This may sound dumb but here it goes. I just got my first sc400. I love the way the suspension feels. Its one of the smoothest rides Ive ever had. However, we all know it needs to come down an inch or so. Whats the best springs/shocks/struts to lower with yet keep the ride quality the same?

 

You might have opened a can of worms on this one because you are bound to get a lot of opinions on this subject. Here's mine:

I was after exactly the same thing you are. After doing much searching, I went with Eibach springs and new OEM struts. Eibachs give the closest thing to a stock ride while giving it a 1" drop all around. Let's see what others have to say on this one.

 

I've heard ESPELIR springs have good ride quality.

 

TEIN CS coilovers all the way

 

i agree the tein cs will give u much better results than aftermarket springs like eibachs and espillars but will cost you a whole lot more.

 

Ditto on the Tein CS, sounds like he was asking about springs though.

 

Another vote for Tein CS. My car with 19's rides smooth as silk with them on. Amazing. Plus they are fully adjustable so you can set the height to where you want to, and you can set the dampening to extra cushiony. Springs don't let you do either of those. You're stuck with how it rides and that's it.

Coilovers all the way.

 

Springs: Eibach Pro-Kit, Espelir ASD, Tanabe NF

Struts: OEM all the way

 

i think the tein SS will be plenty for anyone not road racing or the like that wants the adjustability to ride like both a lexus and an aggessive cornering machine. As far as a spring/shock combo... I have the TT stock shocks with eibach springs and its great. the 19s are what really killed my ride smoothness.

 

i might suggest going with tokico's.

tokico is the original manufacturer of OEM shocks so i believe if you want to keep the oem feel then go with the same manufacturer.

i have a full set of tokico (2 front, 2 rear) both shocks and springs.. brand new and will lower your car 2"

i had intentions to go with this route, so i paid $600 for them, but then i went for hks hipermax ii coilovers that run me $1700.. so if you want to drop $1700 on coilovers, that would be the best route, but if you don't have plans on going to the track, raising your car during winter, lowering it during summer, and constantly changing ride height for several reasons, i think tokicos would be the best way to go.

let me know if your interested. i have no use for them.

EDIT: These are tokico illumina with adjustable dampers from Soft to Hard. These are different from the blue gas shocks most people use. It is easy to adjust the damper just by using and universal screwdriver at the top of the strut from 1 to 5. Each setting makes a substantial difference. If you want to keep ride comfort, set it on 1 which is fairly soft. For a more sportier feel, you may want to put the setting on 3, which is a balance between hard and soft. If you are going to the track or straight road, you may want to set on 5.

 

TEIN CS coilovers

im curious to see how JIC coilovers feel

 

I tried the Eibach/Tokico combo and was disappointed. However, I was mistakenly sent the springs for the sc4 instead of the sc3. I don't think it would have made too much of a difference though. The ride was okay if you like firm. Going over bumps was an adventure. I must admit I care more for comfort. My opinion may be too biased on the subject. I love the Tein CS. I have comfort and firmness.
If you like the sporty ride I have some Tokico shocks for sale. I'll let you get them for $150. I paid $300. I used them for 3 weeks.

 

I've got Espelir ASD springs on mine on OEM TEMS shocks, the ride is very nice, a little on the floaty side though... my real head scratcher is the ride height is MUCH lower than what I expected it to be.

TEIN's are on my 'to buy' list , not sure which one I wanna go with though... I really like the reviews of the CS... I think that's my only real choice... they don't sell the Basic nor the Super Street dampers here in Australia

How much do the Basic coilovers go for thesedays? Sounds very interesting and it might even be worth freighting over from the US (they don't even have it in the Japanese catalogues)?

 

Hi,
Couldn't resist replying since I've gone this route before.

Love the lexus ride but wanted to lower 1" and get a firmer rebounce. Put on eibach springs.
Evaluated for two weeks. Got that famous annoying noise when backing up and going over bumps. My take is that it wasn't designed to properly work with either factor shocks or tokico.
Sold it and went back to factory settings. Found bliss!

I found tokico shocks firmer than kyb so been using them. Also it's life-time warranty so I could get a newer one if one ever leaked. One did.

Still looking for that handling improvement over the soft factory feel.
Will try Tein CS only when I had personally test drove it as I had wasted too much money "trying" crappy products.

My 2 cents.

 

I have a set of the KYB adjustable shocks, and struts, with the intrak TT lowering springs.
The ride is stiffer then stock, but not that bad. with the KYB's adjusted to the firmest setting, the car ridess way to hard.

I think the car sits about 3 inches lower, and looks great, but the camber is way off. I had it allined, but the factory adjustments just arent enough.

But it gave me the look I was after!
and a good ride.