I picked up my new 430 about 2 months ago, and this thing hauls a$$. I was wanting to juice it up a little (as we all do) and spoke to a very reliable friend about what would be best. He mentioned that a good starting point would be a new intake and new gear ratios. I've seen a lot mentioned here about torque converters and breather elements, but no mention of changes to the gear ratios. If anyone has input, or experience on the idea it would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

hmmm why do you want to change gear ratios the GS400 or new GS430 have good gear ratios,, if you improve shifting using the TC (torqe Converters) and add a few HP's you should not have any problems. If you go to big modifications such as Superchargers I recomend that you visit www.swift-racing.com I recall seeing something about modifications to the gears.

g luck

 

rod millen is now offering a valve body replacment for the GS's and a slip diffrentail wich changes your gear ratios so if thats what your looking for than thats your man but I dont know about rod millens qualtiy I've read alot of complaints and personaly I had a few problems with there air intake thats why I changed to SRT HIFI/ECU II

 

You can get a RMM torsen style LSD with 3.76 gear ratio to replace your stock 3.24 open style rear end. This will give you fast acceleration off the line. But with higher gear ratio, you'll have to worry about hitting the rev. limiter during acceleration because the tranny ECU was designed with 3.24 ratio.

I went with the TRD LSD and used the stock 3.24 gear, it works perfectly for me. BTW, did you get your GS from John Roberts?

 

I got it from the Lexus of Austin right there at 183 and and 360. How do you like the TRD LSD? Do you hit the limiter with it? How did it affect the accelleration?

 

I was taking a look at your ride, and the mods that you have on your car are right in line with the things I'm looking to do. I'd like to enhance the performance, but not make any drastic changes to the ride. I'd love to check out your car sometime.

 

Blue - Go to the Lexus Q&A & see my results posted under the "0-60 Improvements". I've hit the limiter a few times because of the programming ( as Jacob said ) so I try to anticipate the shift point & manually E-shift at the right time because fully auto nails it almost every time!! BTW - Mo's forthcoming ( geez, how long have we said that - Mo, U KNOW I LOVE YOU, MAN!! ) tranny ECU will be programmable for the 3.76 gearing so there's hope for me yet!! BTW - the LSD part itself is great for autocrossing as it gets the power down to the wheels equally but now it's harder to spin the wheels - bummer!! Hey - I'm old so do ya'll still say that?:eek:

 

The TRD LSD used the stock 3.24 ring gear, so no worry about hitting the rev. limiter.

I've already talked with another three members on this board in Austin, may be we can have an Austin meet soon

Let me know if you have any questions regarding the GS mods.

 

Jacob,

I have an unrelated subject would like to ask you. Do you have tranny cooler installed in your GS since you also have SRT TC. And according to Mean Gene, the life of tranny would decrease due to the high temp of TC. Please give me some insights and/or reply to

https://www.clublexus.com/vb/showthr...threadid=14057

Thank you very much.

 

RA,

I do not have tranny coller installed yet. I talked with a local shop and they can install one for $160.
99% GS owners with TC do not have the cooler except MG. During normal city/hwy driving, you won't have tranny overheated problem. But if you autox at the track, frequent stop and accelerate without getting into the lockup mode. That's when you'll need the tranny cooler. I may install one when I get my tranny ECU from Mo.

 

Guyz - It DOES look like I'm the only one with a tranny cooler, doesn't it!? While I agree with Jacob that a tranny cooler isn't NECESSARY, there's more to the overheating situation that may be noticeable from the cockpit. Best advice to anyone with the T/C is to run it awhile ( 15k or so ) & drop the tranny pan. Check for an unusual amount of residue from the clutches & bands as well as smelling the fluid to see if it's burned - U'll know! Then run your finger across the valve body ( when things are cool ) & see if there's some varnish buildup. The tranny WILL run hotter than factory ( the excess slippage from the higher stall generates heat ) but maybe not enough to register on the temperature gauge. A varnish buildup is an indication of such a situation. I worked in a speed shop for years & have torn/rebuilt racing trannies & street/strip versions - this was a common discovery in some of the street jobs running the old B&M SuperHoleshot T/C ( about a 3500 stall ). I just find that the initial small cost of such a cooler will offset a tranny rebuild ( earlier than could normally be expected ). For me, it's kinda like the advantages of a synthetic oil over a conventional one - maybe the syn's overkill to most of ya but I've seen the advantages firsthand & want to protect my investment ( $75k & growing ). Just my opinion, though. Ya'll gotta do what works for each of ya individually!