jimrx300

Hi everyone,

My wife and I just brought home a 2001 RX300 Silversport with 106k miles on it. Looks great, seems in great condition, love the car -- fingers crossed for many years of great experiences with it!

Does anyone know exactly what the difference is between the "Euro-tuned" suspension in the Silversport and the standard RX300 suspension? I haven't been able to find any specific information.

Thanks!

Jim

mklemovitc

I have an 01 Silversport. When I bought it I drove both and the SS suspension seems a bit stiffer (shocks and springs I believe) and gave one a closer feeling connection to the road. It's not dramatic though - I'd say about a 10-20% difference.

Do you mind sharing what you paid? I'm looking to move up to a 2010 450h and was wondering what the going price is on the market.

jimrx300

Thanks for the information. That's how we would describe our experience driving the Silversport and other 2001's today, so looks like the difference has held up over time. It's interesting that there doesn't seem to be any technical information on the differences in the suspensions, but I'm mostly just curious.

I'm new here and a little uncomfortable sharing exactly what we paid -- I hope you'll understand. We ended up buying from a dealer, and the 2001s we saw at Lexus dealers in our area, in good condition with mileage ranging from 90k to about 115k, seemed to have asking prices over 13k but to have room to negotiate down, including below retail blue book. I'm speculating a bit, but that was the impression we got as we talked numbers with dealers. Of course, we also might be the suckers in the market

Hope that helps a bit.

ExPatBrit

We paid 11,800 for a 2001 Silversport AWD with 107K about 6 weeks ago (GM dealer used car lot). We are in the Pacific NW.

Car had two problems, broken antenna and second ignition key had a bad lock button. I DIY'd both issues for less than $30.

Car had new timing belt and plugs. Drives excellent wife loves it.

We looked at about a dozen cars, we nearly bought one at a Lexus dealer but they were way too pushy. (We liked the vehicle and didn't dicker with the price but wanted to pay cash but for some reason that was not acceptable).

mklemovitc

Thanks for the replies - that helps. Best wishes with your Silversports. Mine has been a lot of fun and looks great.

defo

iTrader: (6)

This has been discussed quite a bit. I seems the part numbers for the struts and springs are identical between silver sport and regular RX's. That would suggest that Toyota used thicker sway bars on the silver sport model to give it that "euro-tuned" ride.

Someone on this forum should be able to verify that by comparing part numbers. If that is indeed what was done, anyone should be able to upgrade to the "Euro-tuned" suspension for approx. $200

LA4Mead

I've been trying to find more information on this. Can anyone help with part numbers or sources for the "euro-tuned" sway bars?

Thanks!

mrbeefy65

I am looking into this. I got a VIN from a silversport vehicle off autotrader and going to the dealer today and see if the part #'s are different from mine.

I have a 2002 RX (with 68k miles ), just got it Saturday and of course I have the mod bug already (mostly want NAV and better handling). The parts guys at both Lexus dealers I have gone to are very friendly and have no problems giving out part #'s which is nice (Chantilly, VA Lexus is open 365 days a year until 11pm - WOW!!!). I figure I will buy a cabin filter from him to at least give him some business...

mrbeefy65

Went to the dealer and the parts guy did a quick lookup of the Silversport rear suspension and he said it showed that the Struts, Springs, and sway bar were different in the rear, he didn't get around to checking the front. He said he had never heard of the Silversport.

There was a line of customers so he asked if I would email him and he could get me the part #'s tomorrow morning...

I am leaning towards getting the sway bars and maybe do KYB/H&R for the struts and springs later...

mrbeefy65

Well I only got the rear stabilizer bar part # from the local parts guy. I dunno if he is unmotivated because he thinks I will buy elsewhere. I googled it and found this link to lexuspartsnow.com which shows the rear suspension and that the silversport had different struts, springs, and rear stabilizer. http://www.lexuspartsnow.com/compone...8-04-2219.html

Nice to find a web site that shows the part #'s, not just a description...
You can also put in the vin and lookup parts that way and I did it for the silversport vin and mine and looks like the parts that are different on a silversport are (part #'s on right):

Front struts 520-49375 (LH) 510-49265 (RH)
Front springs 131-48120 (x2)
Rear Struts 540-49125 (LH) 530-49195 (RH)
Rear springs 231-48090 (x2)
Rear stabilizer bar 812-48050
Rear stabilizer bar bushing 818-21050 (x2)

JetRex

This is an old thread-- although not as old as the previous (2002?) one discussing RX300 sway bars specifcally-- hope I can revive it successfully--

There still seem to be few options to address RX300 boat like handling-- but if you search long enough you may find one of these:
http://www.frsport.com/Cusco-Front-A...0_p_54922.html

--but I can't find anyone who has tried them. Any one tried them-- or even familiar with this brand on another application?

Lexmex

Welcome to the Club.

It's still a good find nevertheless. We've had discussions about these over the years, especially with our esteemed colleague TunedRX300. You can find other examples on ebay, but they are particularly more popular overseas in Asia, though on a trip about 6 years ago in Jamaica, I also met some Harrier/RX300 owners who had done suspension modifications. I don't necessarily see the need to do it on U.S. roads, but had I stayed any bit longer in Mexico City (over 6 years there was long enough), I would have seriously considered more suspension modifications.

LA4Mead

Great Find, Jet!

Thanks for posting this link. I'm interested in hearing from others, too.

I wonder:

Is 25 mm larger than OE? (Although I imagine so).

Does it come with stout end links... the OE end links are really wimpy looking. (A call to the vendor will confirm how to source the end links, I suppose, but it looks like it comes with the bushings).

What about the rear bar? Does it need to match the upgrade at the front?

We never heard definitively about ordering OE Silversport sway bars... We speculated they would be different and have different part numbers, but knowing if they are really different and having part numbers to order would be really great.

Finally... I want! My biggest gripe is the leaning and lazy handling. Thanks again Jet for posting this.

IGadget

While looking for information about higher performance bushing options for Mrs. Gadget's RX300, I came across this thread and felt compelled to respond.

Personally, I drive a Subaru Legacy GT wagon and spend time on a Subaru enthusiast website. Cusco makes quality components and many owners on the Subaru forum are using Cusco parts. I wouldn't hesitate for a second to buy this sway bar, which I just may do. If possible, I would want to upgrade the rear bar too.



I could be mistaken, but I think the Cusco bar is about 10mm larger than the OEM bar.

JetRex

Thanks for all the responses guys. A funny thing happened, (which probably would have been the first thing to happen had it been twenty years ago if I were buying parts for my Bronco) -I broke down and called the Cusco distributor FRSport (on the phone!!!) and just asked them about the bars; specifically why I couldn't find any info about them-- she said they had never sold a pair! Her "review" of Cusco was much the same as Igadget in that she said they are a very reputable outfit who makes roll cages (among other things) for various applications and are well respected for fit and finish. Years ago I ordered a sway bar for a Mustang that didn't fit worth a damn-- that's the sort of thing you can't just heat and bend to fit-- I ended up sending it back and never got another one-- so I was a bit leery of repeating that fiasco. I decided I would order just the front one from FRS, see how it worked out and then later order the rear if all went well. However, as they have never sold one-- it seems that Cusco may not have made many either- so there are/were none in stock. With such a long wait I decided to take a chance and order both. I ordered the sway bars about the same time of this first post and still don't have one, but they are slated for delivery in mid August. I'll keep everyone posted. On a side note, I recently became acquainted with a guy with an RX350- who sort of corrected my descriptions of the bobble-head handling by saying that it sort of leans into corners to a point, but then it settles down and sort of "grabs". I've decided he's right about that-- it doesn't really roll over the way a mini van or Explorer might. On a curve-- say under 50mph-- the sway is manageable once you get used to it, but its that long distance shift from left to right on a switch back or mountain pass that freaks me out! --really looking forward to curing that.