My Performance LS 430 Air Lift suspension testimonial
04-26-13, 01:44 PM
#1
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
My Performance LS 430 Air Lift suspension testimonial
Hello fellow Lexus lovers!
Have you ever wondered what it might be like to take your car out to the twisties and actually have fun doing it? I know what the factory suspension feels like, and I don’t think it was ever intended to raise the hairs on the back of your neck. Sure, it does an excellent job of providing one of the most comfortably plush rides on the planet, but have you ever had the urge to, oh I don’t know, really have some fun once in a while? I think we all know that the factory equipped (and rather slushy) springs and dampers, don’t even begin to let you have an exhilarating time in your luxury cruiser. This is where Air Lift Performance comes into play.
Let’s rewind to my earlier days. Starting my "car life" as a go-fast junkie, I turned to the Honda world. I started with a beat up first-generation Integra, for $100, that I had seen sitting in the same spot for at least 8 years. Within a few months, I had it turboe'd with mainly junkyard parts. After the Integra met its demise with a stuck shut wastegate, and too much boost, then came the 91 Civic Si, which I swapped most of the parts onto. With a vehicle that is cheap to buy, cheap to build, and decent fuel mileage while doing it, the Honda Civic was a perfect starting point for me. I know I’m not the only one that started this way, since so many of us began with little money to feed this urge to go fast. After a few years of getting my knowledge up to par with the other Honda guys I hung out with, I decided there was more to cars than just going in a straight line, as fast as my wallet (and turbo) would let me. This was my transition to performance AND handling.
Owning the Civic for little more than a few months with the homemade turbo kit, it was time to get closer to the ground. I got lucky and was offered a year old -but never installed- Power In Control (P.I.C.) coil over set for $600. It handled amazingly! This setup eventually moved to my next car, a '96 Civic Ex coupe. With little modification to the engine, and some homemade suspension/handling bits, I entered, and won the first autocross race I entered into, taking fastest overall time of the day, in a group of 34 cars total. I was hooked. How could a car with a measly 135hp, beat out everything else? It’s actually quite simple: You make it stick to the ground better than anything else around it.
Fast forward to 2011. It’s time for a new car. working at a body shop, I started to notice the quality of vehicles on a more intimate level. I learned that not everything was created equal in the car world. The American car companies were great at making all kinds of different cars, but the craftsmanship in build quality just wasn’t that great. They were noisy, unrefined, and generally felt cheap inside and out. The German car companies typically had a much better quality vehicle, but seemed to be built with the sense that only the dealer could efficiently work on them, and parts cost were much higher than my liking. There was only one manufacturer that really caught my eye while employed at the body shop, and it was Lexus. With such a refined elegance, and seemingly perfectly thought out execution of every one I touched, I became intrigued. Since I had become the perfectionist at the shop, naturally I ended up working on the higher end cars, and one day came face to face with the LS 430. After finishing work on the LS, I knew I had found the solution to my car needs. I needed an LS 430. While randomly driving through the Toyota/Lexus dealership on a beautiful day in June 2011, I found perfection at last. My 2004 LS 430.
The LS 430 to me, was the perfect car, except for one thing. It was not that great through the corners. Although it did have a slightly euro tuned suspension, it was MUCH softer than I had been used to, and that needed to change. Upon doing a good amount of research of different types of suspension offered for the LS, I simply couldn’t come to a conclusion. Do I want great handling or a softer, and more plush ride? Did I want it to look awesome (read low), or would I have to sacrifice looks for being able to go full out around a corner every once and a while? The last thing I wanted to do was, make compromises. So here lies my dilemma. coil-overs set low (more for looks), or set closer to stock ride height (better for handling). What if there was a better solution? One that could combine everything into one perfect package, where sacrifices didn't have to be made? I decided to look at this from the eyes of Lexus.
Air suspension that performs. That is the key to my dilemma. But who makes air suspension for the LS 430 that does all of this? Although the data systems controller would get me the looks that I craved, The factory air suspension certainly couldn't perform the way I wanted it to. I needed instant height adjustability that could give me a slightly sporty feel over stock, and be able to be tuned to my liking for aggressive driving at the track or around some winding roads, without skipping a beat, and I needed it to be cost effective.
While on the way to work one day, I happened to take an off ramp at a slightly more aggressive speed than usual, and much to my surprise, I had an accomplice of unknown origin follow me into the parking lot at work. It was Jeff Applegreen, from Air Lift Performance, and he had a proposal for me. Rolling down the window, he asked me a question that I was quite shocked to hear. "Are you interested in putting air suspension on your car?". They just happened to be looking for a test bed to put their brand new "threaded body performance suspension" on, and I was the lucky person to test it out.
April 2012. After a few months of anxiously waiting for a phone call, I brought it in to their shop, and the brand new prototype kit was installed. I routed all the hoses, and mounted the compressor, tank, and air manifold in the trunk. It was everything I wanted, and more. In short, it was exactly was I was hoping to find, and it landed on my lap. I went to a track event later that year for testing, and was awestruck at the performance. Increasing the damping at all four corners via the 30-way adjustable mono-tube dampers allowed me to not only track the car, but to outpace the Nismo edition 350Z that happened to be at the track, doing testing that same day.
I felt as though I had achieved my dream. It did it all. It was soft when I wanted it to be, while holding a very flat and predictable center of gravity at the track. I could drive it at any height from stock, to ultra-low, while still having the spring rate and damping forces to keep from bottoming out, in the ultra-low position. I could drive over speed bumps with ease, and set it on the ground for pictures or cars shows, and to boot, it was lighter than the factory suspension at all four corners, reducing un-sprung weight, therefor adapting to harsh road conditions even faster, allowing me to run a heavier wheel, with less compromise.
Truly, this was the best suspension I have ever owned. Thank you Air Lift Performance, for providing a solution to the problems so many of us in the car world today have encountered. It is obvious to me now, Lexus is not the only company on the pursuit of perfection.
pic 1 is the Civic
pic 2 is the Lexus in its current state
pic 3 is the Lexus a month after I bought it
Have you ever wondered what it might be like to take your car out to the twisties and actually have fun doing it? I know what the factory suspension feels like, and I don’t think it was ever intended to raise the hairs on the back of your neck. Sure, it does an excellent job of providing one of the most comfortably plush rides on the planet, but have you ever had the urge to, oh I don’t know, really have some fun once in a while? I think we all know that the factory equipped (and rather slushy) springs and dampers, don’t even begin to let you have an exhilarating time in your luxury cruiser. This is where Air Lift Performance comes into play.
Let’s rewind to my earlier days. Starting my "car life" as a go-fast junkie, I turned to the Honda world. I started with a beat up first-generation Integra, for $100, that I had seen sitting in the same spot for at least 8 years. Within a few months, I had it turboe'd with mainly junkyard parts. After the Integra met its demise with a stuck shut wastegate, and too much boost, then came the 91 Civic Si, which I swapped most of the parts onto. With a vehicle that is cheap to buy, cheap to build, and decent fuel mileage while doing it, the Honda Civic was a perfect starting point for me. I know I’m not the only one that started this way, since so many of us began with little money to feed this urge to go fast. After a few years of getting my knowledge up to par with the other Honda guys I hung out with, I decided there was more to cars than just going in a straight line, as fast as my wallet (and turbo) would let me. This was my transition to performance AND handling.
Owning the Civic for little more than a few months with the homemade turbo kit, it was time to get closer to the ground. I got lucky and was offered a year old -but never installed- Power In Control (P.I.C.) coil over set for $600. It handled amazingly! This setup eventually moved to my next car, a '96 Civic Ex coupe. With little modification to the engine, and some homemade suspension/handling bits, I entered, and won the first autocross race I entered into, taking fastest overall time of the day, in a group of 34 cars total. I was hooked. How could a car with a measly 135hp, beat out everything else? It’s actually quite simple: You make it stick to the ground better than anything else around it.
Fast forward to 2011. It’s time for a new car. working at a body shop, I started to notice the quality of vehicles on a more intimate level. I learned that not everything was created equal in the car world. The American car companies were great at making all kinds of different cars, but the craftsmanship in build quality just wasn’t that great. They were noisy, unrefined, and generally felt cheap inside and out. The German car companies typically had a much better quality vehicle, but seemed to be built with the sense that only the dealer could efficiently work on them, and parts cost were much higher than my liking. There was only one manufacturer that really caught my eye while employed at the body shop, and it was Lexus. With such a refined elegance, and seemingly perfectly thought out execution of every one I touched, I became intrigued. Since I had become the perfectionist at the shop, naturally I ended up working on the higher end cars, and one day came face to face with the LS 430. After finishing work on the LS, I knew I had found the solution to my car needs. I needed an LS 430. While randomly driving through the Toyota/Lexus dealership on a beautiful day in June 2011, I found perfection at last. My 2004 LS 430.
The LS 430 to me, was the perfect car, except for one thing. It was not that great through the corners. Although it did have a slightly euro tuned suspension, it was MUCH softer than I had been used to, and that needed to change. Upon doing a good amount of research of different types of suspension offered for the LS, I simply couldn’t come to a conclusion. Do I want great handling or a softer, and more plush ride? Did I want it to look awesome (read low), or would I have to sacrifice looks for being able to go full out around a corner every once and a while? The last thing I wanted to do was, make compromises. So here lies my dilemma. coil-overs set low (more for looks), or set closer to stock ride height (better for handling). What if there was a better solution? One that could combine everything into one perfect package, where sacrifices didn't have to be made? I decided to look at this from the eyes of Lexus.
Air suspension that performs. That is the key to my dilemma. But who makes air suspension for the LS 430 that does all of this? Although the data systems controller would get me the looks that I craved, The factory air suspension certainly couldn't perform the way I wanted it to. I needed instant height adjustability that could give me a slightly sporty feel over stock, and be able to be tuned to my liking for aggressive driving at the track or around some winding roads, without skipping a beat, and I needed it to be cost effective.
While on the way to work one day, I happened to take an off ramp at a slightly more aggressive speed than usual, and much to my surprise, I had an accomplice of unknown origin follow me into the parking lot at work. It was Jeff Applegreen, from Air Lift Performance, and he had a proposal for me. Rolling down the window, he asked me a question that I was quite shocked to hear. "Are you interested in putting air suspension on your car?". They just happened to be looking for a test bed to put their brand new "threaded body performance suspension" on, and I was the lucky person to test it out.
April 2012. After a few months of anxiously waiting for a phone call, I brought it in to their shop, and the brand new prototype kit was installed. I routed all the hoses, and mounted the compressor, tank, and air manifold in the trunk. It was everything I wanted, and more. In short, it was exactly was I was hoping to find, and it landed on my lap. I went to a track event later that year for testing, and was awestruck at the performance. Increasing the damping at all four corners via the 30-way adjustable mono-tube dampers allowed me to not only track the car, but to outpace the Nismo edition 350Z that happened to be at the track, doing testing that same day.
I felt as though I had achieved my dream. It did it all. It was soft when I wanted it to be, while holding a very flat and predictable center of gravity at the track. I could drive it at any height from stock, to ultra-low, while still having the spring rate and damping forces to keep from bottoming out, in the ultra-low position. I could drive over speed bumps with ease, and set it on the ground for pictures or cars shows, and to boot, it was lighter than the factory suspension at all four corners, reducing un-sprung weight, therefor adapting to harsh road conditions even faster, allowing me to run a heavier wheel, with less compromise.
Truly, this was the best suspension I have ever owned. Thank you Air Lift Performance, for providing a solution to the problems so many of us in the car world today have encountered. It is obvious to me now, Lexus is not the only company on the pursuit of perfection.
pic 1 is the Civic
pic 2 is the Lexus in its current state
pic 3 is the Lexus a month after I bought it
04-29-13, 05:27 AM
#4
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
Thanks guys.
I'm fairly convinced that you don't need to do much more than wheels and a drop on most cars. no need to over do it, just make it look factory fresh.
I'll post up some pics of the tank setup a little later.
I'm fairly convinced that you don't need to do much more than wheels and a drop on most cars. no need to over do it, just make it look factory fresh.
I'll post up some pics of the tank setup a little later.
Last edited by ONMYLVL; 04-29-13 at 05:30 AM.
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