does the ISF have any "gotchas"

The car I'm about to pull the trigger on is ABSOLUTELY flawless it's an 08 but higher miles with 67k. Are there anything that I should be concerned with? How stout is the transmission? Will it die like a A341E when you give it the beans?

I already know the aftermarket for this car sucks but I'm not sure why? No aftermarket supercharges, no turbo kits?! Mustangs already have CARB approved kits and I'm already salivating at the idea of a 10 PSI charged ISF.

I saw the turbo ISF making 522 WHP, but that's small beans for this engine which I believe can easily handle about 700WHP like the supra's it just needs some sort of forced induction

VtotheJ

iTrader: (2)

Considering the F has only been out since late 2008, aftermarket parts are still in production for the car. Hopefully years from now there will be more parts readily available.

Weapon F

If you want to mod IS-F with FI for big HP# it may not be right choice for you. Right now we only have three power adder available Headers, Cat Back Exhaust, and Nitrous Oxide so if your dream is over 500 whp unfortunately that currently not available.

Most F owners don't care sure we all want more HP but love all other attributes our car has to offer

CalitriSC

iTrader: (13)

Out of those choices I think you would like the F the best for sure. I was like you before when I had my STi, and thought I would never want an automatic. But I love driving my F very much.

zazzn

Well not dreaming of 500 yet, but will be in a few years, and I have contacts in Toronto when I move back there, who can fab me some good stuff.. Probably looking at rear mounted turbo or something like the corvette guys.

We'll see some juice yet out of these beasts..

wiredGS400

Problem isn't fabrication, as there are many talented ships who could fab the turbo header/plumbing for one, the major issue is engine control/ECU. There is currently no way tp flash or nod the ECU in the car (at least North American version) and no stand alones. Boost and no fuel leads to major boom in thd engine bay, and not a good one.

zazzn

Oh I hear you...

Piggybacks still work regardless of platform as long as the air sensors are handled...

For instance if it's a map or karmen vortex you can just play with that...

I was thinking along the lines of Emanage, but I'm sure the HKS vpro will work as well...

This is in the future... if not oh well I'll enjoy the 400 hp for now and figure something out later...

All toyota's have the same problem with ECU tuning, it's not widely done, so we've been piggybacking for years...

Alphabet soup for supras