GS1day

I've had my car less than a week, and I've got the mod bug. I've been infected by all of you, and it will be the death of me, I can see it already

I'd like to drop a few $$$ into the engine, and rub out a few of these Mustangs in the Austin area. What is the most bang for the buck to throw at a stock 98 GS400? Do most people think that the SRT intake /ECU combo is a good start?

FC

ChuH

Get a Torque Converter and transmission cooler. That will give you the best bang for your dollar. The SRT intake and ECU is not going to give you a dramatic improvement when compare to a TC.

Chu...

lspower

well you have the fastest year stock gs4 made so u have that goin for you. i would also agree on the tourqe conveter/tranny cooler. then the srt and/or exhaust if money left over

GS1day

See, thats exactly why I asked. I would have never guessed TC. If understand the TC correctly...it is not going to make any more horsepower, but rather allow me to transfer more of the HP I am already making to the rear wheels. It has a higher stall speed (I think thats the word for it), so it launches at a higher RPM....again, I'm not telling, but trying to understand what I'll get aout of that TC. Can you tell me what diference the ride feels like after you install it, and is it murder on a tranny, or does that tranny cooler make up for it completely?

Thanks guys. I'm looking for one right now. Is one better than the other?

FC

joshoowa

iTrader: (1)

make your car go on a diet...when i met kevinle (thats his sn) he showed me that he gutted out part of his front and rear bumpers, said he reduced like 250lb or something i dont remember.

koreanpers

if you went the srt intake route, you will need to also get an aftermarket cat back exhaust. otherwise, that extra air your suckin in...has nowhere to go

GammaLex

Messing up a Lexus tranny is easy with mods. On a Gs300 if u put more than 350 Hp to the wheels your tranny will be toast in a month. Even with a Valvebody upgrade and a tranny cooler it cant handle more than 375 rwhp. On the Gs400 or 430 not adding a tranny coolerwith a TC is asking for trouble it will mess up too. Now any GS with no major engine mods and stock driveline wil keep the tranny lasting a long time.

GS1day

Well that answers my question about the tranny....and I don't need to worry about that 375 rwhp, but thanks for the info....we all know that there has to be some limit a stock tranny can handle, and its nice to know where that is.

xmystikx - nice to hear such confidence in the tranny - how much are you paying to get it installed, or are you ding it yourself? Seems like you'd have to have a rack

Joshoowa - that sounds like a cheap gain....worth knowing more about, I'll search for some posts on it.

Koreanpers - I've heard the same, but then I went ahead and started believing the marketing crap from SRT. They have a dyno showing a stock GS400 vs a GS400 with JUST (that is the question) their intake and ECU, and it shows 18 rwhp and 31 ft/lbs of torque. Are suggesting that that is not accurate, or are you saying that I will get even bigger gains than that with ae exhaust? I know what your saying is right, but I don't know what gains I will see with the SRT intake/ECU and NO pipe -VS- SRT intake/ECU WITH a pipe.

I'd rather keep this car as quiet as possible. Is there such thing as a quiet Catback system?

Thansk for the feedback guys - its all good info

FC

GS1day

Sorry for the Typos above--- I'll prooff reed it nekst time

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

Just push the 'edit' button and go in and fix / re-save your changes .

Don't get the SRT if you want a quiet car. It's pretty loud.

BTW, ALL the questions you're asking have been discussed in pretty great detail before. Have you used the search feature? Try pointing it at the GS forum and using keywords 'bang for buck' to see what you come up with.

For example

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...=bang+for+buck
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...=bang+for+buck
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...=bang+for+buck
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...=bang+for+buck

Among many others...

bluelex

don't worry about the typos, i'm so horrible i don't even bother going back 2 fix it anymore, the guys r used it by now i think...

tc and tranny cooler would b my vote aswell, but get the srt intake when u have a chance u'll love it...

Neo

iTrader: (3)

For a GS4, the TCs (Torque Converter and tranny cooler) are almost a must if you want more off the line acceleration. These two plus install should fall right into you price rance. To complete the package, you should look into an LSD soon after that to minimize spinning the tires (and losing some of your new found power ).

GS1day

DaveGS4 - thanks for the search tip.....thats one search I didn't do is the 'bang for buck' search, however, maybe as a system admin you can see, that I have been online forever since I joined a week ago, and my search button is already showing signs of wear

Nice tip on the edit button...didn't even think you could fix it after it was posted....very cool.

thanks for the tips....you guys with the TC, does your car shift a lot harder, or is it hard not to peel out every time you take off? What is the difference in driving characteristcs?

FC

omegagavin

What makes the 98 GS400 faster than the 99 and 2000?

ebruce2

iTrader: (1)

please my friend, do share!!!!! There are pleny of folks here who would love to see that action.