Lowering springs (advice)
 

I want to lower my GS400 with lowering springs, but I really want to get that smooth ride feeling....not bouncy, or hard rebound... any advice people thanks! the best ride with lowering springs!

How many inches do you plan to drop? How much are you looking to spend? You need to be more specific because there are lots of different springs out there for the GS.

you need to consider spring rate and also what types of shocks you will mount the springs on, as well.

i can't get specific because i don't know much about them, my main concern is the ride quality.... second would be 1.5 - 2.0 drop with 19's

You have two options. Tanabe NF210 or the Espelir. Both of these have very very close to stock spring rate. To go with these, get the KYB GR-2 shocks. They are just a little firmer than stock shocks, but its still very smooth.

My buddy has the NF-210 with KYB shocks and they are smooootthhhh. He even has the TRD sways (known to be plenty stiff) and I didn't feel one bit of harshness. I definitely recommend this setup if you want a 1.5" drop in the front and about 1.2" in the rear.

This will give you an even gap all around, despite the front spring lowering more. Our cars have more gaps in the front than the rear. It came like that from the factory.

I have the NF210's/KYB setup and love it, nice and smooth with a little more control, you'll need swaybars to really take the lean out of it.

eibach's

tanabe's are good, but they have a crappy warranty process

Listen to GSteg and nytoy. They know what they are talking about. My buddy has the same set-up and it is a smooth ride. :thumbup:

im installing GR2 shocks and df210 springs today.

The consensus here is what others are saying NF210 + KYB for smoothest ride. However, if your goal is closer to a 2.0" drop, you will not get that. You should look into coilovers. HKS has a model that has a spring rate very close to factory and will allow you to get the drop you are looking for.

The lowering set up on the NF you are recommending is for the 300 not the 400 which is what he has. NFs for the 400 is 1.2 and 0.80 However, there are other companies that run the same springs for both models, but if you do order the NFs, just know that there are two very diffrent types.
http://www.tanabe-usa.com/springs/sp...tions.asp?id=2
I had DF210 and loved them, look into those for a 2" & 1.5" drop for the GS4xx.

It wont matter because the springs are interchangeable. I have another friend with the Tanabe NF (for GS3) springs on his GS400 and it works fine too. He wanted to drop the front even more than the rear because our front gap is bigger naturally.

I emailed tanabe awhile ago because I had the same question. Their answer for the two different springs was that its easier to identify which spring is which. Basically we have two options of NF for our cars. One lowers more than the other. Weight distribution is negligible in this case.

I just wanted to clear it up because if he happend to order the NFs for a 400, he would of got a diffrent springs. There is a 50lb pound diffrence between the 300 and the 400, not very significant. And like I mention before there are other companies that use the same srpings for both models.

They fit yes, but the two cars have different spring rates. The GS400 is right at about 7 front/5 rear from the factory. The GS400 NF210's are 7.3 and 5.7. The 98-05 GS300 NF210 springs are 5.6 front and 4.7 back. Since Tanabe NF210's run up to 5% stiffer than stock, the factory GS300 spring rate is probably a little bit over 5 front/4 back.

If you run these GS300 springs on a GS400, you will actually be running SOFTER springs than stock. Even though the cars weight within 50lbs of each other, the GS400 has much more torque than the GS300 and needs a stiffer spring rate for proper traction and acceleration.

Chances are, most of the other companies who make one spring for both GS300 and GS400 are making them with a high enough spring rate to use on either vehicle.

:thumbup::thumbup:

That's actually a great combo. My friend's GS4 has the spring plus TRD sways. On the straight road, it's very OEM-like without the floating, but on turns, it corners a lot flatter. In fact, my L-tuned springs alone is stiffer than his ride, but it is crap in comparison when it comes to body roll and stability.