chuckb

me too, but how? it's not like you can buy a cam or just bump up the timing on these cars.

exhaust is just for sound, and the intakes are minimal gains and mostly sound too.

short of an all out blower or turbo setup, there's not much else you can do.

I am seriously considering the supra LSD. I wish there was one in between with 3.55 gears.

rheiy

I can only assume by that statement you have not driven a gs4 with a 3.76lsd. By no means does a 3.76 transform a GS to "feel truck like". I drove my gs430 for almost 3 years before getting the 3.76. I fail to understand how improved traction and response equates to "truck like". As for "muscle-car" - not sure what you mean by that one

Och

iTrader: (3)

Yeah, but you these LSD/high stall converters can be quite pricey, probably $1,500.00 for each, and you can actually get a supercharger setup for around 5k all together. I'm personally planning to get one for my gs as soon as I have some spare cash.

As far as gearing, I think that 2nd gen GS430 has the perfect ballance. Nice low end, smooth low rpms at cruising speed, yet floor it and it goes through gears like a bat out of hell.

I wonder how the new gs430 with 6 speed drives, and what kind of gear ratio it has.

e-man

I was thinking the same thing Chuck. I don't care so much about the improved response as I do about the benefit of the LSD. I don't know much about gearing, but it seems that there is a big difference between 3.27 and 3.92 (or whatever it is that we have). Now that your wheels and coilovers are done, I have a feeling you'll be pulling the trigger on this one soon. Do you wake up in the middle of the night thinking about it?

rheiy

If that's the case, you can always get the TRD unit as it uses the stock gearing. Only down sides are labor $$$$ and finding a shop that really knows what their doing. Of course the downside is a non issue if you have the skills to do it.

Red Sled

I have an 06 GS 430 and after several phone calls to the parts dept. and Lexus CS, I found out that my diff has 3.76 gearing. That makes sense with the 6 speed as it has a good launch with plenty of top end as well. Unfortunatley it does not have limited slip (my 06 Tundra does!).

Och

iTrader: (3)

Well, maybe I didnt use the correct terms when I said the car felt muscle-car/truck like. The mechanic I go to has a 430 with supra LSD, and I drove it once, and basically I felt like it went through the gears too fast, on one hand it screamed towards the redline but on the other hand it didn't let you stay in the high rpm range for long enough. Granted, I didn't drive it long enough to get used to it, so that is just my initial reaction. Basically for me it was like this:

Pros:
Better response
Better acceleration

Cons:
Goes through gears too fast
Higher cruising rpms (although no big deal really until you get to ~90mph)
Lower speed in each given gear


As far as added traction of LSD, I don't really have traction issues in dry weather, but I certainly wouldnt mind more traction in snow, but I'm not exactly sure how does LSD work and whether or not there's any benefit in snow.

Lexy GS430

Gillexus that is exactly the goal bro. SS headers are being built as of now just waiting for shippment. Also i will be getting her tuned for peak performance. Lms fi is comin soon too.

rheiy

Actually, I would rate going through the gears faster as a pro instead of a con but agree with the other two. The trade off of having the 3.76 is higher rpm's with lower top end. But since I don't drive 100+ on the freeway's, it's not an issue for me. As for traction in snow, the 3.76 lsd is a double edge sword. Keep the car in snow mode and drive normal for the conditions and you will have better traction. Before I had my lsd, I would get stuck going up the driveway with just a couple of inches...I did make it up the driveway with the lsd. However, if you turn off vsc, you can kick the tail out about 45 degrees in a split second with just moderate gas. It's enough to hit a car in the lane next to you. That type of driving is best left to wide open parking lots. I can't explain exactly how the 3.76lsd unit works but I know there are others on this board that can explain it..

DetMich1

Och, your pros and cons are really just differenct sides of the same coin. I think if you think about it, better response and better acceleration are just the same thing. The reason you're getting better response (better acceleration) which is a change in speed over a period of time (high school physics) is that the new gearing in the differential is giving you more rpm's at a given speed so more power (torque) is available to accelerate the car. If the car is accelerating faster by definition its going to reach the mandatory shift points sooner especially since there will be higher RPM's for any given speed. So you have two reasons for passing through each gear faster, quicker acceleration and lower speed at which you reach the RPM limit necessitating upshift. As far as the benefits of Limited Slip Differential is concerned: without it the differential directs the engines power to the drive wheel with the least resistance (traction) this arrangement was devised because if the rear axle was solid and both wheels turned at the same speed under power you would have a problem going around curves since the outside wheel is traveling further (bigger circle) than the inside wheel and would have to spin at a diffent speed (faster) than the inner one. So the diffential gave you predictable handling in the curves but cost you power to the wheel with more grip. The LSD directs a more equal distribution of power to BOTH wheels usually resulting in more power to the road especially in straight ahead situations but does change the dynamic behaivior of the car when accelerating in corners. Just ask someone with a new LSD how quickly his car got sideways when he punched it going around a corner at 35 or 40 MPH! Literally, it can make your head spin!

Och

iTrader: (3)

I do not mean to sound like an idiot, but why does differential direct the power to the wheel with least traction instead of the other way around? I had a funny situation once - my car was parked, and passenger side was next to a curb, and the was some snow there, but there was absolutely no snow on the drivers side. However I couldn't drive the car out of the parking space for the life of me, the passenger side wheel would keep spinning in the snow and VSC was kicking in. If the drivers side wheel was to receive power, the car would get out no problem, but I'm sure there is a reason why it doesn't work like that.

I also have a Honda Civic, which is an FWD, and I notice that when it is stuck in snow, if I turn the steering wheel to the right, the right wheel would be spinning, and vice versa. Also, when the steering wheel is straight, I believe both wheels are spinning.

DetMich1

Like I said, in order to allow the drive wheels to rotate at different speeds when necessary (like going in a curved path) which is a required goal, results in the undesireable consequence of causing the power to be directed to the wheel with the least traction. A perfect example is the situation you describe when you had one wheel on snow and the other on dry pavement and couldn't pull away from the curb as a result. Next time your car is on the hoist and in neutral try rotating one of the rear wheels forward and watch what happens to the other wheel. It rotates in the OPPOSITE direction! The rear wheels have to be able to rotate at different speeds to accomadate the rules of geometry. On a curve the power goes to the wheel on the outside the one turning the fastest thats good but when you're travelling straight (or trying to) and one wheel has no grip and starts spinning faster then it get the bulk of the power and thats bad cause you can't get out of a rut. The differential is a simple mechanical device and can only respond to one variable , which wheel is moving faster rotationally? It's not a computer which could look at more variables like vehcicle speed , direction, and angular velocity breaking force and make a more precise decision about where to direct power. Thats what things like ABS and vehicular stability and skid control do. More computing power on a modern car than the astronauts had on the Appollo spacecraft that went to the moon. Pretty amazing that they got there and back.

Lexy GS430

Rich I'm not too happy rite now with i-forge. My finish sucks it gets dirty, and it's hard to clean off (i have high polish with clear coat face). I wish that it was offered in chrome like my stock 17s, and when it rains, derrick from D2 say that because my wheels are reverse lip it's going to vibrate above 70mph sucks big time with this wheel. Style of the wheels look sweet but engineering is poor imo. I will be selling these wheels soon, and going back to my perivous plan.

DetMich1

I have heard others with i-Forge complain about this problem with water retained within the rim during use in wet conditions. Creates a moving mass that throws the wheel balance off and results in vibration at highway speeds. The last thing you want when you're traveling fast.

Lexy GS430

Let me ease everyones mines that is planning or thinking about doin the Lsd, and tc mod, come drive my beast, and it will change your minds. I'm in Ohio come see me. It's that worth it.