jtgs400

iTrader: (1)

My coworker's mechanic told him that all toyotas including Lexus uses the Camry frame. I say BS! How could a full size car like the GS be based on a mid-sized car like the Camry. It's impossible.

After searching I found out that yes, the RX300/330 is based on the Camry frame. I wouldn't be surprised if the ES300 and Solora is too but I'm pretty confident the GS isn't. Does anybody here know this for sure?

jroosh

It's not impossible. The ES and the GS are almost exactly the same size car. The fact that one is FWD/Transverse-V6 and one is RWD/Longitudinally-mounted V6/V8 presumably makes it unlikely as the weight distribution and drivetrain stress points would be completely different between the two platforms.

pvmike1

I would not let this mechanic work on my car. This statement is false. The Camry and ES share the same basic architecture. The RX has a modified Camry frame.

The GS shares no parts with the Camry or ES.

Stefwilli

The ES, RX, solara, highlander, all are on the camry platform. Not the GS, and pvmike1 is right, keep that mechanic far-far away from your car.

e-man

I've heard that the GS shares its frame/platform with the Avalon. I'm not exactly sure what that means, but I wouldn't doubt it. I think the Avalon came out around the same time as the 2nd gen GS, didn't it?

UDel

I believe the Avalon shares the frame and chasis with the Camry since both are fwd v-6 cars. If anything the GS would share its frame and chasis with the LS400/430 since both are rwd and use a v-8 as well as the inline 6 and now v-6 in the GS. Maybe the GS has its own platform but I think it would save money to use a modified LS since they are fairly close. The SC300/400 shared its platform with the Supra. The IS has its own platform but there are 4 cylinder Altezza versions sold in other countries. GX470 uses a Toyota 4 Runner platform. LX470 uses a Landcruiser platform and I am unsure if any other vehicle utilizes that platform. The ES and RX use a Camry platform.

GSquicksilver

i read before that the GS was built from the SC frame.

BlazenHazn

i was always under the impression that the SC fram was built from the Supra frame..

WOW, I own a 4 door supra.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

stop talking to your friend....... based on camry? he has no clue...

the gs frame is a bit based on the supra, but it's a totally independent chassis design just for this car. same with the IS

Chigga

amazing what people will come up now days.

like everyone said, Avalon/Camry/Solara/Highlander/RX330/ES330 are all based on same platform, most drivetrain parts are interchangeable, the chassis code is MCV20L, to be more detail Camry/Solara/ES330 shares about 95% of suspension and drivetrain parts, Highlander/RX330 are exactly identical as far as structural wise and shares only about 30% of parts on MCV20L, the Avalon is a special case, most people think its just a larger Camry, but it has its own chassis code that I do not have in handy, I say it shares no more than 60% of chassis components.

As far as 2nd Gen GS goes, aka JZS161 share same basic structural design as UCF20 (LS400), although they don't really share suspension design, IIRC, Toyota did use a lot of suspension ideas and small details from the JZA80 Supra due to they wanted to create the "Sport" image, and its no brainer, if you already have a design that has proven to be extremely reliable, why not use it? The Soarer itself was more of a 2 door Chaser/Mark II than a Supra, it was just lot cheaper and funner to share similar motor mounts and tranny cross-member.

yea I know its kinda useless facts, but I'm bored already.

flipside909

We talked about this in depth a few months ago:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...64#post1234364

LexFather

What Chigga and Rominl said.

The GS is platform specific. We thought the IS shared the platform but it doesn't. Every lexus has its own platform except the ES/RX which is Camry based.

This is one reaon a Lexus is more expensive than its Japanese luxury competition. It also leads to less problems.

The GS is in no way shape or form related to the Camry or Avalon. The Camry is the basic platform, in 1994, the Avalon was made and is built on a stretched Camry chassis. It was only 100lbs heavier despite being a much bigger car.

Now to RX, Lexus engineers were going to do another truck based SUV since the LX 450 was a hit. But they had an idea "what about a car based SUV"? It hadn't been done before and was a huge risk. The Camry was the platform picked since it was very strong and reliable and the RX would be relatively low to the ground for a SUV.

Well as we know the rest is history, no luxury SUV is even close to the success of the RX. Now other car makers make car-based SUVs.

HKGS300

it is not unusual for manufacturers to share platforms among models.

Although quite a lot of Lexus models use a similar chassis as the Camry (e.g. ES, RX, Solara, Previa/Estima/Alphard) ... this one is not used for the GS.

The easiest way to show this is that: Camry is frontwheel drive, GS is rearwheel drive.

And yes, The 2ndGen GS, 1stGen GS, IS, Supra, LS400, LS430, SC300/430 ... are all rear-wheel drive and have similar platforms (and has similar suspension parts)...

flipside909

Not necessarily, there are variations for the 1MZ-FE & 3MZ-FE based chassis lines:

98-03 RX300 - MCU10
98-03 RX300 AWD - MCU15
04-05 RX330 - MCU33
04-05 RX330 AWD - MCU38
06 RX400h - MHU38

01-03 Highlander 3.0 V6- MCU20
01-03 Highlander 3.0 V6 AWD - MCU25
04-05 Highlander 3.3 V6 - MCU23
04-05 Highlander 3.3 V6 AWD - MCU28
06 Highlander Hybrid - MHU28

95-99 Avalon - MCX10
00-04 Avalon - MCX20
05 Avalon - GSX30 (GR Series engines)

94-96 Camry/ES MCV10
97-01 Camry/ES MCV20 & 99-03 Solara MCV20
02-05 Camry 3.0 V6 (non SE)/ES300 MCV30
04-05 Camry SE/ES330 3.3 V6 MCV31