hi everyone, I am from the UK and have just recently bought a 2002 GS430 , black with black leather - what a car. I must say that I have been reading your website for sometime and you helped me make my decision to get a lexus.
There is one thing I hope someone can explain to me about Lexus' claimed performance figures of 6.3secs 0-60mph, we only get 280hp over here as opposed to your 300 hp(why?) . I have timed the car 0 -60 mph and with air-con off power mode on and flooring the throttle from a standing start ( in D) 3 times the best I could acheive was 7secs. I dont know if it makes a difference but I had a full tank of fuel and a passenger, we both weigh about 190lbs.
Not too quick is it? Is there something wrong with the car or do Lexus use a special launch technique to get 6.3 secs.Its not too important but it would be nice to know that the car can do what it says in the brochure- otherwise Lexus should not quote these figures. I know for example that on manual cars testers always do a racing start by dropping the clutch with high revs to match the quoted figures.In my opinion if a manufacturer quotes a 0-60 time then that should be acheivable by just flooring the throttle from a standing start like I have tried, if not then they should explain how their figures are obtained, but they never do, not in the UK anyway.

Hope someone has the answer, look forward to hearing from you.

EddieB.

 

Brake torquing is used by the magazine driver to produce the best launches and acceleration. They also tried various shift points to maximize performance. Professional drivers test car for a living and also have the resources (test track, time, cars...). The stats produced by the magazines and manufactures give us an idea how is a GS4 compared against other models.

 

thanks for responding to my question, could you tell me at what revs I should attempt to brake torque and secondly do you know at what revs the transmission locks up from a standing start and does it then stay locked up or does it still slip whilst driving.

Thanks.

 

Turn off VSC also. Get rid of the passenger and half the tank of gas too. Weight matters big time.

 

Edward,

Weight is always an issue when trying to maximize performance. Technique is also important. You should try to improve both conditions.

The stock US spec car weighs 3715 pounds and has a 19.8 gallon fuel tank.
http://www.lexus.com/cpo/model_detail/gs/430/2003.html
Gasoline weighs around 6 pounds per gallon making a full tank weigh about 120 pounds. Two 190 pound passengers weigh 380 bringing the total to 500 pounds additional mass without considering other junk in the car. Drop the fuel to 1/4 tank and test by yourself and the car will be 280 pounds lighter... this is substantial.

Launch wise you want to load the engine against the brake to about 2000rpm and then roll into the gas. Make sure you have the VSC off. This takes practice to avoid severe wheelspin which will slow you way down.

Other considerations include fuel quality. The car will run on almost any available fuel but the higher octane is necessary for maximum performance.

Conditions and technique. Your car should have no problem running a low 6 second 0-60.

As far as the rating difference??? Sounds like the UK gets Japanese spec cars. I do not know if it is accurate or mearly marketing. US spec GS430s are rated at 5.8 seconds 0-60 and definitely can do it if driven correctly with the above considerations.

The tranny is not what locks up it is the torque converter. This happens after initial acceleration and is dependent on the rate of acceleration. Under cruise conditions it is locked and there is no appreciable slippage.

Cheers

 

Thanks bitkahuna and a special thank you to you Jbrady for your really helpfull and informative reply.
Jbrady you have the muffler delete mod and the high flow airbox mod on your LS400, are details of these available in this section,and if so could you point me in the right direction as to where to look.
Do these mods increase the noise levels very much from inside the car?, and how much do they knock off the 0-60, and 1/4 mile times. As to the question of the 280 hp for the uk cars, I will have to have the car dynoed to find out, maybe it is a marketing ploy, however as a comparison the UK BMW 540i only has 286 hp( quoted). whereas I think the USA 540i has nearer 300 like the GS.

Look forward to hearing from you.

 

The figures represent the best that the car can do. They are only helpful in comparing different cars' performance potential and they're not indicative of what you will get on the street. This applies to any car, not just GS. If you test with flooring the accelerator, you get a realistic figure, but not the best one you could get (by using brake torqueing, or clutch drop techniques).

Trying to replicate the posted figures may or may not be realistic and is not that simple: you have to consider weight (other posts have already covered that), altitude where you test, temperature, road texture, wind, particular car, etc. It is difficult to compare apples to apples, since there are many variables that cannot be kept constant.

The stock torque converter (flash) stall speed is 1800 rpm I believe.

Keep in mind that what's good for low 0-60 times is not necessarily good for your car (brake torqueing the car heats up the ATF fluid and will kill your transmission if you overdo it, so tread lightly and let the car cool down between runs by driving normally). The pro's that test the cars have another car to drive home, so they don't baby them.