DrewGS4

Okay, I just recently went from stock to getting mod’s for my car. There are 3 types of mod’s you can do:

1. Cosmetic
2. Performance
3. Suspension

Personally, when I first got the car I was more into the cosmetic and performance aspects of moding out the car. I put less focus on the suspension piece as it was too expensive and really not necessary. My believe was if I got suspension mods, than my car will drive differently and non-lexus like.

The GS weighs in at over 3600lbs, very heavy indeed. If you have the GS400/430 than a very very fast car when going in a straight line but very very slow going around turns and curves. We all know that the stock GS needs help in the handling department big time.

I would say to the guys out there who are just starting or thinking to mod out their cars to put more focus on hooking up the suspension components of your car. Not only does your car feel and handle better but it will feel safer to drive at high speeds, and you will feel more confident in high speed lane switching or going into turns at higher speeds. If you are prone to driving a little aggressively than a stock GS will not do and is really unsafe IMHO. Even if you do not drive aggressively and you had to make a quick defensive move to avoid hitting something, than a stock GS just will not be able to handle this effectively. So if your wife or girlfriend argues that you spend too much money on the ride, tell them you are upgrading the safety aspect of your car. I know it a hard sell, but there is truth too it.

I recently put the tein flex coils and TRD LCB. If you cannot afford the coils go for the L-tuned or eibach/bilstein setup. My only concern with going with shock/spring upgrade vs. coils is that they will have a tendency to bottom out more. Regardless of this point, the mere fact of lowering the car changes the weight distribution of the car making for better handling.

After installing the coils and TRD LCB, the car handled really nice but still had some body roll. The car was stiffer and handling was much firmer and improved. I was happy with the setup but something was still missing. Than today I installed the TRD front and rear sways. I lubed the bushings with a metallic lube that will not wash or rust away. The stock sways and TRD sways look similar but the weight and density of the TRD pieces are so much better and heavier. The TRD sways outweigh the stock sways by at least 3:1.

When they went on, wholly MOMMMAAAA!!! The combination of lowering the car, TRD LCB and sways bars make the car handle almost race car like. They work so well together that the car really handles like a different animal. To be honest my lexus-like ride is not gone either. It is still incredibly quiet, no noises or rattling coming from any aftermarket suspension parts, and is just a bit stiffer over bumps well in the range of being lexus like.

I hope my post helps some of you newbie’s out there who are debating on what mods to do first.

My order of mod upgrades would go: 1.suspension, 2.cosmetic, 3.performance.

LexusRules

ditto.

i feel so much safer with my TEIN.. more predictable and more stuck to the ground.. not so much in a single turn, but things like emergency lane change or brake > turn... a quick unexpected move that would normally upset teh cars balance beyond tracion, my GS sticks to the ground liek a go kart! well... not EXACTLY like a go kart but... u get the picture.

DrewGS4

Sasha I agree the car really feels glued to the ground.

When it comes to suspension upgrades, the main 2 parts are just shock/springs or coils and the TRD sways.

They work fine just by itself but when combined together they really work perfectly together. It's like these 2 parts are meant for each other. They seem to work in sync and really work well together as a 1 entity rather than just individually.

I am not sure how good the sways work with the L-tuned or eibach/bilstein setup cause I never had the chance to drive a car with this setup but with the combination of the TEIN FLEX/TRD SWAYS/LCB, I am really really surprised and very happy with the final outcome. It far exceeded and surpassed what I thought the final outcome of the car would drive like.

Also, remember I am driving with the stock 17's with yoko DB's. If i upgrade to larger rims and even better tires, I should have better handling in theory. I would give up some gas mileage and would have a slower launch time with larger tires and rims. The verdict is still out on the tire/rim upgrade.

dt21823

My Toyos along with the L-Tuned shocks/springs were a huge improvement in traction and handling, especially on wet pavement. I was skeptical about how much of an improvement they would be over the Michelin Pilot XGTs I was running. The L-Tuned shocks and springs give much less body roll in the corners. Big increase in safety IMO.

Ray

Toog4me

I know what you mean about the GS weighin a lot but not takeing the curves well. If you remember, I raced an Integra on the 405 and was unable to keep up with him at 120 MPH around the curves. I was pretty dissapointed.

I'm still not sure, however, if I would like to go with Handling before Cosmetic. The GS looks stunning, so it might need Handling before jewlery.

DrewGS4

Toog4me,
You mean jewelry before handling.

If you jewelerize out your GS and compare it too a hot girl. Yeah, you might get all the looks but when it comes time to get some action she just won't be able to perform to your needs

KKelly

Two biggest improvements from suspension mods on my M5 were swaybars and camber plates (1.6 or so degrees negative up front). I have Bilsteins and Dinan springs (similar to H&R or Eibach, if anything they lower the car less and are a little softer). The M5 suspension is pretty sport from the factory which is why there wasn't much difference with just shocks and springs. The camber plates made the car feel 500lbs lighter with very quick turn in. Negatives are some tramlining on the freeway and inside tire wear (no biggie, just flip the tires at 10k, rear has 2.5 negative anyway). Sways were almost an equal improvement. I still have a tiny bit of understeer on the track and may go to a smaller rear bar if adjusting air pressures doesn't help. On a street car, a little understeer is fine, especially in high speed corners. Without camber plates or adjustment I would be surprised if a GS didn't understeer at the limit. With coilovers, the other thing you guys can try if swaybars helped was a little more spring rate. With coilovers you can order them in 50# increments I think. The ride won't suffer that much as the shocks have a lot more to do with ride than the springs (at least in the 200lb range).

Toog4me

Not to sound snotty or anything, but a GS430 with the 17" chromes look fine and pimp as hell!

v300

DrewGS4,

...you forgot one mod. Safety. In terms of safety, I was thinking about adding a halon system in the engine compartment in case something goes terribly wrong.