Rx330 Today's miles 167,852

I need some advice My RX330 seems to ride a little rough. (Ya: Mabey it's the roads) In Aug of 2015 (125,820 miles) I had the FRT STRUTS, FRT MOUNTS, and SWAYBAR LINKS changed. Should there still be life in them? Rear shocks have never been changed. Is there a way of making the car ride a little softer?

 

IDK if you went w/ the quick struts or not. If your looking for the oem ride, use the oem springs w/ the oem factory struts, yea they are spendy thou.( I see Bell Lexus in Scottsdale has all 4 struts for $862. on ebay) I'm wanting to swap out the front struts & use the oem springs. I've read that the oem struts are oil filled vs gas. The oil filled ones are going to ride better, but don't deal w/ heat as well as the gas filled ones. I find the quick struts use a thicker spring vs the oem springs & have a higher ride height as well as sometimes have different hieghts, side to side. KYB, Sachs, Trw is what I'm looking at, I find the KYB's are more readlily available, so I'll probably go w/ those. IK they'll ride a little firmer, being gas filled as well as new vs worn out ones. To add the different tire brands & types also add to the ride as well as the tire lbs that you run....The manual says 30lbs whether 17'' or 18's....I do know the California roads/freeways aren't dead smooth as they once were, but you do have a great vehicle for the cruddy roads down there now thou. Hope I gave you some incite.....

 

WOW, Thanks. I am thinking my Front struts are ok (42,000 miles 7 years) So changing out the back shocks is probably a good idea. Then it's all about tiers. Comfort, quiet, ride. Thanks for the advice. With the price of gas, my next post may be "How do I install a set of pedals"

 

Can I plz add, I get big gains for smoothness keeping my tires fresh.
Old dried out tires ride harsh and I can always feel improvements with new tires, especially on the front.

Here is a good thread on tires.

"Tires... What are you running?"
Link: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...u-running.html

 

Just curios how you figure your front struts are ok, But you figure changing out the rear struts are a good idea?

 

I changed them out 7 years ,42,000 miles ago and my mechanic looked at them in March. My question was. "Is there a way to make my ride softer?" I guess I meant. "Can you make adjustments to the struts to soften the ride?" Monday I intend to stop by the tire store and have them adjust the pressure to its lowest setting. I am not concerned about mileage. I would like the softest ride. I only drive locally or freeway no more the 25 miles away from home.

 

>>>>The only way to change the ride characteristics is swapping out the struts. You need to swap those out w/ the Lexus oem struts by kyb. The kyb gr-2 ride a little stiffer, so you'll need to go on ebay...IDK what brand you have, but leave the oem rears & swap out the front struts. Yea the oem Lexus struts are some cash, but it'll ride the best. 30lbs is the lowerest to go.....go back & reread my post #2

 

Not interested in replacing anything just to make sure I have maximized what I have for the smoothest ride. Next, I intend to sound deaden my wheel wells with 3M Professional Grade Rubberized Undercoating. But with the price of gas reaching $7.00 it may be time to get my monthly senior bus pass.

 

Thats no adjusting that you can do, but to change out your front struts for a smoother ride....What brand of struts did the shop install yrs ago? Should say on your invoice.

 

- KYB aftermarket (OE) is close-ish, but a bit stiffer.
- KYB GR2 is stiff, full stop.
- Lexus OEM is made for the car, but $$ if you can even order them anymore for this car... we're two gens past this into the RX

Just do the bounce test on the ***-end and you'll tell if your struts are going/gone or a visual inspection for leaks, then you know 100% they're blown. Oil = bad struts.

 

Seeping, thats what going on w/ the fronts for me.......btw Bell Lexus has them....

 

discountpartsmonster.com sells Lexus/Toyota parts. For a RX330 no air suspension and FWD, their price is $826.

LF 48520-A9220 $178
RF 48510-A9360 $178
LR 48540-A9150 $234
RR 48530-49295 $236

 

Thanks but I will leave any replacement to a professional. At this point, I intend to replace the back shocks and lower my tire pressure. thanks anyway.

 

What brand of struts did you in stall on the front? Since your looking for softer ride, best to replace the front struts w/ the Lexus oem. Yea its some cash outlay.......You just changed the struts? Or did you go w/ a quickstrut?