Failed The Temptation. I Have A 350 Now

[samsung001]

I always want a IS350 F-sport. But, considering the new IS series will be out next year, it might not be a good idea to get it at this stage. (i always think MAYBE i should get one after the new one is out, so the price will be cheaper). My mind has been kinda back and forth........anyway, i failed the temptation this time. hahaha.

i just love the car so much. its so quick, n the seats are more comfortable than my previous 250. i feel the back seat has more room as well (correct me if i'm wrong). Am so happy now.

Just one question:

My ex-250 and my 350F-sport both have Mark Levinson Audio system. I think they both have 13 speakers, and everything should be the same right? Somehow i can tell the sound quality of my 350 is worse than my ex-250. I dunno if i should say its a huge difference. But at least my ears can notice it. any expert here can answer? Thanks.

ps: i wish the value of current IS wont' slump after the new series is released. That's always my concern

[ilv1004s]

hahaha you did the right thing man

did you transfer your exhuast and stuff to the your 350 from the 250?

with the ML i think your the 2nd person ho mention that as well

tbh i cant tell the difference

[Sapphire Cam]

Well done on the purchase by the way - would love a 350F too, but alas my focus is now on updating the wifes Forester to something nice (RX? Volvo XC? X3?) in the next couple of years, and to have space to carry all the kids cra...stuff when on road trips......but I digresss....

Rear room - do you have ventilated front seats? This might be the reason - the foot space in the back (or lack of!) is due to the space needed for the fans in the front seats). I know in the latest Prestige 250s, they've taken the ventilated seats out of them (only have heating). Maybe that's a good move (for more foot room), although I needed my venitlated seats yesterday here in Melb when it hit 39c!! They also slightly changed the shape of the back of the front seats too,in the last model update to make them less bulky.

Sound quality - you may have to "burn" in your speakers for a period of time. I consider myself a bit of an audiophile, and I do find with headphones, hi-fi speakers and car systems, that speakers take a while to 'wear in', as the diaphragm and cones start to loosen up a bit. I have noticed on the 250, that I reckon they have used cheaper speakers in the latter models on the standard Pioneer 13-spr system, and they've taken away the positioning function too. But on the ML systems (as you have), I doubt there has been a change. So I'd give your speakers a month or two to 'wear in'.

BTW, your ML system is a 14spr system - on paper at least that's what is marketed.

[samsung001]

Danny: yea. i did. Its the good thing to upgrade to 350, so all mods can be saved. (trying to find an excuse ! lol)

Sapphire Cam: thx for the info. yes i do have ventilated seats (only heating tho) for 350. My ex-250 has both. Anyways its good to hv more room at rear not sure if its just my imagination hahahaha....

i didn't know even speakers need to "wear in". i thought speaker should hv a better sound quality when its newer.

Oh... the other thing is i find that the annoying injection noise (the diesel-like tricking sound) is even louder than the IS250...i thought facelifted models should be more refined, but obviously its not the case.

[ilv1004s]

yeah my car does idle abit louder than my little brothers is250

and the 350 has more of a hm..

how should i put it

electronic hum noise (i think injectors)

mate you will love the greddy sp and invidia set up on the 350

sounds like a turbo v6 on high revs

[samsung001]

I dun hv the mid-pipe mate. I believe it would be too loud (with my greddy), isn't it?

But, am planning to get the intake, either F-sports or K&N. which one would you recommend ?

i hv checked out some videos on both, honestly i really can't notice the sound difference, n they both sound pretty cool ;)

yeah my car does idle abit louder than my little brothers is250

and the 350 has more of a hm..

how should i put it

electronic hum noise (i think injectors)

mate you will love the greddy sp and invidia set up on the 350

sounds like a turbo v6 on high revs

[ilv1004s]

too loud?

its quiet on idel like normal

u can only hear it when u step on it

[samsung001]

it sounds gd man. But i also hv to use the 350 as my family car. I think i mentioned in my previous post that i found that the Greddy exhaust is quite loud after the break in (esp driving up hill at low rev). So, not sure if its a gd idea to get the midpipe.

I would presume the exhaust note on 350 will be even louder than 250.... isn't it ?

[350Gsport]

Hey Congrats! I was in the same position earlier in the year, ~june.... Never looked back, awesome car and the speed is :D :D :D

[sherlockyou]

congratz! i was thinking to get 350 to upgrade my old 250...but end up with rx450h f sport lol...

[Atlantis]

Sigh... I want the RX450h. About $20k out of my price range though :(

How is the fuel use on yours?

[sherlockyou]

Around 8L... Not bad... City driving actually burn less fuels lol...

[Atlantis]

That's awesome.

[blackadder]

I find the road noise quite loud in my is350 and that interferes with the sterio to some extent, not sure about the is250 and if it has the same road noise but that might account for the difference in your perceived stero sound.

[sherlockyou]

the road noise might come from tyres... I had the same problem before with my 250.. But after I changed to Michelin.. It's much better..

[FrankyX]

My ex-250 and my 350F-sport both have Mark Levinson Audio system. I think they both have 13 speakers, and everything should be the same right? Somehow i can tell the sound quality of my 350 is worse than my ex-250. I dunno if i should say its a huge difference. But at least my ears can notice it. any expert here can answer? Thanks.

ps: i wish the value of current IS wont' slump after the new series is released. That's always my concern

Firstly, i had my car seviced a few weeks back now and had the new GS loan car and had the ML sound system, i know it isn't the same car as the IS, BUT... the sound quality was terrible compared to my 2008 IS. As for speaker 'break in', i don't know if this will do enough to take it to the level of the IS. Sure it might help a bit, but not really that much to notice. It didn't seem to have the frequency range as the IS and picks up a lot of the harsher frequencies, that might vibrate the door pannel (eg 250hz).

I was disappointed with this and it is sad to hear that the newer IS has this same problem. There must have been some changes they have made over the past few years to lower the quality and save $$ on production etc.

As for the value on your new IS, i don't know if it will be hit too much. It all depends on when / if you went to sell. If you plan to keep it for a while, shouldn't be a problem; however if you plan to sell it next year then yes you may see a slump.

Glad you're loving it.

I know i'll be sussing out the new IS next year and will definitely be considering the 350 Fsport.

[blackadder]

the road noise might come from tyres... I had the same problem before with my 250.. But after I changed to Michelin.. It's much better..

The ride of quite rough too, like a go kart over any uneven surface, I dont mind, it reminds me of a Maserati I once had but I thought unusual for a sedan........very sporty though :)

[samsung001]

I find the road noise quite loud in my is350

yes. i feel the same too (esp when comparing with my IS250). not sure if its becoz of 350 has bigger & wider wheels.

Anyway.....am stepping in the second week of my 350 ownership. Am just loving to drive the car still.

Prons (just imo):

1) Nice & presentable car with aggressive & powerful engine....Man...Its damn quick, honestly i dun think its any slower than EVO, STI, 370Z that kinda class.......

2) it sounds great (with my Greddy exhaust)

3) F-sport elements. Sporty seats, suspension, brakes etc...........

Cons (just imo):

1) Fuel consumption......hm. not sure if i should raise it....i've got a pretty bad figure. mine is about 15 litres/100 km, while i had abt 12litres/100 km with my previous 250

2) Rattle issue ( i think its been covered by many posts on this fourm). Unfortunately, mine is one of these having the problem. I have a rattle problem from the dash (driver side), somewhere behind the steering. I might bring it to Chatswood Lexus for the fix.

3) Lower quality of Mark Levinson Audio system. Like i mentioned, i can tell the sound quality is not as good as sport luxury one ( not sure if i just get a lemon )

[FrankyX]

I find the road noise quite loud in my is350

1) Fuel consumption......hm. not sure if i should raise it....i've got a pretty bad figure. mine is about 15 litres/100 km, while i had abt 12litres/100 km with my previous 250

Seriously, you were getting 12l/100k from your 250? I have had mine for just over 4 years now and the total average is sitting at 8.0L/100km. I would have expected the 350 to be up around 10-12l, but it's all about how you drive it.

[samsung001]

Yes FrankyX. these are the figures am getting. Not sure if its becoz of 80% the time am driving during the peak + short distance (abt 7 km to work). So, technically i drive 14km in total per day (Mon-Fri).

My fuel light has just on in the morning...but man...only 370km on the clock (am surprised). thought it should be on somewhere around 420-450km....

[DO IT]

I've also had is250s in the past and recently picked up an IS350 F sport 3 weeks ago. I, too, can tell that the newer ML system isn't as great as the older ML systems in the 1st series IS. I actually picked up the lower quality of the system while on the test drive. It's pretty noticeable. It may be due to the fact that the new ML systems are made in china and not in Japan as the original systems were. Lexus may have decided to change parts in the ML.

I found that the fuel consumption is sitting between 13-15L. With city driving, it sits around 15L. With a mix of 25% highway, 75% city driving. It sits around 13L. My previous IS250s, they both sit at 12.8L with city driving.

[blackadder]

My driving is almost all short trips in traffic so fuel consumption is what it is for that sort of use, I'm using Premium Unleaded.

I'm told rough ride is because of the 18' wheels, very glad I didnt get the 19'

Concave mirrors, told to adjust the mirrors so I cant see the side of my car, tried it but feels too weird, just have to get used to the distance behind me with the concave mirrors before I change lanes.

[samsung001]

I, too, can tell that the newer ML system isn't as great as the older ML systems in the 1st series IS. I actually picked up the lower quality of the system while on the test drive. It's pretty noticeable. It may be due to the fact that the new ML systems are made in china and not in Japan as the original systems were. Lexus may have decided to change parts in the ML.

oh....i thought i just picked up a lemon....but apparently everyone is on the the same boat....damn. i thought facelifted model is always better. but how come Lexus is doing the other way around? do you guys know what parts have they changed? is it just the speakers?

btw.... i just realized we hv quite a few ppl on the forum upgraded from IS250 to IS350. hm......have u guys been asked this kinda question:

"Oh!!!! is it your new car? how come it looks the same? what the differences are. 250 isn't it the same as 350 but more features?" :( i bet some ppl might think i just wasted $ to get the same but new car...lol

[ilv1004s]

I, too, can tell that the newer ML system isn't as great as the older ML systems in the 1st series IS. I actually picked up the lower quality of the system while on the test drive. It's pretty noticeable. It may be due to the fact that the new ML systems are made in china and not in Japan as the original systems were. Lexus may have decided to change parts in the ML.

oh....i thought i just picked up a lemon....but apparently everyone is on the the same boat....damn. i thought facelifted model is always better. but how come Lexus is doing the other way around? do you guys know what parts have they changed? is it just the speakers?

btw.... i just realized we hv quite a few ppl on the forum upgraded from IS250 to IS350. hm......have u guys been asked this kinda question:

"Oh!!!! is it your new car? how come it looks the same? what the differences are. 250 isn't it the same as 350 but more features?" :( i bet some ppl might think i just wasted $ to get the same but new car...lol

i dunno

i dont have ML in my 350 but i find the ML better quality

i find the newer ML's found in our rx450h is a blast

though my ISF ML system does not seem to pump as hard as my IS350

in order to experience the ML system

u need to pump it up on volume

thats where the ML *BLEEP*s all over the non ML (in my case ISF vs 350 Prest)

In regards to your fuel consumption

stop driving it hard mate

i had it sitting on 7.8 on the weekend on the free way

and now after normal city and motorway driving

it's on 9.3L

So no ur car is not a Lemon BUT I THINK YOUR FOOT IS LOL :P

[samsung001]

9.3L (city driving) ? really? I never thought my IS350 can do it.

yea.....probably my foot is a lemon...hahahaha. but seriously.....like i said, most of the time i travel during the peak (+short trip), prob its the real reason i get the bad fuel consumption figure....( come on Danny ....how hard i can drive during the peak? 95% of time i travel at 40km/h....thx for Sydney traffic. lol )