My Tanabe NF210 Lowering Spring Install Experience/Info Thread
04-09-12, 10:12 AM
#33
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Thread Starter
This is the CL vendor marketplace and PM the vendors for their best price for whatever lowering method you want whether coilovers or Tanabe springs.
I used one of the vendors here with a long history here on CL for a couple reasons. 1) support the vendors 2) feel better knowing I am getting authentic products and not counterfeit since there is a lot of that going on ebay and other auction sites.
There may be people selling unused sets because many are concerned about not having a camber solution yet or decided to go coilovers. You may be able to get a great price through another member to be honest. If not, expect to pay anywhere between $225 and $250 shipped would be my guess for a new set of Tanabes..good luck!
04-09-12, 10:14 AM
#34
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Thread Starter
04-09-12, 10:29 AM
#35
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Thread Starter
Ok guys, I'm putting on my flame suit just in case but here goes anyway.
For those of us with Tanabe's, in most cases the front end sits lower than the rear as far as overall stance goes. I like the way that looks actually but would the car handle very bad if I was to replace the front Tanabe springs and stock shocks in place of a set of front adjustable coilovers?
Now hear me out before you flame me lol..
The thought here is this. My rear camber and toe is actually still within acceptable specs and the rear tires are wearing perfectly even per my earlier post witht the Tanabes. They say for every inch you lower the car, you can expect about .80 degrees of camber to change. If that is true, then if I had coilovers up front, I could raise the car up about .75" or 1" up and perhaps make the car sit even and improve camber dramatically for situations like extended road trips. I could dial in the dampening on the front to mimic the spring rates of the rear Tanabe's.
I know most of you are thinking why don't I just do coilovers all around? Well, honestly I shouldn't need to because the rear tanabe's sit perfect and I like the way they ride, my issue is only the front half of the car when it comes to uneven tire wear. Even raising the car about 1/2" in the front would really help the tire wear I think...just brainstorming here folks..any major issues with this concept?
The only issues I could see is the there is no setting that would mimic the tanabe spring rate (dampening) and the car would have dramatically different handling between front and rear ends...and the another issue could be a vendor selling just the fronts and break up a set, but I assume they have stock to replace things under warranty, so perhaps they can do a la carte..I dunno..
Thoughts?
For those of us with Tanabe's, in most cases the front end sits lower than the rear as far as overall stance goes. I like the way that looks actually but would the car handle very bad if I was to replace the front Tanabe springs and stock shocks in place of a set of front adjustable coilovers?
Now hear me out before you flame me lol..
The thought here is this. My rear camber and toe is actually still within acceptable specs and the rear tires are wearing perfectly even per my earlier post witht the Tanabes. They say for every inch you lower the car, you can expect about .80 degrees of camber to change. If that is true, then if I had coilovers up front, I could raise the car up about .75" or 1" up and perhaps make the car sit even and improve camber dramatically for situations like extended road trips. I could dial in the dampening on the front to mimic the spring rates of the rear Tanabe's.
I know most of you are thinking why don't I just do coilovers all around? Well, honestly I shouldn't need to because the rear tanabe's sit perfect and I like the way they ride, my issue is only the front half of the car when it comes to uneven tire wear. Even raising the car about 1/2" in the front would really help the tire wear I think...just brainstorming here folks..any major issues with this concept?
The only issues I could see is the there is no setting that would mimic the tanabe spring rate (dampening) and the car would have dramatically different handling between front and rear ends...and the another issue could be a vendor selling just the fronts and break up a set, but I assume they have stock to replace things under warranty, so perhaps they can do a la carte..I dunno..
Thoughts?
05-15-12, 12:58 PM
#36
Ok guys, I'm putting on my flame suit just in case but here goes anyway.
For those of us with Tanabe's, in most cases the front end sits lower than the rear as far as overall stance goes. I like the way that looks actually but would the car handle very bad if I was to replace the front Tanabe springs and stock shocks in place of a set of front adjustable coilovers?
Now hear me out before you flame me lol..
The thought here is this. My rear camber and toe is actually still within acceptable specs and the rear tires are wearing perfectly even per my earlier post witht the Tanabes. They say for every inch you lower the car, you can expect about .80 degrees of camber to change. If that is true, then if I had coilovers up front, I could raise the car up about .75" or 1" up and perhaps make the car sit even and improve camber dramatically for situations like extended road trips. I could dial in the dampening on the front to mimic the spring rates of the rear Tanabe's.
I know most of you are thinking why don't I just do coilovers all around? Well, honestly I shouldn't need to because the rear tanabe's sit perfect and I like the way they ride, my issue is only the front half of the car when it comes to uneven tire wear. Even raising the car about 1/2" in the front would really help the tire wear I think...just brainstorming here folks..any major issues with this concept?
The only issues I could see is the there is no setting that would mimic the tanabe spring rate (dampening) and the car would have dramatically different handling between front and rear ends...and the another issue could be a vendor selling just the fronts and break up a set, but I assume they have stock to replace things under warranty, so perhaps they can do a la carte..I dunno..
Thoughts?
For those of us with Tanabe's, in most cases the front end sits lower than the rear as far as overall stance goes. I like the way that looks actually but would the car handle very bad if I was to replace the front Tanabe springs and stock shocks in place of a set of front adjustable coilovers?
Now hear me out before you flame me lol..
The thought here is this. My rear camber and toe is actually still within acceptable specs and the rear tires are wearing perfectly even per my earlier post witht the Tanabes. They say for every inch you lower the car, you can expect about .80 degrees of camber to change. If that is true, then if I had coilovers up front, I could raise the car up about .75" or 1" up and perhaps make the car sit even and improve camber dramatically for situations like extended road trips. I could dial in the dampening on the front to mimic the spring rates of the rear Tanabe's.
I know most of you are thinking why don't I just do coilovers all around? Well, honestly I shouldn't need to because the rear tanabe's sit perfect and I like the way they ride, my issue is only the front half of the car when it comes to uneven tire wear. Even raising the car about 1/2" in the front would really help the tire wear I think...just brainstorming here folks..any major issues with this concept?
The only issues I could see is the there is no setting that would mimic the tanabe spring rate (dampening) and the car would have dramatically different handling between front and rear ends...and the another issue could be a vendor selling just the fronts and break up a set, but I assume they have stock to replace things under warranty, so perhaps they can do a la carte..I dunno..
Thoughts?
i have changed my tires about 4-5 times now....generally getting about 10K out of em before they go kaput....no one tire company last longer...tried em all!.....no i don't reverse them left to right....yes i do know you can get more miles out of em....too lazy to goto GTE every time to do that....yes, alignment is is same as yours, even with 2mm brackets installed...i came to same conclusion as you that coilovers will probably be best....i only know of jc and meghan racing that has it for our cars.....aftermarket camber bushing would prolly be best without dumping any more money into the car....it's a money pit with the constant tire changes i know, lol....
email me (thisway@hotmail.com) and we'll talk sometime....i'm in gwinnett county
oh and i just ran over something and busted up the front tire and bent one of the rims....wheel wizard? is suppose to get em fixed and then GTE will put new tires on em again....and the merry go round keeps on spinning!....sad i know....
Last edited by tennisstar; 05-15-12 at 01:01 PM.
05-15-12, 02:28 PM
#37
Moderator
Thread Starter
Hey man..good info..I have about 5k miles and my tires are doing OK. Good to hear from you though..all these ATL meets we have and I never see you? Let's chat for real about these tires
07-09-12, 07:38 AM
#38
Moderator
Thread Starter
Final pics of car on tanabe nf210 springs
Hey Everyone, I thought I would post up these most recent pics of my car with the stock wheels sitting on the Tanabe NF210 coil springs. I sold the car last week and I am migrating over to a LWB with air suspension for a new round of modding.
These pics will show how the springs will settle over the course of about a year. To me, the ride quality is still amazing, especially on the spongy 18 inch stock wheels/tires. I know a couple folks here on CL that did not like the Tanabe's, but I thought they were great!! If you don't want to go with bigger wheels, then I think the 19" touring wheels with this drop would look very nice!!
These pics will show how the springs will settle over the course of about a year. To me, the ride quality is still amazing, especially on the spongy 18 inch stock wheels/tires. I know a couple folks here on CL that did not like the Tanabe's, but I thought they were great!! If you don't want to go with bigger wheels, then I think the 19" touring wheels with this drop would look very nice!!
09-04-12, 11:03 PM
#39
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Correction: I used the wrong column of numbers on the gauge, so corrections are below, basically increasing by one number. Ex: 7/32 is now 8/32
April 2012 update:
OK, just trying to really provide real time updates on how tire life has been on the 22" Vossens and dropped on the Tanabe coil springs.
Most of us on dropped LS's are concerned about tire wear, so I just bought a treadwear depth gauge from autozone for $3.99 and will track tirewear each month starting here in April.
Rear 295/25/22 Continental DWS tires installed in Dec 2011 @ 62,100 miles
April 2012 measurements @ 66,500 miles:
Left rear tire tread:
Inner - 8/32nds
Middle - 8/32
Outer - 8/32
Right rear tire tread:
Inner - 8/32nds
Middle - 8/32
Outer - 8/32
Front 245/30/22 Continental DWS tires installed in Jan 2012 @ 64,200 miles . 265/30s were rubbing and had to switch out to 245/30..luckily for free.
Left Front Tire Tread:
Inner: 8/32nds
Middle: 11/32
Outer: 11/32
Right Front Tire Tread:
Inner: 8/32nds
Middle: 11/32
Outer: 11/32
So, good news is rear tires are wearing evenly across inner, middle and rear tread grooves despite the appearance of the wheels/tires being bowed in since the springs have settled.
Bad news is the front tires are wearing unevenly as expected and will need replacements sooner. The DWS tires are asymmetrical and not "flippable" so I can't maximize tire life. Next tires will need to be either symmetrical or directional so I can flip the tires to use both sides of the tire and perhaps double tire life if done properly.
I will post up measurements in June to see if they are holding up. For the first 1000 miles I was riding on a less than perfect alignment so I lost some valuable mileage during that time on the rears.
April 2012 update:
OK, just trying to really provide real time updates on how tire life has been on the 22" Vossens and dropped on the Tanabe coil springs.
Most of us on dropped LS's are concerned about tire wear, so I just bought a treadwear depth gauge from autozone for $3.99 and will track tirewear each month starting here in April.
Rear 295/25/22 Continental DWS tires installed in Dec 2011 @ 62,100 miles
April 2012 measurements @ 66,500 miles:
Left rear tire tread:
Inner - 8/32nds
Middle - 8/32
Outer - 8/32
Right rear tire tread:
Inner - 8/32nds
Middle - 8/32
Outer - 8/32
Front 245/30/22 Continental DWS tires installed in Jan 2012 @ 64,200 miles . 265/30s were rubbing and had to switch out to 245/30..luckily for free.
Left Front Tire Tread:
Inner: 8/32nds
Middle: 11/32
Outer: 11/32
Right Front Tire Tread:
Inner: 8/32nds
Middle: 11/32
Outer: 11/32
So, good news is rear tires are wearing evenly across inner, middle and rear tread grooves despite the appearance of the wheels/tires being bowed in since the springs have settled.
Bad news is the front tires are wearing unevenly as expected and will need replacements sooner. The DWS tires are asymmetrical and not "flippable" so I can't maximize tire life. Next tires will need to be either symmetrical or directional so I can flip the tires to use both sides of the tire and perhaps double tire life if done properly.
I will post up measurements in June to see if they are holding up. For the first 1000 miles I was riding on a less than perfect alignment so I lost some valuable mileage during that time on the rears.
09-05-12, 12:23 AM
#40
Moderator
Thread Starter
Yes, please see post #14 of this info thread https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...ls-thread.html
This post in my Vossen install info thread speaks to the front issue I had https://www.clublexus.com/forums/6976469-post71.html
If you need more info, just google "cjitty tanabe vossen clublexus.com" and a ton of posts will be at your disposal for your research..good luck
This post in my Vossen install info thread speaks to the front issue I had https://www.clublexus.com/forums/6976469-post71.html
If you need more info, just google "cjitty tanabe vossen clublexus.com" and a ton of posts will be at your disposal for your research..good luck
Last edited by CJITTY; 09-05-12 at 12:36 AM.
10-02-16, 05:28 AM
#44
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Thread Starter
I suggest you find a new shop. They should know that ALL LS600s have air suspension and not coil springs and struts...you need the ASC680L air suspension controller to lower the car..easiest route.
10-02-16, 06:02 AM
#45
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Thanks for responding CJITTY, I just spent hours reading lots of threads about the air suspension controller to lower the car, yes it seems a lot easier to deal with. I just couldn't find how the installation process goes. I believe you put one up years ago, but the pictures were dead, not sure why that occurs. I guess I just have to order it and try to understand the instructions or take to a shop that can do it for me.
