Just took delivery Black on Black

5160 Views 18 Replies 12 Participants Last post by Yola, May 21, 2008

rmmsmd

Discussion Starter · Mar 12, 2008

Can anyone confirm that I took delivery of first one on Long Island. I find this hard to believe since I was never on a list just walked in last week and picked it up today. Car is incredible by the way. I had two deposits on Nissan GTR's but just couldn't see myself back with Nissan at $5000 over list with no pickup/dropoff or loaner. Dealer told me no breakin necessary but I'm going to go sort of easy for first 1000 miles. Exhaust note is intoxicating. Ride is firm but not annoying. Love it.

1 - 19 of 19 Posts

ism-skzm

· #2 · Mar 12, 2008

RMMSMD Congrats on the BLK/BLK F!
If you want your F to be a sissy break it in nice and easy. I hear car's driven hard from the get-go out perform pampered cars on the dyno consistantly. Let 'er rip! (just keep away from cruise control the first 500 miles) -ISm

SuperFreak

· #3 · Mar 12, 2008 (Edited)

ism-skzm said:
RMMSMD Congrats on the BLK/BLK F!
If you want your F to be a sissy break it in nice and easy. I hear car's driven hard from the get-go out perform pampered cars on the dyno consistantly. Let 'er rip! (just keep away from cruise control the first 500 miles) -ISm

Where have you heard this?

...and congrats rmmsmd on the Black IS-F, one sweet color indeed!

ism-skzm

· #4 · Mar 12, 2008

SuperFreak-
Heard alot of places. "break it in like your gonna drive it" is a common expression.
Additionally through conversations with friends and read.
Also check with anyone who has any experience racing motocross bikes.

In particular, I read about two STI subaru's, same year, both stock. One driven "carefully", the other "raced around" everywhere. The faster driven car appearently pulled about 10% stronger on back to back dyno runs. (assuming same oil, driver on dyno, etc.)

Dean

· #5 · Mar 12, 2008

Congrats on your IS F. Mine is a Blk/Blk also and love it.

Your IS F manual has a suggest break in procedjure that you might want to read up on. Though it says for the first yada, yada, yada, I think 621 miles or some such thing, I took it easy for the first 1000 miles.... Be sure NOT to use the cruise control or to hold your speed at one speed for too long. That is one thing that everyone agrees upon.... Whether you "drive it like you stole it" or you follow the MFG suggested break-in, you've got one heck of a car that is much more then most can appreciate. Take some time and really learn all that you can do with it. The transmission is fantastic if you know how to use it properly.... Congrats again!

SpottsVee

· #6 · Mar 12, 2008

Ok, you have my attention How do you: "The transmission is fantastic if you know how to use it properly....

geneva

· #7 · Mar 13, 2008

congrats on the F!! I was also in a very similar situation, had been #1 on dealer GT-R wait list and got tired of the mis-information, price gouging, and FEAR of having a $ 70k +++ sports car serviced by a clueless Nissan dealer. What are you going to do if you break down and find out the nearest "GT-R certified" Nissan dealer is 200 mi. away!!! Also walked into local Lexus dealer here in the Chicago area and was told they had (2) on the way (Black and Smoky Granite). Both were available and the Smoky Granite is now in my garage and LOVE IT!!!!! Timing is everything because I believe this car is still flying below the radar screen (as least here in the mid-west). When I walk into the dealer end of last month I was told by the salesman I was the first person that had even expressed an interest in the F!. It pays to be well informed!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and I believe Lexus has just started promoting the car based on full page ads. now appearing in the March issue of many car mags. Again welcome aboard!!

See less See more

rushnut

· #8 · Mar 13, 2008

Just some food for thought...I've had my blk/blk IS-F for just over 3 weeks now and have really had fun this week driving freeways in "Sport" mode. Try it out if you really want to explore this ingenius transmission a bit. It revs higher, of course, and on aggressive turns you really will feel the rear end start to pull away a bit, but just a bit...the car is brilliant at letting you know you're NOT going to lose control, but that you ARE going to have some real fun!

I was darting in and out of traffic on the freeway today in sport mode and enjoyed it nearly as much as being in manual/paddle mode, though nothing on earth can compare to driving this thing hard in manual mode.

Congrats on your blk/blk beast...you're going to love it!!

Rushnut
L.A.

jacobj

· #9 · Mar 13, 2008

Congrats rmmsmd! Post the pictures of new vehicle.

EvilPossum

· #10 · Mar 13, 2008

Congratulations!!! If you like the sound of your exhaust, try the manual mode and downshift as you slow down from high speed and listen to the sound of your transmission blipping. That's my favorite part of IS-F.

Just keep in your mind that VDIM is shut off when you are in sports mode so you have to be more careful than when you are driving your car in regular mode.

CanyonIS

· #11 · Mar 13, 2008

Little late to the party

Greets,

Took delivery of my smoky granite mica w/ black on Tues 3/11 ... what can I say? Unbelievable!

Don't know about anyone else, but this is my 3rd (all IS's) and since 11/01 have been treated like gold by Lexus. That was what kept me in the stable rather than migrating over to the Germans or even Nissan for a GTR.

Gonna take a little trip down to Tucson today. I'm grateful to all of you who've shared knowledge and opinion (just found this site last night linked from lexus.com) and will take it all to heart as this car and I get to know each other over the next few months.

Keep it up, and I'll provide input as is appropriate while I learn more.

Great to be here!

See less See more

rmmsmd

Discussion Starter · #12 · Mar 13, 2008

Thanks for all the input everyone. I'm making an attempt to go easy for the first 1000 miles. I can tell you it is very hard not to push it and hear the exhaust. I like the car better with each drive. Puts my M45 Infiniti to shame. Will post pics this weekend when I can drag myself out of it long enough to take pics. Anyone have any suggestions for best lauching technique from a red light? I am attempting not to get involved but everyone wants a piece and I am sure I will give in soon. Anyone know if lauch control exists but is not made public?

EvilPossum

· #13 · Mar 13, 2008 (Edited)

I do not believe there is any special launching mode for IS-F. I wasn't informed anything about it when I was out in Las Vesgas with Lexus Corporate people and pro drivers... All I can tell you is just put your IS-F in Sport and Manual mode to launch your car as quik as you can. The system will start to beep at you once you are close to redline to remind you that you are reaching its redline. Only wish I had was that the engine was designed for high reving. Apprently, Yaguchi San(IS-F Chief Engineer) wanted to make the engine a high rev engine but Lexus top executives didn't approve it because they wanted this engine to last 200,000 miles.

Dean

· #14 · Mar 13, 2008

Learning curve for the Transmission

SpottsVee said:
Ok, you have my attention How do you: "The transmission is fantastic if you know how to use it properly....

Let me see if I can get this right:

Auto mode option I: Put it in D and let it do it's own thing. Simple enough and car runs great this way.

Auto mode option II : In D but you can use the paddle shifters at will without shifting out of D mode, which you could not do with the previous IS series tranny. Car will automatically shift back into full D mode if you don't paddle shift after a given time or reach 8th....

Auto mode option III : In D but you press the Sport mode option. Tranny changes shift points for more agressive, power pointed shifts.

Auto mode option IV : In D mode, with Sport mode option on and you paddle shift for tons of fun. Can go automatically back into D mode if you don't paddle shift for a given time....

Manual mode option I: First gear is like in auto mode but the rest are locked up and shift just like a manual, but with electronic controls so you don't over-rev or downshift out of specs...... TONS of fun both up and down through the gears.

Manual mode option II : Manual mode with Sport mode option on. Shifting is more agressive and tuned for more power. Don't look at your gas gauge during this mode

So now that we've defined the possible options, you can see how one must first learn all of the options, play with the options in different driving situations, before really knowing what the full range of possibilities are to match your particular driving style or preference to get the maximum from your driving experience IMHO......

See less See more

SuperFreak

· #15 · Mar 13, 2008

..and you will smile the most shifting yourself in manual mode with sport mode on!

CanyonIS

· #16 · Mar 14, 2008

Quick update from Tucson trip -

- hit Sport mode for a couple of minutes, and slid over to Manual. Didn't get on it hard (still just a couple hundred miles on it), but GOOD LORD! Thought I'd died and gone to heaven ... That howl!!

Drove back to the PHX area in D w/out Sport just to be safe - plus there were tons of cops, even though my radar detector was grabbing them way out.

This thing's gonna be a blast when I feel like it's been properly broken in. I'm deferring to what seems like the general consensus and giving it to apprx 1K miles before I start really "driving" it.

Thanks, Dean and Superfreak (and the rest of you), for the tips. Keep 'em coming!

PS: The looks this thing gets should come with captions!

See less See more

Yola

· #17 · May 20, 2008

EvilPossum said:
I do not believe there is any special launching mode for IS-F. I wasn't informed anything about it when I was out in Las Vesgas with Lexus Corporate people and pro drivers... All I can tell you is just put your IS-F in Sport and Manual mode to launch your car as quik as you can. The system will start to beep at you once you are close to redline to remind you that you are reaching its redline. Only wish I had was that the engine was designed for high reving. Apprently, Yaguchi San(IS-F Chief Engineer) wanted to make the engine a high rev engine but Lexus top executives didn't approve it because they wanted this engine to last 200,000 miles.

I think this is a mistake that they didnt make the red line like in M3 at 8,600! High reving is a sweet thing... when the car goes goes goes... and many people say the IS-F wants to go but loses time at switching gear when riches 6,800...
Hopefully this things can be changed by computer programm, im sure there will be one in very near future!

ISFChamp

· #18 · May 21, 2008

Drive it like you stole it !!!!
If you don't, once you do drive it hard, you might "shock" the car. Plus the car "learns" how you drive it, and it take the first 50 start ups to do it, so you drive it like grandma, it's going to perform like her too.

Yola

· #19 · May 21, 2008

That is true, once you get into a new car and drive it hard, it get used to it better and responses quicker!

1 - 19 of 19 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.