KevinGS

I will be buying a Black Cherry 2001 GS430 this week. And I just stumbled onto this site/form while looking for aftermarket accesories, mainly the L-tuned ECU.

And all I can say is HALLELUJAH!!!!!!! You all are godsends! So much great information! I hope to call this an online home, since I am too an avid car enthusiast. Lexus is actually not my first choice, but since I drive 30-40k miles a year for work, I needed the most reliable, comfortable, yet still sporty car I could get. Audi and BMWs were quickly ruled out. And Lexus pushed to the top of the list with such stellar JD Powers ratings. The GS4 was the only one that I could see myself in, so here I am.

As the day approaches for me to get a GS430, I am growing more excited about the car. It will be a 2001 with 26k miles, fresh off a lease, well-maintained.

As for this forum, the post about steering wheel/suspension vibration was simply riveting to me, all 9 pages. I read them all! LOL I will be buying 19 or 20's for my car within a week of getting the car, along with getting the Eibach pro kit to have it lowered. This will be the beginning of quite a few suspension mods over the next year. But to start, the car just HAS to be lowered to my taste, and I need some "shoes". That GS has such a huge profile (so much body), it needs rims and/or lowering just to look "right" to me.

Anyway, I absolutely ABHOR vibration of any kind. So, I am definitely going to be inquiring about center hub rings, the L-tuned ECU and tightening of the steering rack. I live in central Maryland, so for anyone in the MD/DC/VA area, your advice on the best Lexus dealerships and wheel places would be greatly appreciated. I longggg to find a reputable place to handle whatever aftermarket rims I get. Yeow Wheel Shop (those in Maryland area with aftermarket rims have heard of this place, I am sure, since they fixed bent rims)...they do a good job of balancing aftermarket rims, but they are hard to get an appointment with.

I will really be upset if I have vibration issues.

My other questions:

1. I am a handling freak, as I love handling. The Lexus engine's performance will be fine for me for a while, but I want to get the suspension "right" immediately, meaning great handling, great steering feel, with as little sacrifice as possible to the overall ride. Now I know that tall rims, short sidewalls and lowered ride height = stiff ride. But for those that have already done this, just how stiff is it? Is it go-kart stiff? LOL Does the soft Lexus ride offset even SOME of the stiffness?

And for those that have done major suspension work, any advice on which items to definitely get and why would be so greatly appreciated. Prices would be great too. I have about $2,500 to spend right now on suspension parts, and I don't know if this figure is way tooo small to get started on the suspension, or are there things I can afford right now to get the car going in the right direction in terms of handling. I have heard people talk about TRD sway bars, TRD chassis brace and TRD strut tower bars, but really don't know what I gain with these items in addition to my lower ride height.

Oh, one other thing, what does the full coilovers (Tein CS?) offer as opposed to just the Eibach spring kit? I heard that lowers the car 2.5" (about 1.5" more than the Eibach), and man, does that seem OFFLY LOW. I like handling and all, but I don't live in an area where the roads are smooth as glass. We have potholes and beat up roads, so this just SOUNDS extreme. Maybe it's not.

Oh yeah, anyone in the Maryland area, are there any good shops you trust to work on your Lexus in regards to aftermarket installations?

2. Can you adjust/tighten the steering rack for much better feel in the 2001 model GS430? Or was that only available in 98, 99 and 2000? I sure hope not.

3. The Lexus transmission seems to shift quite sluggishly at times. And the 2001 doesn't have the E-shift, which I assumed helped with this. Are there any remedies to the sluggish transmission in the 430s? Do the power control buttons on the center console near the armrest REALLY make much a difference in performance?

Thanks in advance, guys. I hope someday soon, I will be able to actually offer advice instead of asking questions. I am just worried about a go-kart ride (which partly defeats the purpose of driving a Lexus anyway LOL), a seat or steering wheel filled with vibration (though I see there are probable fixes to this), and inadequate dealer service.

One last thing, it seems that I will have a little bit of warranty left on my 2001 with 26k miles, so I need to go right to the dealer ship and make sure everything is working properly right away, so that I can take advantage of all that I can...so is the L-tuned ECU a warranty item?? I have heard that later model GS430s already came with this module? Hmmmm...

Thanks so much in advance.

TLW

wow kevin great first post

congrats on the future purchase

welcome aboard Club Lexus



im glad you found your way to Club Lex

we are having a meet in NJ tomorrow

you are more than welcome to come i actually encourage it

1.go with Tein ...you cant lose

2.im going to say yes but if wrong some one correct me

3. get a torque converter and LSD

there is a great company in maryland "SRT"

do a search

so much info here

good luck

johnny

EDIT: great color choice

EDITPart2: contact member" Gsing430" has the same car same color and some realllll nice mods

KevinGS

Thanks for the welcome, TL. I would love to make the meeting, but will be working tomorrow from home, have to finish a project.

As for Tein, can you adjust the lowering height? 2.5" seems awfully low to me.

As for SRT, thanks. Found a thread where they were featured. They are in Beltsville, 30 mins from my house. Yipeeeeeeeee! I'll definitely be paying them a visit. They developed a twin turbo GS????? WOWWWWWW!

GSing430? I'll hit him up for some advice.

KevinGS

To everyone, you can ignore all my detailed questions about the suspension and ride issues. I just saw that there is a suspension FORUM. LOL I'm headed over there now, I am sure all of my answers are contained within that forum. Thanks!

morris

iTrader: (2)

first off.SRT is first rate

Tein flex with edfc should be ab out 1600

Then get TRD Blue sway bars 500

for the tranny I would do the valve body, either SRT or Level 10 that will make the tranny shjift much nicer.
Also as mentioned the Dragon torque converter really wakes up the car, SRT also has one.

Later on full toms bracing kit.

lexforlife

iTrader: (7)

welcome aboard

man what a long winded intro

susp wise

coilovers (it took me changing my susp 3 times before i saw the way , the truth and the light LOL)

sways (daizen but i am biased)

get all the toms braces front lower , rear lower , rear 6 piece set

front strut bar pref rod millen

rear strut bar

and at least 19 in

and make advance appts for the dentist so that you can replace the fillings that keep falling out


i am a handling junkie , many here from south fla wont drive with me for they say i am way to aggressive , what do they know

KevinGS

Thanks for the advice. I'll reconfirm with SRT what's best ride/handling tradeoff for our area. We have POTholes. LOL

I'm heading to SRT Monday!

KevinGS

Unfortunately, Lex, I live in pothole central here in Washington DC area. Many roads are simply not even passable with lowered suspensions and 20' rims. So, I do need to make some compromises towards comfort. Hec, I AM buying a Lexus. LOL Otherwise, I'd buy a sports car and be done with it.

I am leaning toward the Daizen's too, for just this reason.

I am still researching all possible suspension setups though. I need a nice balance of handling, lowered ride height (only an inch or two or so, nothing too dramatic) and comfort.

PHML

iTrader: (33)

Aloha Kev....glad you found your new homepage.

Neo

iTrader: (3)

If it is in the budget, go for coilovers. These are usually height adjustable. Even if it says you can go to 2.5", you don't have to BUT the option is there when the need arises. lexforlife went through a number of springs/shocks before succumbing to coilovers. I went through the L-Tuned, then Tein Flex, and finally Tein CS. Others here had similar experiences. We all went conservative and then ended up spending for coilovers anyway (incurring multiple install cost along the way (except for lexforlife since installs them himself).

If you are going with coilovers, the some of the choices are Tein (in multiple flavors), Bilstein PSS, JIC (in multiple flavors), HKS (in multiple flavors), Tom's Advox, and the list goes on. All of these are height adjustable. Some of these are damping adjustable. Only Tein has an accessory unit to electronically control the damping settings. I liken this Electronic Damping Force Controller (EDFC) to Nav. It is a gadget. For many who don't have it, it does not seem like a useful thing to have. (Why get Nav when you can just look at a map, use MapQuest, ...?) For those who have it, they swear by it.

Now that that is out of the way, the balance you seek is something only you can determine. There is the Daizen vs TRD Blue debate. I will not rehash it here. I am sure you can find the different "discussions" via search. I'll just say that I had TRD and now I have Daizen. The two Tein products, Flex and CS, are also being suggested. They are both great products built for different needs. The Flex handles great. but to me it was a bit stiff. When you set it in the soft mode, I found it too soft in a bad way. I was floaty and uncontrolled like the stock ride. The CS is not as nimble as the Flex but from soft to hard, the unit stays very much in control. No float. Different tuning. The Flex also comes with their pillowball uppermount: great for handling, increased noise.

When I swapped out the Flex for the CS, the car immediately felt muted. I did not feel or hear the road as much any longer giving me less feedback. I have now gotten used to this feel and greatly appreciate the decreased noise level.

Now, this was my experience. I thought I can have the best of both worlds with the Flex but I hated the Flex at the soft settings but loved it at the middle and hard settings. Being a daily driver with my family in it, I could not have it in the middle and hard settings all the time and did not want to deal with the soft settings at all. Read the reviews from Hameed and bitkahuna. They love the Flex at all settings. Different people, different results. DaveGS4 and lexforlife are running the PSS. I trust these two with their evals too and they love what stiffer PSS but do not feel that it is bad for them,

The optimal thing would be to find others in the area with different setups and see if you can test drive them. Other than that, you'll have to be honest with yourself, dig deep to really say where you want the balance to slightly tip. You cannot get a great handler at the stock cushy ride. You'll just have to base your choice on your past experiences and your personal butt-o-meter because only you know what is right for you.

Good luck.

KevinGS

Thanks a ton, Neo.

My butt-meter living here in the Northeast with horrible city roads, and potmarked highways says I need as much comfort as possible 65% of the time, and then the other 35% of the time, I want it to be stiff as hell! LOL

So, Tein CS it is.

As for the ride height, my 20" rims arrive this week. Once I set the height to be a little lower, like an inch or so, and make sure my "dubs" wont rub (pun intended)...even if I hit a big dip, or go over a speed bump, or carry 4 people, or back up, then I'll probably never fiddle with the height anymore. My GS will be a daily driver, and I drive a lot. So comfort and reliability and durability take precedent over max performance for sure.

I will just spend the money now, and get it done right. Tein it is, and I will also get the L-tuned Steering ECU if my car doesn't have it (I heard later model GS430s already have it installed from the factory). The one thing I am NOT going to get right away are sway and strut bars. That will probably be a summer 2005 purchase. I doubt I will miss them much since I never had them in the first place. Sometimes, not knowing what you're missing is better than knowing.

Thanks again for your input though. It seems as if the things I am getting will be money well spent, especially since I spend a lot of time in my car each day. I might as well just go ahead and get it right the first time.

Richie

LOL, prepare to spend some real money now

KevinGS

KevinGS

I see, I see... LOL

I gotta get stuff now, or else everything gets pushed back to next summer. Xmas and many birthdays are on the way for me.

So, rims and suspension/steering now. Next summer I will start round 2 (like stereo, bodykits, and possibly engine mods).

But, yeah, y'all makin' me want to mortgage the house. LOL

NOT!

00lexondub

iTrader: (2)

cant wait to see some of the pics of your 430...
there is a very bnice mod'd 430 on here with your color.. i will post a pic.. lots of suspension mods on this car as well.. yo might want to pm him,, hold on ill get a pic