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Oh yeah... They're real sick cars... until you own one.

haha whats so bad about it?

It's really expensive to drive and not as much fun as you'd think. On paper, it's a great car. 215 hp, 218 lb. ft. of torque, RWD, 2JZ engine, lightweight, looks good, etc. But then you drive it. Shut the traction control off, get ready to have some fun. Put your foot down, and then stability control kicks in. You've essentially done nothing but waste gas because the car didn't let you do anything. The car has decent passing power, but doesn't feel particularly quick. Ever. Handling is decent- better than my Celica in everyday driving. But when you are feeling spirited, the Celica will take you farther. The Lexus has too much body roll and you can really feel the extra weight. So I've taken the thought of my IS as a RWD sports sedan and just think of it as a really expensive Corolla. At least Corollas get good gas mileage. Don't get me wrong.. I think with a manual transmission, the IS would be much better than it is. It wouldn't have traction control or stability control holding me back. First gear wouldn't be pathetic. But it would still have the issue of weight and poor fuel economy.

I don't mind the car being expensive to drive and I don't mind it being boring to drive... I just wish it was one or the other, not both. I can stand boring if it's cheap. I can stand expensive if it's fun. But it's just not.. It's not what I expected. That's why I bought another Celica.

http://au.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...?showtopic=8149 eh?

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that is so awesome!!!!!! makes me think of video game "back-back-forward-a-b-etc" lol.

Traction control isn't the issue though. Lexus was gracious enough to give me a button to shut the traction control off. It's stability control that gets you. That, and even without the electronic crap, I feel like the automatic tranny really holds this car back. First gear is pointless. It revs all the way up to 3 miles an hour and then takes its sweet time shifting. Second on up, you have decent power, but not good power. But by the time the car ever shifts to second, everyone else is passing you through the stoplight and giving you the bird. Putting the car in manual mode solves that issue, but makes the car shift harder and I don't want it shifting like that all the time. Doesn't feel like it can be good on it, you know? Anyway.. I'll let you guys drive it at the meet. You'll see what I'm talking about. It's just not the car it would have been if it had the manual.

Its because its a Lexus.

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Exactly.

@ Bitter & Stambo: After hangin' with the alltracs on The Tail of the Dragon, I'm ready to take both of you on!

My Abby may be all stock, but I sure as hell found the limits when threatened by the mountains.... I'm truly looking forward to this meet!

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Im in St.Louis. We can meet up and go down there. Im also intrested in going to Chicago

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I'm going to tail of the dragon just before this actually. My friend with a low 14sec 3G Eclipse is planning to come down for this meet should give the turbo celica someone to play with. On a good track it really should be in the high to mid 13's or better.

I x2 blu94gt's idea of a nearby carwash.. I may go through Oglesby or another nearby town to get the Lexus clean. I've got 5 hours worth of bugs to drive through before I get to Starved Rock. Also, I know I've been keeping track of the date, but have any of us set a time yet? And how about a rain date? Or are we just going to go anyway?

I am just planning to go anyway...

now I'm ready.

Did we come up with an exact time to meet? Morning/afternoon/evening? Trying to plan out when I should be heading out there and heading back so I know when to ask off work, need to know if I'm driving out Friday or Saturday and which night I'll be staying there.

I'll be there saturday morning possibly before others to 'hold' the spot and just hang out with my friend, shoot photos, etc.

I was planning on trying to be there between 10 and 11. Might as well go, rain or shine. Bitter, is there a map of the exact site we'll be at?

EDIT: This is the route I will be taking. Google Maps. Everyone feel free to check and see if there's anywhere we can meet up and caravan on up to Starved Rock. I am willing to go a little bit out of my way to meet up with somebody. As blu94gt said, I'll also be looking for a car wash somewhere along the way unless it's raining that day.

Also, if anyone feels like driving up there together, feel free to message me and get my number.

This post has been edited by richee3: May 23, 2010 - 12:07 PM

well it depends where we all meet at.

I want to meet here...
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=41....mp;t=h&z=19

Ugh i just noticed this thread...you guys had to plan it on the day of my graduation party. LOL otherwise i would have been down. It was a lot of fun last time we all got together and shot the **** and went cruising. Maybe the next one i can make it?

Hmmm not sure if I can make it, or if I do I'll probably have to leave early. My wife's travel plans changed, she'll be back in Kansas City at like 10 AM Sunday morning and I'll have to be there to pick her up. Only option looks like to drive out that way Friday, stay the night somewhere or camp, and hang out til 5 or 6 Saturday then make the 7ish hour drive home.

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damn, but yes I'll be going out to starved rock every few weeks this summer and i'm sure one of those times we can gather some people together again.

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I was planning on leaving around the same time Saturday.

I'm not profoundly far from Starved Rock. I could probably make another trip up there later this year. I'm kind of on the edge about this right now, wondering if I'll have the funds to go. I'm fairly sure I will though. I'm just curious who is interested in going for sure, how many cars we'll have there. I know 3 or 4, but that's not quite the turnout I was hoping for. Better than nothing though.

Well I'll be there for sure.............

I'm out. my baby girl gets all of my attention now.

I'm still in.

as am I. I just hope 71 is in better shape!

I'll bring out a small gas grill with a spare cylinder of propane and probably some sausage and buns, mustard/ketchup...so atleast if no one else shows up there's something for me to eat! Charoal does taste better but can take a while to get going and isn't reliable enough...plus its messy.

who else is bringing what? I thought we had a list?

We did have a list, but that was when people were actually going to show up. Now it looks like a handful of us, so let's just start a new list. I'll probably pick up a couple of 12 packs of soda, some bottles of water, and some ice along the way and I'll have a cooler with me. Any particular requests for the soda? I thought I'd just pick up some regular Coke or Pepsi but I can get anything.

Bitter- Grill, sausage/buns, mustard/ketchup
richee3- Soda/water

Bitter- Grill, sausage/buns, mustard/ketchup
richee3- Soda/water
bloodMoney- Burgers and buns, salsa, maybe desert

i'm still waiting on the wiring harness from tweak, thats what i'm mostly waiting on to see if the celi will be road worthy with the swap