Here Is My Highly Scientific Measurement Of How Fast My Lexus IS-F Really Is

"Torque Affair" (torqueaffair)
02/10/2016 at 08:28 • Filed to: LEXUS, IS-F

It was January 31st, 2016. The weather was unusually great for this time of year. It was 60 degrees in the morning warming up to a nice and balmy 84 degrees later in the day. While my fellow citizens in the northern parts of the US were shivering under their electric blankets, wondering if they would ever get to drive their stored high performance cars again, us Austinites were sipping beers and walking around in shorts. I wasn’t sipping a beer. I was doing something even better. I was driving around town in my newly purchased used IS-F.

I can’t say that I had my mind set on buying an IS-F, but when I came across it on !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , a test drive made me fall in love with its brutal acceleration and sound. The seller informed me that the car, with its modifications, was generating close to 400 hp at the wheels and it certainly felt like it. But who really knew how much power it had. I would have to take it to a dyno to truly find out, but for now I was more curious about doing a simple 0-60 mph test. If there really was 400 hp at the wheels, 60 mph should come very quickly…perhaps in the low 4-second range after taking off from a standstill.

My modified IS-F rumbles thunderously with louder, freer-flowing exhaust and an aftermarket intake. Before I did any 0-60 mph tests, I wanted to enjoy the sound of the booming exhaust. I did so in a nearly vacant office parking garage that I came across.

The garage was empty except for a sole employee who had shown up on a beautiful Sunday morning to work. He was probably there because his boss needed something on Monday and I caught him suspiciously staring at me through the dark tinted office windows. He must have been thinking, “Man I wish I could be doing that instead.” Actually, his thoughts were probably more like, “What is this guy doing? I don’t like it…I’m going to call the cops.”

Fortunately, before the cops arrived, I became bored with doing laps in the garage and left. My departure meant that the lone Sunday office worker’s mind was now at ease – free to concentrate on his mind-numbingly boring powerpoint presentation that was due at 8 AM Monday morning. The Sunday office worker’s boss would then take his presentation that he didn’t put an ounce of effort into and present it to his boss…wait a minute… how is that fair?

So, as I was pondering the unfairness of a soul-sucking corporate existence, I found myself back out on the road amongst many other cars, bikes, motorcycles, scooters and segways. Everyone in Austin was out and about enjoying the gorgeous weather.

Then I came across some empty roads with the opportunity to floor the car and hit 60 mph as quickly as possible. But, in doing so, I ran into the usual problem of not having enough traction in a powerful car. Even with wide rear tires, it was tough to put down over 400 lb-ft of torque onto the pavement with minimal wheelspin.

Inspite of the problems with grip, I thorough enjoyed the spirited driving sessions augmented by the sounds of a delightful exhaust note. At high rpms the 5.0L V8 screamed which made the IS-F almost sound like a GT-R. I then realized that I was driving around in the deal of the century – a $28,000 GT-R! Of course, we all know that the IS-F is no GT-R, but I liked pretending that it was.

Unlike a GT-R, however, I could stealthily enjoy driving aggressively because nobody ever looks at a 4-door Lexus and thinks that it has a V8 producing 450+ hp. That’s right…I could avoid everyone’s attention because to the untrained eye, the IS-F might as well be a 200 hp IS250 that is being driven by a depressed Sunday office worker.

The immensely quick tenth-of-a-second shifts made me forget that I was driving an automatic. Paddle-shifting through all the gears in the IS-F’s 8-speed transmission was addicting. This was the most fun I’ve had in an automatic since the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! I drove a year and a half ago. I loved this Japanese muscle car way more than I thought I would – except for one thing.

The ride is so harsh. The lowered IS-F has a ride that is only slightly better than sitting on a slab of concrete sliding down the road. Your brain bounces around inside of your skull as soon as you hit anything other than smooth pavement. If you’re not careful, you might even pull a muscle or two as you go over speed bumps.

But it’s easy to get over the unforgiving ride. The acceleration, power and roar of the exhaust are enough for you to forget about everything else, including your loved one’s upcoming birthday. Oh no – must order some same-day delivery flowers!

But I didn’t push it too much. I stuck to the speed limits like the law-abiding citizen that I am and found the right kind of roads and highways with high enough limits that would allow me to hit 60 mph with ease. For example, we have a toll road in town with a limit of 85 mph which meant that I spent a good amount of time out there.

Fortunately, we still have free city roads that allow ample opportunity to drive fast. Believe it or not, we have a road that has a limit of 65 mph. That’s right – 65 miles per hour. There is a grocery store located right off of this road which means that you could be out shopping for Cheerios and then as soon as you exit the store parking lot, you have to merge with traffic that’s moving at 65-70 mph.

You’ll also find a Walgreens, an apartment complex and a Vietnamese restaurant named “Pho King” (pho is pronounced fa , you know, like in do re mi fa ) that are located right off of this 65 mph road. There is a 50% chance that after eating at Fa King, you would pull out onto this road in front of a speeding car, immediately get rear-ended, and all the pho residing in your belly would find a way to escape your body through pores that didn’t exist before. In case you’re wondering what the hell “pho” is, it is delicious Vietnamese soup. Try it sometime.

I did a couple of 0-60 mph tests but most of them didn’t work out so well. I mounted my phone in front of the speedometer to capture the speed so I could later use a stopwatch to see how long it took to hit 60 mph, but there were numerous times when the phone and the mount flew off as soon I hit the gas pedal. I captured one of those moments in the video.

My ultra-sophisticated method of measuring 0-60 mph times was a pain to manage but yielded one pretty quick time of 4.1 seconds – that’s at least according to a highly precise stopwatch measurement by carefully staring at the speedometer needle in the video. You be the judge! I’m sure the 0-60 mph time would have been even quicker with better tires and the right launch. So the IS-F may actually be generating 400+ rwhp.

0-60 mph test aside, this Sunday jaunt ended up being an excuse to go have some fun with the car. An 8 year old IS-F with 77k miles on it and still pulling strong. I’m curious to find out how reliable the IS-F ends up being during my time of ownership and hopefully it will be as bulletproof as regular Lexuses typically tend to be.

After driving for a while, traffic became too heavy and so I stopped trying to find empty roads and gave the Lexus a break. It had been through enough and was probably wishing that it belonged to someone in New Jersey so that it could sit in a heated garage and hibernate for the next six months.

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!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! is about exploring my fascination with cars. I’m always on the lookout for things that interest me in the car world.

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DISCUSSION (100)

Flavien Vidal > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 08:41

Haven’t read the article yet but... Why don’t you use a 0-60mph app instead of filming it and “chronometring” it after?

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 08:42

I have a handlebar mount for my dash cam, I was thinking of mounting it on the steering wheel to do the same thing.

Here’s an idea, edit the video so just the 0-60 run is there, then you should be able to tell exactly how long it takes. Don’t know how well this will work, but it’s what I planned to do.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Flavien Vidal
02/10/2016 at 08:45

Phone accelerometers are finnicky. I did it that way and ended up with it reading 0-45 instead sometimes, and 0-over 60 sometimes. I would have thought it would go from the wheel speed sensor since it was hooked into the obd2 port, but no.

StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 08:48

That sounds really nice. I do the same thing with my SRT some days, and the bike. Its just too much fun. Next stop should be a tunnel......

Flavien Vidal > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer
02/10/2016 at 08:48

No it lauches with the accelerometer then measaures the speed with the GPS... But the results I get are fairly precise really.

Brian Silvestro > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 08:51

IS-F! One of the few honest modern cars. Good buy.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Flavien Vidal
02/10/2016 at 08:52

What app? I used Torque.

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 08:55

I love the IS-F.

Flavien Vidal > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer
02/10/2016 at 08:58

The app itself doesn’t matter so much. It’s more about how precise your GPS and accelerometer are in your phone. I use a Samsung Galaxy J. As for the apps, I’ve used several, don’t recall any in particular, all gave me similar results.

m2m, apex detective > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 09:52

Kinja'd!!!

Did you try to stick it in its “manual” mode doing the runs? From what my memory serves me up, it shouldn’t upshift on hitting the redline. The runs suggest an ill-placed (for 0-60 times, anyway) second-to-third gearshift messing with your antics there.

I actually thought the engine startup on the parking lot was a random V8 soundbite at first. Good on ya’, I’d be pointlessly driving up and down all day.

This kind of cements my conviction that the IS-F still has the potential to be a car that people will hold dear in years to come. Yeah, it has the same drawback as the AMGs of today in being AT only, but at least the transmission will do as told. Good boy IS-F, good boy!

wiffleballtony > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 10:00

I have no real clue what my actual zero to sixty time is. I think I’m more limited by traction than power.

Cory Stansbury > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 10:17

A V8 sounded like a twin turbo V6? Uhhhh wut?

gin-san - shitpost specialist > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 10:17

I always thought “Pho” was pronounced more like “fuh” rather than “fa”, which makes the Pho King name much more amusing to simpletons like myself. Regardless of how you pronounce it, Pho is the best stuff ever. Noodles and beef in beef soup with tons of fresh herbs and bean sprouts - I’m salivating just thinking about it.

What tires are you running on the Lexus? Maybe the next step is putting on some super sticky rubber.

Maxxuman > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 10:18

I'd have called it a measurement of how quick it is, since you're talking about acceleration. If you measured how fast it is you'd have likely been arrested.

Voice of C. Montgomery Burns > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 10:20

335i of the same era can do 4.0/3.9 0-60 with a $500 tune. Not saying this to troll, but what modifications does the IS-F have to get to the guessed figure of 4.1?

Golfs in a Golf > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 10:20

I work right at Parmer & Tech Ridge! (for a certain car company, no less). Damn I love Parmer speed limits

Ryan Sweeney > Flavien Vidal
02/10/2016 at 10:32

What he did is infinitely more accurate. Phone GPS and accelerometers arent very accurate

I hoon, therefore I am > gin-san - shitpost specialist
02/10/2016 at 10:34

Per one of my preferred pho restaurants, it’s “fuh,” though apparently sounds closer to “fah” in the southern regions of Vietnam.

PatBateman > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 10:34

FP’d FTW! Congrats!

360 really is a great road to drive. Between the Pennybacker Bridge and Bee Caves Rd, you can take some awesome corners at speed.

I hoon, therefore I am > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 10:37

Came here to make a Predator reference, leaving disappointed due to it being a pre-Pred model. Quite the sleeper though!

CalBearsFan99 > Voice of C. Montgomery Burns
02/10/2016 at 10:46

Sounds like intake and exhaust only.

CalBearsFan99 > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 10:48

Weird how they have the tachometer go to 9k when it’s limited to below 7k.

Burritoes > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 10:51

Looks like the Tech Ridge HEB on Parmer. Yes the speed limit is 65, but traffic usually says otherwise!

Almostthe4th > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 11:01

Unless there’s something besides an aftermarket exhaust and a hot air intake, it’s not making 400 at the wheels. Not trying to troll you, just saying.

CapitalP > Voice of C. Montgomery Burns
02/10/2016 at 11:04

There are no tunes for the IS-F, but with just headers and a high flow cat, owners routinely see a net a boost of 50-60 hp. Add some sticky tires and the F is capable of high 11s at the dragstrip.

Enoch > CalBearsFan99
02/10/2016 at 11:05

I believe the IS-F lets you hold revs at redline and doesn’t auto-shift for you. So you could get pretty close to the upper echelon of the redline.

OnYour6 > Voice of C. Montgomery Burns
02/10/2016 at 11:06

I had an ‘08 135i with the Dinan tune and would beat IS-F’s regularly in drag races. I don’t understand the big whoop about them.

hodor > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 11:07

Do you even Vbox, bro?

Viperfan1 > CapitalP
02/10/2016 at 11:07

As of two weeks ago, there is finally a tune out there for F’s.

JTSnooks > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 11:07

Does an IS-F really put out 400 at the wheels with an intake and exhaust? I find that hard to believe, on most cars they only add 5-10hp at most, maybe 15-20 if combined with a dyno tune.

Schnabeltier > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 11:09

If you really want the appropriate vehicle for Pho, you need a scooter with a donkey and a family of four on the back.

Airchompers > Voice of C. Montgomery Burns
02/10/2016 at 11:13

$500 tune, and a $1500 fuel pump and a $1200 set of injectors. And at that point, you may as well replace it with e85 compatible gear.

dave1827 > gin-san - shitpost specialist
02/10/2016 at 11:14

Per my Vietnamese co-worker, you are correct.

CapitalP > Viperfan1
02/10/2016 at 11:15

Wow. Only took 8 years. That’s awesome.

Voice of C. Montgomery Burns > Airchompers
02/10/2016 at 11:18

Maybe you need an upgraded fuel pump and injectors if you’re going to be launching it regularly, if you’re just in it for the once a week play-around you likely don’t need them.

And if you do get them, you’re looking at $3200 as opposed to the $7-8000 that was put into this particular IS-F (read the original purchase article).

Zed's dead baby, Zed's dead. > OnYour6
02/10/2016 at 11:21

The big whoop, and this is coming from a BMW guy, is that you have a 5.0 V8 that is stone cold reliable in a comfortable and equally reliable Lexus.

And it sounds better.

Illegal Machine > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 11:26

Need to find a better way to determine 0-60. There are plenty of tools out there. I would have assumed the IS-F had an on-board timer.

Here’s mine.

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Oppo! > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 11:36

This has all the signs of an IS-F that will soon end up in a ditch.

tomcat > OnYour6
02/10/2016 at 11:37

Because IS-F can continue to go on error free after your BMW spend 6 months out of a year in a shop the longer you own it

Airchompers > Voice of C. Montgomery Burns
02/10/2016 at 11:44

If a stock 335i will wear out its injectors and pump, it’s probable that a tuned 335i will wear those components out faster.

And if you’re going to be in there, it makes sense to juice up the parts.

The Lexus is expensive to tune and parts are expensive. However, the market is rational. And a used IS-F costs way more than a 335i of comparable vintage and mileage. Either the entire market for both cars is comprised of idiots, or prospective buyers anticipate a better ownership experience out of the IS-F.

And while we’re talking about quick 0-60s for cheap, why not get a motorcycle? You can get an old sports bike for ~1,500 that would give a tuned 335i or IS-F a run for their money.

Dr_Watson > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer
02/10/2016 at 11:44

You’re right but for the wrong reason. The accelerometers and software are very good, it’s the GPS antenna that’s the problem. All phone GPS is not accurate on a 0-60 and it’s a simple problem of sample rate.

100% of smartphones on the market have a 1Hz sample rate on the GPS antenna. This means that your results are all ±1s. When we’re talking about 3-5 seconds that’s a margin of error in the 50% neighborhood, and the apps shouldn’t even be advertising the time with a decimal point since their results are only accurate to 1 sig fig.

/me wishes people paid attention in middle-school science class

Dr_Watson > Flavien Vidal
02/10/2016 at 11:46

no, the GPS antenna on the phone is only accurate to 1s intervals. Getting a 0-60 on an app that doesn’t use an external GPS antenna provides a useless number.

Dr_Watson > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 11:48

If you recorded a video why did you measure with a stopwatch?

Cut the video at the beginning and the end of the needle sweep and your done... You’ve got an accurate number just reading the run-time of the video (or counting the frames).

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Dr_Watson
02/10/2016 at 11:49

Is there any way to change that sample rate? I’ve tried. I just assumed that since it was ending in decimals it was all down to xyz seconds/abc acceleration rate and that the GPS didn’t get involved.

Voice of C. Montgomery Burns > Airchompers
02/10/2016 at 11:54

I’m on my second N54-engined car, both stock (so far) and it really depends on how you take care of the engine. I know it’s a poor excuse, but you certainly can’t beat on it like it’s a 4-cylinder. I did have to replace the fuel pump on my ‘07 but on my ‘11 I’m almost at 50k miles with no major issues. I do drive spiritedly. The ‘07 and ‘08 years for the 335i are the most worrisome, but ‘09-’11 are pretty solid.

The IS-F has it’s charms, mainly with respect to the V8 and it’s sound, but I agree, for the money, there’s much better ways to go.

Warlord of Crud > OnYour6
02/10/2016 at 12:00

http://carsort.com/compare/Lexus-…

They are two very different cars.

Dr_Watson > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer
02/10/2016 at 12:06

Problem lies with the hardware in the phone. You can increase the sample rate in some apps but you have to plug in an external antenna to actually get the results.

The only app I’ve ever seen that’s honest about this is the trackmaster app for race logging. You go into the options and set the sample rate to 10hz and it will tell you straight up that you’re going just waste battery collecting 10 identical data points per second if the antenna doesn’t sample that fast (it only has the option because it supports USB antennas).

Apps use the GPS to get your ground speed, that’s the only way it knows to stop the clock @ 60mph. It will use the accelerometer to know when you started and a clever developer would use the amount of time the accelerometer was measuring a longitudinal acceleration (the clock on the phone is most certainly more precise than 1Hz) to refine the number to something closer to reality. But that’s going to be an “estimation” and it’s never going to be accurate to better than ±1s without a faster antenna.

Oh, and you’re right to assume that it’s accurate to the x.yz they’re showing. That’s on the app developer not understanding how uncertainly is calculated and how to display results based on significant figures of measured accuracy.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Dr_Watson
02/10/2016 at 12:12

Meh, I’m going to do it with a camera.

Dr_Watson > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer
02/10/2016 at 12:20

Camera is a much better option. It’s the fastest sensor on the phone.

ShutUpandShift > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 12:26

Sounds really nice! I’ve always liked those cars. On a side note, I know there is a mixed bag of opinions on the new RC-F but I happen to love it. I think Lexus got the street performance to luxury equation just right and I’m digging the looks as well.

Foo2rama > m2m, apex detective
02/10/2016 at 12:30

When I tested the first gen it would auto upshift at redline, Ferrari’s with F1 transmissions do that too.

Foo2rama > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 12:31

V8 sounds like a twin turbo v6... umm nope... But I will give you the ISF has one of the best v8 sounds out there.

boilerdam3 > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 12:33

What’s the clip that helps hold the iPhone over the dash? I wanted to make something like that myself but if it’s readily available, I’d rather just buy it.

Torque Affair > Flavien Vidal
02/10/2016 at 12:36

I looked but I couldn’t really find anything good. Any recommendations?

Gonemad > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 12:37

There is a pretty expensive appliance/gadget called Correvit. It has a camera filming the ground at a gobsmacking amount of frames per second and measuring the distances between dots in each frame. It behaves mostly like an optical mouse speedometer. Should you ever run into 20 grand, this is what you want. This stuff is accurate to the milissecond, and can be installed in non-aerodynamic parts of the vehicle. And of course, it corrects imperfections and innacuracies built on every speedometer, accelerometer and GPS out there. It doesn’t rely on the car speedometer at all.

A reputable car magazine here in Brazil adopted this several years ago, and their measurements are extremely accurate, and faithful to the true performance in the car. They even make 3 passes on the same track, in opposite directions, to account for wind and uneven climb/descent in the pavement.

I’m not advertising, but once we only have our phones with GPS, we must always DREAM about technical perfection in every way. Just reminding that we can do something better.

If you want overkill....

Kinja'd!!!

Torque Affair > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer
02/10/2016 at 12:38

yea definitely, that’s a good way to do it.

Torque Affair > m2m, apex detective
02/10/2016 at 12:42

I believe all the clips were automatic. I think the times were better than what I did with the paddle shifts...but can't remember. I was too busy enjoying the drive!

Antisocially_Sideways > PatBateman
02/10/2016 at 12:43

Lime Creek Rd ... For you Austinites who haven’t already discovered it. Volente Rd is really fun too ... and it’s part of the ride out to Lime Creek!

Torque Affair > gin-san - shitpost specialist
02/10/2016 at 12:43

Yeah, “fuh” is more like it....yeah tires could drop the time to 3.9 seconds!

PatBateman > Antisocially_Sideways
02/10/2016 at 12:45

Volente is nice, but NARROW (at least the last time I drove it). Also, Westlake Drive is a nice course, but watch out for the police.

Torque Affair > Voice of C. Montgomery Burns
02/10/2016 at 12:48

I used to own a 335i with a Dinan tune...not as fast as the IS-F...but it handled better.

Torque Affair > ShutUpandShift
02/10/2016 at 12:50

I do like the RC-F! Haven’t driven one though..

Tater Spalding > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 12:52

A Bluetooth OBDII adapter and Torque should net you a much more exact 0-60 time.

SpecB56 > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 12:53

I’ve used this to test 0-60 and 1/4 mile times on our corporate planes, along with other vehicles.

https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/dynolic…

Kahless > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 12:58

it was a damn nice day then. today and tomorrow are looking good too. happy I can shed layers on my motorcycle. probably try and run the three sisters this weekend

Torque Affair > Golfs in a Golf
02/10/2016 at 12:59

GM! Yeah, the roads used to be way less crowded....too busy now.

Torque Affair > Gonemad
02/10/2016 at 13:03

now THAT’s intense..

Torque Affair > JTSnooks
02/10/2016 at 13:21

Certainly looks like it...the 0-60 times are pretty quick with ok tires and on a regular road.

Torque Affair > PatBateman
02/10/2016 at 13:23

Thanks! Unfortunately during weekdays 360 is a mess, but early morning on weekends it’s nice. However, I did notice two weekends in a row a cop sitting at County Line, pulling people over as they come around that last bend on 2222. Be careful!

Torque Affair > boilerdam3
02/10/2016 at 13:24

I bought this http://www.amazon.com/WinnerGear-Mon…

Not the best thing ever, but it’s simple and works relatively well.

Voice of C. Montgomery Burns > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 13:30

Maybe past 100mph the IS-F is faster, I’ve been contemplating a simple tune on the N54 so I’ve read up plenty on it, just a JB3 piggyback tune brings the 335i down to 4.0 0-60, obviously depending on variables.

ShutUpandShift > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 13:35

Neither have I, just something about it grabs my attention.....in a good way. If you get a chance to test one that would be an interesting comparison.

PatBateman > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 14:10

Considering how many people have wrecked out and died on that stretch of 2222, I'm not surprised by the cops. Also, careful on 360. Plenty of deer in the median at night.

JRVeri > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 14:13

Love the car! I was considering an IS-F last summer but ended up with an Chrysler 300C SRT8. I belive the 6.1 SRT looks a little better on paper at 425HP/400ft/lbs...? but the ancient 5 speed is no where as quick as the 8 speed in the Lexus. And the Lexus is definitely faster to 60mph. I’ll be throwing on stickier and wider tires this summer to try and improve my times, interested to see what that will do for the IS-F as well! Beautiful car! Keep us updated!

yertle > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 14:15

Swipe to the left on that phone and you get the slo-mo option. Probably would have yielded more precise results.

Dave-O > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 14:19

They make some decent apps for calculating 0-60 and approximating HP etc. Might be easier than your method

Antisocially_Sideways > PatBateman
02/10/2016 at 14:24

Yep. Lime Creek is even more narrow, but lots of switchbacks. Requires fast hands and good countersteer control. Watch out for the sheriffs!

Antisocially_Sideways > Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
02/10/2016 at 14:33

It is on my short list for replacements of my M3. That is, once my better half stops burning Deathstar sized holes in my wallet...

OnYour6 > Warlord of Crud
02/10/2016 at 14:33

This article is about straight line speed, so I compared my car with anther front engine 2+2. What’s the point of your link?

m2m, apex detective > Foo2rama
02/10/2016 at 15:21

Maybe it depends on what gear you’re in when hitting the redline ... I deftly remember a review (Dutch of all!) of the pre-facelift (‘10 or ‘11 refresh) car hitting the limiter and staying there for some time. Maybe different setups for different markets or some voodoo?

Also, didn’t the Ferrari “F1" transmission utilise a clutch? The Lexus just has a trick 8AT which merely shifts rather quickly at 120ms. They only put a robotized manual into the LF-A.

Mike > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 15:25

I have a 2008 Isf and i love it. Its got over 100,000 miles on it now and the only problem i had was the touch screen stopped working. I fixed it my self watching a youtube video on it.

crankaholic > Voice of C. Montgomery Burns
02/10/2016 at 15:41

The only thing an otherwise stock 335i will do in 4 seconds is pop a gasket or a water pump...

Seriously though, I know the ISF is very heavy for what it is... but I don’t see how a 335i with just a tune can keep up with one that’s pushing 400RWHP.

Voice of C. Montgomery Burns > crankaholic
02/10/2016 at 15:46

I didn’t say stock, I said with a tune. And yes, with a piggyback tune you can reach 4.0 0-60. How many times before you wreck yourself? That is probably not a very high number, but it’s doable.

Manic Otti > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 16:08

The IS-F is definitely on my short list for a replacement for my current car. I would prefer bone stock one and would leave it so. What’s the stock ride like? Anybody?

JTSnooks > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 16:51

Could be, I don’t know what these normally dyno at stock. That said, if I were the OP I’d just take it to the drag strip. Best way to tell how much power you’re really putting down. 0-60 is too dependent on traction, launch rpm, and other factors, but trap speed is almost always an accurate measurement.

Torque Affair > Voice of C. Montgomery Burns
02/10/2016 at 19:09

I really enjoyed the 335i, best of all I only paid $17.5K for the ‘09 I had - tremendous value!

Torque Affair > PatBateman
02/10/2016 at 19:10

Yeah, it’s getting tricky to enjoy driving in Austin - too much traffic.

Torque Affair > JRVeri
02/10/2016 at 19:11

At the very least, your ride is much better! The IS-F is so rough, nobody wants to ride in it! haha.

Torque Affair > Dave-O
02/10/2016 at 19:12

I tried looking for some couldn’t find any - any recs?

Torque Affair > Mike
02/10/2016 at 19:13

that’s great to hear! it turns out that the touch screen has already been replaced. Great car so far though....that much power and noise in a reliable car is a good thing to have!

Torque Affair > Manic Otti
02/10/2016 at 19:14

I’ve heard it’s pretty rough still....not sure though.

Shiftright > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 19:19

Aren’t there phone apps that let you do this more easily and accurate?

Foo2rama > m2m, apex detective
02/10/2016 at 20:25

I was driving a preproduction car so it may have changed. Yeah the Ferrari is an SMG like BMW and Lambo. Except only BMW will not auto upshift at redline. The ISF is a locking torque converter slushbox. One of the better ones actually based on when I drove it.

dolsh > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 20:43

Nice. The Tavarish Camry vs. IS-F article remains the best example of that column, and really triggered the idea for me. The IS-F is really quite awesome, and really quite affordable.

Flavien Vidal > Dr_Watson
02/10/2016 at 21:25

It’s not necessarily one second. This is why it uses the accelerometer to launch itself. That way it knows exactly when to start the chronometer. It then stops when the GPS reaches 60mph and substract the time it took him between the moment the motion sensor reacted and the time the GPS reacted.

Again, I’ve done many tests and found my 0 to 60 times on apps to be fairly precise down to 0.2s/0.3s which is I think fairly good for such a small device that is a simple cell phone...

As far as I’m concerned too, my GPS signal is far more precise than my speedometer. Granted that on modern cars like the IS-F a camera recording might be better but still, definitely precise enough to me.

HornetJunk > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 23:29

Ha! We’re twins! I’ve also got an ‘08 IS-F in Obsidian with slightly under 80k miles, and coincidentally eat at Pho King every few months. After putting 10k miles on mine, I agree with you on all points.

For context, when shopping I was looking for rwd, 4 doors, fast, and something slightly off the beaten path of AMG and M cars.

The stock ride is terrible. Coilovers will surprisingly IMPROVE the ride due to better damping, but you still can’t do much to adjust camber without arms, so if the last owner dropped it too low, you’ll want to make sure you’re not running more negative camber than you need.

With that much power, off the line traction can be a problem. Check tire pressure on a regular basis, especially if you notice more squirming than usual. New shoes all around are easily $1000 and go quick if under-inflated.

The transmission is pretty dang brilliant, but only after its warmed up.

Brakes are scary good. I’ve had to stand on ‘em a couple times to avoid cars that unexpectedly pulled out in front of me. Both times I wound up more worried about someone hitting *me* from behind than the car directly in my path.

It’s a sleeper and blends in. Car nuts are the only folks even remotely aware of its presence. In a year of daily driving, I’ve never had anyone rev at a light. Cops seem to ignore it. The downside is that I need to be extra careful when overtaking, since other drivers will inevitably be surprised that a Lexus can change lanes and pass them in a blink of an eye. When telling people what it is, their response is largely predictable: “Lexus IS-....... ‘F’?”

Another small negative is that the ECU is not tunable. Performance mods are very limited. More than 450whp is not easy.

Knowing what I know now, I *might* have chosen a newer IS350 or GS350 in F Sport trim over the F. I’ve got airplane pillows for passengers in the car when they inevitably complain of neck pain caused by the ride.

All in all, I’d give it a solid 8/10.

HornetJunk > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 23:34

That cop gave me a ticket a couple days ago. He said he will be there for at least a month.

HornetJunk > Torque Affair
02/10/2016 at 23:39

It feels just slightly faster than the IS-F. Ride is better, but not great compared to other cars in its’ class.

Tarukai > Torque Affair
02/11/2016 at 00:29

named “Pho King” (pho is pronounced fa, you know, like in do re mi fa)

as per a vietnamese friend of mine (her mother is direct from the country), it’s actually pronounced “fuh”, so it’s even closer to the swear you were dancing around :P

Sky Higa > Torque Affair
02/11/2016 at 01:12

Do you have a pre-2012 model? I heard that the ride and handling was much improved for 2012, and those refreshed models are competitive with e90 generation M3's.