Mugen_1

Hello all:

I've decided I'm taking out a loan and doing some modifications to my '97 LS400. It is Diamond White Pearl with 116,000 on the clock.

These are my plans:

A set of Privat Netz 40 FRS 18x8" wheels with Falken ZE512s. And before you question the clearance, I have called Discount Tire Direct and they swear the WILL clear, as they have 40mm spacers. They promise to buy them back if for some reason they don't.

Wheels + tires shipped = $1180



Megan Racing coilovers = $900 shipped from eBay.

GReddy MkIV Supra TT front strut tower bar + 1/4 inch spacers = $125 from eBay.

Full 2.25" exhaust from stock Y-pipe back, eliminating resonators under rear seat and exiting into Magnaflow 14225 series mufflers with 3" tips. (I'm aware the bumper may need to be modded slightly to accommodate said tips)

Energy Suspension polyurethane bushings. (which ones do I need to get?).

Baer Decela drilled/slotted rotors for the front: $105/pair shipped from AutoAnything.

Window tint: 5% on back and back sides, 30% on fronts.

Replacing passenger side mirror - mine has a crack behind the glass.

Change the "L" in the pinstripe to the Toyota "T"

Car already has EBC Red Stuff pads, Toyota Celsior badges all around, and Lexkost intake mod.


These are the mods I plan to do, hopefully within the next month. The calculations thus far have shown I can accomplish most if not all of this for around $2500 + installation. I intend to set up the loan to have it paid back in less than a year. Depending on labor costs, I might cut back on a couple things, but I won't know until price shop around.

So what am I missing? Am I overlooking anything? Missing an important piece? Anything else I should replace while I'm at it?

Thanks in advance guys!

jgc

I never understood why anyone would want to change the L to a T or Lexus to Toyota, I guess its for the sake of being "jdm"? With the budget you posted I'd probably just drop it with some springs and add some nice wheels with proper size/offset for the car and call it day.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

yeah, drop the coils, get spring/shock and get some proper wheels instead.

wheels and fitment make or break a car's appearance.

"40mm spacers"? get the hell away, that place doesnt know what the hell they're talking about. most likely they mean 40mm OFFSET, and that has NOTHING to do with brake clearance.

you need a set of good quality High Disk wheels (for the front) and low/s-low for the rear (if you want the staggered look, otherwise, high-disk all around)

most aftermarket drilled/slotted rotors are a waste of money on a good day, they don't really do anything to improve braking performance, and are especially useless if you're on a limited budget.

you're talking of spending at LEAST $2500-3000 not including the mirror pinstriping and tint.

for that, spend 2000 on a GOOD set of proper fitting wheels and tires (used even...), 900 on coilovers (or springs if that falls outside of your budget) and THEN look into random accessories like STBs and slotted/drilled/useless brakes. exhaust is nice, but again, won't stick out if the rest of the car's not up to par.

Mugen_1

Why drop the coils? Everyone else seems to be satisfied running them. Believe me, I considered the H&R/KYB GR2 combo, but if I'm going to dive in and spend the money, why not go to a full coilover kit?

Yeah, I meant OFFSET, not SPACERS. My bad. Either way, I HATE chrome wheels. And no offense to the guys who run them, but wheels like Weds Farmas, AME Shallen LX, Work Euroline and anything from DUB, wheels of that kind of style, I don't like. I love the look of the Netz, so I'd want something similar. I've seen SC400s on this site running them and they look awesome.

I don't want used wheels. 99% of them have curb rash or other damage. Taking the time to find the 1% that doesn't seems like a waste.

The brakes are essentially $100. Even if they don't improve performance, they'd be more aesthetically pleasing. The reviews seem to be quite good. I can understand staying away from cheap eBay knock-off brands, but Baer is a recognized name.

Pure, I'm not sure what you mean by the exhaust not meaning anything if the rest of the car isn't up to par.

j three

Hey Mugen, shop around in the vendor marketplace. You may be able to get the megans cheaper through one of our great vendors, many carry them. We get good deals being Club Lexus members! Also since you will be spending money and you said nothing about your maintenance, that should be the first place you should invest the loan. For your wheels I suggesyou check out the MRR gt1, the first one on this vendors thread. https://www.clublexus.com/forums/clu...t-pricing.html

LiCelsior

iTrader: (32)

i think what JGC and PD is trying to say is that with your budget, it is better off getting some GOOD offset wheels rather them some universal ones using the money u'll save from going springs/shock rather coilovers.

Matador

Like these guys have said, good wheel fitment and proper stance MAKE the car. None of those little accents will be worth a damn if the car doesnt sit right. The privats are nice, but the offset is kinda poop. If you arent into vip style wheels, thats fine and dandy, but there are other choices for mesh wheels in a little more aggressive offsets that will really set off the car once its slammed on those megans.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

you realize you can get any of the wheels you mentioned in silver or polished finish rather than chrome right...

hell, you can even get cheap 18" Mesh wheels from a GOOD brand instead of Privat. Work VS-XX,, AME Shallen MX, Volks or whatever can be had for <$2000 with tires if you buy used. and yes, even if you do get a set of wheels with a tiny bit of rash, you can get it fixed for cheap most of the time.

hell, i've even got my old set of HREs layin around that would fit.

and before you think i'm anti-mesh, remember that i ran mesh for a decent while when i first got my car.

LiCelsior

iTrader: (32)

hey..i never saw these pics.....

hey we got new smileys?

Li Ls4

iTrader: (12)

i like the rims, i think they would look good the car. but just like ever1 else have said, get some nice fitment wheels. they do make or break the car.

you can deff run a wider rim in the front and rear with a more aggressive stance with no issues.

and the other question that would help with the fitment is if ud be willing to roll,shave or pull ur fenders or not

and go with 19s haha

Mugen_1

Well, I travel to St. Louis a lot and the roads there are far from stellar, so 18" is as big as I go.

Being still fairly new to the whole fitment process, will running a wider rim in front cause me to have to have different sized tires for front and back? If so, I want to avoid this. Also, bodywork (rolling, etc) is out of the question.

For the sake of making this easier, assume I choose to go with the previously recommended MRR GT1s. I'm looking at wheel/tire packages on Wheelfire.com, and it shows them in 18" x 7.5" and 18" x 8.5". Offsets are 35 front, 45 rear. The packaged tires are 245/45 W18, but seem to be kinda junky.

I'll forget about the brake rotors for now, and with the tower brace being only $125, I'm not ruling it out. But my main areas of concentration are: wheels, Megans and exhaust.

I contacted two vendors here at CL concerning prices for the Megans - still awaiting a reply on those.

Exhaust would be done at a local shop, and I'm sure I'll get it discounted since I know half the staff.

Thanks for the responses guys...I appreciate them. I want to make sure I do this right the first time

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

what you can do if you like the MRR GT1 and DON'T want them staggered is buy them in 18x8.5 all around, +35 front (+45 if you absolutely positively do NOT want to roll) and +20 rear (+35 if you don't wanna roll)

then you can run 245/40 or 245/45 all around and be happy

Schnitz

iTrader: (5)

You should be able to get the Megans for around $850 shipped from most of the vendors here.
I have 20's and I can honestly say the ride quality is very similar to stock. I've ordered Megans and I'll let you know what it rides like once they're on.
IMHO if you go the 18" route they need to be very aggressive to look good.
I think you'll find most people on this site will steer you towards high quality wheels instead of the same quality wheels you'll find on Accords and Altimas.
To each his own.

Mugen_1

Yep, Nigel said I could get Megans shipped for $830.

Pure, what do you mean +35 front and +20 rear? Do you recommend going +45 and +35 then since I have no intention to roll?

I'm looking back on Wheelfire.com now, and for some reason the 20"s are cheaper than 19"s, but of course 18" is cheapest. Even though I said I didn't want to go above 18", the 20"s are only about $300 more, which I suppose would take care of the "aggression" issue Schnitz mentioned? It may be tempting...but I also don't want to take a huge impact on ride quality, and I know +4" on wheel size increases rotational mass considerably. So...not sure how negatively a 20" will impact braking/handling.

Also with the polyurethane bushings, which ones do I get? I found them on this website, but there are tons of options.

http://www.*****************.com/par...shing_kit.html

(If it's not working, type "car parts wholesale" (without spaces) in the spaces where the **** appear.)

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

might i ask the reason you don't want to modify the fenders at all? a +45 and +35 is VERY conservative fitment for the 2LS.

18s generally look small on the LS, which is why schnitz said that to make the 18s look good, you'll have to get a pretty aggressive fitment (think +35/+20).

personally, id say do that on the 20s too.

You need to tailor the offset to your car otherwise it will just look like a cookie cutter wheel that you bought to carelessly slap on.