Hi all- I'm sure this answer is posted in a lot of different places but I thought I'd ask anyway. My new GS430 seems to be so slow to downshift, even in Power mode. At my first service, my loaner IS300 was so responsive to throttle pressure (downshifting) I was wishing my GS was more like it. Easy mod? Of course, when I get on it, it goes like hell!

 

Heh, a snappy ES300 is still slow as hell compared to the GS4 All kidding aside, power mode will not help your downshifts at all; all power mode does is hold you in gears a little longer when accelerating before upshifting. It looks like you are interested in an aftermarket Torque Converter. Precision Industries Dragon 2800 rpm stall seems to be the most popular...price is around $900 + install. Not cheap, but almost everyone here agrees that this is the single best go-fast mod you can buy for our vehicles. Response is more or less instantaneous, and downshifts are much crisper and quicker. In fact, members have reported 1/4 mile times of .5-.7 tenths quicker after the TC install...that's some serious improvement! Oh, and congrats on the new car; enjoy it! Good luck.

 

Thanks, chief! Anyone else?

 

I'll let you know tomorrow.

On another note, you might consider resetting your ECU and letting it learn a more 'lead foot' style of driving. Just pull a fuse for a few minutes (under hood, marked ECU in the box lid) and reinstall.