i was reading car and driver and i came across some interesting info about the tC as compared to its lexus sibling the IS....

"Speaking of the Lexus IS, the tC is nearly as quick as its 215-hp luxury cousin. The sporty Scion scoots from 0 to 60 in 7.4 seconds and through the quarter-mile in 15.7 seconds at 88 mph, only 0.1 and 0.2 second, respectively, behind the IS ("$35,000 Sports Sedans," March 2004)."

heres a link to the rest of the article... http://www.caranddriver.com/article....&page_number=1

 

good article.. thanks!

 

Great article, thanks

 

Yea, thats a great article about the tC. I believe thats the one I read that convinced me to buy one.

 

can someone explain why this is true? how can a 160HP tC be almost as fast as a 215HP lexus IS?

 

This month's Maxim has a page on tC - nothing interesting, though

 

OKKKKKKKKKKKKK.....LOL

 

for the same reason my 170whp tib can beat a mustang gt.

gear ratio's are vastly different.

the IS weights a butt load more than the TC.

 

I have an IS300 Auto and let me tell you it's not the fastest car. 215HP but it's heavy and geared more as a cruiser. I have the manumatic but I hardly use it.
I actually think it's a Toyota marketing scheme since they constantly compare it to an IS. Ironically I have one and am shopping for a tC (which will be here today or Monday). I must be their target audience and their marketing department is doing their homework.
I've taken test drives and they are no where near similar in feel. Don't let them fool you either about road noise. My IS is considerably quieter than the tC and it's 3 years old.
Hopefully getting a Silver tC soon. Would go for flint mica but I already have a graphite grey pearl IS.

 

The IS weighs 350lbs. more than the tC.

tC Performance (manual)
Base Number of Cylinders: 4 Base Engine Size: 2.4 liters
Base Engine Type: Inline 4 Horsepower: 160 hp
Max Horsepower: 6000 rpm Torque: 163 ft-lbs.
Max Torque: 4200 rpm Drive Type: FWD
Turning Circle: 36.1 ft.

IS Performance (manual)
Base Number of Cylinders: 6 Base Engine Size: 3 liters
Base Engine Type: Inline 6 Horsepower: 215 hp
Max Horsepower: 5800 rpm Torque: 218 ft-lbs.
Max Torque: 3800 rpm Drive Type: RWD
Turning Circle: 34.1 ft.

Even with these numbers, the IS is only 0.1 and 0.2 seconds faster :?: I still don't get it.

 

Try to find info on gear ratios.

 

I agree with the above, I don't think I have been in a quieter car than the IS.....and I almost bought one 2 years ago.....but I'm happy I have bought the tC, I'd rather save the thousands...although the IS's interior is so b@d@$$....

 

u forget the gear ratio part. Its not all weight.

but weight is a light factor. Its kind of slightly exponential in a way. like lets say car is 2500lb's. if you weight reduce it to 2000lb's you may gain lets say 10%. but if you take it to 3000lbs you may lose about 25% these arent accurate by any means just a example of sorts.

but theres a reasion i stated gear ratio's first. its the major factor. go research the final drive ratio's of both cars.

 

Gears, Bore and Stroke, weight all affect this. I've beaten a Porsche off the line with my 5 speed Scion tC. Boy was he surprised!

 

So surprised he only took a half-sip of his latte before putting it back into the cupholder...then put his car in gear and passed you. :D

 

Actually the road narrowed after the light from 3 lanes to 2. So he had to eat my dust. And it felt good.

 

i don't know where to find info on gear ratios. but this comparison is with a tC manual and IS manual right? this wouldn't apply to auto's correct? just wondering...

 

Heh...interesting. I didn't know the IS was RWD. I parked next to a grey one the other day, and when I was coming back to my car I almost confused the two. The tC looks very similar to the IS (from the front)...it's sortof like a "mini-me." But then it also looks like a lot of other cars.

 

No, the auto tCs are geared much higher than the manuals. It's the main reason they're slower and get better fuel economy.

tC:
DRIVETRAIN Transmission: 5-speed manual
Final-drive ratio: 4.24:1
Gear, Ratio, Mph/1000 rpm, Max test speed
I, 3.54, 4.7, 29 mph (6200 rpm)
II, 2.05, 8.2, 51 mph (6200 rpm)
III, 1.33, 12.6, 78 mph (6200 rpm)
IV, 0.97, 17.2, 107 mph (6200 rpm)
V, 0.78, 21.6, 127 mph (5900 rpm)

is300:
Transmission : Five-speed manual
Final drive : 3.727:1
Gear Ratios
1 : 3.566:1
2 : 2.056:1
3 : 1.384:1
4 : 1.000:1
5 : 0.850:1


So, although the gear ratios are similar, the lower final drive ratio on the tC lowers the overall gearing (for better acceleration but worse fuel economy.) I couldn't find the final drive ratio for the auto, but I'd guess it's similar to the is300.

 

Doesn't the IS run a 6.8sec 0-60?