I haven't posted on CL in ages let alone a forum environment. But i'm here to share something i picked up for my 98.

December 2020 i happened to be browsing Yahoo Japan out of boredom and i came across something interesting. Interesting to the point that i even googled this and nothing popped up. its a Bilstein B12 suspension package designed for the UCF20.

I figured with it being in the middle of a pandemic and I not having the most experience shipping parts from Japan, it would be tough to purchase these. but after waiting for the January Stimmy to hit and finding a company that confirmed they could get them to me quickly (GETJPN) I got them ordered of April 2020 and they went out in their July Container.


With delays at the port in Long beach, they came in the end of august and i got these delivered last week 9/7 which i'll say the wait has been taxing lmao. My first call was to Bilstein themselves to get any kind of info on this kit. I have to thank them alot for probably some of the best customer service i've ever experienced. They managed to get me a Kit part number (F4-S00-8062-M0), a spring rate which seems soft but i think its stiffer then they advertise, and a pretty nice drop. they couldnt say exactly how much it would lower the car but after the install I quickly realized how badass this kit actually is.





difference in the rear assembly


installed



This by a long shot is the lowest car i've owned. but it's dampened perfectly. it doesn't bounce or hop like most cars on lowering springs at this height would. And it's really comfortable. Oh before i forget to mention, Bilstein never sold this kit stateside so this to my knowledge, is the only one in the country.

Looks great! Every time I see a slightly lowered UCF20 I get the itch to do it to mine but just cant bring myself to pull the trigger..

Super cool! There was a variant of the LS400 shocks that had three perch settings from what I recall PD mentioning. A normal and slightly lower was the normal shock for the stateside offerings:
BE5-2734 front
BE5-2735 rear

Two of the Shocks i have is say 2301BE5-2734H0. the other two are 3101BE5-2948M0

This is what my 99’ looks like on Bilstein HD shocks on the lower perch, I think it gives a 0.6” drop, perfect height for me and it being my daily. I would say your setup dropped about 1.5”

also you might want to change your title otherwise no one will benefit from this information in the future, call it Bilstein suspension kit or something along those lines.

Thats still like 3 finger gap on the stock 16's if i had to guess and assuming the springs arent sagging? Im currently at barely a finger gap all around on 17's. I wanna say 2-3 inches at least. these cars ride so high stock its insane.

pretty cool find, thanks for sharing! YAJ is dangerous with money and time on your side! glad to hear there are still companies out there willing to import random parts like this post-pandemic. if you don't mind, was the cost high to get these to your door?

btw, if you want to change the title, let me know.

Considering how low the car is vs the price i paid to not only import, but to ship from california, i cant complain. i'm into this entire thing for 500 bucks to my door.

and yes, can you change the title to just "JDM Celsior Bilstein suspension"

thanks for sharing the cost. not too bad considering they are billies with matching springs!
thread title changed.

Am a proponent of using OEM parts, especially suspension parts...

Was horrified by callous disregard for workmanship/inspection of aftermarket supplier Moog of LS400 front upper control arms:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...rock-auto.html

Having said that, am interested in what Bilstein offers as an assembled strut assembly.

Numerous posts on KYB aftermarket struts, strut mounts suggest they harshen ride and are not durable.

For a price you can obtain OEM struts from dealer, however have been hesitant to do so as there are numerous part number supercessions, without explanation of why.
Superceding part numbers in Toyota North America database do not always denote improvement...
Remember durability of originals?
To Toyota's credit, at least they change P.N. when not an exact part. (Except fusible links)

Toyota/Lexus would do well to offer original specification strut kits.

Since aftermarket KYB is out (for me), the Bilstein strut assemblies are interesting, however unclear their long-term performance or whether ride height variants are available for order someplace.
Perhaps Celsior owners in Australia, New Zealand or Japan know more.

Thanks.

I have about 130K on the Bilsteins. The OEM KYB's were gone before 60K so that's pretty bad. The drop up front is about 3" so roughly there is about 2.5" of suspension travel. The backs being higher are in better shape. I have no hesitation with another set of Bilsteins on this. FIL's '14 stock Accord LE rides stiffer than the LS and it has 60 series rubber. I've been in enough cars at stock height that I feel rider stiffer than our lowered LS. That's shocking. (har-har)

Since i dont think i mentioned it in the first post, the springs in this kit were supplied by H&R. Cannot ask for higher quality parts.