Hello 3gs owners! Im not new to the cl forums but Im new to the 3gs. Ive owned 2 2gs's, a '98 gs400 and a '01 gs430.

Anyways, Im finally starting to shop seriously for my new car.

I was looking for a 530i for a while just to experience something different but decided I would probably regret sacraficing the reliability of a lexus for a little more sportiness. Plus the 3gs is so beautiful!

Its most likely going to be a '06 gs300 instead of a 430, which I have now, just to save some $ on gas.

Any advice related to shopping for a 3gs would be greatly appreciated!

I have a couple questions off the top of my head:

Do I want awd or not?
From what Ive read it sounds like no especially bc I plan on doing some modding.

What options are the most usefull and which arent really necessary?

What issues should I be looking out for when shopping for a used 3gs?

What are the most common issues people have had with the '06 models?

What are the most agressive 20" wheel offsets I can run, if I go a couple inches lower, without rubbing?

Will my tires wear evenly if I go lower with larger wheels? Do they make a camber kit for the '06 model?

Is there an i-pod hookup on the 3gs?

What range gas mileage are people experiencing with the 300's?

Are there any benefits to having the 430 versus the 300 other than more hp/torque?

Anything else important that I should know?

Thanks everyone!

 

Also what are people's opinions on coilovers vs springs with the 3gs's?

For coils:

Megan racing?
Tein ss?
Tein cs?
(probably too expensive enless I can find something cheap in the classifieds here on cl)

For springs:

H&R?
Tein s-techs? (ran them on my '01 gs430)
Tanabe nf210? (or whatever the lower ones are)

Thanks!

 

Do I want awd or not?
- up to you, id go with rwd

What options are the most usefull and which arent really necessary?
-cant help you here, i like my cars fully loaded eventhough i rarely use the navi. it depends on what you like and what you would use. its pretty much standard to have a navi. parking sensors and ML system, thats up to you.

What issues should I be looking out for when shopping for a used 3gs?
-make sure its not a buy back or salvaged title.

What are the most common issues people have had with the '06 models?
-the infamous dash tapping sound. can be fixed but may require more than one dealer visit.

What are the most agressive 20" wheel offsets I can run, if I go a couple inches lower, without rubbing?
-i have no specs.

Will my tires wear evenly if I go lower with larger wheels? Do they make a camber kit for the '06 model?
- no camber kit and it is not adjustable. you will have camer wear.

Is there an i-pod hookup on the 3gs?
-not in the 06

What range gas mileage are people experiencing with the 300's?
-i dont know.

Are there any benefits to having the 430 versus the 300 other than more hp/torque?
-the 430, i believe come loaded with everything and even some options that are not avail to the 300 like, sport suspension button.

Anything else important that I should know?
-buy it once and be happy with what you bought. there is always going to be someone with a bigger badder car.

 

Megan racing
- never had them

Tein ss
- never had them on the 3gs but the 2gs. no complaint, took out much of the roll the 2gs has. btw, mine were the HA

Tein cs
- had them on the 2gs. rides much softer than the HA.

For springs:

H&R
Tein s-techs
Tanabe nf210

- i dont do springs because its a hassle to sell them if you want to go lower or higher. coils are the way to go. you can adjust your ride height and the ride quality. just make sure you get some coils that can be rebuilt in the states. i never had to rebuild them but it would be a pain in the tush to send them back to japan or taiwan to have them rebuilt. i believe that HKS, JIC, TANABE and TEIN can be rebuilt in the US.

 

Id just get the GS430. It shouldnt be a big difference in gas based on what people say

 

ilovegirl already replied most, i will just throw out some answers

1) i don't know the climate in NC very well, i think it lightly snows maybe 1-2 days a yr? i would go with rwd

2) ML and NAV are must have for me, the backup camera and parking sensors are nice. Other stuff are really personal you should explore yourself

3) look for rattles, mostly on the dash. covered under warranty but still.

4) rattle is the most common problems from what i read

5) offsets go with widths, and it has a lot to do with what yo uare willing to do with fenders. there are a lot of threads on this you can search on

6) no camber kits, and even worse, no camber adjustment on this car. and if you lower, of course you get more negative camber and more tire wear. gotta pay to play

7) not on the 06/07. 08 they have aux input, still very generic. you can get vaistech or lexus ipod kits, both connect to ipod directly.

8) i think people aer getting high 20s?

9) seriously? if you are driving 430 now, i don't know if 300 will be too slow for you. imho, both cars won't be my choice, i would look for gs350. it's good power, good gas mileage, better value in my eyes

 

what is megan? mugen i heard it before, but they are more on honda from what i heard? tein ss, i had the tein ha that it replaced on my 98 gs400. way too stiff for me. got the tein cs, much much better lexus ride. i have tein cs on my gs350 now, love it. can't complain

i have no idea on springs since i don't consider them at all. probably some other members can chime in

 

yeah Im definitely thinking coilovers this time around. Ive always done springs/shock/struts but the adjustment of the coils and easy install seems worth it

youve never heard of megan racing? Here check it out:
http://www.meganracing.com/products/...=845&catid=125

I figured the tein cs was the way to go since they cost way more. hence the saying, you get what you pay for

Can someone please fill me in on what wheels offsets for a staggered set of 20x8.5 and 20x10 will fit most flush on the 3gs? (yes Ive searched)

and just to clarify a couple things...

there is a lexus i-pod adapter kit for the '06 model

there is no camber adjustment so uneven tire wear is unavoidable

many 3gs's have a dash rattle issue (has nobody figured out how to fix this yet?)

the 430s come fully loaded with all options

the 430's have sport suspension (and the 18' wheels obviously)

the 430's gas mileage isnt much worse than the 300's

Are these statements correct?

Thanks for the replies everyone!

PS. Whe did cl.com become so slow? My comp is super fast on every other website, even other car forums, but cl is sloooooww.

 

- not all 430 comes fully loaded. they have some options (like avs) that the 300 couldn't have

- 430 doesn't have sport suspension, it just usually come with avs which allows you to choose it to be sport

- i had 98 gs400 and 05 sc430. granted the 06 gs430 might be a bit better on gas mileage (coz' of 6 speed), but overall the gas mileage is nowhere close to even my gs350 now