What’s Up in the Forums: Club Lexus Member Builds the Ultimate GS F
Killer GS F might look fairly stock but underneath the surface, it’s anything but.
For many of us, the GS F already represents the ultimate form of Lexus’ luxury sedan. After all, the sporty four door packs a naturally aspirated 5.0 liter V8 pumping out 467 hp. Not to mention huge brakes, a nimble suspension, and high praise from the likes of Top Gear’s Chris Harris. It’s a car that remains old school cool in a world where everyone else is downsizing displacement and using forced induction to compensate.
Like everything in life, however, the GS F can be made better. But when Club Lexus member USBGSF16 picked up his barn burner last fall, he didn’t just want to make it better. He wanted to, in his own words, “build the best GS F ever.” However, performance parts at the time were a little scarce. So he started out with APEX-I mid-pipe and throttle controller, intake tube, and an AFE drop-in filter.
With the first round of mods complete, there was a noticeable difference in both power and sound.
“The car really feels it pushes much harder and smooth. There is more torque and HP on mid range, little bit louder on high rev and it is really exciting with that sound. APEX-I got a good job on this product. They have it in stock, no drone, no con, it is perfect.”
But of course, feel means nothing if it doesn’t translate to real world numbers. So USBGSF16 took his ride to the dyno and was rewarded with a pull of 402 hp and 345 lb-ft of torque at the wheels.
Before adding any more power, he decided to install an RR Racing AOS. It’s a part that might not be as flashy as power adders, but he has a good reason for wanting one.
“Yeah, this thing doesn’t makes power, just reduces the detonation during aggressive driving or on the track. I had the oiling problem for my previous 750Li which makes 600HP, oil goes to the turbo and that is a bad thing. So for a $200 mod, it is good for our cars and there is no reason to refuse installing it.”
Next, it was on to RR Racing for an ECU tune. And then a little bit of cosmetic work, albeit nothing too crazy. Oh, and a user name change to tomsgsf, since he lost his password.
“I currently have [a] TOMS GS F carbon fiber body kit and RB brake upgrade package installed. RB is a great company and provides high quality brake products to the market. The kit saves about 30lb in rotational weight and makes the brakes much better and more powerful. It is a huge improvement on my car and I totally enjoy it. The feel is a night and day difference and the car even goes faster and corners better.”
The next step was a set of headers and an RR Racing lightweight battery, both of which shaved around 50 pounds off the car. A sticky set of PS4S tires replaced the stock hoops, and on went a new GTHAUS exhaust. But the biggie was the order placed for the proverbial cherry on top – a supercharger. In the meantime, it was time for a little Gold Rush action in Texas.
Finally, the blower arrived. Spirit Performance did the installation, and even added a custom bumper reinforcement for the intercooler to increase air flow. After a break in, an ECU retune aims to optimize the new setup.
We can’t wait to see what kind of numbers the new, blown powerplant will pump out. We’d also say that tomsgsf is well on his way to building the ultimate GS F. You can bet we’ll be following along as he works toward that goal. And you can do the same by monitoring his build thread!
