sojah

iTrader: (1)

so i just ordered the bc racing coilovers for my 05 ls430UL. hopefully this friday i will be getting them installed on my car. in the past few days my rear factory air susp is going out. i'm fairly confident that only one side of the rear is actually bad but i would like to be done with it and get some nice fully adjustable coilovers installed.

i will be taking out the asc680 datasystems controller and youZealand SS kit to sell in order to hopefully recoup the expense of the coilovers but yeah if everything goes well i hope to be happier than ever with a good ride when its all said and done.

i am trying not to get my hopes up but if this swap goes smooth and the ride is as nice as i hope it will be i will be one happy ls owner again.

i'm not doing the install, a shop is, but is there anything i need to pass along that could be valuable info for the shop to know when doing the install? they will be removing the factory air components, putting in the bc coilovers, removing the ss kit (that is less than 2 months old), and hopefully not having to modify anything else in the process.

i want to run low, slightly tucking if possible but i am running 275x30x19's on the rear so i already loose a good inch of possible tucking ness and the car is already pretty low and scrapes occasionally with my almost tucked dd height right now.

nc356

iTrader: (1)

Just did same job, but went back to Lexus OEM suspension. Did the work myself. Job should be the same though.
What I remember that would be good to share:

Hardest for me was UL rear seat and roof pillar inside trim pieces removal and re-installation. Consider printing out the pages from the factory books covering R&R rear seats and trim. Consider letting an interior shop or sound system shop take out the seats maybe the day before you give the car to the mechanical guys. I ended up not fully removing the rear deck cover as the books suggest; did fine with cover just propped up for wrench access. I could do it all much quicker now, but was so afraid of damaging something it took forever.


Also consider printing out the pages from the factory books for both R&R air suspension and R&R standard too. They are slightly different and weren't obvious to me; the books saved some of my time (would be your $). The plastic air lines entering the shocks were hard to remove, but finally got them out without cutting them (112,000 miles). At the rear, I didn't remove the fender liners as instructed for air susp. R&R: worked out fine and saved a lot of time if I remember.

Only electrical changes I made were 1: pulled the 40 amp fuse for the compressor system, as recommended in earlier threads; 2: left the shock adjusters out; wire harnesses dangling. I now get no dash warnings, as I hoped. BUT: I now have lots of codes being generated silently. They don't cause any warnings so far (3 months). Maybe there's a more elegant solution. (Pulling another fuse labelled for the air system resulted in bunches of dash warnings; with the fuse back in, all returned to normal.)

I wonder if the solenoid valves that open to charge the shocks, and the one that opens to vent the shocks, are now getting a continuous signal from the level control sensors; could be I'm quietly cooking those little things, since they are probably designed for a short time in operation. That would render them useless in case I ever wanted to reinstall air (don't see it happening). Someday I must find those under the car and unplug their power supply; then see if codes or dash warnings result.

Alignment: the specs for air suspension and standard are different; I haven't re-aligned, and the car is driving perfectly, around town and on the interstate. Tires look fine too.

Point of curiosity: just learned via this site that apparently the level sensors on the left side only also control headlight level! I hoped to one day remove them when I had a little time, but now maybe I'd better not. Hope they never fail, considering their cost, just to control headlight aiming.

Good luck; hope you're as satisfied as I am after ridding myself of the air system; now my car still rides great, and seems like something I could keep for a very long time. Replacement shocks are readily available and reasonably priced.

minnyminh

iTrader: (3)

After pulling the fuse, the air components should not be working anymore. All solenoids and compressor should be inactive. I just did one recently and all was a direct swap.

DDLexus

sojah, why did you choose bc racing coilovers? Curious if you did some analysis before the decision. I'll be doing a conversion soon enough too. Any insight is appreciated.

sojah

iTrader: (1)

well i wanted the megans but they were like a grand more. i choose the bc's cuz i had read that the ride was nice and they can still go pretty low. i figured they were a good middle ground between cheap and overpriced. i have found a lot of other car forums where lots of people have these bc's but not so many on lexus's. plus the cl vendor got me with the 950 special to my door. the bc's had 30 way adjustable height and damper setting abilities and another option only had 15, so i figured 30 was better. i hear that tein cs will give you prolly the best ride but they don't go low. i hear that the meagans will give you a great ride also but they are like $2100, and what if it really isn't the best ride out there, then you are out $2k. i figured i would try out these bc's and if not happy then i will consider other options. but since i can get like 1000 back from selling the ss kit and controller it will have basically paid for it self.

i wanted to convince myself that the meagans were the better route but i couldn't find enough info to support this claim. reading 5 different peoples opinions about how their car rides who have never tried out the others ride is very very subjective to say the least. the bc's have a huge following on other forums so that helped me to solidify my choice. i'd love to feel someone else's ride quality (whoa, that sounds weird) on their coilovers before posting up my own opinions (next week) but i'm not sure if that is feasible or not.

these were my choices:

jic-magic's (cheap), bc's (middle), meagans (expensive)


btw thanks for the info nc356. i will take this up to the shop and let them know the things you pointed out, i appreciate the advice.

sojah

iTrader: (1)

i have a question though. do you have to take the wheels off in order to adjust the height on coilovers? how do you adjust the height: i know you have to loosen one thing and then turn another and then tighten the original. But how do you access the parts in order to adjust them? is it the same for the front and rear?? thanks,

bonafyd

iTrader: (6)

Sojah you'll be happy with the BC's the ride is money,you don't have to take the wheel off to adjust the height.

Nick T

You can remove the rear package shelf without removing the C-pillar covers by " lifting " the middle of the shelf and bending it a little to clear the c-pillars just be carefull not to bend it too much.

For the air lines, there are 2 clips the hold it to the shock. You can stick two small flat-head screwdrivers in to release the clips.

Regards

Ay-nako

iTrader: (25)

What when did megans become so much $$ I've got em on my car and love em but shoots?! 2100!!

BIGGZ

I've also got Megan's.and it wasnt even close to costing 2K. It cost me just as much as your BC's.

djMaru

maybe you guys we're not lucky with such deals. I thought BC coils we're expensive then megan. :/

et025

i converted my ul to tein cs. cost and labor was around $2k. the coils are close to all the way down with no wheel gap.

sojah

iTrader: (1)

originally i posted up this:

jic-magic's (cheap), bc's (middle), meagans (expensive)


i had the jic's and the meagans backwards,, it should read this:

meagans (cheap), bc's (middle), jic-magic's (expensive)

sorry for the error and good catch the jic's are the ones that were like $2100+


thanks for all the useful tips guys i appreciate it. i have been riding around on high since yesterday since the ride is so horrible now. i have to wait till monday now to get them installed and at least on high the ride is not nearly as bad as my normal almost tucked dd height. errrggggggg.. can't wait for coilovers.

what damper setting do you all ride on with your coilovers (hopefully someone with bc's will comment)? i have read on other forums that people with these bc's who want a nice luxo ride quality usually go with 5 clicks from full soft and they mention that this is a good compromise from sport to comfort.

ryan78

iTrader: (2)

bronson - i am at 8 from soft in the rear and 10 in the front, so that shoud give you good reference. once i put on the new wheels and do my fender work, i will probably go 5 from soft on the rear and 8 or so up front. will lower the front and level the car also.

sojah

iTrader: (1)

hey ryan is there a reason to go different damper settings on front and rear? i was just thinking that having all 4 the same damper setting would give it more of a balanced feel. but i guess if you have the front a little lower than the rear you would want the front a little bit firmer than the rear??