Advance Pursuit

Jan 14, 2009 - Myth Debunker: Trip computers are not accurate

This myth has been floating around the car community since day one of the trip computers, even the most-informed "car guys" think that trip computers cannot accurately calculate the cars' FE (mpg figure). I always knew that's not the case because in many times the rough calculation I did in my head came up pretty close to what my car's trip computer was showing but never got around to prove it, until this morning...

I went to fuel up my car this morning and I took pictures of both the trip computer and the amount of fuel I put in and here they are:

Now a quick calculation:

300 miles / 14.005 gal = 21.4 mpg

The trip computer shows 21.1 mpg. If you ask me, that's pretty darn close enough to the real figure!

Note: The percent error is 1.42%, which is well below the acceptable (5%).

11:21 am | Categories: second opinion, my car
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Aug 14, 2008 - Lexus IS350 with F-Sport Intake (part 2)

8:21 pm | Categories: my car
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Aug 14, 2008 - Lexus IS350 with F-Sport Intake

Here's my IS350 with the F-sport intake. The car has stock exhaust.

8:20 pm | Categories: my car
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Jun 23, 2008 - Lexus F-Sport Sway Bars

Got the sways installed last Sunday. I took several turns and ramps "aggressively" just to check them out and can definitely feel that the car is more confident with less body roll. However, the real test will be later this year when I go back to SOW in November.

Here are some pictures:

According to the F-Sport website (http://www.fsport.com), The front stiffness is increased by 6.3% and rear by 151.5% over the original sway bars.

2:19 pm | Categories: my car
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Apr 19, 2008 - Observations and thoughts after my first track day

I took my IS350 to track day for the first time on Friday (04/18) at SOW (Street of Willow). After running 5 sessions (~40 laps) here are some of my thoughts and observations:

1. The track is fairly smooth so driving on it was an enjoyment.

2. At a short track like SOW with many turns and short straight aways, high horsepower cars (like mine) have limited advantages. The real "kings" are those nimble and tossable cars like MiniS, Evo, WRX, Civic, and S2000.

3. The paddle shifter on my car works better than I expected, I was able to toggle between 3rd and 4th gear around the track "almost" like a car equipped with real manual tranny.

4. The IS350 is a worthy car on the track at hands of an experienced driver. My instructor (Sherman) took my car around the track at an amazing pace, some of the stuffs he did were pretty amazing and I'd never thought were possible. He operated the paddle shifter just like a real manual tranny and much to my surprise he said he actually like using it! Maybe those auto editors should talk to Sherman next time before they decided to bash the IS...

5. Even with the Eibach springs, there are still too much body roll in my opinion. So before I take it to the track again next time I'll try to get the strut and sway bars installed.

6. The stock brakes on the IS350 performed superbly, it never faded.

7. The stability system (VDIM) on the IS350 was very intrusive. At one of the turns if I carry too much speed into it, the VDIM will go active and cut off the gas. It was very annoying but later on I've learned to adapt my driving according to it. On the other hand, I think IS350 is a very safe car to take to tracks because it is impossible to spin out due to the intrusive VDIM. There were numerous times I could easily spin out but was saved nicely by it. I thought about using the "paddle dance" to have it disabled but decided against it due to my inexperience.

Overall I think it was a pretty good first try for me and I had really learned a lot by having Sherman ride with me for 2 sessions. I would definitely do it again probably as soon as later this year when the weather gets cooler.

2:32 pm | Categories: my car, auto sports
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Feb 22, 2008 - My IS350 Mods Summary

I've had my IS350 for almost 2 years now and I have done several mods to it during the period. Now I would like to dedicate a blog entry to summarize all my "accomplishments"...

1. Lexus OEM Sports Package Aluminum Door Sill Plates: The one with "LEXUS" on is the front door sill plate and the one without is the rear door's. The aluminum door sill plate is a standard equipment on all Sports Package IS but since mine is not so I consider this as a mod.

2. Lexus OEM Sports Package Aluminum Pedals: These pedals, which are also standard equipments on Sports Package IS, replaced the original black rubber ones

3. Black Pearl Emblems and Badges: Replaced the original chrome emblems and badges. I hate chrome, if I can replace the chrome window trim I would do it at once.

4. Lexus OEM Rear Lip Spoiler: It gives the car a more "complete" look, I think the IS looks naked without one...

5. Eibach Pro-Kit Lowering Springs: The lowering springs drop the height of the car by 1" front and 0.8" back. In the process of making the car looks much sleeker, the handling is also dramatically improved. The picture on the left is before installing the springs (stock setup) and the one on the right is after.

6. R-Vinyl Turn-Signal Light Redouts: Two precut red vinyl films change the turn-signal light color from amber to red. The best $10 investment I've ever made...

7. Aerotect Blue Fog Lamp Overlays: Turns the fog lamp from the original clear look to a shade of blue.

Future Mods: Later this year I am considering to add HID headlights and strut/sway bars to my car.