1999 GS300 Black/Black

Figured I'd make a journal here too.  Posted from my thread on Club Lexus:

Hello, all.  I just purchased a black on black 99 GS300.  My younger brother has the white GS.  I figured we'll continue sharing one handle to make things easier.  Car came with 20" Velocity wheels that have painted black accents.  I plan to get rid of them once the seller sends me the OEM wheels when he moves back to California.

This thread is probably going to be my e-Diary so I'll be updating it with pics, mods, and questions that I couldn't find answered in my searches.  My original car was totaled so I figured it's time to move on.

I plan to continue doing maintenance on it by summer's end before I do any upgrading. Exterior mods are planned to be minimal until I get it repainted along with having the fenders shaved/pulled for a nice deep dish wheel in the rear.  For now, my main focus is the interior and maintenance.  I don't plan to modify the engine for any gains since I'm intentionally leaving that behind in my old lifestyle.  I think of it as graduating that lifestyle and moving on.

[IMG]http://www.fotolode.com/images/TrillOne/sc05307.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://www.fotolode.com/images/TrillOne/sc05306.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://www.fotolode.com/images/TrillOne/sc05305.jpg[/IMG]

Wheels are Velocity VW166 20" x 7.5" wrapped in Hankooks 225/35 

Pic of old car:

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v35/swif1/My%20Whipz/FRightWheel.jpg[/IMG]

Coilovers and ball joints are the first [I]real[/I] modifications I plan on doing in the next few months.  If everything goes well, I'll cop a set of 19s as well.

Why a GS? I met someone who's now one of my good friends who owned a white 2GS.  He kept mods to a minimal but I still loved it.  He sold it a few months ago, unfortunately.  That bastard even had the Advan Sienna Gen-II wheels on it. Oh, well.

Enjoy.

[U][I][B]Interior:[/B][/I][/U][LIST]
[*]Giga Squash Air Spencer
[*]01+ Gauge cluster bezel, woodgrain shift knob, woodgrain ashtray
[*]Junction Produce black/black neckpads[/LIST][U][I][B]Exterior:[/B][/I][/U][LIST]
[*]DIY Chrome grill[/LIST][U][I][B]Engine/Exhaust:[/B][/I][/U]

[U][I][B]Wheels/Brakes/Suspension:[/B][/I][/U][LIST]
[*]Velocity VW166: 20 x 7.5 all around [[COLOR=Red][B]SOLD[/B][/COLOR]]
[*]Hankook Ventus V4ES 225/35/20 [[COLOR=Red][B]SOLD[/B][/COLOR]]
[*]Rolling on stockers now
[*]BC Racing: Type BR coilovers[/LIST][B][I][U]Maintenance:[/U][/I][/B][LIST]
[*]Brakes
[*]Windshield wipers
[*]Air & cabin filter
[*]Timing belt[/LIST][B][I][U]Closet Mods:[/U][/I][/B][LIST]
[*]Exact camber kit for front and rear
[*]Balljoints[/LIST][U][I][B][SIZE=6][COLOR=Red]Updates:[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B][/I][/U]

Welcome to VSC!:biggthumpup:

I chromed my grill using:

[img]http://www.fotolode.com/images/TrillOne/sc05321.jpg[/img]

I strongly recommend you simply spraying the grill chrome.  Doing so greatly reduces time spent:

[img]http://www.fotolode.com/images/TrillOne/sc05320.jpg[/img]

I poured the contents from the varnish remover bottle into the oil catch can thing.  Wear a pair of latex gloves (double wrap, if you want) and apply a generous amount of the gel onto the grill. Let it sit there for a while too.  I highly recommend wearing protective eyewear when using these chemicals.  I got the stuff from Wal-Mart.

[img]http://www.fotolode.com/images/TrillOne/sc05319.jpg[/img]

[img]http://www.fotolode.com/images/TrillOne/sc05317.jpg[/img]

After two hours, I got real lazy as you can see.

[IMG]http://www.fotolode.com/images/TrillOne/sc05322.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://www.fotolode.com/images/TrillOne/sc05323.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://www.fotolode.com/images/TrillOne/sc05351.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://www.fotolode.com/images/TrillOne/sc05352.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://www.fotolode.com/images/TrillOne/sc05350.jpg[/IMG]

Got a camber kit for both the front and rear from Exact.  Here are the threads in regards to their product: 

[URL]http://clublexus.com/forums/showthread.php?t=373673[/URL]

[URL]http://clublexus.com/forums/showthread.php?t=367657[/URL]

Got them in the mail a day earlier than expected via FedEx Ground.  

Here are pics of what they look like so you can get a better perspective on how large they are: 

[IMG]http://www.fotolode.com/images/TrillOne/sc05389copy.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://www.fotolode.com/images/TrillOne/sc05387.jpg[/IMG]

Here's what the front camber kit looks like with a (hand) size comparison:

[IMG]http://www.fotolode.com/images/TrillOne/sc05386.jpg[/IMG]

Thanks. :)

Coilovers is currently clunking on certain bumps, but that's because I adjusted them incorrectly.  I plan to correct this problem when I get the chance to replace my balljoints.   If anyone is wondering, they are made in Taiwan.  

[URL]http://www.bcracing-na.com/[/URL]

I have a few stuff on the way.  After that, I'm done for the next few months.  I've been thinking about removing the old tint and then re-tint sometime in February before it gets smoldering hot here.

Congrats on the improvments! Looks good but, you may need some spacers unless your picking up new wheels..just a thought..

Welcome to VSC ...  new wheels time ! ahha

Nice pick up and you're off to a great start.

What's next on your mod list?

Thanks everyone!

JP curtains and neckpads are on the way.  ;-)  After that, who knows?  I need to pay bills hehe

As for wheels, I'm holding off on that until I can find a set of wheels that have a satisfactory offset without using spacers.  If anything, it would probably be a set of VIP Modulars.  I plan to shave the fenders too. When the time comes, please believe I will post a thread about it. Hehe

I sold those chrome wheels and got stockers as a replacement recently. :)

this one is on to something spectacular hurry and break that chamber! :biggthumpup:

You're on the right track. Ride is lookin good. Keep up the good work! The grill is super clean btw. GL w everything and welcome to VSC :dance:

Just got my front windshield replaced today.  It looks so nice with no cracks and rock chips.  Of course, the trim that lines up from the hood to the roof to the rear windshield is somewhat jacked up.  Oh well, I plan to ultimately repaint the car and replace the doodoo trim with new ones anyway.

Thanks, errbody. :D

good start bro:biggthumpup:

nice start.

Your off to a great start. Any updates?

Thanks, everyone.  Well, since you asked so kindly, I got my neckpads in on Friday.  Crappy pic, but you get the picture. (Haha, get it?) :-)

[img]http://www.fotolode.com/images/TrillOne/sc05429.jpg[/img]

Nice work so far, I'd focus on getting some wheels before all these little knicknacks.  Maintenance is good though, those damn ball joints are horrible on the GS. 

Why'd you get rid of the STI?

[quote=LM Tony;200115]
Why'd you get rid of the STI?[/quote]I had no choice since it was totaled.  :pat:

Yeah, I don't plan on adding too much anymore because I'd rather focus on paying bills.  When it comes time to purchase wheels, I want to find a set that I can customize without having to use spacers.  With that in mind, I just saw a thread about a car with a 3.5" lip that's 11" wide (with shaved rears)! WTF.  I definitely plan on shaving the rear fenders and possibly the fronts if need be.  Until I am in the market for wheels, I will not unleash a fury of rants and questions.  The SSR Zweels look yummy as well as the VIP Modular VR06s.  At the same time, I would to take advantage of the RCAs so I have to dig even deeper to figure out what I can do to get satisfactory lip with camber correction.

Looks good!  
 
GS300 > STi, IMO.  :D

Haha^

And so I encountered yet [I]another [/I]problem! Haha well, for anybody that plans to buy the front RCAs, you [B][U]MUST HAVE[/U][/B] 17" wheels or larger otherwise the tie rod will scrape against your wheel!  I have the OEM 16" wheels:

[img]http://www.fotolode.com/images/TrillOne/ldsfsd.jpg[/img]

I haven't bothered to install the rear RCAs if anybody is wondering.

I also got my car retinted with 55% front windshield and 10% everywhere else.  Balljoints are done.  I also raised my car up a little too.

Your gs is coming together very well, kep it up :biggthumpup:

Thanks~

nice car man!

Thanks!  Here's what my car currently looks like:

[IMG]http://badcopnodonuts.com/wp-content/uploads/dsc00910.jpg[/IMG]

Flick stolen from [URL="http://www.badcopnodonuts.com"]www.badcopnodonuts.com[/URL]

JP Curtains came in but are collecting dust until I save up for sound system and chrome door handles.  Other than that, I did an oil change and will be getting an alignment done tomorrow.

Oh yeah, I replaced the two front tires.  I may shave my fenders sometime soon so I can make way for wheels in the far future.  Hmm...I also got an HID kit for the low beams and fogs.  6,000k and 3,000k respectively.  These aren't installed yet either. Ha.

Update:

[URL]http://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-second-generation/435384-teaser-pic.html[/URL]

[IMG]http://www.fotolode.com/images/TrillOne/Lexus-GS/sc05550.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://www.fotolode.com/images/TrillOne/Lexus-GS/sc05552.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://www.fotolode.com/images/TrillOne/Lexus-GS/sc05555.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://www.fotolode.com/images/TrillOne/Lexus-GS/sc05554.jpg[/IMG]

On a lighter note, I got a brand new 17" Macbook Pro (recently released) for a price even Apple employees can't get! Whoo!  First Apple computer ever!  Now my mother can surf her Vietnamese sites with no viruses.  By the way, the resolution on this bad boy is ridiculous.

I want a Y33333333333

damm hella camber..

;p so what happened?

maybe ball joint or hub gone wrong. crazy, how fast were you going? some crazy spinout type stuff for just boom, scrape, pullover..