What did you do to your GS today?
02-19-17, 05:54 AM
#1876
Well, yesterday. Installed Vogtland springs and SAGE front RCAs. I have previously installed Stagg shocks. So far I have only driven around the block, and it will need alignment. Ride is maybe better, and turn in is superbly balanced. I am very, very pleased with the combo so far. Amazing how well this 321K car drives. Almost sold it last week. Next step 18" wheels, then LS 400 brakes.
02-19-17, 04:39 PM
#1877
Pole Position
How much drop did those springs give
02-22-17, 07:10 AM
#1879
Hey guys, got a couple updates you. Not exactly today...
First off, I've been slowly trying to tighten up my car's handling. Mods so far are tein CS coilovers, ebay 20mm rear sway bar w/ superpro bushings, daizen front sway bar poly bushings, daizen steering rack bushings, superpro control arm #1 & #2 bushings, and megan rcas.
Read a lot of good things about the Tom's braces but obviously they're discontinued. So after trolling ebay for a couple months, found a seller in Taiwan that had Tom's front & rear under braces and a Tom's STB.
All were cosmetically rough shape but nothing some sanding / primer / paint can't handle. I ran into the same issue as many of you did with the center brace of the front brace rubbing against the transmission. I tried to "notch" it but didnt want to take too much out. Needless to say I wasn't happy with my work and decided to have a shop cut off / weld the brace about an inch up. Same thing another member did on here a few years back.
Driving impressions:
I installed the rear brace and STB first. Holy Cow. The rear brace is worth every penny. It feels as if the rear of the car is finally bolted TIGHT to the rest of the body. In corners, the rear stays composed. Since the rear already had a larger sway bar and now this brace, it felt to me like the car was now happier to over steer. Still very composed but ready to swing the back out. I don't know if this is what would normally happen with these mods but that's what my butt meter was telling me. On to the STB......I think the only real improvement I felt was on the initial turn in. So a quick transition left / right would be sharper but once you're fully in the corner, I don't think it is doing much. Again IDK, some people say they're great, others not so much. At the moment, it is nice to have. I do have the tein EDFC sitting in a box, but obviously it wont fit with this STB so I might end up selling it. (Anyone wanna sell me a STB that does fit over the edfc
?)
Now once the front brace was installed, it really balanced out the car and now felt more "neutral". There is more "communication" through the steering wheel but I wouldn't say its harsh...just more connected. I can live with it. Overall the car feels more solid now with the downside of slightly degraded ride quality. Onramps / Offramps are friggin fun. I remember when the car was bone stock (and my old gs300), corners were not fun and mid corner bumps / dips would really disrupt the car. Now just fling the car into a corner and it slices through it.
So my question to everyone...Should I bother getting a larger front sway bar? I don't know how much more I want to sacrifice the ride quality but would like to reduce the body roll even further. Its worth mentioning that I pretty much keep the coils on full hard 95% of the time. If I do get the front sway, I can always soften the coils to mitigate the rough(er) ride...right? I also think a lot of that has to do with the poly 1 & 2 bushings. I am strongly considering just going back to factory rubber bushings for #1 control arm because a new rubber bushing will still give me a new / tight feeling without the added NVH. I'll leave the #2 in place. I think I read somewhere on here that with lowered cars, the #2 bushing experiences way more stress and will breakdown a lot faster. But anyway yes or no to the bigger front sway?
Front Brace (after paint, before adjusting center brace)
STB - Just mocked up
Rear Brace - as it arrived. No paint
Next...found a JDM HVAC module. Always thought they looked pretty cool. Really wished I knew how to get the mileage / trip function to work but with factory nav cars, the plugs are different. Non-nav cars its plug n play. I'm sure it could be rewired though. The wood overlay in the pic is just that, a super thick sticker. Underneath it is mint in the factory grey color.
First off, I've been slowly trying to tighten up my car's handling. Mods so far are tein CS coilovers, ebay 20mm rear sway bar w/ superpro bushings, daizen front sway bar poly bushings, daizen steering rack bushings, superpro control arm #1 & #2 bushings, and megan rcas.
Read a lot of good things about the Tom's braces but obviously they're discontinued. So after trolling ebay for a couple months, found a seller in Taiwan that had Tom's front & rear under braces and a Tom's STB.
All were cosmetically rough shape but nothing some sanding / primer / paint can't handle. I ran into the same issue as many of you did with the center brace of the front brace rubbing against the transmission. I tried to "notch" it but didnt want to take too much out. Needless to say I wasn't happy with my work and decided to have a shop cut off / weld the brace about an inch up. Same thing another member did on here a few years back.
Driving impressions:
I installed the rear brace and STB first. Holy Cow. The rear brace is worth every penny. It feels as if the rear of the car is finally bolted TIGHT to the rest of the body. In corners, the rear stays composed. Since the rear already had a larger sway bar and now this brace, it felt to me like the car was now happier to over steer. Still very composed but ready to swing the back out. I don't know if this is what would normally happen with these mods but that's what my butt meter was telling me. On to the STB......I think the only real improvement I felt was on the initial turn in. So a quick transition left / right would be sharper but once you're fully in the corner, I don't think it is doing much. Again IDK, some people say they're great, others not so much. At the moment, it is nice to have. I do have the tein EDFC sitting in a box, but obviously it wont fit with this STB so I might end up selling it. (Anyone wanna sell me a STB that does fit over the edfc
?)Now once the front brace was installed, it really balanced out the car and now felt more "neutral". There is more "communication" through the steering wheel but I wouldn't say its harsh...just more connected. I can live with it. Overall the car feels more solid now with the downside of slightly degraded ride quality. Onramps / Offramps are friggin fun. I remember when the car was bone stock (and my old gs300), corners were not fun and mid corner bumps / dips would really disrupt the car. Now just fling the car into a corner and it slices through it.
So my question to everyone...Should I bother getting a larger front sway bar? I don't know how much more I want to sacrifice the ride quality but would like to reduce the body roll even further. Its worth mentioning that I pretty much keep the coils on full hard 95% of the time. If I do get the front sway, I can always soften the coils to mitigate the rough(er) ride...right? I also think a lot of that has to do with the poly 1 & 2 bushings. I am strongly considering just going back to factory rubber bushings for #1 control arm because a new rubber bushing will still give me a new / tight feeling without the added NVH. I'll leave the #2 in place. I think I read somewhere on here that with lowered cars, the #2 bushing experiences way more stress and will breakdown a lot faster. But anyway yes or no to the bigger front sway?
Front Brace (after paint, before adjusting center brace)
STB - Just mocked up
Rear Brace - as it arrived. No paint
Next...found a JDM HVAC module. Always thought they looked pretty cool. Really wished I knew how to get the mileage / trip function to work but with factory nav cars, the plugs are different. Non-nav cars its plug n play. I'm sure it could be rewired though. The wood overlay in the pic is just that, a super thick sticker. Underneath it is mint in the factory grey color.
Last edited by sade04; 02-22-17 at 10:37 AM.
02-22-17, 07:15 AM
#1880
....Continued
Next I decided to plasti dip my rear emblems & bumper insert black. Pretty painless process. Sorry for the crappy after pics...was backed up against a wall.
Here you can see the new welded on exhaust tips (ebay). I had the shop cut out 2 resonators as well. The change is almost imperceptible from inside the cabin but there is a nice low grumble outside. No one will mistake it for an aftermarket exhaust.
Also did my axle carrier bushings. Was getting that intermittent clunk / squeak. I think its mostly resolved.
Here are some quick pics I took in our parking garage.Wheels are by Moda. They came off of an RX and I got them for a steal on craigslist. Tires are 245/45/18 dunlop wintersport M3. Rear fenders are shaved and spacers all around:
PS Any of you guys in the Philadelphia area? It would be great if members could meet up and drive each others cars to get a feel for different combinations of mods, etc
Next I decided to plasti dip my rear emblems & bumper insert black. Pretty painless process. Sorry for the crappy after pics...was backed up against a wall.
Here you can see the new welded on exhaust tips (ebay). I had the shop cut out 2 resonators as well. The change is almost imperceptible from inside the cabin but there is a nice low grumble outside. No one will mistake it for an aftermarket exhaust.
Also did my axle carrier bushings. Was getting that intermittent clunk / squeak. I think its mostly resolved.
Here are some quick pics I took in our parking garage.Wheels are by Moda. They came off of an RX and I got them for a steal on craigslist. Tires are 245/45/18 dunlop wintersport M3. Rear fenders are shaved and spacers all around:
PS Any of you guys in the Philadelphia area? It would be great if members could meet up and drive each others cars to get a feel for different combinations of mods, etc
Last edited by sade04; 02-22-17 at 10:40 AM.
02-22-17, 07:43 AM
#1881
so where does the rear brace mount? I'd like to see it installed. I'm curious, the rear suspension to me is the weak point of the car, I was looking at Bilsteins and stiffer springs, but don't want to compromise ride much. Coilovers aren't a good choice for me, my car is a DD that sees its fair share of snow and salt.
02-22-17, 08:20 AM
#1882
so where does the rear brace mount? I'd like to see it installed. I'm curious, the rear suspension to me is the weak point of the car, I was looking at Bilsteins and stiffer springs, but don't want to compromise ride much. Coilovers aren't a good choice for me, my car is a DD that sees its fair share of snow and salt.
I can take a pic when I get home but here is the DIY by JeffTsai that I used:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-...tallation.html
The following users liked this post:
ThomasGS4 (02-26-17)
The following users liked this post:
ThomasGS4 (02-26-17)
03-08-17, 11:23 AM
#1890
