pot_head

and the ride is still very good. of course its bumpy when you go on bumpy streets but the ride is tight and firm =)

i put it on the lowest setting. im not sure exactly how much lower than stock that is. the front looks fine, the wheelwell just touches the tire....kinda. but the rear still has a gap. about an inch or so. damn. the shop i took it to said the springs i have are designed for the gs, and the gs400's rear end is quite a bit heavier than mine so it looks lower on a gs.

then he said i should have no problems cutting a coil off the rear springs since its the eibach progressive, and he told me to make sure my springs are progressive first before i chop a coil off. what are your guys thoughts on this? chopping one coil off progressive springs? thanks.

LexFather

Got any pics coming? Not sure if cutting things is good.

2SAVVY

Gene,

Stock height on mine is 28" in the front (I didn't measure the rear but I think it is a bit higher) and I think my garage is LEVEL

PH,

How much did the L-Sportline kit run you and why didn't you go with the Tein HA or CS coilovers instead?? Just curious..
And NEVER cut a coil.. BIG BIG mistake if you do.. Just looking out!

Ken

pot_head

ok im not going to cut the springs. thanks for all your info. i'll get some pics up tonight. i gotta buy batteries for my digital camera(fuji). its a cheap camera tho, only 1.3megapix(or whatever). i dont have stock wheels on but i do have 18" wheels and i'll do some measuring when i get home.

pot_head

ok i used the wheel diameter calculator on my other thread and it looks like if i were to use 275/30/20 tires on the lowenharts that im getting, the diameter of the 20" wheels will be .75" bigger than the diameter of the stock wheels. and if i use 285 tires, it would be 1" bigger. i guess i dont have to cut springs after all. cause its the rear that has a 1"(or a bit larger) gap still. gotta go home and check tho...

pot_head

ok just got home to do some measuring. the rear wheel is about 27-27.25". depends on how you want to look at it. if i measure to the bottom of the plastic lining its 27". if i measure to the top of the lining its 27.25 or so....you have to go check your car to see what i mean. also theres a 2" gap between the tires and the wheel lining. thats quite a bit....

in the front i measured 26" or 26 1/8". close enuf. and its a 1" gap here from the tires and the lining. im using cheap 18" wheels and the stock runflats. my garage is pretty much level.....jsut a little off. would it make a big difference if i measured on a totally flat road? i mean if the car was in neutral, the car wouldnt roll away or anything and you cant see or feel that the garage isnt level but i just know its not totally 100% level...

so the rear wheel still has 2" gap. im lost now....

2SAVVY

PH,

Can you get away with running 285's in the rear without any fear of rubbing??
I believe you are getting the LD1's correct.. You'll love them!!

So with the L-Sportline setup you were able to get around 2" of drop from stock in the front end.. What is the measurement at the front bumper to the ground if you don't mind me asking??

Ken

pot_head

im not sure if i can do 285 with my offset. im not sure what offset i ordered either(i'll find out) but japan reccomends 275 tires for the offset im getting. i asked manaray for his input and he told me to stick with 275's if thats what the reccomend. after i have the wheels and tires installed, and if it looks like i can fit 285 then i can either sell the tires and get 285's or get 285's for the rear when the 275's wear out. im not getting the LD1's actually, im getting the LS1's. i'll go home later and measure how much clearance i have from the ground to the front bumper later. its raining out so thats y im not driving around so much....

the reason why i didnt go with teins is because i havnt heard much good things about them. i heard the ride is pretty harsh. plus i didnt do much research before ordering the lsportlines. but overall im happy with the lsportlines except now when i did do some research, i found out there are soooo many different coilovers....the price i pay for not doing homework is wheel gap but its not too bad. much much better than stock...

Manaray

Yes, it's much better to do the safe bet first (275) and then experiment. Figure the 285 will sit about 5mm out more (+ or - a few mm's...)

Generally, cutting springs, is NOT good...but in some cases, it's not too bad. A LOT of the Mercedes guys cut their rear springs to get that "tucked" look. I've been in a few of them (as a driver and passenger) and the rear does fine. Just have them grind down where they cut it so that it's "flat" like the original end...

I don't have any experience with the Lsportline setup so I can't say for sure if it'll be good or not...you can always find out how much a set of replacement springs are...call Joey at Lsportline (Dazz) and tell him your situation and see if hey'll give you a break on the springs if you decided that you wanted to replace them....

pot_head

2savvy.

i did some more measuring and the front bumper to the ground is 7.5" measured from underneath the front license plate. now when i measured the front bumper from underneath the foglights its 6.25" from the ground(the corners of the bumpers sit lower than underneath the license plate). the plastic under panel or whatever(the plastic piece under the car) is about 6" from the ground and this other plastic thing that looks kinda like a mudflap but its in front of the front tires...that thing is 3.75" from the ground...

ok that seems quite low to me when something is 3.75" from the ground and is at risk to being scraped. but this 'mudflap' thing looks like it can be removed easily.... hope this helps.

pot_head

i got 2 pics up in the sc430 photo gallery. my garage is small and its raining outside so i couldnt get a pic of the whole car. but theres 2 pics basically showing the wheel gap. i'll take a pic of the car when its not wet outside.

LexFather

I saw the pics, looks good so far!

LexusSC430

Don't ever cut your springs. My friend had an M3 that was just never low enough, well the springs ended up shooting theough the back deck of the car, yes he cut them.

As for the tires I have 295/30ZR19 on my car its not lowered, but they do fit and dont rub.