Gear Ratio (Low)

[lexusis200x2000]

Hi every one, I'm sure this has been covered loads of times but i am new to the forum and cant find what I'm looking for.

Basically I like the is200 but I find its very low ratio, over 3k doing 70mph, with a 6 speed box I was expecting the revs to be lower. I also find myself changing gear constanty as soon as I pull off, I'm in 5th before I know it.

So can I change the final drive, is there another model with a higher final drive that I could use or is it the diff I need to change.

[noby76]

its a 'close' gear ratio design to help it stay within 4600 - 6200 rpm power band which means it stays closer to its peak torque figure of 195NM without falling of it too drastically. and its a sports saloon so you will always be busy changing gears.all sports saloon/hathces mainly Jap cars like IS200, Honda Type R, Honda S2000 etc have close gear ratios... automatic version would suit you as its geared longer but its only 4 speed unless you go for IS300 wich is 5 speed manumatic so can be driven in auto or can be controlled manually on the steering wheel and you wont have to clutch down to drop or go up a gear aswell. i wouldnt waste my time tampering with final drive or diffs as lexus engineers have thier reason for setting it that way.. go auto if driving the manual is a mission!!

[lexusis200x2000]

its a 'close' gear ratio design to help it stay within 4600 - 6200 rpm power band which means it stays closer to its peak torque figure of 195NM without falling of it too drastically. and its a sports saloon so you will always be busy changing gears.all sports saloon/hathces mainly Jap cars like IS200, Honda Type R, Honda S2000 etc have close gear ratios... automatic version would suit you as its geared longer but its only 4 speed unless you go for IS300 wich is 5 speed manumatic so can be driven in auto or can be controlled manually on the steering wheel and you wont have to clutch down to drop or go up a gear aswell. i wouldnt waste my time tampering with final drive or diffs as lexus engineers have thier reason for setting it that way.. go auto if driving the manual is a mission!!

thats out of the window then!!

quick one for u as u seem to know what ur on about, why does it beep when you put it in reverse, is it a warning or a parking sensor, if its a parking sensor I dont think it works.

[noby76]

is just to alert one its in reverse rather than 1st gear i think its a safety alert feature so one does not put it reverse thinking its 1st then slam the accelerator peddle only to run into the car behind you at the traffic lights!! trust me it happens mainly in America as majority are not used to driving 'Stick' as they call it (manual). so no its not a parking sensor i think later models did have the parking sensor..well in my case yes mine does have one.

[gsdude]

It's just to let you know that its in reverse (and not first)...remember this car was designed for Americans too!

[lexusis200x2000]

Cheers, saves me trying to fix the reverse sensors I havnt got.

If the final drive was changed surely the gear range wouldn't change so it would all still work the same, rev range etc. Just a lot of cars the final drive is easily changeable and I think it would make it a better car.

[noby76]

ok there is not much of a difference insurance, road tax and mpg wise between IS200 and IS300 so i think an IS300 will be your saviour as it lazyly sits at 2500rpm at 70mph as you can see this 3ltr is barely stressed :winky:

[lexusis200x2000]

Good point, is the is200 and is300 the same cars bar the engine.

[noby76]

Good point, is the is200 and is300 the same cars bar the engine.

yes pretty much the same chasis, suspension etc and guys correct me if am wrong but i read IS300 under pinings have been strengthend to handle the weight of the 3litre engine if ths is true then that will only be the difference between the two cars. oh and the 300 is very torquey aswell to paint a clear picture, IS200 makes 195NM of torque at 4600rpm the 300 makes almost 290NM at 3800rmp so based on these figures one can say at least 195NM is available at the wheels of IS300 at around a low 2500rpm.and based on the formula on how to calculate bhp IS300 is still making around 260NM at 5800rpm where maximum horse power is reached but the advantage lies in the fact that the engine is using 210 horses to make that torque of 260nm so as you can see this car does is not lack pulling power.. thats what a difference of 1litre in engine capacity can make..

[lexusis200x2000]

The is300 looks Totally different though doesn't it. After driving it more and more I still think the final drive is two low for a six speed.

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

The is300 looks Totally different though doesn't it. After driving it more and more I still think the final drive is two low for a six speed.

No it doesn't sorry.

My mate has a platinum ice IS300 with the TTE kit and Aero alloys on it....

I have a platinum ice IS200 with TTE kit and Aero alloys....

Park them next to each other and you wouldn't know which was the 300 and which was the 200.

The only 2 things we've found different is his fog lights have yellow glass, mine are clear.

And his says IS300 on the back and mine says IS200.

[noby76]

is200 also has the amber effect on the side of the head lights but 300 head lights dont have it. would be nice if they did though....yellow fogs gives it mean sport look at night looks nice..

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

is200 also has the amber effect on the side of the head lights but 300 head lights dont have it. would be nice if they did though....yellow fogs gives it mean sport look at night looks nice..

Ahhh never noticed the amber cos he's tinted his head lights. I never mentioned that as that was never a standard option.

Yeah agreed they look better on the 300 at night but I don't like them in the day. Just my preference :)

[lexusis200x2000]

Any pics

[matt-c]

Plus in the 300 you get full leather (although I like the half leather myself), and the coveted OEM front armrest.

On paper the 300 is fully the better car, and I'd suspect in real life it is too; 211bhp, 212lb/ft torque = over a second faster to 62 than the manual IS200 (a full three seconds faster than the IS200 automatic!), 9mph higher top end, looks the same as the 200 bar the clear front headlight/indicator, 5 speed auto with tip tronic instead of 6sp manual or 4sp auto of the 200, along with the full leather and armrest inside, speed sensitive power steering, HID headlights as standard, "photochromic" (auto anti-glare) rear view mirrors, vehicle stability control (VSC)

Makes me wanna switch up to a 300!!!

[lexusis200x2000]

Yeah I like the sound of a 300.

[matt-c]

Thing is, prior to getting my 200, I didn't even know 300's existed. I only found that out after getting my 200 and coming on the forums. Had I known that, I'd probably have got a 300 instead, least in part for the 'box; initially I wanted an auto (cos I'm getting old and lazy), but decided I didn't want the 4sp auto in the 200, so changed minds and went manual. Then decided I might as well get the Sport cos of the few spec items above the SE (lower suspension, spoiler, shiny bits inside, LSD, etc). Knowing now that the IS300 came with all that, PLUS a proper/better auto box (with tiptronic!) and more power? Fools rush in.......

Even so, I love my 200 - but I might not keep it as long as I intended to, and switch up to a 300 if one comes along that I really like and can afford...

[noby76]

same here!! didnt know an IS300 existed and was looking for a sport/luxury saloon to replace my Nissan Primera 1.8 litre with as i wanted something with a bit more power. looked at IS200's and Ford Cougar 2.5 V6 and ended up going for the Cougar V6 as on paper it was quicker, same mpg as IS200 , generated more torque, and more top end power(170 bhp) compared to IS200's (153 bhp)!! had the cougar for almost 2 years and wanted something more powerful but could not go for IS200 as it wasnt powerful enough for me. and was driving in Birmingham one weekend and a Platinum ice IS caught my eye and looked at the rear badge and saw IS300 and was like hang on a minute!! did Lexus make a 3litre version of the IS?? got home and a quick google and search on auto trader confirmed it and i was like YES because i wanted something which drove and had the specs of German cars but i didnt want a german car as those were too common on the roads and i wanted to stay Jap and also wanted an automatic for a change as all my previous cars have been manual and IS300 fitted it perfectly. kept on looking until a TTE kitted IS300 in Platinum ICE was posted on Autotrader and without hesitation i jumped on it and 9 months on has been a good reliable car its not an IS-F or M3 due to the fact that its not boosted like the Supra(even with the Supra engine under the hood) but it doesnt hung about performance wise :D . what surprises me is IS300 is a really good car but for some reason it didnt really sell in Europe as everyone wanted to be seen in a 330i BMW or Audi A4 3.0 quattro but this makes it good for us cus we get to drive a rare car on the roads and i still catch other drivers checking the car out....

[lexusis200x2000]

I want one now, noticed that there is not many on eBay or swapz though.

[jrsimon27]

The shock absorbers between the is200 and is300 have different part numbers in my car i got some front shock bilstein and got them for an is300 when i installed them ride height dropped in my is200 so now i bought to kyb front shocks i will see what happens

[matt-c]

Standard IS200 (S, SE) vehicle height is 1420mm, while the IS200 Sport and the IS300 are 1405mm.

Not sure what that has to do with gear ratios tho...