Had to drive my boss' wife's '06 SC430 today...
 

This car is going back to the dealer in 3 weeks because the lease is up. I helped my boss with negotiating their new leased vehicle; a brand new left over 2008 GS350 AWD. I had to drive the SC430 today to the dealership to have a couple of things looked at that may need repair before they hand it in; i.e. scratches on the bumper.

Now I know this car is lighter than my GS400 and also has the 4.3L V8 in it so I just wanted to give it a little gas to find out. I could not believe it, I was extremely unimpressed...:eek2: my car is completely NIGHT and DAY MUCH MUCH faster. Eventhough I have a lot of mods I still couldn't believe how much of a difference there was. Their car only has about 20K miles on it too! It's still a baby, where my GS just hit 104K.

It just makes me realize how much I love my GS400; i'm gonna keep her around for a while. Just wanted to share with you guys; the end.:) :thumbup:

The GS430 is reported to feel slower and the SC430 does have some weight to it but it pulls well on the freeway

Its heavier and slower than GS430, which in turn is slower than GS400. However it does have 6 speed transmission and extra torque, so it should have more effortless pull at higher speeds.

you're just not used to drive by wire.
also, car's get faster as they loosen up with miles. I think my 430 feels quicker now at 47k miles than it did at 23k miles. if you look at long term tests in magazines, sometimes the cars are .2-.3 seconds faster in 1/4 mile after 30-40k miles.
I have heard that sc are a bit slower than gs430 too though.

yess siirr the SC's are heavier and slower!!

wow, never knew!

GS 4 all day over an SC430 :D

but also gs430 over gs400 all day :D

...lol, not for me. I like my e-shift V8. Also, the 400 is a tad quicker off the line if you search and no real difference on the highway at all.:p Also, the GS430 unfortunately sometimes (or most of the time) has issues with some mods like the PI TC; I believe the CEL comes on but there are some (such as Mo from SRT) that can supposedly bypass this.

Either ride is nice though!

dang i thought only the gs300 ever had the option of the e-shift (this was the steering wheel mounted manual shift correct?)

wrong. you just have to know how to drive a 430. and remember, the 430 has more torque and a bigger engine.:)

E-Shift was ONLY available on the GS400 (not the GS300), until 2001 when the GS430 replaced the GS400. They GS430 lost e-shift and the GS300 got it at that point. I loved it in my GS400 and used it all the time.

...hmm, I beg to differ since I have read countless comparison tests on CL between the GS400 and GS430. I believe that 1SICKLEX has done one of the several comparison tests as well. I think in his test it was noted that the GS430 tranny was smoother than the GS400 and that this could be one of the reasons why it is a tad slower in acceleration. Sorry...maybe we can agree to disagree.:sad:;)

Oh, and .3L and 15-20 torque advantage to the crank of the GS430 is not really a big deal since they are both evenly matched machines. Perhaps Lexus upped the 4.0L to the 4.3L mainly for better fuel mileage; everyone knows that the GS400 is VERY bad on gas.:cry:

One last thing, have you ever driven a GS400? 'cause I have driven a GS430 before and they both felt pretty much the same with the GS400 feeling a little more sporty. On an automatic how can you drive better than someone else??? Let's say that both cars do NOT have e-shift or tip-tronic...from a stop light don't you just hit the gas? The only other thing that I can see you doing is brake torquing. However, ANY car with similar performance as the other will have the advantage if they did this...

i have a gs430 but u :uh: are wrong on this one.......gs400 and gs430 have SAME motor but the 4.3L 3UZFE 430 has a different bore/stroke compared to the 4.0L 3UZFE if i can recall right! now as far as which one is quicker off the line or we, i dont know. i have never driven or been in a gs400

...don't get me wrong I would take either one any day! Love everything about the second gen GS!!!