Pics: GS400 before & after
Pole Position
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 2,465
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From: Illinois
Awesome! Looks very nice and as you said get it lowered some and it will look so much better.
Any problems with the Supra brake install or did having the proper offset and "big brake" clearance make it a no-brainer?
Any problems with the Supra brake install or did having the proper offset and "big brake" clearance make it a no-brainer?
Thread Starter
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 24
Likes: 0
From: California
As long promised, the completed project:
Stock '00 GS400, 16" factory wheels:
The same GS, 18" Volk GT-Cs, Supra brakes, L-tuned suspension:
I can't emphasize enough how well this new setup works. The ride isn't appreciably harsher than stock, but the car handles very well and has enormous stick -- it reminds me of my '00 M5 with Pilot Sports. The brakes are just plain insane! They literally stop harder than my Viper (w/ABS). Finally, the car looks soooo much better with the rims and suspension drop.
All told, including installation by a Lexus dealer, these mods were about $6K. For what you get, it's a bargain!
Sources:
* Wheels, tires: Wheel Kinetics
* Brakes, suspension: Carson Toyota
* Installation: Serramonte Lexus
Stock '00 GS400, 16" factory wheels:
The same GS, 18" Volk GT-Cs, Supra brakes, L-tuned suspension:
I can't emphasize enough how well this new setup works. The ride isn't appreciably harsher than stock, but the car handles very well and has enormous stick -- it reminds me of my '00 M5 with Pilot Sports. The brakes are just plain insane! They literally stop harder than my Viper (w/ABS). Finally, the car looks soooo much better with the rims and suspension drop.
All told, including installation by a Lexus dealer, these mods were about $6K. For what you get, it's a bargain!
Sources:
* Wheels, tires: Wheel Kinetics
* Brakes, suspension: Carson Toyota
* Installation: Serramonte Lexus
Thread Starter
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 24
Likes: 0
From: California
A couple closeup pictures with the suspension installed:
Front 18x9 with 245/40-18 Potenza S-03s:
Rear 18x10 with 265/35-18 Potenza S-03s:
To answer a few other questions:
> How do the S-03s compare to stock tires?
Obviously, quite a bit more grip and road feel. Just by themselves they improved the handling quite a bit by removing the vagueness and "mush" of the stock 16"ers. They are a touch noisier than the stock tires, but certainly not loud or intrusive. I would definitely recommend upgrading the suspension at the same time you upgrade tires, however, as the stock suspension is too soft for the level of grip they provide and tends to pogo around a bit in hard driving. The L-tuned works beautifully with these tires.
> Was there any issue installing the Supra brakes?
None at all with the wheels Dennis set me up with. The whole thing (calipers, rotors, shim kit) bolted right up and worked from the get-go.
> Any other problems or caveats?
None so far! There's no rubbing or rut tracking as it's setup now -- it just plain works. By way of comparison it turns in and corners as well as a stock M5 with good tires -- the GS is lighter with similar-sized tires, so no surprise there. The brakes are now better than the M5's without a doubt, again aided by the weight advantage. All it needs now is some chassis stiffening and, oh, about 100 HP
Front 18x9 with 245/40-18 Potenza S-03s:
Rear 18x10 with 265/35-18 Potenza S-03s:
To answer a few other questions:
> How do the S-03s compare to stock tires?
Obviously, quite a bit more grip and road feel. Just by themselves they improved the handling quite a bit by removing the vagueness and "mush" of the stock 16"ers. They are a touch noisier than the stock tires, but certainly not loud or intrusive. I would definitely recommend upgrading the suspension at the same time you upgrade tires, however, as the stock suspension is too soft for the level of grip they provide and tends to pogo around a bit in hard driving. The L-tuned works beautifully with these tires.
> Was there any issue installing the Supra brakes?
None at all with the wheels Dennis set me up with. The whole thing (calipers, rotors, shim kit) bolted right up and worked from the get-go.
> Any other problems or caveats?
None so far! There's no rubbing or rut tracking as it's setup now -- it just plain works. By way of comparison it turns in and corners as well as a stock M5 with good tires -- the GS is lighter with similar-sized tires, so no surprise there. The brakes are now better than the M5's without a doubt, again aided by the weight advantage. All it needs now is some chassis stiffening and, oh, about 100 HP
EV ftw!!!
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 9,039
Likes: 606
From: Lake Ontario
Originally posted by treynor >
Any other problems or caveats?
None so far! There's no rubbing or rut tracking as it's setup now -- it just plain works. By way of comparison it turns in and corners as well as a stock M5 with good tires -- the GS is lighter with similar-sized tires, so no surprise there. The brakes are now better than the M5's without a doubt, again aided by the weight advantage. All it needs now is some chassis stiffening and, oh, about 100 HP
Any other problems or caveats?
None so far! There's no rubbing or rut tracking as it's setup now -- it just plain works. By way of comparison it turns in and corners as well as a stock M5 with good tires -- the GS is lighter with similar-sized tires, so no surprise there. The brakes are now better than the M5's without a doubt, again aided by the weight advantage. All it needs now is some chassis stiffening and, oh, about 100 HP
So now your GS with the L-tuned suspension, 18 inch rims, S0-3's and Supra brakes, corners, handles and stops better than a stock M5? Really?
Can anyone else corroborate this? Your're not just saying that because this is a Lexus forum ?
I didn't think you could easily make a GS feel better in those important categories than an M5. After all the M5 is designed as a serious performance car from the factory, whereas the GS is more luxury oriented.
Last edited by Hameed; Jun 29, 2004 at 12:45 PM.
