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I'm riding on the stock 205/65 - 15" wheels & tire. I keep scrapping and bottoming out because I'm so low. I would like to keep the stock 15" wheels - what size tire can I go up to to provide more ground clearance?
I have a compromised back and would also like more ground clearance to ease ingress and egress. I have been trying to think of a safe way to do this. In the Subaru community there were a few different options. One was plastic or metal spacers that fit between the strut and the chassis. Another method for raising was swapping in struts from an suv model in the product line. There were also companies that sold true lift kits that took suspension geometry into account and would actually allow a 4 inch lift while retaining correct geometry.
There does not seem to be as many options for the lexus. I have looked and the only options that I see are a rubber "donut" that would fit on the spring seat with the spring going atop it, rubber blocks that fit in between the coils, and metal shackles that I usually see used to compress springs flipped to actually stretch the spring outwards. Of the aforementioned options the "donut would be most appealing to me as I think it would be the safest option with the least ride penalty. Another more extreme option. Would be to install longer strut assemblies out of an suv in the product line, something like the RX series. All of the options I have mentioned would alter the suspension geometry and camber curve although I am not sure as to what degree and what issues this may cause besides uneven tire wear.
One option that would not affect suspension geometry would be maximizing the diameter of the tires and wheels fitted to the car. This is the route I plan to possibly take with my next set of tires. It will however be limited in the rear by the spring perch as it will interfere at some point. If this is not enough I would probably add the donuts or move to coilovers which should eliminate the spring perch issue.
I have looked and the only options that I see are a rubber "donut" that would fit on the spring seat with the spring going atop it, rubber blocks that fit in between the coils,
Do you have any images of the donut that would work fro 99" ES? Also, is installation easy?
One option that would not affect suspension geometry would be maximizing the diameter of the tires and wheels fitted to the car.
I was leaning this way myself, but would like to keep the stock 15" wheels. Do you know what the maximum tire size I could install?
Have not calculated it yet and it may differ as I have a 2003 but my current set of tires is 245/45R18. In your case you would have to increase your section width, probably to 225 or 235 if your wheel will accept it while at the same time increasing your aspect ratio to a 70 or 75 or perhaps even higher. It really all depends on tire size availability as you are getting pretty high in the aspect ratio there.
Here is an example of a strut spacer. This would probably be the easiest way to go about things as the other methods such as the "donut" would require the strut to be disassembled and would most likely alter the ride quality. This method would only require unbolting the strut from the chassis, adding the spacer and reinstalling.
12-20-15, 09:21 PM
99 ES300 more ground clearance please.
