GSLofquist

what's up!


after I sold my turbo IS300, I'd been hittin' up ebay and misc forums for another project car.

so i found some random ebay auction that was cheap enough, so i won. i'd been wanting a bigger sedan (to complete the 4wd,sedan,race car filled garage). i picked up the GS from some tiny dealership in Iowa and drove it home 1000 miles to Northern VA! Made for a 'fun' weekend. the dealership was totally clueless about the car- salesman that sold it on ebay wasn't even aware the turbo was aftermarket. but the price was right for me. it looks like sound performance performed the install. the components are good, workmanship is great. throwing some codes though (probably transmission related)

good: decent acceleration -- currently set to 12psi. pulls harder than stock 350Z, GTO, compareable to 10psi IS300. car is soooo quiet. the cabin is tight. car is 7 years old with <14,000 miles on it.!

bad: ugly color, auto tranny needs upgrading. i gotta figure out what codes are causing intermittent check engine. no nakamichi or ML option.. so the whole factory system has to go (my aluminum waveguides and PG cyclone will have a new home). brakes are really crappy.

after a couple of tirerack, PFS, stoptech, powertraincontrolsolutions purchases, it'll be alright

I need advice makin' it look, handle and stop better.

Neo

iTrader: (3)

Congrats and welcome.

That is quite a find.

I almost did not post a welcome because of this statement but I respect your opinion. lol.

j/k on the non-welcome.

Well, what is the goal and budget? We'll be perfectly happy to help you spend your money.

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

Welcome! I'm going to move this to the main forums so everybody sees your awesome ebay find!

Check out Neo and D2's rides (similar colors) for some ideas of nice rides in your color scheme. Despite first thoughts, it mods up nice

Neo
https://www.clublexus.com/gallery/sh...cat/all/page/3
https://www.clublexus.com/gallery/sh...cat/all/page/3

D2
https://www.clublexus.com/gallery/sh...cat/all/page/3
https://www.clublexus.com/gallery/sh...cat/all/page/2

LEXUS_KID

iTrader: (4)

Well, what is the goal and budget? We'll be perfectly happy to help you spend your money. [/QUOTE]


Welcome to the club like NEO said we will definitely help you spend the $$$. Nice find I saw that car on E-BAY my self what was the final bid?

NT2SHBBY

hmmm 98 GS with no E-Shift

Neo

iTrader: (3)

It's a 300.

GSLofquist

The Gold isn't bad at all. (I wanna see if I can enrage any other owers....) But gold sure is better than that ugly black that Lexus sells!

I guess my goal is to have mine looking like DaveGS4's but for about $5k. So I might be looking for some used parts I guess. :-)

I really do plan to dump about $5k in first phase of upgrades. my first few purchases will be wheels (maybe black wheels). Tire Rack has coil overs for $1150ish. I really do have to do soemthing about these brakes! Any opinions?

Should a '98 have e-shift? this GS seems pretty stripped, this is my first car without some sort of trip computer or nav in a while.

GSLofquist

Welcome to the club like NEO said we will definitely help you spend the $$$. Nice find I saw that car on E-BAY my self what was the final bid?[/QUOTE]


$18k

I figured if it was a lemon, I could part it out and make some money, but she's pretty cherry.

NT2SHBBY

forgive me, but I thought all 300's and 400's had e-shift (except for 01+ 430's)

so it's only the 01+300's that have it??

Neo

iTrader: (3)

Yes. Lexus did a swap in 01.

Eshift is on 98-00 GS400 and 01+ GS300.

NT2SHBBY

thanx for the explanation and clarification....i'll go crawl back in my lil hole now

GSLofquist

wow, those cars are nice! the GS can look so aggressive. That's one thing I hated about the IS was it was so close to the new corolla, or a civic could be made to closely resemble it. there's no confusing the GS. it has the same turning radius as the IS by the way, how'd they do that?

Neo

iTrader: (3)

How close to Dave's car are you going to get. I believe his wheels alone will kill you budget.

You should definitely jump on the L-Tuned "sale" going on at Sewell Lexus. That will get you the grille and sideskirts on Dave's car for a fraction of what many of us paid. There is also a GB on the TTE front bumper lip right now. The same lip is on Dave's car.

D2-Autosport is a good resource for wheels. Derrick is an authorized vendor so hit him up.

Brakes will depend on budget AND wheel choice.

As for other parts, make sure you search though the forum to find the right parts for your performance needs. There are members here who track their cars regularly and those who just wants the car to look and ride great. There are products to accommodate all that. It is up to you to figure out where in the spectrum you want to be. If you can't find enough info, start discussions on what you need and you will find out how helpful the members here can be.

Richie

Congrats, that is one hell of a car!!

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

Ltuned springs & shocks GB
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=149754

Aero Kit (note they have some painted / unpainted for different prices)
http://www.lexus-parts.com/partlist....=21&ModelID=11

TTE lip GB
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=148864


Keep in mind there are many folks on CL (including me) that have this combo. It's an attractive and cost effective (especially now, not when I first did it ) way to subtly dress up your GS.

Vendor Marketplace
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/club-lexus-vendor-marketplace-118/

Member Classifieds
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/general-classifieds-3/