LS430 Sport Suspension technical review
05-05-19, 04:30 AM
#61
What kind of wheels you have on her now? I’m partial to just the oem 18s. I think they’re the best compromise between sportiness and comfort
05-05-19, 06:50 AM
#62
Intermediate
I am very pleased with my factory air system on factory 18" wheels.
I love my air suspension. On the normal setting the car is very plush and comfy, it 'wakes up' when that switch is flipped to sport. I do believe the air struts were upgraded at some point by the factory. My car only has 1 original air strut from the factory. Three were replaced under warranty, both rears and right front. So all struts have differing mileage on them.
I really don't have a desire to change anything. The air system works for me. If I have a failure I will decide how to address it.
I love my air suspension. On the normal setting the car is very plush and comfy, it 'wakes up' when that switch is flipped to sport. I do believe the air struts were upgraded at some point by the factory. My car only has 1 original air strut from the factory. Three were replaced under warranty, both rears and right front. So all struts have differing mileage on them.
I really don't have a desire to change anything. The air system works for me. If I have a failure I will decide how to address it.
05-05-19, 02:04 PM
#63
Instructor
Figured it was about time to do something about my wallowy suspension, so I ordered a bunch of stuff today. Figured I’d put it all in one place in case anybody is interested. Ipad is making it a bit tough to look pretty, but you get the idea.
From mylparts.com - discount code CL5 (-10%):
Note - sport components are for 2003, apparently not available in 2004 MY.
Rear sport sway bar 48812-50130 - $159.09
Rear sport sway bar bushings 48818-50020 - $39.04 (for 2)
From mylparts.com - discount code CL5 (-10%):
Note - sport components are for 2003, apparently not available in 2004 MY.
Rear sport sway bar 48812-50130 - $159.09
Rear sport sway bar bushings 48818-50020 - $39.04 (for 2)
05-06-19, 06:38 AM
#64
Did you research other rear sway bar upgrades? The sport bar is a waste of money compared to the Ultra Racing bar. You should return the sport bar and go with the UR bar since it is a big size increase over the non-sport bar while as the sport bar is only 1mm bigger than the non-sport.
05-07-19, 12:58 PM
#65
Intermediate
Larger wheels
The LS 430 started off on 16 inch wheels, and 17 inch optional. 04 through 06 had the option of 18" wheels from the factory.
The heavier the tire and wheel package, the shorter the life of.your wheel bearings (hubs) I just did fronts on mine. 100 K on wheel bearings is not the Toyota I know.
I am dreading doing the rears. It's a very expensive fix at the dealer. Prolly over 2 k for the front. Cost me about 600 to DIY and 125 of.that was paying a shop to remove.the hub from the spindle and a tool I needed.
You need to
A. Be a wrench
B. Have a good trusted independent wrench.
I would not have purchased the car if I always had.to pay for dealer sevice. That free.coffee ain't free.
The heavier the tire and wheel package, the shorter the life of.your wheel bearings (hubs) I just did fronts on mine. 100 K on wheel bearings is not the Toyota I know.
I am dreading doing the rears. It's a very expensive fix at the dealer. Prolly over 2 k for the front. Cost me about 600 to DIY and 125 of.that was paying a shop to remove.the hub from the spindle and a tool I needed.
You need to
A. Be a wrench
B. Have a good trusted independent wrench.
I would not have purchased the car if I always had.to pay for dealer sevice. That free.coffee ain't free.
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LexRex (05-07-19)
05-07-19, 07:09 PM
#67
What year and package is your LS? Can you measure your existing sway bar and compare the measurement with the new sway bar? Some years and packages already come with a sport bar, even without having the sport package. Others on this forum have changed out their OEM stabilizer bars with OEM sport bars, but did not verify if the new bar was exactly the same as what was replaced. It's only 1mm of thickness difference, you'll need to use calipers to verify, impossible to eyeball a 1mm difference.
05-07-19, 07:14 PM
#68
Did you research other rear sway bar upgrades? The sport bar is a waste of money compared to the Ultra Racing bar. You should return the sport bar and go with the UR bar since it is a big size increase over the non-sport bar while as the sport bar is only 1mm bigger than the non-sport.
Update - I see they have several parts available for the LS430, interesting.
Last edited by jherr; 05-07-19 at 07:18 PM.
05-08-19, 04:17 PM
#69
I traded my 200 k miles 04 non sport for an 04 sport 60 k miles prolly 4 years ago now 200 k on sport. I Had the 04 sport a whole day like 70 miles. I was back and forth from mine to the other to notice a difference it wasn’t that easy. I like my sport better but watching all these mods to obtain what ya don’t have, seems like a lot of work for a minimal gain. Just me
05-08-19, 07:18 PM
#70
Further back in the post someone mentioned that the sport bar is 18% stiffer than the non-sport, even though it is only 1 mm thicker. That’ll be enough for me to start. I had not heard of the bar you mentioned. Maybe I will look into it as a future option. Thanks.
Update - I see they have several parts available for the LS430, interesting.
Update - I see they have several parts available for the LS430, interesting.
Please see my direct experience with the UR bar. They do make some other bits and pieces, pretty much the same stuff that Tom's offered for the JDM market, though I don't think any of it is really worth the money. I mean, the rear bar is worth it but everything else I would skip.
05-16-19, 07:24 PM
#72
https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/o306600355
https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/x508086799
07-12-19, 02:20 PM
#73
I've owned an 04 Sports for 3 years. Recently drove an 05 Non Sport which felt like a sofa. No feedback from the steering wheel. The Sports version is not "Bentley quiet" but it's a lot more fun to drive!
08-11-19, 01:20 AM
#74
Driver School Candidate
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I had to travel for a few days so sorry for the slow response to all the questions. I'll see if I can answer a few:
As for the part numbers: Lexus supersceded the original part number for the later part number so I don't know if that causes any confusion. Most likely the strut that is triple the price is the one with the full shock cap and rubber inserts at the top. Those can be reused depending upon condition which is what I did. I am fairly certain that all 3rd gen LS without air shocks can use these struts and mine was on a 2004. I ordered exactly the part numbers I provided and got exactly what I wanted which was four bare struts.
Replace just the struts without springs?: Well keep in mind that you'll have to take the springs off the old struts to put them on the new struts and that is a major pain in the rear. I figured if I was going through the hassle of taking the springs off anyway I would go ahead and swap the springs with the new ones. If you decide you want to change springs later you'll have to go through the entire process all over again.
Why are they cheaper than the standard shocks? Good questions. Mine is not to wonder why
I just saw that Lexus had changed the price so I took advantage of it!
Ride quality impact?: Well this is very subjective. I don't like the excessive body roll of the factory suspension for the US market so for me it was a huge improvement. It does mean you will feel the bumps and cracks in the road slightly more than your did before but having logged 12 hours driving on the highways in the last week, I'll take the more solid feel over the slightly stiffer ride all day long.
How many miles: I had 165K on my LS when I did the replacement. LS are famous for having shocks that last a LONG time and I'm certain the changes are much more to do with the sport valving than just the original shocks being worn out. The rebound valving was consistent in all four shocks I pulled off the car so I don't believe there is any chance the difference was simply fro wear. I've had several LS owners tell me they replaced shocks at 100K miles because they thought they thought that was their maximum life only to notice absolutely no difference in the ride afterwards.
DIY: I did it myself but it's not something I would recommend if you don't already have some experience wrenching on cars. It took me about 5 hours and one tip I would recommend is to leave the spring compressors on the front springs when you install the strut back in the car. The default length is just a little too long to fit into the lower control arm mount and after struggling to figure out how to get it back in, I popped the compressors back on and shortened it a half inch and it went in fine. The rest is pretty much like any other strut change and you will have to remove the entire rear seat and rear deck to get to the rear strut towers.
Picture - sorry for the poor lighting.
As for the part numbers: Lexus supersceded the original part number for the later part number so I don't know if that causes any confusion. Most likely the strut that is triple the price is the one with the full shock cap and rubber inserts at the top. Those can be reused depending upon condition which is what I did. I am fairly certain that all 3rd gen LS without air shocks can use these struts and mine was on a 2004. I ordered exactly the part numbers I provided and got exactly what I wanted which was four bare struts.
Replace just the struts without springs?: Well keep in mind that you'll have to take the springs off the old struts to put them on the new struts and that is a major pain in the rear. I figured if I was going through the hassle of taking the springs off anyway I would go ahead and swap the springs with the new ones. If you decide you want to change springs later you'll have to go through the entire process all over again.
Why are they cheaper than the standard shocks? Good questions. Mine is not to wonder why
I just saw that Lexus had changed the price so I took advantage of it!Ride quality impact?: Well this is very subjective. I don't like the excessive body roll of the factory suspension for the US market so for me it was a huge improvement. It does mean you will feel the bumps and cracks in the road slightly more than your did before but having logged 12 hours driving on the highways in the last week, I'll take the more solid feel over the slightly stiffer ride all day long.
How many miles: I had 165K on my LS when I did the replacement. LS are famous for having shocks that last a LONG time and I'm certain the changes are much more to do with the sport valving than just the original shocks being worn out. The rebound valving was consistent in all four shocks I pulled off the car so I don't believe there is any chance the difference was simply fro wear. I've had several LS owners tell me they replaced shocks at 100K miles because they thought they thought that was their maximum life only to notice absolutely no difference in the ride afterwards.
DIY: I did it myself but it's not something I would recommend if you don't already have some experience wrenching on cars. It took me about 5 hours and one tip I would recommend is to leave the spring compressors on the front springs when you install the strut back in the car. The default length is just a little too long to fit into the lower control arm mount and after struggling to figure out how to get it back in, I popped the compressors back on and shortened it a half inch and it went in fine. The rest is pretty much like any other strut change and you will have to remove the entire rear seat and rear deck to get to the rear strut towers.
Picture - sorry for the poor lighting.
Pic taken after the separation but before the removal of the nut and the strut.
Pic taken after removal of the nut and the strut.
08-11-19, 06:33 AM
#75
Lexus Fanatic
This is all subjective, but the new LS has no feel whatsover, none, nada, zilch, but 5 on a scale of 0-100, an Altima 10, to my 2006 being 70.
The car co. who always had electric power steering right is Chevy. I think it's because they had it really early on. BMW didn't totally fix it on the new 3, but the 2012-2018 was a really long time to have no feel.
There are literally teens who are given a 2006-2010 BMW hand me down and feel the steering is broken. Now that is funny. Because they grow up driving the 2018 Camrys and Altimas of the world. You can literally turn the wheel from lock to lock at 0 mph with a pinkie. Literally.