I'm going to take this with a grain of salt. He's been overpromising ISF tunes since 2015, often going dark for long periods of time and still to this day, very limited results or comparisons of proof.
Also, from what I've heard from Loi, they don't delete CEL's, which is half the reason of getting a tune anyways. But hopefully that's changed in the past 4 months..

 

I wonder how much that drivetrain / battery etc weighs compared to a turbo V8...hmmm

 

Curious if Lexus has divulged how long/many IS500s would be available?

 

Your comment right here is a good example of WHY your seeing these responses. The very thread of this title is another. There aren’t comparisons. The is500 does not supersede the ISF. We simply point it out every time someone asks us for opinions. ISF owners are niche owners. We clearly like purpose built cars. The is500 doesn’t tick that box in any way. It truly is little more than an is350. Really, these comparisons should be posted more appropriately with an is350.

I think a lot of people WANT the IS500 to be the next ISF, so they want to find reasons it’s better than the ISF.

If Lexus gives us a true ISF, you will find jubilation on this sub.

 

I love the latest front end of the 3is. When the hype calms I'll definitely try to take one for a spin but I have zero intentions of trading my 2013 for one. I think I'm just getting old but I love how the ISF and really most performance cars of this era feel and drive compared to latest and greatest. I guess I'm just over chasing the biggest hp and fastest speed times and just more about what gives me pure driving enjoyment.

 

Which is why I said assumed to supersede.
How on earth you say there aren't comparisons?? And truly little more than an IS350? That's absurd, it's built around the same engine that's in our car and it's putting down more power on paper than our car. It's the first IS with a high performance V8 since our car. Hell it's only a matter of time till threads pop up about parts we can cannibalize from this car.

 

Your responses are perfectly to my point. People want it to be an ISF replacement… it isn’t. It’s an IS350 f sport with an RCF engine in it. The power debate isn’t a healthy debate, as if all things were equal the power difference isn’t substantial (headers are the issue on the ISF). Look at power levels for ISFs/RCFs/GSFs with headers and exhaust. You will see very small differences.

That said, even if the is500 had 600 hp, it’d still cook its transmission in turn 7. It wasn't developed for Fuji speedway, and it isn’t faster on a track than an ISF that was very, very old in comparison (and way underpowered with oem headers). Lexus wouldn’t even send it to a track in stock form for a test drive, which is very telling.

Hopefully the next IS car is a real F. There’s a whole lot more to an F than an engine. There’s even more than spring rates and shock valving. There’s suspension geometry under load, tire scrub radius, the ability to brake aggressively for hours, etc. It isn’t cheap or easy to build a car for track duty.

 

I understand your point but at the same time, you're comparing a polished ISF vs an is500. The initial ISF needed work for the track and was 10 seconds slower at VIR. It's odd that in an earlier comment you asked which ISF is the IS500 is faster than, since the 08 really isn't even in same ballpark to the 11+ ISF. And if you say they are and it can easily be upgraded...well, that's all I'm saying about the IS500 as well. It's not a perfect car, but it's a more class competitive effort with the V8/8speed we all enjoy, in a more comfortable package, it's what I'd guess is what 80% of current 2-3-4th owner ISF owners want.. Clearly, it's not an F, but on the other hand, I feel that the RCF and GSF were poor attempts at being F's as well. 50 more hp, fancier diffs, wider tires, more cf and still slower than an 11 ISF.

 

Right, but he has a 2013. It lapped VIR faster than the RC F, GS F, and was 0.5 seconds down on the IS500 that puked it's gearbox oil. No F car ever did that. Of course if Lightning Lap times were really important, we'd all be driving Giulia Quadrifoglios. They're a legit four door that absolutely smokes our cars at the track. You just can't be sure it will start and run when you need it to.

 

On all of this, we agree. Lexus could very well address shortcomings on the IS500, as it did the ISF. I don’t foresee that happening since track times isn’t their goal with this car, but who knows.

Lexus struggles between their choices of luxury and speed, which we see in the RCF and GSF. Weight is weight, and you can’t get around how difficult it is to haul weight around a track. The GSF should have had an entirely different drivetrain IMO.

 

Yes, but my comment was more about the "F cars" having the best supposed track aimed performance. The 08 ISF didn't, and neither did the RCF and GSF. Neither does the IS500. If anyone were to come onto this forum asking what is needed to track their any year ISF nearly everyone would agree more cooling with better pads and brake fluid with a true LSD would be mandatory. The bigger thing here is that cars like the m340i/ATSV/Civic Type R, supposedly below the F's levels of competition, are lapping faster. So yes, the IS500 isn't an F car, but it's 10 years newer and a lot cheaper. It should be no surprise that it's caught up, even if it can't do it for too long.

 

The F cars have the best performance of the Lexus fleet, not of the world. An upgraded LSD isn’t mandatory, one of the fastest Fs I know runs the oem torsen. Brakes wear and get replaced with more aggressive brakes, but the oem brakes do just fine on a track. They certainly don’t need replaced before the car leaves the factory, like the is500 needed. These are just ways to make an ISF FASTER… they are not required to make it reliable.

To be fair, the ISF needed an oil cooler and didn’t get one. We have members that track without one and are fine. I think your location’s temperature and skill level are a piece to that puzzle.

We gotta keep on topic though. The title is “ISF v IS500.” It isn’t, 08 ISF versus 2026 IS500 that maybe has better coolers. Maybe the IS500 gets refined, but that’s just a hypothetical suggestion. Honestly, why would they? TMC didn’t build it for lapping, which is really the entire point. The ISF was built to do one thing, albeit some years faster than others. Picking it apart or saying it’s slow by todays standards doesn’t matter, because we are only comparing it with one other car in this thread. Available in that comparison is the 08-14 ISF versus the 2022 IS500.

Id still take an 08 over an IS500. The 08 will still make it past lap 20.

The IS500 wasn’t built to do that one thing…at all.

If you just want to get groceries, then the conversation is moot and pick whatever car you think looks best. For me, it’s the ISF.

 

^^^^The Torsen wasn't part of the ISF until MY 2010. Earlier ISFs used an electronic LSD.

 

So what's faster in a drag race? A stock 2011+ ISF or the new IS500? Somehow, I think the ISF will actually beat an IS500. Just seems slower. Has anyone raced them?

 

still havnt seen a race on utube someone got to do it we can't even get the is500 in OZ Cheers.