PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

18x9.5 with 255's all around will be a solid performance setup. Just don't skimp on good grippy tires.

If you replacing the springs you may as well swap shocks out too, the Bilsteins are solid performers.

Jeremiah87

Sweet thank you.

So 18x9.5 wheels with 255 tires front and rear, what about sidewall size? and what offset for the wheels?

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

actually a 265/40-18 may be a better fit. but the 2LS really needs 19s, even wide tires at that size are going to look pretty beefy.

MValentine

its a luxury sedan, and that chassis ranged from 89 - 00. so its aged compared to most sedans that are more refined and sporty nowadays. its boaty feeling never really bother me. especially since i had a 99 ws6 prior to getting my ls. heres a picture of mine with tanabe springs, and kyb gr-2 struts. i also have a tanabe stb. but i cant say for certain if that has any effect on cornering or body roll. but the slight drop and new struts definitely makes the car feel more spirited when driving compared to stock suspension. and the tanabe springs are a bit on the soft side not stiff at all. my tire setup is a 245/40/19 on all four corners. it like it for now, but i definitely want to go lower in the future when i can get some coilovers.

RA40

iTrader: (6)

The 265-40-18 replicates the overall diameter accurately. A slightly smaller diameter will spin up a hair quicker with a 255 or 245 width at a 40% aspect ratio. Difference in weight from the tires I have in 245/40-18 to the 265-40-18 is 22 vs. 28#'s. That can be a significant hit so finding lightweight wheels definitely helps in the combination.

As for offset, depends what you want and are willing to do. The other guys can chime on fitment, mine is weak that PD teases me.

Shmee

iTrader: (3)

Having built cars for customers for years I can say without a doubt in my mind, you will regret the purchase of springs and shocks. Usually within year or less, I always ended up hearing, " I really wish I went for the coil overs!"

There is no extra work with coil overs beyond the initial setup of the ride height. Maybe adds an extra hour or 2 if you are doing it in a driveway or an extra 30mins if on a hoist.


I also cannot stress enough, refreshing all of the old worn suspension parts is critical to getting rid of the wallowy feeling of the car in corners and at speeds. Even a small amount of wear can cause noted handling issues of cars as big as the LS. Ball joints, tie rods, bushings, sway bar links and bushings and rack bushings are all relatively cheap and easy to replace while you are installing your new suspension but will all result in an astounding transformation to how the car feels once in and aligned.

With these cars, especially if you have owned it for a while, you would be amazed at how much of a difference these parts can make even if you think they are otherwise fine.

door331

I keep telling people that turning radius should be considered when looking at a car. When you have to live/work in a crowded city you will LOVE having that sweet sweet turning radius.

I actually have a running list of similar luxury cars (both full and midsize) and NONE from any generation/year has the turning of the 98-00 LS400. In fact even the LS430 and LS460 get progressively worse

EmpPenguin

Just a quick question, guys: at what intervals should we change the shocks/struts on this beast?

Shmee

iTrader: (3)

If you mean as routine maintenance, that's hard to say as it comes down to conditions.

If you live in a placer where all of the streets are cobble stone or very rough, you can blow shocks in 30-50k.
If you live somewhere with glass smooth roads, you might be able to get 200k out of the shocks before they blow....
That said, the shocks can need replacing long before blowing out... You can do jounce test pretty quickly to see how many oscillations you get from each corner. Anything more than one bounce after the initial shock usually is a sign of an axel-pair of shocks are needing to be replaced.

IMHO, if you have 60-100k miles on the car and/or it's pushing, or over, 15 years old and still on the factory shocks.... Replace them with something, be it new OEM shocks, aftermarket shocks or coilovers.


German cars, for example, do not publicly state this but ALL of them pretty much need new ball joints, tie rods and bushings quickly after surpassing 60k miles.
This was always a bit of a joke for us as "German cars are engineered to fail, or self destruct once the warranty is up; Japanese cars are engineered to last; and American cars just aren't even really engineered!"

Most cars do start to wear out all suspension parts around 60-100k miles depending on conditions so replacing stuff early just means no loss of performance, like if you wait till failure.