On my way to work today, hopped on the highway for a minute and saw in the rearview a beautiful Avus-like blue Lexus IS300 with a carbon fiber hood chases me down. I get off at my exit and he follows me, i then turn left and come to a red light with 2 lanes and open straightaway in front. He pulls up to me in the left lane and the passenger signals to roll my window down. The passenger says, "awesome car man, im looking at M3's myself." I return the compliments and he asks if i want to run. I say sure why not. As im closing the sunroof, the light turns green and he gets a good car lead jump on me before i can even put her in first. I leave the sunroof about half open, slam it in to first. By second gear im about even with him, and 3rd gear i start walking him pretty good. Had about 3 carlengths on him to about 80. I then turn down my road and we exchange thumbs up's right before i turn

First kill in my new M3.
didnt expect to beat him that bad, especially after he got the jump on me like that. But i must say, it was the best looking IS300 ive ever seen. When done right, those cars look great. Anyway, apparently he was pretty close to stock. What kind of engines do they have and what kind of power are they putting down off the showroom floor?

is300's are actually pretty quick little cars. they have a 3.0 215 horse I6. it doesnt rev like a bmw straight 6 does but it gets the job done.

i stayed at a first gen NSX's (240hp version) rear fender through 3 gears from a 5 mph roll in a 04 is300 5 spd. not too bad for being down 35 ponies.

Nice kill. I just traded my 350Z for an 04 IS300. At the crank its 215 hp and 218 torque. The IS300 is not very fast down low. It performs decently the faster you go. It is no match for an M3. I also have a 325i, this is more its speed.

the worst thing about the is3 is that they build it like a lexus. not to mean they build it bad they are very nice cars. what i mean is that stock the cars (like all lexus') try to isolate you from the road and motor.

in stock form you can barely hear the motor rev until peak points in the powerband, and handling wise the stock tires are horrible but despite a hint of turn in understeer the IS are very well balanced.

lowering, intake, exhaust. wake these cars up alot.

some of my other peeves with the IS though: the pedal setup is horrible compared to my bmw, i have never been able to heel and toe an IS properly and consistantly. And the brakes arent really all that great feel wise and stopping power wise.

ups: i love the IS's gearbox. it is one of the best i have ever felt. ive never experienced and uncrisp shift in any IS.

IS300's come with the 2JZ-GE (NA Supra motor), correct?

its a very close motor but the is300's have VVT-i which is just variable valve timing, i dont think the 2jz-ge ever got VVT.

its a very close motor but the is300's have VVT-i which is just variable valve timing, i dont think the 2jz-ge ever got VVT.They have both non vvt-i and vvt-i for this motor. The non vvt-i they say is the better one to turbo charge for some reason.The non vvt-i motor puts out more power and is the popular one to use for the turbo app..I did this read up on a sc300 that was getting turbocharged by Toyomoto down in South Fla either in sport compact or Turbo & high tech perf magazine . The guy who owned the car was looking for a motor and tranny.This was also a project car I believe, and they were extensively talking about the comparrison.The 2jz-ge vvt-i motor I believe is only available in Japan but dont quote me on this.My memory is kind of vague on this.

Damn, why are my posts always so damn long! Sorry! :rolleyes:

OEM IS300's run low 15's, if I recall...

OEM IS300's run low 15's, if I recall...

A good 5 speed driver will run low 15's. I read on IS300.net of one person able to run a 14.9 stock.

I was being optimistic... :D

its a very close motor but the is300's have VVT-i which is just variable valve timing, i dont think the 2jz-ge ever got VVT.



The 2jz-ge vvt-i motor I believe is only available in Japan but dont quote me on this.My memory is kind of vague on this.

Damn, why are my posts always so damn long! Sorry! :rolleyes:

note: maybe you need to read other posts :D

Nice kill. I just traded my 350Z for an 04 IS300. At the crank its 215 hp and 218 torque. The IS300 is not very fast down low. It performs decently the faster you go. It is no match for an M3. I also have a 325i, this is more its speed.


hey z-jay-z why did you trade the z for another is300? thinking boost?

hey z-jay-z why did you trade the z for another is300? thinking boost?

He damn well better! :buttrock

he had an is 300 before he got his 350z

slick: so when is it gonna be? we've moved......

he had an is 300 before he got his 350z

slick: so when is it gonna be? we've moved......

Damn, I thought you had forgotten.

Whenever you want man, I'm up for it anytime. :buttrock

I got another IS because I regretted getting rid of my first one about 3 months after I got the Z. I got tired of bringing the Z into the shop every six to eight weeks for repairs. The first trip being about two weeks after I got it. I never had to spend a dime but it was a pain in the A$#. The Z looks great and is fun to drive, just too problematic for me.

As for boost, who knows what the future will hold. Stock for now.

I got another IS because I regretted getting rid of my first one about 3 months after I got the Z. I got tired of bringing the Z into the shop every six to eight weeks for repairs. The first trip being about two weeks after I got it. I never had to spend a dime but it was a pain in the A$#. The Z looks great and is fun to drive, just too problematic for me.

As for boost, who knows what the future will hold. Stock for now.
wow I thought they were good cars

probably had an early 03

I had problems with the transmission, tires, drivers seat, air-conditioner compressor, window rollers, drivers door rattling(3 trips to dealer), rear hatch release, tire pressure sensors(most annoying problem), and others I can't think of off of the top of my head.

I was happy to part with it.

coughnissancough... :devillook

i drive my dads GS300 occasionally if i cant drive my Bimmer and the 2 most annoying things i have against them is that the steering is WAY too overpowered and its like playing an arcade game, almost no feel of the road at all. and also the brakes dont have the nice reassuring feel that the BMWs have that the car will stop and its hard to apply the correct amount of breaking because the only time you will get effective braking in a lexus is when u have the pedal smashed all the way down lol

The only real BMW experience I have is in my wifes 325. Mabye I don't know enough about cars to tell the little differences in breaking and steering. All I know is that my IS is a joy to drive. I should have never gotten rid of my first one.

Glad you're diggin' your ride, Jay! :buttrock

nice kill. i've slapped a few myself, BUT there's one I sure wouldn't want to touch. A white one in my area that has the molded widebody kit, HUGE IC hanging up front and blow-off valve sound you can hear across the parking lot and sponser sticker everywhere. I'm pretty sure that thing is a monster, so I stay away from it.

That reminds me, I wonder what the hell e34biturbo's neighbors think of his lwhite E30 m3. White, probably loud as hell, stickers everywhere :eek:

PS HOW MANY MONTHS HAS HE BEEN CAR OF THE "MONTH" now? :confused:

i drive my dads GS300 occasionally if i cant drive my Bimmer and the 2 most annoying things i have against them is that the steering is WAY too overpowered and its like playing an arcade game, almost no feel of the road at all. and also the brakes dont have the nice reassuring feel that the BMWs have that the car will stop and its hard to apply the correct amount of breaking because the only time you will get effective braking in a lexus is when u have the pedal smashed all the way down lol

GS300 and IS300 are two different cars :) with the IS having the advantage in every way except maybe the interior...

That reminds me, I wonder what the hell e34biturbo's neighbors think of his lwhite E30 m3. White, probably loud as hell, stickers everywhere :eek:

PS HOW MANY MONTHS HAS HE BEEN CAR OF THE "MONTH" now? :confused:
enough months for half of the members on bimmerforums to have been car of the month. lol. he deserves it though :D

the worst thing about the is3 is that they build it like a lexus. not to mean they build it bad they are very nice cars. what i mean is that stock the cars (like all lexus') try to isolate you from the road and motor.

in stock form you can barely hear the motor rev until peak points in the powerband, and handling wise the stock tires are horrible but despite a hint of turn in understeer the IS are very well balanced.

lowering, intake, exhaust. wake these cars up alot.

some of my other peeves with the IS though: the pedal setup is horrible compared to my bmw, i have never been able to heel and toe an IS properly and consistantly. And the brakes arent really all that great feel wise and stopping power wise.

ups: i love the IS's gearbox. it is one of the best i have ever felt. ive never experienced and uncrisp shift in any IS.

IMO pedal setups on Bimmers are some of the best...whenever I drive a BMW stick shift, its so smooth. I've only known how to drive stick about a year, and I think I'm pretty damn good.