Another thanks to LMS, and first impressions on new mods
 

First, I want to thank LuxuryMotorworks - Steve, Jacen and their team for the great work on installing my mods yesterday and great prices.
I've finally got my PI Dragon TC and shocks/springs installed, and wanted to share my first impressions of those mods.
First, I'm very pleased with PI TC. It does make a big difference and makes the car move off the start much quicker. Even though some threads here tried to convince me that TC makes a very little difference on GS3, it's not true. I can just imagine how significant is the change on GS4, but I have to tell you that it is also very noticeable on GS3. The car just flies. One of the recent threads mentioned here that stock stall speed on GS3 is already around 2700 (according to the 2000 repair manual) hence I would think PI TC with 2800 won't be a big change. Well, either the info was not right, or 98-99 stock stall was much lower than on 2000+. Now, feeling the 2800 stall of PI TC, I could say that my stock one was around 2100 maybe. So, if you still think of PI TC on GS3, I would say do it, you won't regret.
As much as I was satisfied with TC, I was disappointed with suspension effect. Yes, I was very tight on budget for that (somehow I managed to convince my wife that it's just a regular maintenance :) ) So I went with KYB-GR2 shocks and Tanabe DF210 springs. The reason I chose KYBs is because I wanted a close to stock softness. As I've read here KYBs are rebadged L-tuneds, which are just a bit sportier than OEMs. I also wanted to drop the car a little, and a group buy here for Tanabes DF210 was just in time. Lots of people here suggested to change the suspension after 60K miles, and since mine has 86K I kind of felt that my car is very rough on bumps comparing to how it was before. Now, let me tell you... I didn't feel any difference with the new suspension. Either KYBs are much harder on the road than OEMs, or maybe my original ones were not that bad yet. Anyhow, the car still feels kind of rough on the road (much better on corners though).
Overall, I'm still happy with the car, and enjoying driving it every day. However, no more mods for me. I am done. Especially with the second baby coming in in several months. Looking forward to the new GS460 in 2-3 years ;)

Sure buddy ;) :p

Jonny

After I get the coilovers the TC will be my next mod. Thanks for the fresh info.

I got a question for you guys. What is the stall speed on the TC for?
Is it for launching the car on a race to let you rev higher? In my car when I do the brake/gas to launch, the rear tires usually spin before I hit that high of an rpm.

stall speed is the speed it will rev up to before the tranny fully engages. it's higher making it more high rev and more power

Suspension
 

Are you bascially saying that the DF210 springs and the KYB shocks lowered 1.5" all around the car but absolutely did not change the ride quality? Please confirm.

If that is the case, I'll buy the same setup. I want the appearance benefits of a lowered car but don't want to give up my ride quality.

Please let me know what kind of tires and rims you are running. Did you have any alignment issues post ugrade?

Thanks for the info.

Neil

Well, what I wanted to say is - yes, in my case it didn't change that quality of ride that I had after 86K miles. However, that quality was not that good lately in my opinion. I remember that when I bought it, it ran much smoother.
Yes, the drop looks very nice with DF210 springs. I measured the gap before and now, and the difference is average 1.5" all around, but I think it's going to take some time before they settle to the final position.
I run on stock 16" rims with slightly wider than stock tires, and LMS made an alignment after installing shocks/springs.