LS430 Sport Suspension technical review
05-09-16, 05:34 AM
#1
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
LS430 Sport Suspension technical review
I just upgraded my LS430 with the Lexus OEM Sport Struts, the OEM Lexus Sport Swaybar and the Tanabe NF210 Springs and I thought I might provide a little insight I haven’t seen on here yet.
First a little background on me. I started racing cars when I was 15 and eventually headed to Europe for a year to race Formula Renault and then signed with Hooters and came back to the states to race here for a while. After retiring professionally, I raced in the SCCA and won a couple of regional championships and went on to be a racing instructor. The bottom line is I've been around performance cars for all my driving life and have had many "exotics" but I've driven LSs for the past 20 years as my daily drivers.
I've always been a little disappointed in how much the LS rolls in its USA factory default but never could find a Sport model when I've been in the market to buy and just kinda let upgrading it slide down the priority list. A couple of weeks ago though, I noticed that Lexus was blowing out the OEM Sport struts and a full set of four delivered was only $359 so I jumped on it. I figured I might as well get the Tanabe springs since I'd have to remove the old ones to change struts and then I just figured I might as well put the sway bar on too.
I did the whole swap in an afternoon and here are a few observations:
1) Whenever I see anything about the Sport struts they just say they are “stiffer” without any more detail. Since I had both the Standard and Sport side by side I thought I could clarify a little about the difference. From a bump perspective they seemed fairly similar although without a shock dyno there is no way to tell for sure. What was VERY obvious though was the rebound. The Standard strut had absolutely no rebound resistance and practically sprang back to the extended position. The Sport strut on the other hand had considerable rebound resistance which explains a lot about the handling characteristics. (See below)
2) For me, the Tanabe NF210s were absolutely perfect. I was a little worried that they might not be noticeable from a stiffness perspective since they only advertise 10% stiffer over stock and I was worried the car might look too low for my taste. I was wrong on both counts. The NF210s were just barely lower but looked perfect. My wife didn’t even notice the car was lower but my 12 year old son did. It really just closes up the wheel well without making a dramatic statement. Also, the rate seems much more than 10% but that was fine by me.
3) Since I changed springs, struts and swaybar all at once I can’t comment on the swaybar by itself but the rear is floating around less so I’m sure it’s playing a good part. I can confirm that stock is 13mm and sport is 14mm.
On actually driving, the whole package made a huge difference in my mind and I’m sorry that I waited so long to make the change. I tend not to slow down as much as other drivers for corners and I always felt a little uncomfortable in the LS because there was so much body roll that I always felt like everyone could see I was on two wheels every time I took a corner. With the new setup that is gone. I would say the body roll is far less than half what it was before. More importantly though is how the car takes a set. As you transition off the brakes and turn into the corner, the car is much more stable with less movement. I’m sure that is the difference in the strut rebound keeping the inside of the car from lifting so quickly and transferring the weight to the outside. Once the car takes the set, the springs and swaybars significantly reduce the amount of body roll and the cornering speed is up and you can transition back on the throttle earlier. Overall a huge win. I know a lot of people in here would cringe at me saying this but it feels much more like the 7 series handling but in my mind that’s a good thing.
First a little background on me. I started racing cars when I was 15 and eventually headed to Europe for a year to race Formula Renault and then signed with Hooters and came back to the states to race here for a while. After retiring professionally, I raced in the SCCA and won a couple of regional championships and went on to be a racing instructor. The bottom line is I've been around performance cars for all my driving life and have had many "exotics" but I've driven LSs for the past 20 years as my daily drivers.
I've always been a little disappointed in how much the LS rolls in its USA factory default but never could find a Sport model when I've been in the market to buy and just kinda let upgrading it slide down the priority list. A couple of weeks ago though, I noticed that Lexus was blowing out the OEM Sport struts and a full set of four delivered was only $359 so I jumped on it. I figured I might as well get the Tanabe springs since I'd have to remove the old ones to change struts and then I just figured I might as well put the sway bar on too.
I did the whole swap in an afternoon and here are a few observations:
1) Whenever I see anything about the Sport struts they just say they are “stiffer” without any more detail. Since I had both the Standard and Sport side by side I thought I could clarify a little about the difference. From a bump perspective they seemed fairly similar although without a shock dyno there is no way to tell for sure. What was VERY obvious though was the rebound. The Standard strut had absolutely no rebound resistance and practically sprang back to the extended position. The Sport strut on the other hand had considerable rebound resistance which explains a lot about the handling characteristics. (See below)
2) For me, the Tanabe NF210s were absolutely perfect. I was a little worried that they might not be noticeable from a stiffness perspective since they only advertise 10% stiffer over stock and I was worried the car might look too low for my taste. I was wrong on both counts. The NF210s were just barely lower but looked perfect. My wife didn’t even notice the car was lower but my 12 year old son did. It really just closes up the wheel well without making a dramatic statement. Also, the rate seems much more than 10% but that was fine by me.
3) Since I changed springs, struts and swaybar all at once I can’t comment on the swaybar by itself but the rear is floating around less so I’m sure it’s playing a good part. I can confirm that stock is 13mm and sport is 14mm.
On actually driving, the whole package made a huge difference in my mind and I’m sorry that I waited so long to make the change. I tend not to slow down as much as other drivers for corners and I always felt a little uncomfortable in the LS because there was so much body roll that I always felt like everyone could see I was on two wheels every time I took a corner. With the new setup that is gone. I would say the body roll is far less than half what it was before. More importantly though is how the car takes a set. As you transition off the brakes and turn into the corner, the car is much more stable with less movement. I’m sure that is the difference in the strut rebound keeping the inside of the car from lifting so quickly and transferring the weight to the outside. Once the car takes the set, the springs and swaybars significantly reduce the amount of body roll and the cornering speed is up and you can transition back on the throttle earlier. Overall a huge win. I know a lot of people in here would cringe at me saying this but it feels much more like the 7 series handling but in my mind that’s a good thing.
Last edited by oversteer; 05-09-16 at 12:33 PM.
The following 7 users liked this post by oversteer:
BadaBing97 (08-10-22),
bjchilds1 (11-28-21),
Dubbayoo (05-04-19),
jherr (09-29-18),
Vmost66 (03-22-18),
and 2 others liked this post.
05-09-16, 06:55 AM
#3
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
I got them through MyLParts.com with the Club Lexus discount. They were very helpful and I called directly just to confirm I was looking at the right parts given the cheap prices. I did a little shopping around and got similar pricing elsewhere so Lexus lowered the price from the factory probably closing out a little excess inventory. I would jump on it soon if you are interested.
05-09-16, 10:54 PM
#6
Excellent write up, man. Good to hear first hand experience, especially for this setup which I'm sure a lot of people think of going with, since it's the mild sporty side of the LS430.
I totally understand you when you say, "how a 7 series would ride". I had a 740 for a while, and my LS drove almost identical to it in terms of the way the car hugs the pavement when I had my BC coils on with Swift springs. But the LS is a much more smooth ride.
The car also felt more staggered after I added some spacers, 12mm front, 15mm back. I think that would compliment your setup very nicely. Still, great the way you got it.
I totally understand you when you say, "how a 7 series would ride". I had a 740 for a while, and my LS drove almost identical to it in terms of the way the car hugs the pavement when I had my BC coils on with Swift springs. But the LS is a much more smooth ride.
The car also felt more staggered after I added some spacers, 12mm front, 15mm back. I think that would compliment your setup very nicely. Still, great the way you got it.
05-10-16, 09:18 PM
#7
This part # does not match my 2005... will it fit direct? Also, if you do not upgrade the springs what will be the effect? I already added the sport rear sway and it did wonders all on its own, but at 110k miles the stock suspension needs a refresh so was interested in these and tightening up the suspension movement some would be good... just didn't want to go in on springs as well... what did you pay for those from where? thx
Trending Topics
05-11-16, 07:25 PM
#9
Lexus Test Driver
05-11-16, 08:23 PM
#10
Driver School Candidate
Join Date: May 2016
Location: TX - Texas
Posts: 39
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Great post. Are there any DIY writeups on how to do this?
Are any specific tools required outside of normal stuff? Wondering if I could attempt this with a jack and a few stands.
Are any specific tools required outside of normal stuff? Wondering if I could attempt this with a jack and a few stands.
05-12-16, 09:20 AM
#11
Nice review. I've been thinking the same thing since I've bought my LS but I was always afraid of the compromise.
How many miles do you have on this setup before the review? I ask because after the initial install of shocks and springs, I know they ride softer and stiffens up after a few hundred miles.
Can you post side view pictures please ?
How many miles do you have on this setup before the review? I ask because after the initial install of shocks and springs, I know they ride softer and stiffens up after a few hundred miles.
Can you post side view pictures please ?
05-16-16, 04:57 AM
#12
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
Replies
I had to travel for a few days so sorry for the slow response to all the questions. I'll see if I can answer a few:
As for the part numbers: Lexus supersceded the original part number for the later part number so I don't know if that causes any confusion. Most likely the strut that is triple the price is the one with the full shock cap and rubber inserts at the top. Those can be reused depending upon condition which is what I did. I am fairly certain that all 3rd gen LS without air shocks can use these struts and mine was on a 2004. I ordered exactly the part numbers I provided and got exactly what I wanted which was four bare struts.
Replace just the struts without springs?: Well keep in mind that you'll have to take the springs off the old struts to put them on the new struts and that is a major pain in the rear. I figured if I was going through the hassle of taking the springs off anyway I would go ahead and swap the springs with the new ones. If you decide you want to change springs later you'll have to go through the entire process all over again.
Why are they cheaper than the standard shocks? Good questions. Mine is not to wonder why
I just saw that Lexus had changed the price so I took advantage of it!
Ride quality impact?: Well this is very subjective. I don't like the excessive body roll of the factory suspension for the US market so for me it was a huge improvement. It does mean you will feel the bumps and cracks in the road slightly more than your did before but having logged 12 hours driving on the highways in the last week, I'll take the more solid feel over the slightly stiffer ride all day long.
How many miles: I had 165K on my LS when I did the replacement. LS are famous for having shocks that last a LONG time and I'm certain the changes are much more to do with the sport valving than just the original shocks being worn out. The rebound valving was consistent in all four shocks I pulled off the car so I don't believe there is any chance the difference was simply fro wear. I've had several LS owners tell me they replaced shocks at 100K miles because they thought they thought that was their maximum life only to notice absolutely no difference in the ride afterwards.
DIY: I did it myself but it's not something I would recommend if you don't already have some experience wrenching on cars. It took me about 5 hours and one tip I would recommend is to leave the spring compressors on the front springs when you install the strut back in the car. The default length is just a little too long to fit into the lower control arm mount and after struggling to figure out how to get it back in, I popped the compressors back on and shortened it a half inch and it went in fine. The rest is pretty much like any other strut change and you will have to remove the entire rear seat and rear deck to get to the rear strut towers.
Picture - sorry for the poor lighting.
As for the part numbers: Lexus supersceded the original part number for the later part number so I don't know if that causes any confusion. Most likely the strut that is triple the price is the one with the full shock cap and rubber inserts at the top. Those can be reused depending upon condition which is what I did. I am fairly certain that all 3rd gen LS without air shocks can use these struts and mine was on a 2004. I ordered exactly the part numbers I provided and got exactly what I wanted which was four bare struts.
Replace just the struts without springs?: Well keep in mind that you'll have to take the springs off the old struts to put them on the new struts and that is a major pain in the rear. I figured if I was going through the hassle of taking the springs off anyway I would go ahead and swap the springs with the new ones. If you decide you want to change springs later you'll have to go through the entire process all over again.
Why are they cheaper than the standard shocks? Good questions. Mine is not to wonder why
I just saw that Lexus had changed the price so I took advantage of it!Ride quality impact?: Well this is very subjective. I don't like the excessive body roll of the factory suspension for the US market so for me it was a huge improvement. It does mean you will feel the bumps and cracks in the road slightly more than your did before but having logged 12 hours driving on the highways in the last week, I'll take the more solid feel over the slightly stiffer ride all day long.
How many miles: I had 165K on my LS when I did the replacement. LS are famous for having shocks that last a LONG time and I'm certain the changes are much more to do with the sport valving than just the original shocks being worn out. The rebound valving was consistent in all four shocks I pulled off the car so I don't believe there is any chance the difference was simply fro wear. I've had several LS owners tell me they replaced shocks at 100K miles because they thought they thought that was their maximum life only to notice absolutely no difference in the ride afterwards.
DIY: I did it myself but it's not something I would recommend if you don't already have some experience wrenching on cars. It took me about 5 hours and one tip I would recommend is to leave the spring compressors on the front springs when you install the strut back in the car. The default length is just a little too long to fit into the lower control arm mount and after struggling to figure out how to get it back in, I popped the compressors back on and shortened it a half inch and it went in fine. The rest is pretty much like any other strut change and you will have to remove the entire rear seat and rear deck to get to the rear strut towers.
Picture - sorry for the poor lighting.
The following users liked this post:
bjchilds1 (11-28-21)
05-16-16, 05:35 AM
#13
Have you noticed any play in the rear? Last year I got the suspension replaced with jobbers and I hear a little knocking sound each time I hit a bump, pretty much like a loose upper struts. But they are both tight.
