Suspension Upgrade for 2005 Base: Guys With Lowered Cars Inside Please
 

Rear shock blew the oil seal on my 2005 Premium. Standard suspension Non Airbag.

Car has 95k miles. If I am going to have to replace shocks I may take this opportunity to give the car a nice drop and firm up the suspension. I do not want to do coil overs. I am thinking of doing the following:

1. Sport Shocks Front and Rear ( part numbers and costs are varied in the search) will post these for help
2. Tanabe or RSR Drop Springs
3. Megan or YZ 30mm Drop spacers on front. I noticed the front still sits higher than rear with just springs.

Will I need to do any sort of rear arms to adjust toe and camber with a 1.5 to 2 inch Drop?

I am not going for any VIP type slammed look or crazy wheel fitment. I am on stock 18s.

Did you guys replace all bushings when you upgraded for control arms, ball joints etc?

Sport shocks have 2 different part numbers

48530 80141 are 200 each for rear

48530 80241 are only 65.00 each for rear

48510 80307 are front sport shocks for 130.00 each

Bmore430,

This link has a great explanation on the part number and the price for the rear struts.

One could include only the shock absorber and the other one includes the strut mount and shock cap justifying the cost difference.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...al-review.html

Thank you. I read that thread thoroughly but no clear answer was given on the differences.

Post number 12 on that page explains the part number that he had paid for which was the 65.00 rear shock assembly for the sport where it was just the shock and nothing else like the shock mount, bump stop and dust cover. The justification for the higher price may include those, but it confirms that your 65.00 part number you provided is the correct shock 80241. The shock mounts, bump stop and dust cover are reuseable if yours is still in good condition.

Thank you. That pretty much confirms what I needed to know for the part numbers then. I'm pretty sure my mounts, dust cover etc are fine. Just the shocks need replacing. I still can't believe how much fluid came out of one shock.

I have the RSR springs, they actually drop more in the front than in the rear and help get rid of the negative rake.
I drive on those currently with the stock wheels and it's a great setup IMO, gets rid of humongous fender gap in the front.

Did you upgrade your struts at all when you did the Springs? Do the springs come with isolators or do you reuse your Stock? Which rsr springs did you Use? I see 2 types listed. The superdown seem to be the most drop.

The springs are regular down not super down, the springs don't come with anything, I simply replaced the stock springs with RSR, the rest is stock.
Also I don't think you could use 30mm RCA at all - I drove with Nagisa RCA, 15mm drop and it was already very low and slightly rubbing - I never even tried going over speedbumps.
These spring are intended for "almost stock, just slightly lower" ride. These springs are soft and if you go lower you will be rubbing on every bump.
To drive lower you need coilovers with much, much harder springs - I think RSR is about 5K, coils that I have have 14K springs in the front.

I did the expensive route. but i love how she sits now

stock shocks
Tanabe NF210 (1" all around)
Youzealand lowering blocks (another 30mm drop)

check out my posts for pics

Yeah maybe I can snap a pic of mine on RSR and stock wheels for comparison

That would be cool if you have any pics.

Thanks for the advice guys. I'll skip the 30mm RCA's and stick to the shocks and springs at first. I don't want any rubbing or scraping over bumps in the front. Main goal is to tighten up the handling and get a nicer stance. I hate how the front sits higher than rear in Stock form.

Actually my old pictures are here - https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...ml#post9058802

Thanks for the link. Stance looks good. Time to start ordering parts.

Have you ever thought about buying the Bilstein kit? I am thinking of going that route. It comes with new shocks and springs that are height adjustable. They're not as aggressive as the other coilovers out there and reutilizes the original top hats for the shocks.