AZGS4

My 98 GS400 is on 19's with stock suspension. I have 145,000 miles on the car and am looking to do a conservative drop to eliminate wheel gap with minimal ride quality compromise and wear on suspension parts. I have about a 3 inch gap in front and 2 inch gap in back . Here is how my car sits now:



I would like it to end up sitting like this (This car belongs to KevinGS):



Can I make this happen with DF210 or NF210 springs and KYB struts? Or am I going to need coilovers? Thanks in advance for the input.

Mike813

iTrader: (5)

coilovers are always a good idea but to match that drop i believe the df210 will give you a similar drop, NF's or Eibach will have 1.5 fingers of gap. that photo looks like a 1 finger gap.

always look into a set of coils because.
a. what if the drops too much? or too little for your liking?
b. if you upgrade later down the line you can always lower/raise to your liking.
c. coil setups keeps the full stroke motion of the suspension & not semi compressed as w. spring shock setups. + most coils have dampening adjusters to fine tune to your liking.
d. price is just slightlyyyy different if youre going for a full spring & shock combo ($200+ springs & 2-400 shocks).
e. you dont want to be a snow plow if your location snows.

only reasons some folks stay away from coils is if you are 100% sure you are no longer planning to change the ride height & some coils with pillow ball mounts tend to make rattling sounds in cold weathers. this is just my opinion on why i would go coils, im also currently on a spring shock combo. snow didnt really hit us this year ive been holding off on a set of coils.

mexikan

jajajajajaja that's a good one ... 0-200 lol

AZGS4

Mike - Do BC Racing coils have the pillow ball mount you mention? Cold weather is not a big issue for me (I'm in Tucson, AZ), but I am still curious.

sam12345

iTrader: (1)

I've read a lot on this. You need a minimum of 1300 for mediocre coil overs. The good ones cost 3000 minimum furthermore they only have a 1 year warranty. Regardless what you do you will not have the original butter ride if you lower the car. From what I read the closest to stock is the swift sport spring with Lexus shocks ( a different valving than kyb off the shelf but same brand) next would be the kyb gr2 . The swift will only drop it one inch. If you go lower you need more damping the combo you mention should do what you want but it will be stiffer. The cheapest coil overs are the Megan ez about 650 shipped but you won't get the buttery ride and not sure on quality. Personally I would go with the spring you mentioned but with biltein hd it will be stiffer but the lower you go the stiffer it has to be.

AZGS4

Thanks for the input Sam. It looks like you just ordered the Bilstein HD and are going to run them with the stock springs. Can you check back and let me know how you like the ride once installed?

Mike813

iTrader: (5)

from what ive read in the vendor section, the bcr's do have a option for a rubber mount & custom spring rates to your liking. like sam12345 said you will never get that smooth ride back once you change your suspension with aftermarket springs/coils. if you do not need the adjustment of height but want to keep that oem feel try doing a search for RCA's. i dont know the member personally or remember his handle but he has a drop with the RCA's only and it seems he is able to keep the oem feel but with the drop you are aiming for.

sam12345

iTrader: (1)

I sure will. My goal is a bit different than yours. I am looking to get better handling with minimum sacrifice to ride. Here is my plan:

1. Put bilstein HD if this does not give me the handling then
3. Urethane bushings on sway bars. If this does not give me the handling then
2. Diazen sway bars with rubber bushings instead of urethane ones. If this does not give me the handling then
3. Urethane bushings on diazen sway bars if this does not give me the handling then
4. Swift sport springs

I believe each one will incrementally stiffen the ride a bit. The last one will lower it 1 inch.

Looks like you want a 1.5 to 2 inch lowering. At the 2 inch mark you probably need the bilstien sport which are considerably stiffer from what I read. I think you can use the hd down to the 1.5" lowering.

sam12345

iTrader: (1)

I also considered the fortune auto coil overs with swift springs but did not want to be the ginea pig. They get good reviews on other cars but could not find enough for the gs400

AZGS4

I will look into this option. Sounds interesting. Thanks again for your input.

sam12345

iTrader: (1)

Well I got the bilstein HD's put in and they have the perfect balance. Much better damping than the stock shocks. The ride under normal driving feels like the stock shocks but as if you had added 10psi to your tires. The marshmallow ride is gone. It's exactly what I was looking for. Over big bumps it's much better than the stock shocks and handling is improved.

repugnante

^ may want to try out the Tein's that give a 1.2-1.1 inch drop. Since you have 19's

...sweet car by the way. Looks exactly like mine, minus the rims