Sup everyone,

As you know I have been learning the inside and outsides of the GS the past year since I bought it and am loving every minutre of it!!! And in the mean time have been searching for the baby Supra

Anyhow I installed new springs/shocks and mufflers and it seems to me like the car has really become slower. I need more power!

I have been searching/reading the forum for several months now and have a rough idea of what could help but it seems somewhat confusing to what my 98 GS can take and what will help. The 98's are the only ones without the covers, correct? According to my reading we 98' owners have more options? (even turbo wise?)

Here is what I have on my list, which should I go for 1st which will provide the most power? Which can I remove?

+ Cold Air Intake, which one and where to buy? $350ish
+ PLP GII Heatshield $90
+ DSR Polished Strut Tower $200
+ Dragon T/C $750
+ Torsen 3:76 LSD $2,000
+ Anything else??

Also do small items such as Tom's Hi-Flow air filter, Tom's Low Temp T-Stat, etc. really help?

What else can I get suspension wise?

Thanks!

Update: I am also planning on removing the resonator... the Magnaflows are to quiet imo from the outside.

 

performance wise, TC!! and LSD!
Then move to SRT intake!

Or just one step to hardcore, SC!!!!!!!!!!!

 

The Supra Torsen-LSD will actually SLOW YOU DOWN unless you have forced induction or bald tires or some other severe traction problem. Your GS300 comes from the factory with (non-LSD) 3.9x gearing which will launch better than the 3.76 gearing.

There, just saved you $2k Go buy something else already

 

LOL. Thanks but according to my reading that mod was one of the top gainers power wise

 

i think that's for the GS400/430... not the GS300.

 

that's correct. it will make the gs4 fast, but gs3 it will get slower

 

When you say the 98's are the only ones without the covers, what are you talking about? If you want more power without forced induction of some sort, why don't you start out by getting a 400? According to Lexus, the 98 GS 400 was the fastest car 0 - 60 Lexus has built. The 430's up until the new 3rd generation were all just a tad slower. The LSD and the TC don't produce any additional power though they help deliver it to the pavement more efficiently. Bigger tires/rims may also slow you down a bit. For improved handling, now that you've lowered the car, the best bang for the buck would be new anti sway bars. There has been plenty of discussions on here about the virtues of the TRD and Daizen bars, any of them will be an improvement over the stock setup and far more noticeable than adding the chassis or strut tower braces. Funny you say your car feels slower, after mounting the L-tuned shocks and springs my car felt quicker off the line and far more manueverable. If you just need a quick boost every once in a while, what about Nitrous? Far less expensive than FI

 

Nah getting a 400 right now is out of the question for me... thanks for the other info guys.

 

another idea, just like your screenname says: NOS

 

I was thinking of that but that is just a short term couple min gain. I want something so when I drive the car it is always on! I am going to go with this list for now:

+ Cold Air Intake, which one and where to buy?
+ PLP GII Heatshield $90
+ DSR Polished Strut Tower $200
+ Tom's Hi-Flow air filter $100
+ Anti sway bars

When I say this I mean the engine does have a center cover, or do the 400/430 only have them?

Also I will do research for new anti sway bars, thanks. Also maybe my car feels slower starting because of the new mufflers? All they did was cut the pipe, no mandrel bending (didnt find 1 shop that did that here)

 

The cheapest with the most power gain is SRT.
I feel the difference right away

 

Did you notice any power loss on the low end with the SRT

 

Well, if a 400 is out of the question (tho it may turn out that you will end up spending the differential cost between the 300 and 400 anyway on all the mods you want to increase performance) I think you will acheive the greatest increase in driving enjoyment as a result of vastly improved handling by installing new anti-sway bars. I like the Daizen set personally tho there are advocates for the TRD sets as well. The Daizen's will cost you about $450 from Sewell Lexus then you can have them installed or do it yourself depending on your skill and comfort level for working on cars. The PI TC would be a bit pricier $750 or so for part and more likely need for professional help with installation. Would definitely help straight line launch performance. If only one of these mods is in your budget, you need to decide which is more important or useful to you. Do you want to shave the few 1/10's from zero to 60 or are you more interested in how the car responds around curves. With better suspension you will be able to carry more speed through the bends. So which will it be, jack rabbit starts or more performance and handling through the twisties, you decide. As far as covers are concerned, yes all Lexus engines come standard witih an engine cover. It is purely cosmetic and may have been removed prior to you obtaining the car.

 

Thanks all good info

I want to do the zero to 60 first after rims then add the anti-swar bars. I will do it myself since I did install the springs/shocks and this shouldn't be any harder. I dont get it though, different people have told me that the PI TC will not work on the 300 but others like yourself say otherwise.

Here is a pic of my engine and another one below. See the different covers which I am referring to: (in short do 99+ GS 300's have this cover in the 2nd picture?)


My 98 GS.

 

I don't recognize which engine that carbon fiber cover goes to, but it is not stock. The silvery cover is from a GS430 and only came on cars made after 2001+ . The cover from the 300 is different than the one on the 400 as well. Installing the torque converter will be more difficult than doing shocks/springs; you'll need a hoist as you will have to drop the tranny out. Precision Industries makes two different TC for the GS; one for the V8 and a different one for the I6. The one for the 300 (I6) is actually a little more expensive as I recall, maybe $50-$100 more but should still have the same effect on straight line acceleration. Sway bars should be easier than shocks/springs to install. If you use the Daizens , remember to take off the rear end links and reverse them 180 degrees.