rl9010

Hello Club Lexus!

Long time member but I never posted a build thread. I believe I have posted a lot of good content so I will archive everything here.
Mods started with lights. All bulbs have been replaced by aftermarket. Mostly Carmate brand leds and PIAA led fog lamps in 3000k.
Next came springs and sway bars, this modification alone should satisfy most people as it eliminated the float that the stock suspension creates. The springs eliminated the float, and the sway bars contribute to less body yaw.
I wanted a bit more turn in control and stability so I started looking at and installed Tom's braces. All the Tom's braces available have been installed. The braces have contributed to tightening up the feel of the car. The car now feels like a solid car and the improvement was felt immediately after install.
For more engine sound I have installed a 4th gen gs f-sport intake tube with sound creator. This creates a nice gurgle sound from the engine above 4500rpm. This simply compliments the sound that the exhaust produces. (tanabe touring medalion)
Overall I love the way my car has evolved. I never thought I would enjoy the CVT transmission as much as I have. I believe there are still some items that I want to do but just don't know what they are. I am thinking bushing replacement is on the horizon. Small touches here and there, like oem mudguards, finish off the look. Ok enough chit chat I'll start by listing threads!

Not the thread starter, but you will get to see the hid bulbs I am using. Carmate giga hid 6000k dualx. A cool looking hid bulb with glass housing.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-...hid-bulbs.html

LED front turn signals to eliminate "yolk"
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-...gnal-lamp.html

GS450h rated Tanabe NF210 springs
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sus...installed.html

Tanabe touring medalion on GS450h
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/hyb...car-video.html

Toms front suspension member brace and strut tower brace
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sus...ed-gs450h.html

Tom's rear member brace and lower body brace are installed but no thread. Currently running into an issue with one of the braces fitting. Since I have fsport sway bars the bushing bracket is different and causing fitment issues. I will be modifying the bushing bracket to create the clearance I need. The braces have contributed to a tighter turn in and overall body stability have improved. It has gotten rid of the "slop" that the car has in stock form. (Update) Instead of modifying parts I have installed the stock sway bar as it was designed to fit with the rear member brace.

ADDED!= Seibon Carbon fiber trunk half piece. Rest of trunk is for sale!

Potential final look with wheels that are ordered, but have not arrived yet (now on car!). Photo altered with my sick ms paint skills! Rays racing G27 in 18x8.5 et45. I am going for the daily driver setup and look. We don't all have to be slammed! Thanks for looking!

rl9010

Now with new wheels and tires! Rays Engineering Volk Racing G27 18x8.5 et 45. ie stock specs. 19.4 pounds per wheel! 44lbs with tires! Rays g27 Dark Prism Silver
Compare vs the paint version!
That center lock look...

rl9010

Updated with video review by Auto Obsessive Garage.

rryba

Wow what a clean build! I do not see a lot of hybrids there so really keep it going! Do you have any exhaust sound clips ?

Lwerewolf

That shift-up at ~120kph is slow. For how long was the car driven prior to this? Repeated launches tend to yield way faster shifts in my case. At any rate, might've affected 1/4 mile.

Resetting the memory of the transmission (techstream -> hybrid control -> utilities -> reset memory, manual states that oil should be between 30-40 deg. celsius) does help in my case, my only guesses are that 1) the car is stuck in "lazy shift" mode due to everyday normal driving and/or 2) the transmission is worn and the ECU detects/compensates as it runs. Running Amsoil FE ATF didn't help much with that, if you're wondering

- the shift here sounds about right.

With regards to the car's racing ability...
- Macau GP
- this guy has several more clips of him on the track with the gsh on the channel.

That's all I've found, the rest is acceleration videos only

rryba

great finds, I search for while any video from a track day with gsh but it's pretty hard to find. Thanks for posting this!

rl9010

Here are some exhaust videos that I took.



Lwerewolf, Yes you are right the transition from stage one to two did seem a little elongated. Must be due to normal driving. I have been able to get the change over a little quicker just by driving the car more aggressively. Honestly we only did 2 runs for acceleration. Down and back... I didn't charge up the battery to full as I thought a real world test wouldn't have any car prep. I am sure the time can come down a tad with some preparation.

Search youtube for Lexus targa gs450h. I decided to purchase the car after watching some of those clips.

Lwerewolf

Oh, the targa clips as well, too. There's also a best motoring episode featuring the 450h vs the 4.5l fuga sport & gs430... with the 450h on turanzas

I experimented a bit, and the shifts do become noticeably faster once the fluid goes above 70deg. celsius, which doesn't really happen during normal driving in 15 degrees ambient. Several consecutive 50-140kph accelerations did the trick, but that's a bit beyond real world

If I floor it without ehhh "prepping" the fluid in any way, even after an hour of driving, the shift speed is like the one you posted.

AlexDev

Much love to RL9010 for this build.. 1-month old owner of my 09, purchased with 60k miles.

I got my Tanabe NF210 (GWS191NK) arriving in 4 days, installed in 5.. will definitely have pics up within a week I'm looking to get on your 'perfect daily' GSh level, will most likely rock stock wheels for now but powder coat them F-Sport gray if not darker. What's your thought on spacers bud?

But for now she's a beautiful stock:

rl9010

Awesome car! I am not a spacer fan. Either get wheels with the proper specs, or rock stock.

Lwerewolf

What's wrong with the stock wheels? ...other than the impossible to remove "chrome" trim which is the reason why I haven't refinished them yet... :S

I was looking into getting NF210s as well, but I really need the ride height where I live (high kerbs that the door barely clears + other things... ah well).

Off-topic: tell us about that black xe10 over there

@rl9010 - did you notice any ride improvements when you swapped the wheels for the forged volks? Weight measurements (stock), etc? I'm wondering whether to eventually go for forged 17x8.5 (yes 17, beefy tires are good for a daily IMO + 17 clears the oem brakes), looking at options at the moment. TE37s might be a bit vulgar on this car, but I already have IS-F subframe bushings + poly everywhere else on the back... surprisingly not harsh at all, which I guess is due to the meaty rubber at the subframe

natnut

Hi!
Your video on Youtube inspired me to start modifying my own 3rd Gen 2009 GS450h.
As you are far more experienced in modifying your 450h, I hope you could advise me on a nagging question I have.
Lexus has an official F-Sport aftermarket strut/shocks for the 3rd Gen GS350 and GS460, apparently made by Bilstein but it's not listed as fitting the same generation GS450h.

Have you ever considered fitting the F-Sport shocks for your car and were there mechanical/practical reasons that made it impossible? I was considering importing the F-Sport shocks from lexuspartsnow but don't want to waste my money/time if they truly don't fit the GS450h.

Your advice and input would be greatly appreciated.

AlexDev

I actually really do like the stock wheels, they're unique to our GSh's and have a nice pattern to them... just with my light silver body i'd LOVE to darken them with powder coat to more of an F-Sport gray color to contrast nicely. I just also wonder how those plastic trimmings would fair in that whole process?

Haha and you've got a good set of eyes that right there is my former beloved 04 manual transmission IS300.. Owned her since 2013/14ish, bought w 96k miles, and recently sold her a month ago with 172k on the clock. Forever will have a special place in my heart... But totally loving my new GS!! Can't beat 25/26 mpg with 340hp!!

rl9010

First off...So sorry for the late response. I must of missed the directed question. Ride improvement....the steering seems a little lighter, and i guess overall the car does fell a little more nimble. 17's are an interesting choice! 17's with some super fat sidewalls should be awesome as a daily. Weight wise, I am saving 5lbs per wheel if I remember correctly. It hasn't affected my mpgs as I thought it might. Good to hear bushings aren't that harsh...next on the list.

Lwerewolf

Well, everything is subjective... I've asked some people that ride regularly specifically about harshness and haven't received any negative comments. I do think there was some increase for the first 50 or 100km but my guess is that it was just break-in - hopefully not just a readjustment of my expectations. The work took a full day and a half though (~12 hours with all the disassembly/pressing/assembly), and there's a high likelihood that you won't be able to reuse the stock bushings afterwards... and I haven't seen quality aftermarket rubber for these parts. OEM replacements are costly, especially the alloy knuckles... so it's a bit of a blind risk, unfortunately.

EDIT:
A bit about my reasoning:
1)
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-f-2008-2014/919881-lexus-isf-ccsp-on-best-motoring.html
...comments on the ride quality
2)
https://www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/track-tests/2011-lexus-is-f-suspension-walkaround.html
"Many of the rubber bushings contained within the end links we see here (and later down below) have been re-tuned for 2011 to make them stiffer laterally for precise wheel control but softer torsionally so the members move freely and don't bind so much to reduce harshness."
...which as far as I know is pretty much what polyurethane does, maybe to a lesser extent as you still have the rubber "spring" effect
3)
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/suspension-and-brakes/916581-this-forum-is-a-bit-slow-i-m-gonna-show-off-my-new-toys.html
post #5... let's see if the quote will link to it
At any rate, not sure if the IS-F subframe bushings are adequate for the heavyweight GS, but from what I've researched the 3GS appears to share subframe bushings across all models (whether it's a 300 or 450h or 460 or whatever), and the IS subframe bushings were upgraded post-2010? (don't quote me on it) to match the IS-F with the whole range - there was something about late model 2IS's receiving praise for their handling improvements, and the part numbers matched.

Hope it helps. I'd do the maximum amount of research before doing anything on the car FYI, I used strongflex red (where available) and yellow (where they were the only option) bushings, FIGS/Superpro should be way easier to get in the states so I'd go down that route. Haven't found good hardened rubber replacements - hardrace sells complete arms for the rear only, and the knuckle bushings still remain. The spherical bushing on the knuckle and the ball joints on the control arms are still a pain.