diff --git a/panda/src/pgraphnodes/lodNode.I b/panda/src/pgraphnodes/lodNode.I
index a56a0c9c72..579808ae22 100644
--- a/panda/src/pgraphnodes/lodNode.I
+++ b/panda/src/pgraphnodes/lodNode.I
@@ -119,6 +119,30 @@ get_num_switches() const {
   return cdata->_switch_vector.size();
 }
 
+////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+//     Function: LODNode::get_lod_scale
+//       Access: Published
+//  Description: Returns the multiplier for lod distances
+////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+INLINE float LODNode::
+get_lod_scale() const {
+  CDReader cdata(_cycler);
+  return cdata->_lod_scale;
+}
+
+////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+//     Function: LODNode::set_lod_scale
+//       Access: Published
+//  Description: Sets the multiplier for lod distances. A higher 
+//               value means you'll see farther switchs than normal
+////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+INLINE void LODNode::
+set_lod_scale(float value) {
+  CDWriter cdata(_cycler);
+  cdata->_lod_scale = value;
+}
+
+
 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 //     Function: LODNode::get_in
 //       Access: Published
@@ -274,7 +298,8 @@ CData() :
   _highest(0),
   _got_force_switch(false),
   _force_switch(0),
-  _num_shown(0)
+  _num_shown(0),
+  _lod_scale(1)
 {
 }
 
@@ -292,7 +317,8 @@ CData(const LODNode::CData &copy) :
   _bounds_seq(UpdateSeq::old()),
   _got_force_switch(copy._got_force_switch),
   _force_switch(copy._force_switch),
-  _num_shown(copy._num_shown)
+  _num_shown(copy._num_shown),
+  _lod_scale(copy._lod_scale)
 {
 }
 
diff --git a/panda/src/pgraphnodes/lodNode.cxx b/panda/src/pgraphnodes/lodNode.cxx
index 2d93155286..9162d648e2 100644
--- a/panda/src/pgraphnodes/lodNode.cxx
+++ b/panda/src/pgraphnodes/lodNode.cxx
@@ -176,7 +176,7 @@ cull_callback(CullTraverser *trav, CullTraverserData &data) {
     if (cdata->_got_force_switch) {
       in_range = (cdata->_force_switch == index);
     } else {
-      in_range = sw.in_range_2(dist2);
+      in_range = sw.in_range_2(dist2*cdata->_lod_scale);
     }
     
     if (in_range) {
diff --git a/panda/src/pgraphnodes/lodNode.h b/panda/src/pgraphnodes/lodNode.h
index 3516be4f78..044830dc5c 100644
--- a/panda/src/pgraphnodes/lodNode.h
+++ b/panda/src/pgraphnodes/lodNode.h
@@ -69,6 +69,12 @@ PUBLISHED:
   INLINE void force_switch(int index);
   INLINE void clear_force_switch();
 
+  //for performance tuning, increasing this value should improve performance
+  //at the cost of model quality
+  INLINE void set_lod_scale(float value);
+  INLINE float get_lod_scale() const;
+
+
   INLINE void set_center(const LPoint3f &center);
   INLINE const LPoint3f &get_center() const;
 
@@ -173,6 +179,7 @@ private:
     bool _got_force_switch;
     int _force_switch;
     int _num_shown;
+    float _lod_scale;
   };
 
   PipelineCycler<CData> _cycler;