I recently purchased a 2000 GS400 and the handling on mountain roads leaves a lot to be desired. I recently drove 700 miles in Montana and the rear end always felt as if it was about to break loose. At 85 MPH on a twisting road shouldn't be a problem. I have driven these same roads with MB, BMW, Audi and a GS300 and always felt secure, but I was "puckered" for most of this trip. Is this normal for the GS400, or could something be wrong with this paticular car's suspension? I spoke with the previous owner and he felt there was a problen with the handling also. Is there an adjustment that can be made by the dealer? Thanks in advance.

 

I would think that the previous owner would have already done this, but you never know: check tire pressures first, since it's simplest. Inspect tires for unusual wear patterns but regardless, have 4 wheel alignment performed. If still squirrely, I'd have to suspect that you've got some suspension components moving under cornering loads, which (even if car can be aligned), should be apparent to close inspection.

If nothing still found, have someone from your dealership ride with you, find a section of curves that produce unnerving behavior and then have them drive it. Preferably with another GS there also for back to back comparison.

One last thought just occured; maybe belt seperation in one of the rear tires?

Others here who are far wiser will no doubt have more suggestions. Good luck!!! And perservere......a stock GS is not a 540i, but it ain't a banana boat, either.

 

on the '99 gs4 I was very unhappy with handling until I went to 17' rims and hi-pro tires. That was first help, L-tuned shks and springs plus TRD sways helped some more. Still not in 540 class but not bad now.

If I had it to do over again would probably buy the BMW for handling, but I bought the Lex for reliability. A little sorry, the HP is good but this is not a high speed road car for two lane highways. I can run 90 on an interstate in a VW or Saturn, but I personally want to take turns that are marked 35mph at 65 or 75. Hey, YMMV.

 

bobma2c - the stock handling setup, especially with the 16" wheels, in my opinion, borders on unsafe for the GS400 since there's so much power available. It's too floaty, with too much suspension travel, and with the 16's there's big tirewall flex also. This may be ok for the less powerful GS300, but it's just plain wrong for the 400/430.

To improve things, you can do the following:

16's -> 17's (or bigger) : big help
L-Tuned or other performance springs/shocks (or firmer coilovers) : huge help
L-Tuned steering ECU : (cheap, no brainer) makes the steering feel tighter
TRD sway bars (with caveats I've pointed out in my other thread) : makes the car corner a lot flatter
Strut braces (front and rear) : tighten the chassis further to eliminate flex

paul1234 may not agree, but if you do the above (without rims), which is about $2K plus installation, you'll out handle a 540i w/ sport package (which I've driven 2 of).

 

From: bitkahuna 11/24/01
To improve things, you can do the following:

16's -> 17's (or bigger) : big help
L-Tuned or other performance springs/shocks (or firmer coilovers) : huge help
L-Tuned steering ECU : (cheap, no brainer) makes the steering feel tighter
TRD sway bars (with caveats I've pointed out in my other thread) : makes the car corner a lot flatter
Strut braces (front and rear) : tighten the chassis further to eliminate flex


Thanks for the info, I will check into soultions. I have had this problem with both my summer 17" rims and winter 16" rims. I'm planning on going to 18" rims (SSR GT3) next spring.

 

The GS400 is not as balanced as the straight six GS300 (my previous car). If I take my spear tire out and have my gas tank close to empty I feel like the rear end is going to kick out. One of the best performance mod I did to prevent this was to get a set of Bridgestone Potenza RE030 Size: 235/45-17. It makes great improvements in cornering and we still retain our light 17 inch rim for racing.

Mark

 

The Stock GS Rear is a bit squirrely. I might add that adding the 6 piece Tom's kit for the Rear plus the Rear STB will make the car handle the way you want to! Ask Manaray on the board regarding this setup - I am sure he will tell you about his adventures with this new setup...

Brent