skitzo

Well, my thoughts regarding it being an actual 'problem' - in that scenario, wouldn't I at least get some kind of failure light? I *know* those work, I had one not too long ago , sadly. From what i've seen, the car is pretty good at notifying you when it's had a diagnostic problem with ANY part...

After driving for about 1.5 hrs @ 95-100MPH (mostly via cruise control, lightly decelerating/accelerating with it as well)... I had proceeded to decelerate from about 100MPH to ~95 or so. The MOMENT i dropped below 99 the car threw itself into 4th gear out of the blue and STAYED there and refused to let go. I slowed down a bit, and sped back up a bit (still under 100), to no avail - engine was still obviously in 4th as it was 5000RPM++.

The car has e-shift so I figured I would give that a go, I stuck it in M, hit down twice - got it to indicate 4th (which it was already in), hit UP, it indicated 5th - but STILL didn't shift. repeated this several times. same thing.

Went back into auto-drive.. sped back up to 100, wham - back into 5th.

Tap the brakes...... BAM. 4th. Disabled cruise control, blah blah blah - still same thing. Finally I ended up stopping, shutting off.. turning back on. All better. I'm assuming (hoping) this is some kind of over-zealous function from the computer.

Is the car deciding I would like some heavy duty engine braking, more performance by sticking in 4th when it can (and DUMPING gas like no tomorrow..), or is it something I should have looked into?

Thanks!

The point is not to by a sports car.  Anyone can buy a sports car, but that's the easy way out.  It's what you can accomplish with what you have.  The GS has a lot of potential,  I'm working on getting a turbo myself.

Finally - SOMEONE who gets the point! Let me know how your endeavor goes.

Semi related question - I owned a 1998 GS300, which was rated 225HP. I believe the year after that is when they dropped it to 220. Anyone have any ideas what the reason for that was and where/why that 5HP was lost?

The 2JZ GE engine which is in the Non turbo toyota Supra, Lexus Gs300, SC300 and IS300 is very reliable and wear and tear will not be any affect at all. You can go to the supraforums where many people there had turbocharged nonturbo engine and had no problems at all.

Will have to further explore this avenue.. thanks!

The answer is really simple, but not one you probably want to hear.  You drive a lexus not a sports car.  If you want more performance, go buy a sports car.  That's why I have a GS300 and a Corvette.  One is for *plush* driving, one is for performance.

That is correct.. that's not what I wanted to hear. Anything can be accomplished.

If i wanted to I could simply sell the car and buy a 'Benz E55. I simply want to stick with my GS because i truly _love_ my car.

Turbo is the only way to go.  Get a nice size T04e with a conservative set-up a la f-max or toyomoto style.  Two auxillary injectors and better fuel pump.  Tuned for 300 or so plus easy - reliable horsepower on tap.  Good luck.

Oh yea - must definitely do the torque converter if nothing else.  Tranny cooler for extra measure = whole new slush box fun.

What kind of long term wear and tear/harm, etc does this do to the car? What other problems are likely to manifest?

Thanks!

I want to trade your GS for my Lancer Evolution VIII. :P

So, no comments on my question? ;)

it's simple....get the gs400/430  :) !  might be cheaper if you would just sell the 300 and get the gs4 series!!!

Well.. thats the thing - I like my car because it's the SportDesign trim, the GS itself is too 'plain' inside, so if I did sell mine, i'd probably move on .... :( (If lexus had a GS430 SportDesign, I would have gotten it..)

Hi,

Have some questions for you all. I've read through the forums already and have yet to see anyone come to an actual agreement/conclusion (but have learned a decent bit..) so hopefully I can gather a bit more information with this thread....

I have a 2002 GS300 SportDesign (Graphite/Black Int).. this is my second GS, i had a '98 before it. I love my car, but i'm really deciding the performance is lackluster. I'm at the point where i'm ready to sell the car (within the family!) and purchase something quicker, unless I can establish a proven/stable solution for some serious performance enhancement beforehand.

I know SRT offer both supercharger and turbo kits - has anyone had any good/bad experiences with these on the GS_300_, and what would you recommend? Is it worth the money, or should I start looking elsewhere if performance (and stability/longevity) are a concern? Simply put.. i'm not looking for something that I can take out to races every weekend, but I am looking for solution with a _lot_ more get-up-and-go for every day driving. This is where my real question regarding the supercharger/turbo comes in - eg, which would be better for this scenario, and to also LAST and be least likely to cause any damage mechanically?

Hopefully you guys can help, from what i've seen so far.. theres some pretty knowledgable people in here. ;)

If you need any further info.. let me know!

Thanks!