kyle3481

front/rear STB
Ltuned ECU
Ltuned suspension
TRD sways , front chasis brace
Tom's 6 piece rear brace+ rear brace

will those mods help GS handle like M5? how about the sterring feel?? now i have Ltuned suspension, ECU, TRD chasis brace, front/ rear STB, will adding TRD sways increase steering feel??
degrade the ride quality a lot???
thanks a lot for input

01GS430 silver/grey/ spoiler/Ltuned 18's, ECU, aero kits, suspension/TRD chasis brace/C-ONE front STB/ Cusco rear STB

///MDex

Adding TRD sways will help ypou corner flatter - not necessarily increase stering feel. You might feel more of the road, if that is what you are asking....

QBranchCars

I would have to say no, unfortunately.

The steering feel will still be light compared with any BMW, even with the steering ECU. As a matter of fact, the GS with the ECU still handles lighter than a stock IS300. Test drive the IS and any BMW and you'll know what I mean.

As for the suspension, the L-Tuned system is too soft. It may come close to the 540 handling. IMO, Bilstein sport shocks/Eibach is comparable to the 5 series sport package. To reach M5 levels, a quality coilover system is required, such as the TOM's Audvox system.

Of course the major advantage of the M5 suspension is factory tuned to the car. It's a much greater task for an aftermarket manufacturer to match.

I have driven with a few M5's on the track, and they still outperform my GS, and I have almost everything on your list.

Mr Johnson

Calvin: When you say the M5 outperforms you have you been able to see how they actually compare in the handling section of a track vs how they perform between the handling sections?

I'm curious how far off you really are and where. Is it entry speed, exit speed, etc...

Peter

kyle3481

so even with those parts our GS still can not handle close to M5?? i wonder how well M5 can handle......

GS400_PUSHER

To be honest I test drive the M5 and had it for over an hour. I really don't think we could get our GS to hold that good.... but maybe. I just felt in control at every speed in that M5 but in my GS at certain speeds, I don't feel that confident. BMWs are well built cars for racing but the lexus is better quality all around......if you know what I mean.

kyle3481

thanks for the input
i know lexus is good quality all around, just wanna get my GS to handle a bit better =)
now i have Ltuned suspension/TRD lower chasis/front/rear STB

now i am planning to get TRD sways/Tom's rear 6 peice brace
see if those will help a lot....

GS400_PUSHER

your welcome!!!!!!!!!!!

kyle3481

u guys are cool! my dream for GS would be adding Tom's advox everything Toms, +TRD sways+ LSD for the suspension, hope it will come true heehe

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

kyle, the TRD sways will definitely reduce body roll and therefore improve steering control some (car's flatter) but the M5 is an $80K car, so don't expect miracles. Still, for all but flat out track racing those mods on your car + sways and Tom's pieces will make your car kick a$$.

LexusRules

calvin - TEIN HA and TRD parts with ur wheels/tires and u cant outperform A STOCK M5????????

that doesn't sound right!! im sure you're almost pushing 1.0G lateral... i dont think an M5 can do that! plus it weighs more!!

QBranchCars

Guys,

The M5 is a formidable car. I believe the key word here is "balance". Everything is tuned for performance in that car; the engine, tranny, suspension, etc. BMW M division spent some time and money in development. They make an adjustment here, run it on the track, make another adjustment, etc. Since they manufacture the car, these adjustment can be made to multiple systems at the same time (i.e. interaction between engine and tranny for the best results).

Contrast this with what is available to us in the aftermarket. Tein makes great products, but they probably did not have a small fleet of GS's and ran them endlessly on a track during development of the HA's specifically for the car. They didn't install STBs and LCBs on the test vehicles and determine the optimal stiffness and height setting for the GS for the best suspension. If they did, how would they recommend what brand of braces/bars to use?

For us modifying our cars, the best we can do is try to get the best parts and install with the best labor. In a way, we are designing the overall car by our selection of certain parts, but without the resources to obtain optimal overall balance.

The M5 has more power, as I only have the SRT HFI. With more power means faster times in the straights, but also faster acceleration out of the turns. The M5 has a manual tranny, offering more control than the GS. The E-shift is good, but it is not a paddle shifter like the Ferrari or Porsche.

When you are talking about overall performance on the track, it is hard to beat a M5.

RON430

QBranchCars - Are you getting the feeling we are playing the same mind game over and over? Give the M5 credit for what it is and that is a very refined high performance sedan. BMW knows suspensions maybe better than anyone else, at least in the performance sense. To be honest, the GS4 gives you the room of a SWB7 (and very possibly better comfort to boot), with the performance of a 540 for the price of a 530 with as good or better build quality and much better reliability. On the track I doubt you will find many vehicles (especially four door sedans) that have the marvelous balance of the M5 but for an everyday performance driver....well, like a lot of people here I voted with my checkbook for the GS4. Please don't misunderstand me, I am getting caught up in modding myself, still can't believe I put Bilsteins on a car with under a 1000 miles, but the M5 is purpose built by some guys who know how to do it and charge for it. I doubt there are any shortcuts here. If you want an M5, go buy an M5 rather than mod a GS4. That is not to say that the GS can't be improved a lot, bilsteins alone were dramatic in my mind. But if you are after M5 performance get the M5. Besides when the also inevitable thread about mileage of the GS4 comes up you can post how you have to stop your M5 every third day to empty the gas tank because the Bavarians know how to make 400hp and create excess gas as well. In case it hasn't been said yet, put your nickels into a new one if you are looking at an M5. With the exception of someone who will inevitably post and say that he bought an M5 with 200,000 miles and has only had to change oil for another 300,000 miles, used tuned bimmers are the automotive equivalent of "hangar queens" and you are going to spend a lot of bucks making up for the first guy who owned it. Get the new one and beat the living daylights out of it and try to sell it to someone else before the bills to keep it running exceed your emotional rush driving it.

kyle3481

thanks for all the input guys
all are appreciated !!

KKelly

I have done some significant driving with E39's on the track and the street and our old M5's with your basic aftermarket suspension do handle as well (springs, shocks, camber plates, swaybars). However, our cars are not as comfortable. They also have HUGE tires which makes a very big difference in dry conditions.

I had the opportunity to ride with an instructor in an E39 M5 at Buttonwillow Raceway. His car was totally stock except for BBS RC's with Hoosiers as his track tires. Damn. What a car. My car still amazes me sometimes but the new M5 is a whole other level. It was so composed at 100+mph on the big sweepers. For a car that is that practical to have that kind of performance is an achievement. When he grabbed 4th at redline in 3rd the thing just went to warp drive -- amazing engine.

Another interesting story. A bunch of E39 owners went to Sears Point together. Many have Dinan suspensions and some even have a 3.45 diff installed. The three fastest cars that day (with due credit to the drivers) was a stock E39 M5, an E39 M5 with suspension only and a stock E34 M5. The guys with the 3.45's and x-pipe exhausts were spinning and just generally slow. There is a lot of engineering in those cars and they were designed to match the suspension and engine.

The best quote from one of the //M executives is that BMW's should always have a suspension that is faster than the engine. The guys that installed a 3.45 differential upset this balance (or just got on the throttle too early).