Ecohman

Finished up change out of springs, shocks, and rear sway bar last night. Tanabe NF210s, KYBs, and sport pack rear bar. Also Megan adjustable camber bars. Very happy with the results. Subtle change to the ride hieght, and the ride is just as I would like. Smooth, but not floaty. Similar to typical MB. Still need to get it aligned, but seems to handle very nice.

I must say that anyone who has successfully changed rear shocks on these cars has my respect. I have done the job on 7 or 8 cars, including a GS and a SC, and the rear shocks on the LS are the worst by far.

toantran99

how about some pictures of your car with the lowering springs?

2KHarrier

Not what I wanted to hear. When I did my RX300, all I had to remove were the side covers in the back to access the top mount nuts. Looks like the LS involves the same eviscerating as when we do the sub woofer repair...

rkw77080

I did a DIY write-up for replacing the rear struts a few years ago. It's not too bad...
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...del-ls430.html

tallcaguy

Congrats on the install. Sounds like it worked out well. There's a CL post called "LS430 sports suspension technical review". He did something similar (Tanabe NF210, OEM Sport Struts and Sport sway bar) and sounded pleased with the results. I've got the Sports Suspension package. Smooth controlled ride. Has a lot less body roll. I may try polyurethane bushings as a simple upgrade. Installing springs that are 10% stiffer than stock and lowering ride height sounds interesting.

2KHarrier

Ecohman; Did you remove that upper balljoint like in RKW's thread? That seems like it would be the biggest hurdle in this job.

Ecohman

I did not. Tried but couldn't find a tool that would work. Disconnected the leading link, removed the camber rod, and compressed the spring.

js058515

This was my aggravation saver! Ty RKW.

2KHarrier

Echo; Car looks good. Nice stance and not too low for my tastes. The 18's fill the wheel wells nicely.

deweronick

Hey Echoman....I am about to do almost the same thing to my 03 430 (non ul, non sprt)...I have the tanabe nf' coils, and oem struts, and new top mounts.....I had asked this question in another link a week ago, but no response. I saw this link and thought I get your input....Do you think its mandatory to get the Megan adjustable lower arms . That is, am I going to have a camber issue with Tanabe's lowering of 1" ? (keeping the 18" stock wheels like you did)....I was going to purchase the Megan adjustables on ebay the other day, but was waiting till I heard back just in case I was told that there was enough tolerance built in to accomodate just the 1" drop.... And secondly, I hadn't thought about upgrading the rear sport sway bar. It sounds like you and I are after the same thing...Not much drop, maintaining a luxurious smooth ride, but with a bit more feel and control (maybe a little more BMW like?) Since I'm "in there", Is it a no brainer to do the sway bar? Advantages to doing/ not doing? Is there anything else I have to get for the sport bar to fit with a stock system?...Thanks so much..Doug

Ecohman

The Lexus specs for rear camber are pretty wide, because the only way Lexus provides for adjusting is by exchanging different length arms. I think ideal would be -1.0 to -1.5 degrees camber. This should allow good handling, and give good tire wear. Many cars might be at or beyond -1.5 before lowering. I bought the Megan bars: to allow getting exactly what I want, to allow getting in tolerance without taking it to a dealer, and they are about the same price. BTW, you can get an idea where you are at with most smart phones. Confirm the car is level across the trunk, and check angle of the wheels by putting phone against the rim at the vertical point.

The rear sway bar is about balance. Adding rear roll stiffness takes away understeer, and makes the car more neutral. I am pleased with the result.

Ecohman

You need the two rubber bushings in addition to the sport bar itself.

tallcaguy

Recommend rubber or polyurethane? I've got a Sport so handling better than stock. Looking for small improvements. Current tires are Premiers. May do Pilots.

Ecohman

I just bought the factory rubber bushings, although I don't see any down side to poly on the rear.

deweronick

So if I install the Tanabe springs without doing anything else, Is it a certainty that I'm going to have inner tire wear? If so, I'll get the Megan adjustables.