DplanDman8

I have some suspension questions for anyone that has slammed, lowered, or has coilovers on their ES. Or even knows anything about the suspension

1) I am ordering Ksport coilovers and I know a lot of people don't like them and some people do but idc they have come a long way. I've been talking to a representative at Ksport and I was asking him questions on spring rates for the ES. He told me that they come with 7.5k in the front and 5.1k in the back and i was wondering if he could get me any stiffer ones. He replied yes he could custom make me some with 8.7k front and 6.7k rear for no extra cost I'm only paying $931.12 with free shipping. So my main question is would you rather have the softer spring rate or the stiffer ones taking into consideration the fact that our front wheel drive cars are like boats and are heavy and I plan on lowering it a lot and I don't want to be supper bouncy thats why I was leaning towards the stiffer spring rate because I figured it would be a smoother bounce then the supper soft spring rate.

2) They are coming with pillowball tops on the front and the rear. So I'm assuming that makes it a lot easier to camber them then to buy camber bolts? what are the possible wheel size and offset i can fit on my ES along with how much camber could i run without rubbing the coils? (I am rolling my fenders)

3) Almost every time I turn the wheel while not moving or slowly starting to roll forward there is a loud popping noise coming from the front of the car. My guess is the inner and outer tie rods? But I'd like to know if I'm the only one with this problem or has anyone had this same problem and figured out what it was?

4) This is off topic but has anyone ever swapped out the automatic shifter out with something else? I mean that thing is tooooooo large maybe swap it with like an SC shifter narrower and smaller then the es? I know the over drive button is on the shifter but how often do you really use it? You could just re-locate it somewhere else?

Thanks in advance for anyone that can comment and help with any of these questions

DplanDman8

Any help at all would be great?

h8snow

Just my opinion. Would take that money probably around $2000 all said and save it for maintenance. Keeping it stock.

DplanDman8

True but mine is a 2001 es coach edition and has around 175k and its already lowered on springs with a lip and exhaust.. Ive already replace the front and rear main seals the timing belt water pump tension-er etc. So maintenance is already fine along with its in great shape there is a other thread with pics of my car with wheels and stuff. So its not like its stock right now. Because its not. I just need help on answering the other questions.

Thanks

rlx101

agreed. save your money or sell the car and get something newer if you really want to spend those 2000-3000$ on suspension. newer car with newer suspension beats older modded car any day. just my opinion, after seeing so many folks sinking so much money into cars just to sell them at a huge loss later on. Financial suicide... unless you are all set $$ wise and dont really care but then you probably would not be driving an '01 with 175kmiles. nothing personal man, just honest opinion.

DplanDman8

Idk where yall are getting 2-3k from?? if you read my original post im spending less then 1k on coilovers?? All im asking is for help on spring rate and what the popping noise could possibly be. Thanks for yalls opinion ill take them into consideration. I just would like for someone to help me with my original questions. Not to start new ones. My car is old and its reliable and i love it. I wouldn't sell it ever just because no one would ever pay what you want for it.

h8snow

Again its just my opinion but your Lexus still has good resale value . Modified with lowered suspension and whatever not so much. Might seem like a good idea right now but i think you look back and regret the slamming to your bank account.

Kusay76

Some people (myself included) don't really care about the resale value, they might just want to get more enjoyment out of their cars. If i own a car that runs good, been maintained well why look for something else. I just made the switch to coils from lowering springs but i haven't put them on yet due to the weather so i can't fully answer your question but I did go with higher spring rates. For the mounts I think only the fronts are adjustable for camber, I don't have the K-sports so I could be wrong though. I do however have the same noise you describe, I was thinking the tie rods too, not sure about inner or outer, i'll prob just replace both this spring. Sorry if i'm not too much help with your questions but i'm in the same spot and didn't want you to feel lonely.

DixonPai

iTrader: (3)

alright guys, let the man breath hahaha. Here look you want to slam your car, got it.

You want to do this?


I will get back to you later on today with pros and cons, as I am currently at work I don't have a long time to sit here and type up the list.

Gchutes

Most people here on club lexus dont appreciate slammage, they will say something silly like "Dont lower it, our cars are super cool stock" but they are wrong SLAM IT RIGHT NOW

1. Stiffer is better if you want to go super low, becuase our oil pans and exhaust are hung low and you dont wanna scrape that **** up.
2. these are still toyotas, you dont have a lot of camber options but dixonpai knows a lot so listen to him
3. I dont know dude take it to a mechanic that got good reviews on yelp and ask them
4. Yeah its possible but it looks goofy and cheap IN MY HUMBLE OPINION if you going to bother with it do the gated shifter mod google "lexus gated shifter"
5. THIS THREAD IS WORTHLESS WITHOUT PICS seriously I wanna peep your lexus

01LEXPL

iTrader: (10)

^ Ive yet to see a gated shifter in the 3ES... So much for "common"... It's never been done in an ES, and if it was I wouldve had one by now

DixonPai

iTrader: (3)

Alright just got back, okay, lets go.

If you want that low, I would suggest you to get the BC Racing BR Extreme low kit. This will allow to drop to the ground.

Get stiffer spring rates (FYI I an running 12k swift springs up front and 10K BC Racing Springs rear), or else your car will be bouncing around and bottoming out really easy. One thing we are lucky about is that our oi pan is tucked up above our subframes, so dont worry to much about cracking your pan to much.

Wheels depends how you want to set it up, no idea, it depends, I am running 18x8 +15 and 18x9 +12 I believe I can be slightly off. Planing to get another set of wheels about half an inch wider all around and offset will be a little more crazier, we will see how much work it may take

I will tell you the truth about the ES300 w/ Pros and Cons

Pros:
1.) It will look very nice, to the people who are into it.
2.) Uniqueness, trust me, you will get quite a bit of compliment on the car.
3.) I can spark up the Freeways okay might not be a good thing LOL

Now ready for the cons?
Cons:
1.) axles will go out really fast, I change my axles every 6 months, the boots rip very easily
2.) we do not have double wishbone suspension, like LS and GS, we do not auto camber at all
3.) Wanna go slammed with some wide wheels, NO CAMBER KITS, bolts will get you maximum +/-2 degrees. You need to modify your coilovers (which I have done to get camber, Running -3.5 front and -5 rear)
4.) You give up the complete ride comfort
5.) Our frame hangs lower then body, what that means is if you wanna look "SLAMMED" not happening, cause the frame will stop you, so you will always look higher, but if people know about camry's or es, they know the frame hangs lower. (you will need a kit to get the low look)

I know its a lot of cons, but hey if you wanna do it do it, or wait for another car.

Like I said "Would I tell people not to mod there ES, nope, go for it, you will learn a lot from it. Don't ever let anyone tell you that your car is not meant to be modded or your car cant be like this or that, If you feel its right then go for it, it may not be everyone cup of tea, don't do it just please people, do what makes you happy "

Check out my build thread
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es3...r-updates.html
__________________

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

^^Link no worky.

I can only imagine what the ride harshness is like with coilovers. I have stiffer struts and springs, and I'm not a huge fan of the setup, I guess I've been spoiled by the stock floaty ride. I've driven a stock IS250 and I think it felt about the same as my current setup - you can feel every imperfection in the road. Also, the stiffer ride has transmitted into some of my interior panels and has started to create a few noises. Having said that, I believe the suspension is getting softer (breaking in), or maybe I'm just getting used to it.

Dixon, thank you for sharing that information. I learned quite a bit from reading it. So are you saying that double wishbone suspension does not need camber adjustments because of multiple ball joints?

DixonPai

iTrader: (3)

I think I fixed it hahaha,

Not that double wishbone cars do not need camber adjustment, but it allows a much wider range of changing the camber for the car. But yes more joints help bend better hahaha

As for what I was referring to is that with our cars we are generally stuck, the car goes up and down and the wheels will only bend in the slightest amount to nothing. which means you cant run a really wide wheels, cause if you do the fenders will just hit the wheels every big dip my car goes over, which is what is happening to me.

And generally anything new needs time to break in, i mean if you think about your es has been broken in on the road for at least 13 years. So I am guessing it is still breaking in, but sadly I would not be the greatest guy to ask about stock stuff many more people can help you with that hahaha

Glad to be a help though

DplanDman8

Ok yes. I am going to do it but everyone has the right to there own opinion. I guess there is a lot of people that dont think its a good idea to slam an es or lower it or whatever. I think they can look pretty clean. Thanks for everyones help.. dixonpai thank for your words of wisdom. Mine is already dropped on springs but it came out supper uneven and it rides horrible as if im on 4 blown bags. I talked to K-sport and they are giving me the stiffer ones for free and on top of that giving me pillowball tops on the front and the rear for ony $932 shipped. So the deal not bad. And dixonpai if your going to get new wheels how much would you sell yours for? Id love to run them. And also thanks for the advice on everything. But is there realy no one that has tried successfully changing out the god awfully large shifter to something smaller?