My local LExus dealer is giving me a GS300 to take home over memorial day weekend for a 2-day test drive!!!!!!! I am considering both a 300 and a 430, but I figured the 300 was a better car to test drive since if I'm happy with a 300, I'm sure to be thrilled by a 430!!!

If I buy a 300, it will be a Sportdesign - so my first question is, how much of a difference will there be between the suspension on the 300 I drive this weekend, and the sport-tuned suspension on the Sportdesign? Is it a noticable improvement? Basically what I'm asking is, if I decide that the suspension is too soft for me, will I also be unhappy with the sportdesign suspension?

Also, I was thinking about what I want to put the car through in terms of a good test-drive. For anyone familiar with the NY area - I was thinking about an aggressive drive up the Taconic - hilly with tight curves. Any other suggestions?

 

Sounds awesome, Yeah I would watch out for the Taconic though, alot of state troopers around there. But I would suggest taking the car to maybe the FDR Park and going into an empty parking lot and maybe set up some cones or just steer the wheel vigorously. The taconic is a nice place to go fast though. I live right off 202 on the Peekskill exit. I use to take the Taconic to school everyday.

 

There is a difference with the sport suspension. It is a much firmer ride. The other differences are the enterior, brushed aluminum trim, black chrome emblems, and wheels. I drive both of them almost every day, and I can tell the difference. Most of my clients prefer the sport design. I personally prefer the GS430, you can't go wrong with it. Take care, Mike D.

 

There will be a noticeable difference in handling and ride, but not in comfort. The ride will not be as floaty/queasy over undulations in the road, nor will the suspension feel as unsettled with rapid changes of throttle/brake.

Comfort-wise, I think you'd be hard pressed to say that the comfort level is less than the standard suspension.

 

I'm not worried about comfort. I want to get rid of that floaty feeling. This may be a dumb question, but does the Sportdesign suspension come anywhere near an L-Tuned? Or is it much more of a slight difference?

 

if your talkin the full -l-tuned suspension, the l-tuned is far more superior. It comes with the steering ecu, springs, and shocks.

 

Can't tell precisely. The "European sport suspension" quoted by the Lex adds is supposedly the TTE suspension found in Europe, which, in turn, is something like L-Tuned here. How they differ is a matter of conjecture unless someone can come up with spring rates, etc for L-Tuned vs Sport. And although it isn't explicitly mentioned, I'd think it possible that the Sportdesign also has steering ECU.

Anybody got any firmer data??

Of course, you could get the stock GS and L-Tune for about $1400 total incl installation. Wouldn't have the cosmetic geegaws, but who cares? My GS is debadged and doesn't carry L-Tuned badging, either.

 

L-tuned shocks were first offered in parts of european markets as factory sport pkg options....the shocks are made by KAYABA of japan...firmer than the US stock spec shocks..since the parts bin have quite a bit of these available, Lexus/Toyota decided in 00/01 to offer us yanks these parts as L-tuned....now the shocks are being offered in the gs300 sport design pkg....

TTE is the equivalent of TRD...

TTE shocks are made by Bilsteins of germany, hence, even firmer than the L-tuned

 

From what I understand, the SportDesign is L-tuned suspension w/ steering ECU as well. I haven't gotten to drive a regular GS w/ aftermarket L-tuned, but there is a difference between the GS and SportDesign.

if you like the nice bouncy ride, very luxury-like, the regular GS3 is good. If you like the sport feel and don't mind a little road noise (225/55/16 tires vs 215/65) and black walnut, titanium brushed interior, SportDesign is the way to go.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...ned+suspension

 

I have a GS4 with some basic suspension mods. To really get a feel for your GS, try weaving in and out of NYC cabs on broadway or Park Ave in Manhattan. I will be doing this exact thing at around 1pm today

 

Mike, do you work for a dealer?

 

Another thing you need to look at is the trunk space. We didn't know how "small" the trunk is until we decided to take a 2-week vacation on our GS and we had a hell of time getting all the luggage in. Size wise it is decent but the problem is the raised "step" 2/3 into the trunk thus making storage difficult. After spending an hour trying to squeeze everything in, we finally gave up and took our old ES300 instead since the trunk was flat and we got all our stuff in with room to spare. If you have no plans to take it out on the road on any extended trip with your family, you have no problem. Since you will have the car for the whole weekend, suggest you load up the trunk like you normally would with your other car as if you were going on a extended vacation. The GS is a fine automobile but it is not perfect. One gripe I have is the hand brake release lever which sticks out like a sore thumb and my knee has banged into it a number of times. It also blocks the trunk release latch below which forces you to scoot down to find that thing. My wife hates it since she's spoiled by her ES where everything is well within easy reach. This is just my opinion. Have fun this weekend!