(jazz music)
- Lexus is Toyota's Luxury division
also known as I want to overpay for my Toyota.
Lexus came onto the scene in 1989,
which is the same year the Nintendo Game Boy came out
which is arguably more important.
Lexus wasn't even being sold in Japan
where it was created until 2005.
Instead, it was just being sold as Toyota's
because, I don't know, why not?
Lexus does have
(car tires screeching) its FSPORT lineup
which can get pretty gnarly,
but we're definitely not in that realm of car today.
The Lexus IS300 came out in 2001,
and it was famous for having the extremely,
sought after, 2JZ engine.
However this isn't the 2JZ engine.
This is the GE
with the naturally aspirated inline six engine.
Which is like trying to get drunk
on non-alcoholioc beer.
Looks like beer.
Smells like beer.
But it's not fun like beer.
The 2005 Lexus IS300 had an original
MSRP of $31,000.00.
Which means you could get 4326
Cantina Margarita twist and freezes
from Taco Bell Cantina
Which is Taco Bell's luxury division.
This car has depreciated hard and been used
and abused by the drift community for years.
Today we sit down with an owner
and have a good ole chat.
Driver to Driver!
(jazz music)
Don't forget the wheels, tires, suspension,
https://www.fitmentindustries.com.
Today I'm here with Austin Flowers.
Austin Powers.
Flowers.
Flower power.
All right, cool.
Let's not beat around the bush
how much you pay for that rear-wheel drive luxury Camry.
- well I actually traded a Volkswagen
and I probably only had like two grand
into the Volkswagen so.
- Two grand total?
Like everything, all said?
What kind of Volkswagen was it?
- It was a 1.8 2004 Volkswagen Passat Wagon.
- You traded a lagoon?
- Yeah.
- Why would you trade that?
Lagoon?
Oh my god!
All right, so it's two grand.
How many miles were on it?
- Volkswagen was like,
- Volkswagen.
- Volkswagen, 160.
- Hundreds? (laughing)
Okay and how many miles are on IS300?
- When I got it it was like 122.
- Okay so it,
you didn't have to throw any cash on top or anything?
- Nuh-uh.
- Why did this guy want the Lagoon so bad?
Seems like kind of a good deal.
- I don't know.
- Was there anything wrong with it?
- I mean, Volkswagen had a check engine light on it
but otherwise I mean.
- I mean, that's normal for Volkswagens though.
- Lexus was perfectly fine
I hopped in it, drove it home.
- You just traded straight up?
- Yeah.
- Cool.
All right, that's the first time on Driver to Driver,
that someone did that.
All right. (beeping)
So why did you go with an IS300 though,
did you wanna drift
or did you just hear the 2JZ thing
and get excited a little bit
or what were you thinking there?
- No, so the actual reason for getting the car was,
I was sixteen about to get a driver's license,
left Walmart with my parents
and I saw a red Lexus IS300 sitting outside.
And I was like, all right, I need that car.
Forgot about it basically
like never thought anything of it.
Trade my cars, had what I had
and all of a sudden, the next thing you know,
two years ago I was like I need an IS300
so went to go look posted up my car
did a trade right for one
and then I've had it ever since.
- So you see a red one in the Walmart parking lot
and then your like, that's my dream car?
- Correct.
- Wonderful.
All right. (buzzing)
Have you ever referred to your car
as a four-door Supra?
- I have not.
- Don't lie to me.
- I have not.
- You don't got to lie to me, I don't care.
- No I do not refer it as a four-door Supra
'cause it is not. - Okay
- I just have a regular GTE.
- All right, okay good to know.
What's the IS300 community like?
Now that you've been in it for a bit.
How long have you had the car?
- Like a little bit over two years
I guess you could say. - Little over two years.
All right, so you've been in the community for a minute.
What's it like?
- I mean I like to say its pretty good.
I have like group chats with some of the guys
and stuff like that.
But in all, I mean just some of them
that are out there
they're not the nicest,
- Oh! - but otherwise
most of them are helpful,
you ask questions you get answers.
- That's dope.
- There's a couple of questions
that always get asked like,
where the valve that they have on the engine
where someones like, oh what is that for?
And its get asked like twelve billion times
in group chats so.
- Well that sounds like a good time.
- But otherwise.
- You guys hang out at Walmart?
- No we don't hang out at Walmart.
- Oh I didn't know if that's why.
(beeping) Well that's enough IME
let's hear from my extremely cool
and loyal YouTube community, all right.
(upbeat jazz)
- For wheels tire suspension check out
https://www.fitmentindustries.com
- Pooties McGoodies,
that's a cool name by the way,
has an important question and he asked,
"So, when are you swapping a real 2JZ into it?"
- All right so with the 2JZ 1JZ swaps
I'm actually not going that route.
Next year I'm gonna pull the trigger
and I'm actually gonna be buying an LS
and then a T-56 and swapping that into it.
So a little bit of a different ballpark
but I wanna do that just because
I want a Corvette, as well. (tire screech)
So why not just mix the two together
and have fun there.
- So you want a Corvette.
So you're like, instead of buying a Corvette
or trading my car I'm just gonna put an LS in my car.
- Yes. (laughing)
Yup!
- Corvette, Lexus, - I mean, alright.
(clapping) - Boom!
- Most people, fine
Well you could do 1JZ 2JZ GTE
that'd be kind of cool.
But you just,
so your like, no I want a Corvette.
- Yeah I want a big cam.
- Are you gonna get New Balance?
- I mean yeah I guess.
- Okay and khaki shorts?
- Yup.
Yep, I'll pull of the look.
- Okay good all right. (beeps)
Jeynner Hernandez asked,
"I'm considering buying a IS300 for my first car,
but I want it to be manual.
Should I get one manual
or get an automatic and make it manual knowing
it's more easier to find an automatic and cheaper?
- So I've actually done the swap
for the 5-speed just with the stock W55.
- Sure
- If I had to be honest with you
I'd probably say buying one manual is the easiest way.
If you have,
know how to do the work and everything like that.
Get one that's auto,
you're gonna save some money.
Just for like the price you can pick one up for, a manual.
- I mean isn't it hard to find manual though?
- No. - I heard its pretty hard
to find manual
- Not terrible I mean you gotta look.
You might have to go farther out to go get them.
But I mean there is a fairly decent amount.
But the only thing is in the miles.
You're talking about like 250,000
and the person still wants like five grand for it.
And your like,
(groaning)
yeah I'm going to pass on that.
- Corvettes come manual.
- They do.
(static noise playing)
- RazoE is curious, asks,
"How disappointed were you after you bought it
and got gapped by mini vans and struggled
to get 15 miles per gallon?
former'03 5-Speed manual owner here."
- I cried
- Did you?
- Yup - You get gapped
by a mini van?
- Yeah
- Is it slow?
- Toyota, Sienna
(sci-fi engine roaring) passed me right up.
(laughing)
- It actually happened
I think this guy must've known you.
Holy (beep)!
And you get fifteen miles per gallon in that thing?
- I mean I'd like to say probably not anymore
just with my exhaust now but.
- How much does exhaust add for MPG?
- I don't even know but all I know is that it sucks on gas.
- Why?
That's terrible.
Anything around that for a six cylinder,
that's garbage.
- Yeah
- That's bad.
And its slow.
Like what's the benefit?
- I'd like to say the dashboard
it's kinda cool though with the MPG
'cause then you can see it fluctuate.
But that's it, yeah, that's the only thing.
- Okay so it gets low miles per gallon
that's okay 'cause looks cool
when it does it on the dashboard.
- Yeah
- Okay (static noise playing)
Now Raindrop asked,
"what are the pros and cons of owning one?"
- I mean I don't really have any cons with it
- Brother we just talked about the MPG remember?
- Well yeah I guess MPG,
yes, one con there.
- So, math.
- But otherwise I mean
pluses of it,cI'd have to say
it's in all a great car.
I mean I've really had no issues with it.
- So the positive, no issues.
Negative miles per gallon.
- Yeah
- Devaun Wilridge is asking the important things.
He says,
"You still have bed wetting issues, don't you?"
- No not really
- All right maxie9506 who wants to look like you asks,
"Who is the wheel manufacturer
and what are the specs on the wheels and tires?"
- So right now, I have a set of
Rotiform CCV's they're 18 by nine and a half
plus 22 with a little mild stretch 215/35.
But I am going to be switching it up,
I just picked up a set of KNP's
so gonna do the five spoke wheel
and then with that,
gonna get some breakup grades going in there.
- Ooh!
You don't like the sink drain wheels no more?
- No I don't.
Brandon Inks likes to know,
"Is the T in 2JZ-GTE important?"
- I mean I'd like to say it is,
a turbo's always important. - Yeah, I'd say so.
- That'd be cool right?
- Yup - Or LS
- Yeah LS you think LS
you could put a turbo on that too.
- I think I would rather have 2JZ GTE.
- I mean either or.
- New Balance, Turbo?
New Balance, Turbo?
I get it.
So let's get to the nitty gritty.
What mods have you had done today?
- Mods?
I mean I have a handful of mods
that I've done today.
- Let me hear them.
I wanna hear them.
The people wanna know.
- I love carbon fiber.
That is the one thing so.
- Yeah I do, I like carbon fiber.
- A lot of carbon fiber pieces
that are in it like, custom steering wheel,
the whole inside of it.
I've done like diamond stitched floor mats,
- Okay. - racing seats.
- What kind of racing seats?
- The racing seats they're,
I'm gonna mispronounce,
It starts with a B.
- Braum?
- Yeah Braum.
- I heard those are kind of like computer chairs.
- They're pretty comfy.
I mean, I don't really drive the car too much.
I mean its been sitting on jack stands
for doing the swap and stuff like that so.
- Doing the swap?
Wait, you've already started doing the LS swap?
- No, the manual swap.
- Oh the manual swap.
Oh, I thought you were done with the manual swap.
- Just finished the manual swap
- Oh man!
- Two weeks ago.
- So you haven't had any problems,
but you're probably gonna have problems.
- Yeah, yeah.
- But okay so you have ton of carbon fiber goodies,
diamond stitched floor mats
- The other couple things
is I got full air ride suspension on it.
- Ooh, air-ride, good choice.
- I've done the control arms upper and lowers,
just a couple of things for suspension.
The wheels setup, I guess, as well.
And then duckbill and then I also have
a full lift kit that's gonna be going on it.
Carbon APR front splitter,
carbon Seibon hood, carbon front grill.
- You do love carbon
you weren't (beep) around.
- Carbon fog lights.
- Carbon fiber fog lights?
- Yeah
- With the bezels you mean?
- Yes, that is correct.
- Oh I thought you meant like carbon fiber light bulbs.
- No, we aren't that far.
We aren't that far.
- Okay you're making me nervous.
- So you did a lot of cosmetic stuff, I see.
what have you got done to the motor?
- Motor, as I said, with the LS swap
I just did like headers, just made racing Mid Pipe
and then a custom two and a half inch
straight pipe through out the back
with blast pipes on it.
Intake system.
Basically, that's pretty much it for the motor.
I mean I have like strut tower bars
and stuff like that
that are kind of cosmetic-ish stuff.
- You got intake and exhaust ?
- Pretty much, yeah
- But then you spend like ten grand on carbon fiber.
- Yeah, 'cause it looks cool.
(laughing) (beep)
- How much horsepower are you putting on?
- Probably stop at like 215.
- How much money do you think you have in this thing?
- I've actually done the math before.
- Oh God!
- I kinda like stopped when I went
to all the carbon goodies and stuff like that, but.
- Watch this math.
- I think was probably somewhere,
coming pretty close, to like ten grand.
But I don't know I'm having fun.
- So you put ten grand.
No, you got to be more into that.
The air ride?
- Yeah.
- And the wheels?
- Yeah.
- And then all that carbon fiber.
Okay, so if you're around ten grand,
essentially this car is worth two grand.
- Like to say, yeah probably.
- So you put ten grand into a car
that's worth two grand.
- Yeah
- Do you have anymore plans for it?
I mean your talking about the LS swap.
Are you actually going to do it
or are you one of those guys
that just talks about doing it for like eight years straight
and then never does it? - No!
I 100% am going to pull the trigger on the LS swap.
- You realize this a $2000 car were talking about right?
- Mm hmm
- IS300?
- Yup
- You better not bump into anything
or hope no one gives you a fender bender.
It is going to cost like eighteen grand.
- Yup
- Oh my god!
(laser sound)
- Do you have any plans to like drift this thing,
or do what like IS300's are meant to do?
Not just like go park it on a baseball field.
(laughing)
- So I want to autocross it.
I wanna try it.
- I think it would be cool to drift on air.
- I am going to go to an event.
I'm gonna try it.
Hopefully I don't crash
and hopefully I don't mess up my car.
- So your going to go autocross with the LS in it?
- I'm gonna do it this year
with just a regular GE and then.
- Its going to be some weird weight distribution
in that bad boy.
I'm surprised the air is on.
I'm surprised its not so light with all the carbon fiber
that you go to air out then it just stays there.
'Cause there's no weight to bring it down.
Maybe one day right?
- Maybe one day.
- Okay
Has six cylinder, but is bad on MPG., right?
- Mm hm
- And its not fast.
- Yeah
- Seems like a good car start off with.
What would you recommend
to somebody looking to get an IS300?
- Get one that's cleaned.
That's clean.
Gosh I can't even talk.
- Get one that's clean cause they're sticky.
- 'Cause you find some out there
like I just saw someone that sold one
that had like 60K on it
that was a 5-Speed manual for like five grand.
And I see people paying like.
- Damn, you got ripped off.
- Yeah, I see people paying like
four grand for one that's got like 160 on it.
And it's an automatic and its like.
If you look they're out there.
You might have to travel
but there's a good community out there
that would help you find a good one as well, too.
- Good to know.
Well I think that about wraps it up
thanks for Austin Powers being groovy
and letting us poke fun at his, wish I had, Supra.
If you have any suggestions for someone else
that should be on this show,
drop a comment below.
Wheels, tires, suspension
(Metal clangs)
https://www.fitmentindustries.com
- Peace!
(upbeat jazz)
- [Austin] You gonna stop waving?
- That's my line.
(upbeat jazz)