June 2003 Featured Car

 Screen name: mcnelson
 Age: 21
 Profession: Full-time student and own my own landscape company
 Car Model: Lexus GS300 2JZGE
 Car Year: 1994
 Engine Size: 3.0 liter 24 valve DOHC I6
 Color: Black

Modifications:

Engine:

1. High carbon cast-steel turbo manifold
2. 3” mandrel-bent downpipe w/closed loop
3. Wastegate discharge
4. Bead-rolled intercooler piping
5. Turbocharger intake system
6. All necessary hardware and fittings
7. GARRETT/Turbonetics T04E-60 Turbocharger
8. HKS external wastegate
9. Large front-mount intercooler (28×6.5×3.5)
10. HKS racing bypass valve
11. K&N air filter
12. Oil cooler
13. Additional injector controller
14. 440cc Lucas fuel injectors (2)
15. 3 bar MAP sensor
16. IDEAL 8:5:1 compression ratio head gasket
17. NOS 70 shot dry setup
18. Custom installed switches in armrest
19. Remote opener
20. Bottle heater
21. Blitz NUR-spec custom exhaust
22. custom cut 3” exhaust with dual 4” tips
23. Magnicore spark plug wires
24. AEM cam gears

Suspension:

1. Aftermarket sway bars
2. JDM Tein NA Suspension
3. 16-way adjustable coilovers (damper, height, camber)
4. The car is lowered over 2”
5. New suspension bushing and bearings

Exterior:

1. JDM 4 piece Veilside body kit
2. Front bumper
3. Side skirts
4. Rear valence
5. Custom fit
6. Custom front-end flares
7. Custom cut space for the intercooler
8. Custom clear front corners
9. Custom painted front grill to match car color (also antenna and keyholes painted)
10. Custom red rear turn signals
11. 15% window tint
12. Rod Millen 12.4” brake rotors with Kevlar brake pads
13. Rod Millen 4 piston brake calipers
14. Rod Millen front and rear stainless steel brake lines
15. Hyper white headlights
16. JDM “Aristo” taillights
17. Shaved rear badges (“L” and “LEXUS”)
18. Headlight eyelids

Interior:

1. Blitz F.A.T.T.(fully automatic turbo timer) custom installed in place of clock
2. Apexi AVC-R boost controller
3. Apexi S-AFC fuel management controller
4. Clifford Solaris alarm/keyless entry/remote start
5. Levox shift knob with overdrive button and matching wood grain
6. OBX race pedals
7. Custom installed MOMO steering wheel
8. Custom 135db air horn (no stock horn after replacing steering wheel)

Wheels & Tires:

1. 19” X 8.5” Volk Racing-Sebring ITC-X
2. Powder-coated black with metal flake
3. 265/30/ZR19Yokohama AVS sport tires

Stereo System:

1. Focal Utopia (Model 136w) Speakers x4
2. Sony Xplod Mobile ES amp powering Focal Utopia 136w
3. Custom built sub box holds 2 12” Boston subs
4. 1 farad capacitors x2
5. Crunch 1200 watt amp for Boston subs
6. Custom stereo wiring
7. Pioneer FH-P700 double-din cassette/CD player

What led you to buy a Lexus?
I have loved my car since day one. I bought the car used and have had very little problems with it. It has been very dependable and reliable. It looks great and runs very well too. I wanted a Lexus for the resons just mentioned. I saw a lot of opportunity for modifications, which I am very into, so I went for it. I haven’t looked back since.

Interests
Besides my car, I like chasing girls around, going to the bar, and hanging out with my friends. Working out and playing basketball are other things I love to do. I like to stay active and be outside as much as possible.

Goals
I believe I have reached most of my goals with my Lexus. There are still some modifications I am working on such as upgrading the sound system with more amps and different subs. I also am working on adding several television monitors. I would like my wheels and car repainted. I want to redo my exhaust for more air flow. I would like to upgrade my turbo even more to get more power, as well as increasing the amount of NOS. Over this winter I am having two hood vents installed on the car. I am considering have my door handles shaved and installed with door poppers. The interior could use a lot of work, but other than the stereo I am not sure what else I will be doing. I am looking into dying my gray interior black as well as the dash black. My car is simply a daily driver, nothing more. I don’t enter it in shows, nor do I take it to the track. What can I say, I just like driving fast. Now all I need is the time and ambition to do all of this.

Why you chose to modify your Lexus?
I have always been into modifying my car to make it faster and look better than everyone else. The GS300 as well as almost all the other models look great and perform well stock, but I wanted more. The cars have great potential, and I have just tried to bring that potential out.