DrRick

am i the only who thinks that maybe i shouldve bought a 300 and with the extra cash saved, invested in a stage II or III turbo from SRT. of course, when i bought the car, all the goodies werent available. i mean lets be real, the only difference is the engine and the wheels (sometimes). although, there is nothing like the sweet rumble of a V8 when it roars, i think that i could get used to a turbo whine and a nice BOV. the mods would all be the same as far as sways, stb's, etc. i think whats got me jones'n is reading all of lexlyf's exploits with his new toy. i promise if i were in the market tomorrow, it would be the not-so-baby-anymore GS for me. your thoughts........


Doc

Murph

I had a 98 GS300 and was not happy with the performance at the time. I also was unware of all the goodies to solve that issue then. If I had known about CL then...Hmmmm... Not sure, but you pose an interesting question of possible different futures.

I do love my GS400 though. Absolutly no regrets with it except for the ever contagious "mod bug".

Murph

mooretorque

For a lot of practical reasons, I'd keep my V8. And if I could do the impractical things, I'd still keep the V8 and make 400hp!

VVT-i

Good thread Dr.Rick. I think most of the people that buy 300 because they want GS300, not to soup it up, but to cruising around and daily driving. Only few people that buy GS 300 and already has plan for the turbo, suspension..etc.
This is very interesting question. The money you can save for the GS4 vs the money you have to put in the mods for the GS300...ummm.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

I hate turbo lag - love low end torque. No way I'd want the GS300.

lex400sc

If you're serious about power for the V8, bore, stroke, port, polish, then tune your engine ecu and you'll have a monster that emasculates detroit muscle. VVTi does make it harder, but it's still very doable. The best part is you're still 100% naturally aspirated, which means two things: kills on turbo/blown cars mean that much more, and you still have plenty of room for power upgrades. Lastly, forgive my ignorance, but why an SRT turbo and not a Toyomoto?

///MDex

..because all the money I would have saved by getting a 3, would not have covered the engine / FI upgrade, AND, I'd STILL have to get EVERYTHING ELSE on top of THAT.

A few bolt-ons for the 4 allows the little extra umph I like, plus the 99% reliability we can all count on from Lexus, plus the rumble, plus the driveability, plus etc. etc.. I love my 4.

And, what Bit and lex400sc said too.

All the while, not denying that a pressurized GS3 isn't fast.

LS4fun

GS300...poor man's lexus...

400 all the way! I actually had two 400's about two weeks ago....one still MIA.. ...God I miss that car so much...

Kooly

Poor man's Lexus?! dem's fightin words!

DrRick

dex, i said that we could still get all of the aesthetic/handling performance in the 3 that we do in the 4. and think about it, 300 go for about 3 or 4 grand less than the 400. add the price of the HFI/ECU (600) and youre 400 bucks plus labor away from 350 to the ground. how much would it cost to get that in the 400?


i agree, but it isnt like the old days when you could do all that strokin and just adjust the carb jets. these engines are way too sophisticated. which is prolly the reason that not too many people (i dont know of any) have done it.

and so do i. but i was just wondering if anyone else felt like the 3 is now a helluva bang for the buck.


Doc

Toog4me

If anything, the IS300 is the poor mans lex... interesting comment though.

If i would have known about a turbocharger for the car, i prolly still would have gotten the 430 cuz it was super cheap.

Plus its pretty hard to find a fully loaded GS300 here in LA. With every option available and the right color combo, there are always strings. Plus I payed MSRP of a GS300 for a fully loaded GS430.

Jooleee

gs4run? cocky & arrogant much?

liazon

iTrader: (1)

it's like owning a vhs vcr when dvd technology is now available.
the gs300 turbo is a new thing, at least in a form that is cost effective.

my opinion, do it again as of today? the gs300 turbo is way more exciting....so much you can do with the machine, but, with much higher maintenance on a high output turbo engine, i'll stick w/ my gs400. it's made to do what it does.

you don't turn a vhs into a dvd.

you buy a dvd.

either that, or you buy a supra.

DrRick

and bit, if you look at it, at around 3500 to 4000 (where we make max tq) the stage III still has more tq than we do. and continues to make steam. so yes there is some lag, but i would say that its relative......

mcgong

You 400 people make me sad. Wish I had a 400.....guess there is always Turbo