romeof1

Greetings to all,
I am soon to be the proud owner for a 1998 Lexus LS400 with 103K Miles. This is a hand-me down from my mom who is getting an Infitini M35. The Lex has been fully serviced at the 90K Mile Interval and the concern I have is the suspension on the car.
I am coming out of a Mustang GT and am used to the tight ride (but hate the harshness and bumpiness). I was wondering what I can do to the Lexus to make it tighter and handle better but without damaging anything in the car. I would like to keep it as close to OEM as possible and dont want to put unnecessary pressure on the car. I also want to keep the stock 16' tires and wheels, just want to make the car drive more like a sports car than a boat. Any ideas?

EXE.UCF10

iTrader: (3)

Congrats on the '98...you're lucky to have such a nice car for a hand-me-down. Although you won't be able to achieve the same feel of a sports car, there are ways to make it handle a bit better. First, would be to invest in a good set of coilovers (such as Tein CS). Second, would be to add a TSB and sways.

http://www.l-tunedparts.com/model/st...id=15&cat_id=7

vicpai

Since you say you want to keep the car "as stock as possible" and just want the ride to be A BIT firmer for better handling you can do what I did with my 2000 LS (virtually the same as yours). The dealer had told me that my front shocks were on their last legs, so I went ahead and changed all the 4 shocks to a set of BILSTEINS (go to their website, and you will see there is only the one type "HD" available for the LS). "HD" stands for "heavy-duty" and it improves handling, but also makes the ride firmer. The ride on my LS has, now, become a bit firmer and the handling has gotten tighter and improved significantly over the OEM shocks. I do however really miss the Lexus "magic carpet" ride which is gone now, and can get a little bit harsh over sharp bumps and potholes. However, I'm pleased with the overall tightened handling which now allows me to take corners much faster etc. Since you're coming from a Mustang you may not notice the "slightly harsher" ride at all.

www.bilstein.com

(click on the "application guide" and download it on acrobat reader. You will note that the part numbers are different for the front shocks and rear shocks. In addition you will see notes explaining what "HD" means)

Lexkost

Here's a cheap mod that does help a lot ....scroll throught it to find the part #s..for your car.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...aybar+bushings

RA40

iTrader: (6)

Most the things done to improve the handling will come at a trade-off unfortunately...this will depend on how sensitive you are to what you alter. If you have other mods in mind, you may let us know and the suggestions will follow...many of us have gone through a variety of parts along the way so we can give you some feedback.

NickG01

Okay, I'm in the same boat as romeof1, I orignially purchased a 91 LS400 for a temporary car after I totaled my 98 Audi A6 Quattro. The LS is a tank in the good sense. It was owned by a doctor for 18 years, when he traded it in a master tech at the Lexus dealership bought, because it was too old to put on the lot. The car is in excellent shape for it's age and mileage (212K and going) inside and out. Okay here's what I want, since the cars I drove before it was the Audi, a BMW 328i, and 92 corvette. The LS is a much larger car than what I am used to, but I know it can handle better, since I used to drive crown vic police cars which were just as big and didn't have that floaty ride and held going into a curve better than my lexus. Below is what I want:

1. better handling so it inspires confidence when I going into the corners. I drive this car for work which takes me through parts of KS and SW MO where there are lots of hills and of course the Ozarks and our turnpike to KC goes through this hills. So I am willing to take a harsher or firmer ride to gain that. I don't like the feeling I get when I go into a sweeping banked curves at highway speeds because of the ride and body roll. The downside is my shocks were shot and I was tight for money and I purchased a set of Monroe sensa trac OEM spec struts because I got four and paid for three. They actually aren't bad. I considering putting on new and stiffer springs, and thoughts on that.

2. The car came with 16" wheels on it, and I went back to the 15" OEM rims, which I was surprised about how light they were, but I have to admit, I think the car rode better with the 16" rims, plus I was told it was wise to use hubcentri rings with my 15" rims, but when I purchased tires for them the tech at the tire shop said it wasn't necessary, the car doesn't seem to ride as smooth as the 16" tires that were on prior and I wonder if it has to do with the OEM rims needing the hubcentric rings and having those special lug nuts and washers as compared to traditional lug nuts that center the wheel better. I considered going back to the 16" rims, but I have reservations about the wear and tear on my brakes, since I hear the brakes on the 91 are kind of weak and the added weight ratio stopping force thing when going a larger rim and tire than what brakes are designed for . Any thoughts on this

3. I am considering a chip by GF performance to give it a little more get up and go when I need it. I really don't drive that fast, I usually go 68-70 mph, but I like knowing I have the power on tap when I need it. Anyone know about this chip and if it works.

4. Lifter noise. The service manager where I recently had some work done on it said that all LS 400's do this and since the are hydraulic valves, I didn't need to bother because they adjust themselves out. The master tech who owned it told me that there is always one valve that gets a little weaker than the others, but they tend to do that and the car has 197K on it when I bought it. So should I get a valve adjustment or not?

Thanks for reading my and giving me any advice. I actually like this car and when I took it in to have the thermostat changed, I asked for a laundry list of what repairs where needed, the service manager said the car was tight and it needed nothing. WOW! the service mgr said whoever had it, took care of it. He also told me it was one of cheapest if not cheapest luxury cars to own when it came to repairs, said they just don't break down and most parts are cheaper than other luxury cars. The other day I found a complete engine and tranny for $800 with only 61K on it. I had read when Toyota brought this car out, they over built it so it would do well against BMW and Mecedes Benz. I also read, that the 90 thru 93 years were the best for the LS400 series before it went to the LS430. I am glad to know, which I have to do in the next couple of months, a timing belt and water pump will only cost me half as much as it did on my Audi. We are talking $500 to $600 as compared to $1200 on my Audi. So it's a keeper, just want it to perform a little better especially in sweeping banked curves. I really would like to keep it. Thank you.

Sc0pe

iTrader: (1)

1. Check out H&R Sport Springs. Slightly stiffer than stock, and they also give you a slight drop. Alternatively, you can go for a full coilover upgrade (BC Racing [can be valved to your desired spring rates] and Megan Racing are favorites here in ClubLexus) - with this, you also get further adjustment of ride height, and the ability to fine-tune the stiffness/softness of your overall setup.

2. 16" wheels aren't that bad. All the newer '95+ LS400s (including my '99) came with 16" wheels. If you're looking to play with wheel/tire combos, check out this tire calculator from Miata.net. This way, you can make sure that your wheel/tire matches the stock size so you don't have any speedometer misreadings. If you want to upgrade the brake feel, look into getting some Goodridge SS Brake Lines. Anything more than that is probably warrants big brake kit from Futura Design (custom colors from the factory), Brembo, or Rotora.

3. The ECU in the LS400 is completely locked down. No amount of fancy chip work will get anything more out of the engine. The closest thing to an upgrade you can do is fixing the capacitors in the ECU. Since the ECU controls a good deal of the car's inner workings, you will fix a host of other potential issues, as well as restoring that stock V8 feel.

4. Wait for an experienced member.

JSC4

iTrader: (3)

I think shocks are the culprit on these things. I have 2 93 LSs, 1 with old shocks, 1 with new. Huge difference. Upgraded to coils and its even better (for me) but with custom spring rates of 18k f 16k r. It might be too harsh/bumpy for you (cuz its bumpy for me but i dont mind )

dc893

I have a 92 and the valve tick is driving me insane. The valve adjustment is a very time consuming project. The parts didn't seem to be too expensive iirc. The labor just kills you on that though. I was quoted about $1,200!!! The service technician said don't worry about it because it's not worth spending the money unless the noise is annoying me that much or it gets a lot loud. Mine has been making the tick for well over a year now.

NickG01

Great info, looks like the economic route for me to try first is the H&R springs, and I just saw a post about the ECU Capacitors that my be why my speedo isn't working right. So I'm thinking of going back to the 16" wheels, with H&R Sport Springs, fix the capacitors, and maybe consider some catbacks or flowmasters, oh the brake lines too. Thinking of a headlight upgrade, my just try brighter bulbs first. By the way is there any preference on the timing belt kit? Thanks everyone.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

1-new shocks (tokicos), H&R springs if you want to drop it a bit.
2- stock wheels or aftermarket? What tire size are you running?
3- speedo is unrelated to the ECU. no chips available, if they're selling it they're lying. only performance options are standalones and piggybacks.
4- not hydraulic at all, lifter adjustment is doable if you're patient but not really worth it unless the noise is driving you mad.