I was on my way to Home Depot when I came across a brand new IS350 w/ dealer tags in the rear window. A 20-something guy behind the wheel and an older gentleman in the passenger's seat. VERY nice looking car. Anyway, I briefly detoured and lined up with him at a light. He wouldn't even glance over so I knew he was probably going to go for it. Light turned green and I started to roll out and, yep, he punches it. I was about 1/2 car behind and in the boggy part of 1st. My rpms climbed really fast and I grabbed 2nd a bit slowly. We were about dead even at this point and through 2nd I gained about 1/2 car on him. I popped 3rd and had to slow down almost immediately for yet another light. This time I KNEW it was on and I had the car revvin' at about 3k. Light turned and damnit!!! Stupid wheel-hop. I bounced around for what seemed like an eternity and then bogged 1st again. He grabbed the same 1/2 car lead. I got 2nd perfectly and put 1/2 car on him. This time we tasted 3rd a bit more and I started to pull harder. About 1/2 way through 3rd we shut it down.

All-in-all I have to say I was more impressed by the IS350 than with my CTS-V. I was expecting to really hand him his ass but he hung right in there up to about 60-70mph. After that I'm confident I would have put a bus or two on him. Now keep in mind this is my first manual car. So I have only been driving a manual tranny for about 2 months. This car is so damn hard to launch perfectly. The hopping doesn't help either. The IS350 only comes in auto so the guy really just had to punch and go. I probably lost 3-4 feet every time I pushed in the clutch. Be sure not to sleep on one of these. They are damn fast out-of-the-box!!

 

nice run bro! i bet your missing SS and the whine.

 

Wheel hop in a CTS-V?

 

impressive on the part of the is350. good kill nonetheless.

 

The V is notorious for wheel-hop. GM even released anti-wheel hop bushings and it still bounces all over the place. On the other hand, the way the suspension is set up allows it to handle as well as an M5.

 

I'll get the whine back soon enough But yeah, sometimes in traffic I do miss the SS and full automatic mode.

 

when are you taking it to the strip?

 

What do these IS350's run Stock 1/4 mile, 0-60? Would a CL-s have a chance?

 

according to lexus.com 0-60 is 5.3

 

^ And the CTS-V does 60 in under 5 seconds (Car and Driver) if you get a good launch. Do you think you killed the sale? I watched Motorweek on PBS last night and they tested a bright red IS350. Damn, I must say it's a good looking car. I don't really like the tail lights though But I love the CTS-V - I'll take mine in black please

 

Damn those new ones are quick, but your CTS-V.

 

No, the CLS would get destroyed...the stock 1/4 mile is in the 13.7-13.9 range.

 

Yep, one mag clocked it at 13.6 in the 1/4. That's pretty damn fast!

 

That's S4 fast!

 

Yep, that's also Camaro Z28 fast, C4 Corvette 6 spd fast, 05 Mustang GT (manual) fast, faster than a WRX, 350Z, SRT4, and S2000. Hell, it's almost as fast as an auto C5 Corvette (especially an auto C5 convertible)

 

I'm not sure how much can be done with the new 3.5L direct-injection engine but I'm sure the aftermarket will be pretty strong.

 

enquiring minds...

 

I'm not sure if I'll ever take it to the drags...which really bums me out. The car has a notoriously weak rear diff and dragracing it seems to help them break. Since the car is under warranty it should be covered but I'm kinda waiting until the '06 models come out with a supposedly stronger rear diff. Cadillac has a few quality issues that, if addressed, should result in a truly amazing car for the price. Until then Bubba-V will probably only see road course work.

 

 

Mine would

Nice Run I too would have figured you would have walked his ass easily. I guess we can't take the IS350 for granted.

Has the timeline for the blower just shortened?

 

wow, I'm surprised that the IS350 was able to keep up with your V spec....
What are their specs vs yours? Sorry I'm just a visitor from the TL forum...

 

Depends...

Magazines say the V does 0-60 in 4.6 and the 1/4 mile in 13.1 @ 109. That's obviously with a very good driver and getting a perfect launch. I've heard the IS350 is very low 5's 0-60 and the 1/4 comes in high 13's @ 100ish. These numbers can be achieved by any moron who can depress his/her right foot onto the auto-only gas pedal.

Since our races barely went over 70mph you can see why we were so close. After 70 though the torque of the LS6 would start putting lengths on the IS. Just look at the 1/4 mile trap speeds. While you and I have the same LS6 motor, you must remember that I weigh almost 800lbs more than your ZO6 so it isn't quite the same monster!

 

cool beans, thanks for the reply!

 

nice runs bro!! maybe you'll meet the is350 again..

btw.. u mentioned there was a total of 2 people in the is350.. did both of them look pretty heavy or light?

 

drove the is350. it is pretty quick off the line, but i expected more from the top end. Midrange was absolutely beautiful though. As you said, with more speed you would have pulled harder. I would definately say the is350 felt faster than i/h/p/e
Nice runs nonetheless.

 

I think it's an absolutely beautiful car. Sat in one at the Seattle auto show. Seemed a bit small inside but I'm sure it's smaller size allows it to handle nicely. My torque pulls me through the gears pretty hard for as fast as I've ever taken the car. 3rd gear gets me to about 130mph. 4th isn't much taller so I'd guess it would still pull decently hard to over 150. Of course the brick-like design would start pushing too much air around that speed.

 

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...7/pageId=64968

They claim the best they could squeeze out of the IS350 is 6.1 0-60 and 14.2 in the 1/4, even though lexus claims 5.6 0-60. It's small but it's heavier/as heavy as our CL's??

 

some companies really underate vehicles, maybe they have shitty test driver's?
majority rate the IS350 at 13.6ish +or- .1..
ne ways, i think Lexus did a great job with the new IS! only gripe i have is the vsa is permanently on apparently?