ddmavis

I have a 2016 GS-F for 8 mos now, and it is my daily drive car. To put it in perspective, I owned a '96 LS400 (Used), '01 LS430 (Used), '14 ES350 (New) and now the '16 GS-F. The ES350 was a smaller car ride as compared to the LS430, as expected, but it was new and I really liked it. The LS models are the best riding for comfort, no question in my opinion. The GS-F is smooth, but you "feel" the road; it's a 'sport sedan' and I am fine with it. My kids were surprised I went with the GS-F since I have always preferred 'comfort' over performance; I changed!!. I absolutely love driving the GS-F. Now when driving my wife's '13 ES350, it feels like I am 'floating' down the road. It is real telling when you can go from driving the GS-F to immediately driving the ES350. The GS-F is truly a "sport" sedan. I did an 1800 mile road trip and it was great to drive.

peteharvey

Excellent question.
How does GS F ride compare to IS350 F Sport?

I don't know.
However, I can tell you that my 4GS350 is firmer and less compliant than my wife's 3IS250 & 3.5IS200t!

It's like the GS has to be firmer to make up for its extra size and weight, but it still never manages to be as agile as the IS.
However, the GS is considerably more spacious inside.
The GS also cruises much more quietly than the IS on the highway.

I would love to know how the GS F rides compared to the regular base GS350?

AMNss

Many thanks!

Your answer was what I'm looking for, as I do not want a car stiffer than my IS350. I think I will go for a floaty cruiser this time

pmarr

Reviving thread to ask some questions.
I absolutely love everything about my 2016 except the extremely stiff suspension. California roads are notoriously crappy and I want to soften the road feel a bit so I don't feel every single crack/ fissure in the road and I understand that coilovers with adjustable settings may be the way to go. Having multiple LS400's has spoiled me a bit and I know this is a road and track car, but a little softer feel or the ability to adjust the suspension would be awesome.
Questions;
1. Is this true? I saw some threads that mentioned "stiffer than stock" feel and I want to avoid that. Completely new to coilover mods in general so any specs for a softer ride would be helpful
2. Are there any 2016 owners that switched to coilovers who's car feels less stiff than factory?
3. Is this an advisable DIY job? I saw lobuxracer's tutorial but may have some questions about DIY
I appreciate all the insight and knowledge here and was hoping to get a bit more clarity before dropping $$$ on suspension mods.
Thanks in advance and have a great day wherever you are!

waterdd

I realize this is an old thread, and the OP has probably bought his car.
But I'll add my opinion for others reading this and wanting to hear more opinions, before they buy a '16 model vs a '17 and up.

IMO, the '16 drives noticeably stiffer than the newer ones with the adjustable dampening. The '16 is clearly well suited for the track and has that sporty feel. If it were just me in the car, then I would have saved money and bought one.
But since I have a family of 5 that travels with me, I opted for a '17 because of the softer ride.
But when it's just me in the car, I put it in S+, fully manual mode.

maddave

One of the first mods i did was cks coilover on my 16’. I could not stand how stiff the suspension was. With coils you can dial it in to however you like, both height and stiffness. Its a 100% comfier ride.
i did the install myself. Difficulty level is average, i’ve done a handful of vehicles in the past, this ones no different. Tires also help with driving comfort too, i switched from bridgestones at pilot 4s and it made a drastic difference

pmarr

@maddave What brand and spring rate did you go with and did you DIY?

waterdd

Sounds like a great mod!
Is it easy to adjust? …as in, could you make it comfy in the morning when you drive the kids to school, and then switch it to sporty/stiff for the ride to work?

maddave

Cks with upgraded swift spring rate from modinjapan. They come preloaded, fully assembled, so its just a quick swap.
adjustments are quick just pop the hood and truck, ***** are right on top of strut..i think most would just set it and leave. Once you find that right setting theres really no need to adjust

OMGV8

Hey guys. I bought a 2016 back a few months ago and could not stand how stiff it felt over bumps and road imperfections. It was not a pleasant, confidence-inspiring stiffness (on TX streets at least) rather it was a jarring, annoying, exhausting stiffness. I mean, I've driven a bunch of performance cars before and jarring stiffness and cornering ability/overall handling don't necessarily have to go hand-in-hand. Therefore, I installed CKS coilovers with 16 KG in the front and 10 KG in the rear. That was the recommendation from MODINJAPAN. Long story short, I wasn't satisfied. I tried 30 different combinations of front and rear dampening so here's my conclusion:

- The 16KG/10KG combo certainly makes the ride WAY more comfortable than factory.
- The fully soft damper settings are usually useless as the car feels extremely disconnected/floaty/uneasy
- Things start to feel better at 8-10 clicks from fully soft.
- The fully stiff setting (24 clicks) is also trash. Too much stiffness hurts handling as it leads to tire hopping/traction breaking. I'm not an expert but you get the point.
- I tend to be in the 16-19 clicks from fully soft for daily driving.
- Canyon roads and track settings would likely be in the 20-23 clicks from fully soft.
- At 20 clicks to fully stiff (24 clicks) the ride does feel as stiff as factory.
- No matter what setting I chose though, the rear was too bouncy. Imagine driving on a highway and going over a slight undulation, the rear would bounce more than I'd like and could potentially lead to losing traction. Bullets Garage (youtube) pointed this out as well. I have ordered the stiffer 14 KG swift springs and will be installing them soon in the rear.

My suggestion to anyone seeking feedback would be to get the 16KG/14KG swift spring combo if opting for CKS coilovers. I am not sure if my 16KG/14KG recommendation would also be directly applicable to ALL other coilover options out there.

I have installed coilovers before but I wanted the install to be perfect so I had a professional mechanic with lots of 'F' experience do it. Also don't have DIY time anymore.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

It's pretty unlikely the clicks are consistent from shock to shock. Most brands of adjustable units are really junk when you put them on a shock dyno and test them. Springs aren't the problem here, it's damping that's the real problem.

Glad I don't live where you do. The ride on the wife's '16 is just fine here in Georgia where I live.

CHCC

My 2016 is bouncy on concrete highways. It’s become tiresome after a year, and I am seriously considering selling mine just so I can buy a 2017+ for the suspension difference. I still have one year warranty left.

Hmm, so $2,100 in parts. Will ask mechanic and dealer how much to install

OMGV8

The 2016 is supposed to be very firm, stiff, harsh and not bouncy at all. Let’s be clear though…by bouncy I meant Crown Victoria bouncy, and by firm/stiff I meant like a go kart. You’re describing the opposite, are you sure your shocks are not blown? If you’re not the first owner, I’ve seen cases where people bought cars and realized their shocks were blown. Often previous owners install swift springs on OEM shocks which leads to premature failure of shocks.

OMGV8

Updated earlier post to remove my recommendation of 12 kg/mm and 14 kg/mm rear swift springs with CKS coilovers. Ordered both, tried both. 14 kg/mm is just way too stiff. Undrivable on the street at posted speed limits. The 12 kg/mm is not as stiff as the 14 kg/mm but still pretty unusable on the street IMHO. I have it set to almost fully soft in the rear and also almost soft in the front but I literally bounce on my seat due to the stiffness. I feel like the shock valving was designed to work with the 10 kg/mm spring and theres no point randomly trying stiffer spring rates with the shocks.

Overall conclusions: very comfortable daily driving coilovers that cause some rear bounciness over road undulations while going over at high speeds. Stiffer settings are great for spirited driving providing good confidence and balance but could be too stiff for daily driving.

I will be trying the Ohlins set up next.

pmarr

​​​​​​​Great feedback. I am getting used to it, honestly. I understand that during factory tests they weren't driving on California roads but a smooth track. After many LS400's it takes some getting used to. Love the idea and intent of the car, just wish road quality was better in city driving. Keep us posted