gpb

Does the LS430 with air suspension ride softer than ones without it? Are ones with air suspension quieter riding?

DNC

My Ultra has the larger rims and the air suspension. A friend of mine has a non air suspension car with smaller rims. His car rides a lot better than mine. I suspect it is due to the smaller rims.

sojah

iTrader: (1)

when you say larger rims, what size are you talking about? i have a ul and i think they all came with 17's stock. the air suspension ul's ride much softer and floatier than the non UL's but have a lot less road feel and performance feel.

i prefer to have my cake and eat it to.

but scientifically (although lots of things factor in) a car with smaller wheels will usually have bigger tires and will therefore ride smoother and the opposite is true for larger size wheels. (in most cases).

BlackUltra

I started looking for a LS430 after driving my brother's LS430 w/o air-suspension. I bought an Ultra because I could feel the softer ride difference between the air-suspension and driving a LS 430 without it. However, I have the 18" wheels but when I was driving a LS430UL with 17" inch tires it was a noticeably softer ride. In fact I think it may have been quieter too. Therefore I concluded that the 17" wheels offer the best ride if you are looking for "softer". I don't mind the firmer and less floaty feel with the 18" wheels though.

Griff48

I guess I have a different opinion, although mine is based on the '99 LS. I owned a '99 with steel springs. Out of curiosity I drove an otherwise identical '99 with air suspension. The car was on a used lot near home. I could not tell any difference at all in ride or drive quality.

A friend who has owned all kinds of Lexus agrees. If there is a ride quality advantage to either, it is small. Like the other poster stated, the air ride might be "floatier". But not much.

My '04 has the air ride (and 17" wheels), and the "advantages" appear to be: automatic ride height leveling for changes in load, the ability to raise the car a couple of inches for certain road conditions, and (I might be wrong here) you get the adjustable shocks. I have read that the adjustable shocks work with the PCS to "set the car up" if the PCS thinks a collision might be imminent.

Whether the air ride is worth it is up to you. Higher initial cost with the possible maintenance headaches down the road? I wouldn't do it, except that I wanted the UL and that's the way they came.

Gene

sojah

iTrader: (1)

i think the difference in the UL and non UL ride quality in the 04-06 ls's is pretty noticeable but like you said there is more cost and more possible maintenance cost associated with the ul.

BlackUltra

I agree and after reading all the issues reported on this forum for the air suspension decided to by a warranty 6 yr/60k mi specifically. So far, with the OD at 42K no problems and I'm covered up to 95K. Honestly, my 06 LS430UL is absolutely the most comfortable riding and quietest automobile I have ever owned. I'm 62 so that includes a lot of cars and the only one that came close was a Lincoln Mark VII with air-suspension. So I must like the air ride, huh?

sojah

iTrader: (1)

if you don't mind my asking, and if you do maybe you could just PM me, but what did you pay for the extended warranty does this include the air susp at 100% if one or many struts fail?? also what if you have the aftermarket wheels on, how will this affect your warranty stuff? was there a limit as to when you could still sign up for this warranty, like it had to be a 5 year old less than 50k car?? thanks blackultra....

mafpolo

My experience is that my air susp. is a firmer ride but not harsh. However, due to the potential issues that air suspension can have, and Lexus's screwed up "gangsta squat" design, I would avoid air suspension.

The ride difference is not worth it - call it diminishing return

BlackUltra

Wow, I don't know if the aftermarket wheels affect the coverage. I got the Platinum and it covers everything that is not wear related like brakes, tires, wiper blades but supposedly not as good as the Lexus warranty. I got the Fidelity warranty when the car was 3 years old and had 1 year left on the original warranty. It also had 35K and with the 60K warranty takes me up to 5years / 60k from date and mileage of purchase (ie 8years/95K.) Since it is under 100K when it comes off warranty I may have got a better deal. However, two Lexus dealers started quoting my 5/60 warranty at $2600. I negotiated down from there and had one of them tell me that it wouldn't be worth the trouble of selling it below $2200. Yet the other one did go somewhat lower. I would rather not state the exact price I paid as it probably would not be a fair indicator because I bought it last Nov in the middle of the banking crisis. Consequently, everyone was running scared and I got a great deal on the car and the warranty.

LS430inDE.

I don't understand. Could you be referencing Al Gore's "science"?

willroe1

Need some help: Bought an '02 430UL with air suspension. Rt. rear strut is bad. Has anyone converted over to std. suspension? If so, what's all involved. Replacement strut cost app. a grand w/o installation. Any sugestions

piggieback

Check out for sale section, someone is selling all four struts for $500.

drink300

I've owned both - an 03 with metal springs and an 04 Ultra with Air. I cannot say that the difference is noticeable enough to supplant the downsides of warranty issues and the "right-rear lean".

Overall, I think wheel size and tire selection are FAR more important and if you want the smoothest ride, go for 17" rims and the finest tires money can buy.

KILLERGS4

UL in 2004 came with 17" but UL in 2005-06 came with 18".... 18" looks so much better and beefer...