lexguynj

Happy with my GS430's brake system, which I think works very well, but just drove in my mom's BMW 530 and the braking on that car is incredible. Eventhough the specs may show that the GS4's braking is better, the BMW makes you feel like you can stop anywhere. Feels stronger.

Mr GS400

I can't comment on the performance of GS400 brake quality but I can state that my front rotors warped after 12K miles of fairly conservative city driving. The other bad part was 2 fold. First the dealer diagnosed the problem as out of balance front tires. Even after I told them that vibration only occurred upon braking. After they rebalanced the fronts and found out it didn't resolve the vibration they resurfaced the rotors. The Lexus/Dealer felt it was my driving habits that created the problem and wouldn't offer up full warranty service so we negotiated and split the cost.

///MPower

I've seen the way you drive "Mr GS400" :eek: , I'm surprised that the dealer accepted your car for service in the first place!!! j/k

NVRENUFHP

Anyone who criticizes the stopping power of the bone stock GS400 or 430 doesn't know much about cars. Look at the magazine tests:

1) Road and Track, 12/99: The GS400 stopped from 60 in 119 feet. That is shorter than the following cars, as listed in the road test summary in the current issue. BMW 540 (124 ft), BMW M5 (129 ft), BMW Z8 (122 ft), Ferrari F50 (136 ft), Ferrari 360 Spyder (125 ft), Lotus Esprit V8 (125 ft), and all Porsches except the 911 GT1 (well, OK, fine...it only tied with the Porsche 911 twin turbo). There are countless other cars ranging from all out sports cars to sports sedans that the can't stop with the Lexus, but the above listing should give all you whiners the idea.

2) Motortrend, 9/01: The GS430 stopped from 60 in 115 ft. That is shorter than almost every other car listed in MotorTrend's road test summary.

What is it that you people expect of a 3700 pound 5 passenger luxury sedan? Sheesh. Maybe some of you have brakes that are not functioning properly. That is certainly possible. So take it to the dealer and have it checked out. But if the brakes are working properly, what is there to complain about? The laws of physics apply even to Lexus...though I hear that the boys at the factory are working out the details on that one.

tinygs

I think anyone who has owned these cars for a while and done there own tests will agree, its not the one-time stopping ability of the car, its the almost immediate fading that occurs with 2 or more quick stops inside of a minute or two....Tiny

BLiu

msray,

It seems David has used my name in vain. I had the dreaded shimmying from anything above 60mph...Had the rotors turned but in 2 months, the shimmying returned. It is very important to get the rotors turned everytime you replace the pads. The previous owner was really bad at keeping up with the brakes because there were already deep grooves within the rotors. I turned them once but unfortunately, the rotor warpage has returned...

My suggestion is to go with the Supra TT upgrade. Best bang for the buck IMHO in terms of braking performance. However, be careful to bed the pads and rotors carefully before abusing the brakes. The bedding procedure is crucial for long-lasting rotors and excellent stopping power...I will post my impressions when I do this mod....

Brent

NVRENUFHP

The MotorTrend article says of the Lexus brakes: "Amazing brakes; I knew they'd be good, but not this good. Zero fade, zero ABS pedal kickback -- I think it dislodged one of my retinas." The Road and Track article gave the Lexus "Exellent" ratings on brake control, feel and overall rating.

You have to figure that the magazine boys stopped more than once during their testing. Like I said earlier, what do you people expect of a 3700 lb family luxo sedan?

NVRENUFHP

The rotors on my viper warped from track usage, so I had 'em turned. They warped again as soon as they were on the track the next time, so I threw 'em out and replaced them with another set of OEM rotors. They were fine after that. The point is that the re-warping of your rotors may have occurred so soon after they were turned because they were shot from the heavy use that warped them in the first place.

Richie

I found this site for brake upgrades.
www.movit.de

This ist a German company that sell Porsche brakes and adapt them to any car you like.
They have all the different Porsche brakes, even the ceramic brakes from the GT3 and optional on the twin turbo. Those brakes will almost never fade.

I'm not sure about this, but I think they have a US partner also.

Hope this helps.

KKelly

There is more to braking than just the distance. There is pedal feel, modulation and also how they perform after multiple stops. Don't assume the magazines do multiple stops. They are comparing these perf. sedans to normal cars which will fade on one long hard stop from high speeds.

A short distance can be achieved with a certain type of pad compound that may not hold up to multiple applications. The pads on BMW's are regularly used by owners at BMWCCA driving events and work fine on the track. They don't stop like a race pad but they don't fade either. This would indicate a more high perf. pad than on most cars which might not give you the absolute shortest braking when not up to temperature.

As for warping, it could be a bad batch of rotors from their supplier. I have had rotors warp in under 10k that I bought from an aftermarket supplier. The BMW crowd now knows which brands of OEM rotors are best (Balo and Zimmerman). Maybe check with the Supra guys and see if they have decided one is best.

KKelly

BTW, if your car had the shakes on ly for an hour or so it is likely you left some pad residue on the rotors. I usually have this after a track event for a few days and then it cleans off. If you look at your rotor you can usually see it.