[TicaLis300]

Hey guys/gals...

I'm in utter disgust that the IS did not come out in a manual. Nevertheless, I got one anyways. I thought that I might be satisfied with it, but turns out... NO WHERE NEAR CLOSE. I need a stick... but I love this car. My question to all of you is.. which is going to be more expensive, easier to accomplish.. the smartest route to go?? Do I change my automatic to a manual or do I wait for the manual to come out in the IS?? Either way.. how much do you think I'm looking at in either situation??

BTW.. I'm leasing the car...

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Graphite w/ graphite polished rims

 

[mrclam]

i would wait...i dont' think you can change to manual since you're on a lease and return it later on. even if you did, i dont' think its cost effective. i'm not sure though because i have no hard numbers, just some guesses in my head of about 3000 for the whole job or more

 

[ISFAN]

You are out of luck. You will not be able to alter the vehicle like that under the lease terms. Depending no how the residual holds up and the lenght of your lease you may be able to get out early, like a year early if that, or else you are looking at a lot of money to get out.

 

[TEG]

I would say that you are much better off (for alot of reasons) to trade in the Auto for a new manual. The conversion would be very expensive, and probably not waranted (or done) by the factory dealers. Also, the results of a conversion could be much more prone to problems and "weirness". It is not a simple "swap"... Many mods would need to be done to the car to make it take a manual trans.

 

[TicaLis300]

Thanx for the replies...

If I were to change the tranny to manual, I would definitely buy the car after the lease.. More than likely, Im going to keep the car for a while if I do switch the transmission, so the lease really isn't a question.. The question at hand is.. how much is it going to cost to put a manual in.. i dont care about the warranty.. and how much will it cost to trade it in for the manual once it comes out...

another question..if i opt for switching to manual.. will a 6 speed be better or a 5 speed.. ????

thanx again for your help...

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Graphite w/ graphite polished rims, LSD, etc, etc... with no emblems on the back

 

[ralittle2]

I understand your desire for a manual, but also agree with the previous posts. Just bide your time until the lease is up them buy or lease one with a manual. There is no other smart financial choice. By them who knows what goodies Lexus will have cooked up.

 

[DtEW]

Modifying your IS300 to take the MY'02 manual tranny (notice I didn't say swap) is going to be incredibly complicated, expensive, and foolhardy.

The MY'02 manual tranny for IS300 will only be available in 5-speed. The 6-speed Altezza manual would not survive the extra torque. If the 6-speed Supra manual could be fit with a minimum of pain, why would ToMoCo bother developing a whole new tranny?

Think of the equipment that we already know would be necessary: tranny, driveshaft (likely), ECU (ECT-i, remember?), shifter and linkage hardware (and probably fabrication/cutting/welding of mounts for those), relocated/smaller brake pedal, clutch pedal plus fabrication/cutting/welding of mounts, steering wheel rim (remove E-shift buttons), gauge cluster. And this is just the stuff we know.

Your conversion may or may not be street legal. All warranties will be voided (except rust-through, if they're feeling generous). The resale value of the conversion will only be a fraction of that of an unmolested IS, be it auto or manual. You won't have any of the likely improvements they will make in MY'02.

If you're stuck in a lease, better cut your losses now and see if anyone is willing to take over that lease.