MRC

Yesterday I got my GS430 back with the L-tuned shocks & springs, and with new tires and full balance & alignment. The OEM tires were Bridgestone RE030 which were some of the worst tires I've ever seen on a car. They were internally separating at 24000 miles, nowhere near the tread wear bars and Lexus / Bridgestone have been illegally avoiding covering the warranty. But that's a different subject...

The L-Tuned suspension is really great. Lexus should have used these springs & shocks for every car straight from the factory. The car is more stable and handles much better.

The Continental ExtremeContact 245x45x17 tires are also FAR superior to the OEM Bridgestones. They are MUCH quieter, grip just as well, are slightly less expensive, and have 3 times the treadwear rating.

It's simply amazing how much quieter it is especially on the freeway. It's 1.2 inches lower all the way around and looks great. But no scrapes on the speedbumps or on my driveway which is really steep, so it's not too low.

I got the tires from tire rack and the suspension from Toysport in Gardena CA. Installation was done by Custom Alignment in Mountain View, CA.

PHML

iTrader: (33)

how much is Toysport selling the L-Tuned suspension?

MRC

Prices are on their web site: http://www.toysport.com.
Not sure whether they're the lowest, but they are cheaper than the Lexus prices. And the staff at Toysport really knows their stuff and can give you good advice. Also they shipped promptly and when TRD sent the wrong shocks by mistake, Toysport caught the problem before forwarding the shocks to me, and they sent the right ones next day Fedex no charge to get them to me on time. I was very happy with their level of knowledge and service.

SCWells72

I *really* hate to bring this up since Steve Ganz has been invaluable to everyone on this forum over the years, but looking at the prices, Toysport is consistently beating Steve's prices on the L-Tuned equipment. If you're in the market for this stuff, look at both, I guess, but don't forget that Steve has been there for us with great prices as long as I can remember...

MRC

Did you get the Toysport prices from their web site or by calling them? Make sure you call them and ask in person because like many places, sometimes the web site is out-of-date. I bought mine from Toysport and I seem to remember paying a little more than what was shown on their web site.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

Conversely you may get a better deal from Carson on the phone than what they post on their web site.

But Carson hasn't had any price competition. What I've always appreciated from Steve is his excellent customer service.

BuyERTS

That's got to be bordering on illegal...

MRC

Oh I don't care one way or the other. Not everybody keeps their web sites up-to-date. They had good prices and professional service; better than most other companies out there. I would recommend them and use them again with no reservations.

recco1

Are you riding on 16 or 17 inch rims with the new suspension/tire setup? Let me know when you can.

///MDex

And / But

Also: GREAT to hear about another satisfied LTuned convert!

MRC

I bought my GS430 new in fall '00 with the factory installed 17" wheels. The tires were the OEM el-crapo Bridgestone RE030s but I've replaced them with Continental ExtremeContact 245x45x17. They're very slightly larger, just enough to make the speedo / odo more accurate.

The new tires are quieter, grip better, and have 3 times the treadwear rating. WAY nicer than the Bridgestones.

mooretorque

I'm amazed that you got 24K out of the RE030s!!!! Mine were pretty much used up at 15k (well, in the estimation of many, they were used up when brand new.......I agree; they are crap........and don't forget how badly they tramlined) which was just as well.

I like my Potenza S-03s, though. Hard to believe the same company makes both!

MRC

Yeah Lexus should be ashamed to be installing those crappy RE030 tires on a car like the GS430. Lexus engineering and customer service really dropped the ball on that one. The tires were still under warranty and they refused to honor it so I figured: "screw me, screw you" and I filed complaints with the FTC and the state of CA against both Lexus and Bridgstone.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

What are you talking about? Because the tires were worn out at 24K you figure you can get them replaced with the tire warranty? No way, that's not how it works. Tire warranty is only for tire DEFECTS, not wearing out.

And 24K is REALLY a lot for those tires.

?? confused ??

MRC

There are two misunderstandings here.

First, the RE030 tires were indeed defective. They had internally delaminated and separated. The issue was not about the tires "wearing down" but rather delaminating which is a manufacturing defect.

Second, the RE030 tires were indeed still under warranty. The wear was nowhere near the wear bars yet. Here is a quote from the written warranty:

If, before wearing down to 2/32nds of an inch of tread depth remaining (i.e. worn down to the top of the built-in indicators in the tread grooves), any tire covered by this limited warranty becomes unusable for any reason within the manufacturer’s control, such tire will be replaced with an equivalent new tire on the basis set forth on the following pages. No tire will be considered for warranty adjustment for any reason after 7 years from the date of manufacture.