kam1996

Hey guys:
I am thinking about starting of with the TRD strut brace and sway bars to fix or improve the mushy front and the slow turn in, and also to improve the over all feel of the car.
Are there any of you who have all three, the brace, and both the sway bars on their cars, if yes then how do you guys like them.
I am hoping to order in the next couple of weeks, From what I found after searching the forums, is that Carson Toyota is one of the better places to buy from.
Let me know what you guys think.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

TRD sways, make a HUGE difference in reducing body roll. TRD front strut bar will make the car feel 'tighter' over uneven bumps but it's not a huge difference. TRD LCB, hard to say.

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

Yes, absolutely worth it. Also consider the Daizen sway bars (do a search to look for info on those please, plenty of recent threads).

If you want to come to Charlotte, I can arrange a ride in my GS with all the suspension goodies and probably can get one with TomTNC who has the Daizens.

1QWKGS4

iTrader: (3)

Kam,
I'm comtemplating the exact same thing as you.. I'm going to start with the TRD STB and Daizen Sways. I'm kinda hesitant about going to LCB cause I think It may affect the ride - may make it harder because the car will be stiffer.. correct me if I'm wrong?

I'll be ordering my stuff from Carson Toyota.. I heard good things from that place..

Don

brendanlim

From what I've read (and I've been reading A LOT about suspension lately!) - the LCB isn't that noticeable. The sways is what is going to cause the harsh ride but the daizen's have three different settings and have been proven to be more "comfortable" than the TRD Race sways (blue). rominl has a big write-up on the TRD and Daizen sways.

FilBoiLsGs

I'd been driving a GS3/4 for so many years.After I joined CL lately I felt the addiction of modifying my car to be endless. I want to make sure before I purchase anything that what I really wanted. What bothers me is that many people are modifying their cars then all of a sudden i saw them pulling out those parts and selling at a loss. Some are going back to stock and maybe others are not happy with the end results especially the effect to smooth ride, while others end up upgrading for more. At this point I am confused, LOL... eventhough I am in the process of getting the coil over for ( ouch! $1400) I hope I'll be happy with it. Someone is selling me a tail light ( Junction Produce for , ouch again $1,350 ) and another guy is selling me a Zauber Gettings for ( ouch! and ouch! almost 4 grand ) My Secretary of Budget is now getting crazy asking me what am I doing with my car? Or " Is there something wrong with our Lexus? LOL.... and she asked me:
" How come you have too much withdrawal from the bank buying Lexus parts? " She thought our Lexus is reliable, but how come I ordered too much parts...LOL... Anyways, I am addicted now but I have to handle this addiction slowly.....I hope she would approve the budget for installation costs.

RMMGS4

iTrader: (5)

Almost Every suspension mod will add a little harshness, others will call that better driver feel and control. How much harshness vs handling you are willing to put up with as a trade off to the original Lexus ride is up to you. No one else can tell what you will be happy with.

The Shock/springs/sways are the most bang for the buck. Daizen Sways are claimed by some to be smoother with equivalent/ better handling to the TRD race sways. Your biggest control over ride will be the shock/spring selection. Adjustable coilovers are the only way to go if you think you will be that finicky and tweek crazy.

I adjust my ride on my car using the dash mounted EDFC. Full soft for cruising and harder settings for varying road conditions and driving style. That is the closest to the "best of both worlds " as I can get.

Then the spring stiffness is another major ride factor. If you choose Tein coilovers, you will be able to select from a smooth, almost stock to a full race set up. CS, FLEX, HA from soft to hard , respectively. Each set up has 16 levels of adjustable shock dampening, so there is some ability for ride adjustment within the stiffness range of each model.

As far as lower control braces. After two years of driving with upper STB, coilovers and sways, I then added the Front and rear LCB's and the six link all at once. The difference I noticed was considerable, but not significant. I could tell you that I could even feel the difference going 30 mph in a tight turn, so that is pretty good I think. My opinion is that if you add the lower braces, you should evaluate it as a complete system as I did. You are not likely to tell much difference adding one at a time, but the whole set as a system IS a noticeable difference. How many people would evaluate the performance of adding just one coilover shock at a time? My point is, when adding the eight lower braces the improvement will be cumulative, just like having all 4 shocks/springs changed at the same time.

The ride jolt over pot holes is also much more noticable, so be aware.

1QWKGS4

iTrader: (3)

Brendan,
Thanks for the info bro. I just talked to Todd at TM engineering and we were talking about the LCB and suspension on the GS. He said- The GS already has one down there, and adding another won't do that much more(not really noticeable) unless you are going to go all out racing..

I guess I know what's in store for me - I just order my stuff from Todd at TM..
Steve- never returned my email.. and Todd took time to call me- shows dedication to service..

Don

Neo

iTrader: (3)

For those thinking of beefing up the front, don't forget the rear. The GS's rear is somewhat "jiggly". When I had just the sways and front LCB, I always felt unsure of the rear. The Tom's RLCB did the trick. Now I did not have the Daizen's at the time so I don't know if tweaking the settings would have helped.

kam1996

trying to get a little better feel of the car, loose the soft turn in..and keep as much of the soft ride as possible..i know i am asking for a lot..but i was hoping that adding the STB and the sways will give me better feeling, and still keep most of straight line soft feel..I cant justify the coil covers or any other option since i just bought the car ..as far as wife knows tyhis is supposed to be much more reliable of a car..so explaining a 2000 plus expense might not be possible at this time..
thanks for all your input

RMMGS4

iTrader: (5)

I agree with what Todd said, but are you asking about only the front LCB, cause that's the only piece being replaced with a stiffer one? So of course like I said when adding one item ,let alone one that is a replacement to an existing part , it is not going to be much improvement by itself.

The rear seven pieces are "added" on to the existing suspension and will stiffen areas that had no previous support. My statement still stands that if you add all of the lower braces, you will be able to tell a difference. Let me note that by this point you should of added every other major suspension mod available before going to these braces as the "last" suspension mod improvement. A lot of people may choose not to add these parts at all since it is a "Hard Core" set up. Most people don't drive their cars to the limit to appreciate or require the braces.

koreanpers

i have heard great things about the Daizens...and Toms lower control brace. that is what i will get eventually. for now, i am satisfied w/ the L-tuned struts w/ eibach springs

RMMGS4

iTrader: (5)

It's all about balance isn't it? I'm glad that front & rear shocks and sways aren't sold separately or else we would have some pretty un-balanced and dangerous vehicles on the road out there.

Tom's should have just sold the LCB's as a whole system, instead of piece meal. That would help eliminate the controversy over the effectiveness of LCB's if everyone had all the parts to put on instead of pick and choose, mix and match , etc.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

People sell their parts most often because they're selling the car or because they're switching one mod out for another.

FilBoiLsGs

To all:

Thanks a lot for the input guys. Now it is getting clearer with regards to the suspension mods. I would like to make a follow up question to any expert in this particular thread. My GS right now, with a stock suspension and 17 inch wheel, I think it is already noisy ( maybe I'd been pampered with the tomb-quite LS4/430) and bumpy for my taste. What I want is, still to maintain the smooth ride of the car. My problem with the stock suspension is the body lean. I think that's my major concern because I could still drive the car @ 65/70 mph passing others in the cloverleaf and I think the car could still grip the pavement consistently. I am wearing a Dunlop SP9000. My goal is to remove the body lean but still maintain the composure of the Lexus quality ride and looking forward to wear 18 or 19 inch wheel.

Now for the experts out there, this are my questions:

1) If you are given the chance to modify, what would you do to the suspension and adjoining parts to come up with the above goal and prepare the car for the future 18 or 19 inch wheel set up without removing anything and switching that might cost more?

2) What brand ( Tom's/TRD/Ugo, TTE, l-tuned, lsportline... etc..) would you buy as a set ( without mix-match ) and still attain the almost perfect balance ( also consider warranty ) and why?

3) The challenging part: Since the coil over is too expensive ( est. 1,500 + install ) How would you spend the same amount to complete the suspension set up ( suspension cost only; without wheels) that can work with perfect harmony with the 300 hp stock engine?

All intelligent answers are highly appreciated by those who are about to begin their endless modification journey.