Lexus GS400 - Oh Joy!

Last updated: December 21, 2004

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Recent picture of my car

ORIGINAL SPECIFICATIONS

MODIFICATIONS

            *** CLICK ON SMALL PICTURES TO SEE LARGER ONES! ***

HANDLING

Tein Flex coilovers and EDFC

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Lexus L-Tuned upgraded steering ECU

TRD (Toyota Racing Development) replacement stiffer sway bars


Stock


TRD

RMM front strut tower brace

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TRD front replacement lower chassis brace



TRD


Stock

Tom's rear strut tower brace

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Tom's rear lower chassis brace

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HRE 540R 19" staggered wheels (8.5" wide +38 offset front, 10" wide +42 offset rear)
With Dunlop SP9000 tires (245/40 front, 275/35 back)

StopTech 14" rotor front brake package with 4 piston calipers and steel brake lines (CD in the picture to show the size!)
PERFORMANCE

Lexus L-Tuned replacement exhaust mufflers/tips

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L-Tuned
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L-Tuned

Precision Industries 2800rpm "Dragon" torque converter

B&M Racing transmission cooler

 
Supra Torsen replacement differential with 3.76 gear
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TRD oil cap, Tom's radiator cap

COSMETIC
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2001+ guage cluster guagecluster.jpg (46907 bytes)

L-Tuned grill

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Momo shift knob

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Replaced parking and side marker bulbs with whiter Polarg M6 and M4 bulbs (buy from www.autodynamic.com)

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New vs. Old
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New parking
and side

Brown Bread sound deadening (pics of install)

32% FormulaOne window tint

 

I ordered all my L-Tuned and TRD parts from Steve Ganz from www.l-tunedparts.com.  Steve is a pleasure to work with and offers excellent prices.  Lots of great info from Lexus car enthusiasts at http://www.clublexus.com.

MOD HISTORY

December 2004 - Installed Tom's 6 piece rear bracing kit (awesome).  Installed rear Brembo stock sized drilled rotors, steel lines and Axxis MetalMaster pads.  Replaced front SQUEAKY AND VERY DUSTY Axxis Ultimate pads with MetalMasters.

March 2004 - Installed RMM strut bar (which works with Tein Flex and EDFC), newer style OEM GS tail lights, guage cluster surround and wood faced ashtray.

February 2004 - Had Tein Flex coilovers and EDFC (electronic damping force controllers) installed.  Also had Apexi SAFC-II air flow computer installed to help engine match fuel response to changed air flow due to different intake and exhaust.  Spent a ton of time getting the display/control unit to fit in the stock ashtray and have it still close.  Had to sell the TRD strut bar (doesn't fit with the EDFC).

December 2003 - Replaced Rod Millen Motorsport (RMM) grille with L-Tuned factory painted millenium silver grille.  Great fit.

October 2003 - Had Supra Torsen differential with 3.76 gear installed.  No more VSC kicking in to spoil the fun when trying to put the power down.  Also had monster StopTech "Big Brake" package (fronts) installed with 14" rotors and 4 piston calipers and steel lines.  Car now goes and stops even more authoritatively!

April 2003 - Replaced WEDS wheels with 19" 3-piece HRE 540R's.  WOW.

March 2003 - Installed K&N (FIPK2) Intake kit.

January 2003 - Installed replacement brighter Polarg M6 parking wedge and Polarg M4 side marker bulbs.

December 2002 - Had a Precision Industries 2800rpm "Dragon" torque converter installed.  GREAT mod.  Power comes on MUCH more readily, transmission downshifts more easily and smoothly - the car is just quicker.

October 2002 - Installed Rod Millen Motorsports (RMM) front grille.

September 2002 - Installed B-Quiet sound deadening material to lessen exhaust 'drone' at part throttle around 2000rpm (other than that I LOVE the sound of the L-Tuned exhaust).

August 2002 - Installed clear side markers (get them on eBay).

September 2001 - Installed Tom's rear strut bar.  

March 2001 - Had L-Tuned replacement exhaust mufflers/tips installed.  (See before and after pictures above.)  Car's V8 makes a nice low WOOF when starting now!!  And a great low sound when accelerating.  Plus, it just looks WAY better than the stock setup because the much larger chromed pipes fill the rear opening so much better.  See the pictures above!

February 2001 - Installed TRD (Toyota Racing Development) replacement front/rear sway bars and lower front chassis brace.  Car corners like it's on rails now.  See pictures above comparing stock and TRD parts.

January 2001 - Installed WEDS Farmas DP-V11 18" wheels with Nitto 555 Extreme tires.  Installed 235/40s on 8.5" wide front rims, and 265/35s on 9.5" wide rear rims.  I later switched to 245/40's on the front and 275/35's on the back (they looked better).

November 2000 - Installed L-Tuned (Eibach) springs, (KYB) shocks, recalibrated (faster ratio) steering electronic control unit (ECU) and a TRD (Toyota Racing Development) front strut tower brace.  Huge improvement in handling with no loss of ride comfort.  The main improvement with the upgrade is much quicker rebound after going over bumps or dips (no more wallowing and floaty feeling).

EARLY MEETS

April 2001 Meet - Met local Lexus enthusiasts again!  Some great pictures.

February 4, 2001 Meet - Met a bunch of local GS enthusiasts to compare notes!

January 2001 Meet - Met another local GS400 enthusiast to compare notes.

Many other meet pictures can be found on www.seloc.net in the gallery.

Send me e-mail if you to discuss Lexus cars!

BACKGROUND

In late 1999 we purchased a 2000 year Lexus GS400 from Butler Lexus in Macon, Georgia.  Our salesperson, Renardo Pitts, from Butler Lexus, was professional and eager to find what we wanted, and he did, quickly, and offered a reasonable deal on the car.  There were no surprises in the transaction and the car was delivered in perfect condition.

CLICK ON PICTURES TO SEE LARGE VERSIONS


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More about the GS...

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