Vic Nyce

iTrader: (2)

i notice my GS with the optional 17s ride harsher than two other cars. one is my dad's 2004 camry and the other is my friends 2004 325ci with sport package. i thought that my car being the lexus is supposed to be the smoothest of the bunch?

anyway is it possible for the shocks to be blown without having the obvious symptoms? for example. bouncy ride, and shock oil all over the wheels and suspension bits. i have seen cars that bounce so much from a bump that it makes me laugh but my car just doesn't to that. also, i tried pushing down a corner repeatedly and it feels relatively stiff. theres no oil leaking from the shocks either.

the car is a 1999 GS400 with 93k. i don't think the previous owner had ever replaced the shocks

e-man

This was my exact situation 6 months ago. I have a 99 GS4 with 91k (6 months ago I had 80k). To answer your question, yes, shocks can be blown even if the car passes the 4-corner bounce test and even if there does not appear to be any oil leaking out of them.

At 80k, my car's ride seemed very harsh over uneven surfaces, and especially on the highway. I took a leap of faith and decided to replace the shocks (even though they passed all the tests). I physically inspected each of the old shocks when they were off the car, and they were pretty much done. They were relatively easy to compress and had zero rebound. We compared them to the new ones, side by side, and the difference was night and day. Whereas the new ones were harder to compress and popped back out to the full extended position within 10 seconds or so, the old ones were much easier to compress and took at least a minute if not longer to uncompress. With the new shocks, the car's ride is much more comfortable and compliant. That being said, though, I am currently looking into replacing the new stock shocks with something a little more solid. I'm not looking for a harsher ride, but I'd like to get rid of the float, shimmies and shakes that I'm currently experiencing on the highway.

Now, having been through this experience recently, I will say that I think tires have a huge impact on how a car rides. The GS with stock 17s is by no means a soft ride depending on the tires that you're running. I currently have new Turanza LS-Zs on my 17s, and the difference in terms of quiet and comfort is profound compared to some other brands/models of tires that I've run on my 17s.

Post up any questions and I'll be happy to answer them.

e

Vic Nyce

iTrader: (2)

man you rack up miles like its in style! i appreciate the speedy and thorough response. i did not think the tires would make that(!) much of a difference but the more i think about it, the more i believe it. my tires are pretty much done for. after winter, i need to get new tires for my 17s.

i do have another set of winter wheels/tires waiting to be bolted on, good thing the weather has been mild thus far.

slickgt1

iTrader: (1)

Same thing happened with me. The car became crazy rough. When I took out the shocks, they were easily compressed, and took about 10 minutes to rebound. Passed the corner test as well, as not oil leaks.