garnet92

Just got your GS and anxious to get started? Let me first state that I’m not an expert on what YOU should spend your hard-earned bucks on – that’s up to you. But, after lurking around ClubLexus for 18 months or so, and having made some of the mods myself, I’m offering (with other’s help) some ideas on how you can get the most bang for your bucks.

SUSPENSION. I think that if we ran a poll among the more knowledgeable members, they’d say that the suspension mods return the best investment in making the GS a real driver’s car. The GS3 has adequate power and the GS4 has “kick in the a$$” power – stock. The cars look nice – stock. But the cars don’t handle very well – stock.

L-Tuned springs and shocks are about the starting point of improved handling without sacrificing comfort. You’re looking at about $1,000 for the entry point of good handling and perhaps another $1,000 to $2,000 for really great handling (not counting larger wheels/low profile tires).

Almost forgot brakes - anywhere from $600 to $3,000, depending on how much upgrade you want.

PERFORMANCE. Unfortunately, here we have a large gap in availability of go-fast stuff for the GS. You can start with exhaust ($400 - $1,000) and intake ($300 - $1,000) and a few other minor goodies. But there’s a large gap between the hp/tq gain for intake/exhaust and the next step – forced induction.

Here’s where the GS3 owners have a leg up – SRT has just recently released a turbo kit for the GS3 (and IS3) starting at $4,000 – very reasonable. And can upgrade it to stage 2,3,4,5, taking you from over 300 RWHP to over 500 RWHP. The GS4 crowd has only a supercharger available at (I’m guessing here) about $8,000 to start, with multi stages available up to (guessing again) $12-15,000. There’s talk about turbo (even twins) coming for the GS4, but no real hard data yet.

COSMETIC. You can “ease into” tricking out your GS in smaller increments. The suspension mods will lower the car from 1” – 2” that’s a big help in the looks department, and the GS also begs for bigger wheels too. The bigger wheels contributing to both looks and improved handling.

De-badging costs nothing. Clear corner lights for $30. Window tinting for $100 - $250. Taillight mods from $10 to $250. Grilles from $250 - $500. Roof and/or rear spoilers for $200 to $600. Body kits from $1,200 to $4,000. And wheels, from $1,500 to $4,500 – plus another $500 - $1,500 for tires. And for the really adventurous, paint jobs for big bucks. You can also get neat stuff for the interior, but I’m not really qualified to list or price them.

So there you have it – a shopping list for the newbies!

And, I’m sure that our CL brothers will correct any inaccuracies and omissions in this post and all are encouraged to do so.

VVT-i

Great write up..Garnet. You almost covered them all.

mumbles

Man, I almost lost it. I thought you were saying you were new to the GS world and were asking about mods... and I'm thinking WTF? I know he's been here for a long time, what's he asking these questions for.

garnet92

Gotta keep you on your toes, Mumbles! Just thought I'd try to help some of the new guys see what's available (let's keep quiet about "mod-fever", they'll never know what hit 'em)

CSHFLW

not to be picky...but window tinting for $50-$150 for a large four door sedan? A good deal is $200.

garnet92

You're right on the upper end - I just checked and I paid $225 for mine (flawless job) - thanks, I'll edit the post.

mumbles

Well you definitely had me going... nice list by the way, good idea.