lyles3

While changing the oil in my 01 LS430 (107,000 miles), I noticed some major cupping on the inside edge of my rear tires. There was noticeable wear on the inside edge of the fronts as well, but nowhere near the level as the rear. My car is not a sport, but has the 18 inch sport wheels installed with original suspension components. The tires (Kumho ECTSA LX Platinums) were installed in Nov 2009 at around 91K miles. 4 wheel alignment was performed when the tires were installed. I immediately scheduled another alignment, but the specs were not out of whack enough to warrant the level of wear I'm experiencing. After researching online a bit, I discovered that worn shocks/struts might cause this type of wear. Has anyone experienced a similar problem that was corrected by replacing struts?

votru

iTrader: (7)

If you on original shock with 107k then the chance is high for shock failure. Do the bounce test on your car by push on the corner where cup occur and see how much the car travel. Or when you drive over bump or dip, does your car bounce instead of absorb the shock? Some simple test for sign of bad shock, hope it help.

WB03LS430

I agree more than likely your struts are gone, best to replace all four corners. New Struts will make a world o difference in the ride as well.

lyles3

Thanks for the info. I have noticed that the car bounces over bumps more and emits an annoying thud in the past year. The tires are 100 load rating versus 96 that is recommended, so I suspected they may have been the cause, but the suspension did not make those noises for quite some time after installing the tires. Time to dig into the pockets again.

Bon

Do you have the air suspension?

lyles3

Standard suspension with coil springs. non-air. Considering the tanabe NF210s and KYB-GR2s.

Bon

Spend a little or a lot. It's up to your mood and pocketbook. When my UL needed new shocks I suffered like many have here. >$1K per corner just for the air parts was out of the question. I went to OEM steel springs and shocks and can't really feel the difference from air. Good luck with your decision.

lyles3

If you don't mind me asking, did you go with OEM standard or sport? From where did you purchase from and about how much did you spend? Who installed? I plan to get quotes from my local toyota dealer and maybe a couple of other shops in town.

votru

iTrader: (7)

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WB03LS430

I do not have the air suspension, I had a local tire shop install mine, they installed KYB Struts(which I believe is the OEM) all the way around, for $650 not including the 4 wheel alignment.

Bon

I installed it. Standard springs. Sewell Lexus for the parts. Since I went from air to metal I needed everything. My total parts cost was somewhere around $1250.

lyles3

Ouch, I think that I have mapped it out. I plan to purchase rear sport struts from carson ($123 shipped). Front sport struts from sewell ($223 shipped) and get the tanabe's from ebay ($229 shipped). Not sure if I will need mounts or not.

JimsGX

Do you think the KYB's were exactly the same as the OEM you replaced, or were they a little stiffer? Reason I ask is the earlier LS400's, when replaced with the KYB equivalent struts, have been reported to be stiffer than the OEM.

Thanks

WB03LS430

the KYB's feel improved to when I purchased mine. I purchased my LS430 in February of 07 with 50,000 miles now it has 128,000. I did notice less front in dip in corners and less body movement when braking after replacement. I was having the same issue with cupping on the inside of the tire. Overall I am very please with the ride, not sure I would want it to be softer.