A week in the shop did some good

"interstate366, now In The Industry" (interstate366)
04/23/2020 at 16:28 • Filed to: Aristo, Lexus GS

Spent a good chunk of my stimulus check fixing some of the Aristo’s more difficult needs. The battery drain is fixed, so I can keep it plugged in and still be able to drive it, and the exhaust leak was repaired. After a transmission flush, the transmission is still shifting hard, but is somewhat better. I’m planning on a swap anyway when I go turbo, since the A650E can’t handle a massive amount of power, but yeah.

DISCUSSION (9)

avalonian > interstate366, now In The Industry
04/23/2020 at 16:35

I already have the new GS350 and have been looking at these for some out of warranty fun. But preferably a GS400 I want the V8.

interstate366, now In The Industry > avalonian
04/23/2020 at 16:49

I didn’t have a preference on the engine, this one just came up at a good price, though needed quite a bit of work. It’s a 2004, so the V8 by then was the 430, and those are still pretty expensive. I still have a couple of typical problems to tackle, but they’re doable by myself. Then suspension and turbo.

avalonian > interstate366, now In The Industry
04/23/2020 at 16:59

Yeah, turboing one of these would be pretty epic. I want a really nice sleeper, especially in black. My biggest qualm are the dials, in the instrument cluster it looks so dated, I preferred the Avalon setup.

interstate366, now In The Industry > avalonian
04/23/2020 at 17:26

Yeah, you can definitely tell it’s a 90s design by the gauges. Checking the 1st gen out at the junkyard last month, it feels like an evolution of that, and the 1st gen was designed around the end of the 80s.

feather-throttle-not-hair > interstate366, now In The Industry
04/23/2020 at 21:58

Heh, my good buddy has a gs300 that looks pretty similar. He just e mailed me today asking if I thought he should buy some JDM aristo wheels that look aftermarket but were apparently OEM.

interstate366, now In The Industry > feather-throttle-not-hair
04/23/2020 at 22:41

Yeah, these are the JDM turbo wheels. I think the GS430 also got them, but not in chrome. I could be wrong on that though. Which wheels are they? I know a couple of in-house tuning companies, TOM’s and TTE (the old name for Gazoo) made special editions of the Aristo. The TTE aero is nice and subtle, but the wheels are awful. The TOM’s looks better overall but is pretty expensive to replicate.

feather-throttle-not-hair > interstate366, now In The Industry
04/24/2020 at 15:03

They were the TTE ones, i told him not to get them as I thought they looked goofy, with a Kind of curvy dish in the back and not much front dish. Unfortunately he has the stock 16 s (I think? They’re really small) so he does need something, though he shouldn’t go too big as he’s on stock suspension.

interstate366, now In The Industry > feather-throttle-not-hair
04/24/2020 at 22:05

Yeah, I don’t understand how they got the rest of the TTE so right and the wheels so very wrong. The TOM’s Aristo is a more difficult recreation as it requires a bumper swap, but the wheels at least look better.

Yeah, the stock wheels are 16s. The turbo/430 wheels are 17s. Still a bit small for what the car can hold, but at least not comically so. If he’s not planning to badge swap it, there are some 3rd gen GS wheels that look good on it, and the five-spoke 3rd gen LS/Celsior wheels also fit it pretty well. I thought I had a photo saved on my phone of each but I don’t.

feather-throttle-not-hair > interstate366, now In The Industry
04/25/2020 at 12:20

Awesome, yeah I’m guessing he wants a stock-ish look for now. I’m off to go look up celsior wheels...