ThemisN

anyone who says they have no feel of the road in the GS4 , only drove it with the standard 16" wheels, and not the 17" upgrade. The car is CLEARLY not the same with with the samller wheels in that aspect and in handling. In any case, most of us seem to change the wheels anyway.
Essentially, even stock, I'll take on any 540ia...as well as the last gen m3's and several other comparable cars. If you drive your car hard, the shifting points will be pushed up, so the pickup in one gs may not necessarily be equal even though both were WOT...This is something to consider also.

doug_999

Go drive a 540 and you will realize just how little road feel your car has - even with the 17" upgrade. Oh and drive a sports package one.

(and I wouldn't race one if I were you).

Signed
Former 540ia owner, new GS430 owner (with 17" wheel option).

ThemisN

I have raced cars beyond that capability and was def the better half...I am nowhere near intimidated by a 540...I respect it, as it was one of my final cars in my decision(but in a 6speed), but I know what I am capable of, thanks.

Ex996

36 months, 15k miles/year, 2k down= about $800 per month. That was based on a purchase price of $49,700. I have every option.

ACDinan5

Damn...that's pretty high...I leased a X5 4.4SP with every possible options. 0 Down, $849 a month.

What was your residual?

ACDinan5

Both cars are pretty even unless a 6spd is in the picture which would have an advantage IMO. It's a driver's race at this point with both cars being so close.

As far as road feel, yes I agree with you as even the LTuned Car with 18's didn't feel as connected as the 540iA SP with 17s. But the GS handles very well, despite what most people think.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

There's handling 'feel' and perception vs. actual handling capability. There are cars that feel like dogs (e.g., the Cadillac Catera, aka Opel) that can actually hang in there (albeit with lots of body roll). The stock GS actually handles well except for quick transitions (way too much float). There are cars that feel GREAT, like ALL BMWs with sport packages (without the package they don't feel that special). But a modified GS is another story. My neighbor's 540i with SP has considerably more body roll than my GS which has TRD sways (and lots of other goodies), and with all my braces and upgrades my car handles AND feels VERY good! Not quite a Porsche (the best feeling and handling cars I've ever driven), but hey I've got more passenger and luggage space and *I* (6'3", 200lbs) don't feel cramped either which is important to me, hehe.

But BMWs are TERRIFIC handling and feeling cars - nothing like them. Reliabililty is another story.

Ex996

29k. Price also includes CA sales tax.

Mariusz

Doubt it. I raced many 540's in my 2000 GS400 and the only time where I would not know the outcome would be a 540 w/ 6spd. I did have the SRT HFI/ECU II at that time.

Definitely disagree and would love to see the C&D results you taunt to back your claim up. Just out of curiosity, have you driven a 2000 GS4? To your suprise, you would have found that the early 0-60 times for a 430 were slightly lower. Seems a bit odd since it has more displacement, but I believe the 430 came with additional restrictions and was a ULEV vehicle.

Not sure what to say here, but that is probably one of the worst reasons in the world not to lease a car. Who races 0-30 anyways? I can have a pinto with traction and beat a single supra 0-30 every time.

ACDinan5

Ah!

I don't understand how a friend of mine leased an 02 with MK/Nav and got his payments at around $650. I know he put like $2 or $3K down but don't know the length of term. Considering he's a pretty damn good "numbers" guy, I assume his lease is not beyond 42 months.

I'm actually peeping an E55 a the moment since I think it's time to give up the 540 soon.

Ex996

Well a combo of things perhaps:

12k mi/yr instead of 15k
tax
better money factor?
42 mos. instead of 36
prob put down at least 3k

Anyway, it's ultimately the price of the car, the money factor, and the residual that count.

Gstt

Just to give a little info,

A gs400 in M-mode is capable of going to 1st, not by us, but the computer.

At a full stop, 2nd in m-mode, the car pulls from 1st, goes all the way to 62500RMP, then pops to 2nd, here is when u have the chance to redline every gear. From 2nd u will keep redlining 'till
u drop it into 3rd and from their on same story in every gear.

Personaly, I must say a gs with just the SRT Intake + ECU can ***** on a 540. I have raced them both. 6spd and auto.

I know what your saying about the Tranny chip, but

Add a TQ converter and your on your way. When your putting down
268 RWH and 295RWH TQ what 540 can challenge U?????

ACDinan5

How are you putting down 268HP? Does the CAI give you 30RWHP? Speaking to Mo at SRT, the TQ doesn't give you any additonal RWHP...enlighten me. 300HP with 20% drivetrain loss (assumption since it's an auto) 240RWHP, correct?

Not arguing that you put down that much power, can you explain what the ECU did? Did it remap fuel, timing, etc?

Gstt

Ok, here listen to this:

my car dyno'd at 230RWH + 239RWTQ stock

just with the ECU + intake

260RWH + 265RWTQ

WHen with TQ
269+ 295RWTQ


U like that simple explaination???

2+2 is 4,
2+2 is 4,
hehe, As homer would put it

Gstt

all on sunaco 94 octane gas