Howdy. I recently sold my IS500 Premium and found myself replacing it with a 2025 GRC Core.
The IS500 sounded phenomenal with an exhaust and the engine was amazing with a great top end pull. The rest of the car was alright. Vast majority of it was standard fare IS350. No external oil or transmission coolers. I did try to improve shortcomings by installing the RCF 6 piston calipers, two piece rotors, some minor suspension bits, but in the end I was looking for change. It's a shame this car came with the transmission that it did. I could get over that it didn't have lightning quick shifts compared to the competitors, but it took forever for it to get up to operating temperature. Prior to reaching operating temperature, it shifted smooth but with absolutely no authority, haste, or rev matching. By the time the transmission warmed up and I could access crisp shifts, I was already closing in on my destination. To add insult to injury, you couldn't track this thing without the risk of boiling over the transmission fluid, let alone cooking the engine oil. While it could hold its own in the canyons and very minor track duty, the car was best suited as a highway cruise missile.
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The 2025 GRC was a breath of fresh air. You got the F/R LSDs, the torque bump, and other cooling/suspension revisions all included in the Core. Essentially all the important stuff. The car will solely be driven for fun, so missing creature comforts wasn't a big deal to me. It has CarPlay (Wireless, too! Something the IS didn't have!), what else does it really need, right?
I've done the first oil change and have just around 600 miles on the car. Absolutely love driving the thing. Curb weight is 1,000 lbs lighter than the IS500 and the mechanical grip is remarkable. I can carry significantly more corner speed and love the way it pulls out of turns. The GRC also out-brakes the IS500 even with the BBK. Other small wins include reaching operating temperature in a third of the time, half the quantity required for oil changes (9.1 quarts for the IS!), AND THE MANUAL TRANSMISSION. Overall I'm finding it to be a better and more engaging driver's car. No it doesn't make snarly engine noises, but the turbo/inline 3 soundtrack is enjoyable in its own way. At certain ranges of the RPMs, it's reminiscent of a Triumph.
I plan to track the thing and I may have traded boiling over an auto transmission for overheating a transfer case, but at least the latter just entails FWD-only until it cools and swapping out half a quart of fluid. Far less involved than multiple "sealed" transmission drain and fills and inputting cheat codes to achieve the right fill level (Toyota automatic transmission servicers know what I'm talking about).
Anyways, glad to be here. Great community with lots of resources. Cheers.
![Image]()
The IS500 sounded phenomenal with an exhaust and the engine was amazing with a great top end pull. The rest of the car was alright. Vast majority of it was standard fare IS350. No external oil or transmission coolers. I did try to improve shortcomings by installing the RCF 6 piston calipers, two piece rotors, some minor suspension bits, but in the end I was looking for change. It's a shame this car came with the transmission that it did. I could get over that it didn't have lightning quick shifts compared to the competitors, but it took forever for it to get up to operating temperature. Prior to reaching operating temperature, it shifted smooth but with absolutely no authority, haste, or rev matching. By the time the transmission warmed up and I could access crisp shifts, I was already closing in on my destination. To add insult to injury, you couldn't track this thing without the risk of boiling over the transmission fluid, let alone cooking the engine oil. While it could hold its own in the canyons and very minor track duty, the car was best suited as a highway cruise missile.
The 2025 GRC was a breath of fresh air. You got the F/R LSDs, the torque bump, and other cooling/suspension revisions all included in the Core. Essentially all the important stuff. The car will solely be driven for fun, so missing creature comforts wasn't a big deal to me. It has CarPlay (Wireless, too! Something the IS didn't have!), what else does it really need, right?
I've done the first oil change and have just around 600 miles on the car. Absolutely love driving the thing. Curb weight is 1,000 lbs lighter than the IS500 and the mechanical grip is remarkable. I can carry significantly more corner speed and love the way it pulls out of turns. The GRC also out-brakes the IS500 even with the BBK. Other small wins include reaching operating temperature in a third of the time, half the quantity required for oil changes (9.1 quarts for the IS!), AND THE MANUAL TRANSMISSION. Overall I'm finding it to be a better and more engaging driver's car. No it doesn't make snarly engine noises, but the turbo/inline 3 soundtrack is enjoyable in its own way. At certain ranges of the RPMs, it's reminiscent of a Triumph.
I plan to track the thing and I may have traded boiling over an auto transmission for overheating a transfer case, but at least the latter just entails FWD-only until it cools and swapping out half a quart of fluid. Far less involved than multiple "sealed" transmission drain and fills and inputting cheat codes to achieve the right fill level (Toyota automatic transmission servicers know what I'm talking about).
Anyways, glad to be here. Great community with lots of resources. Cheers.
