Greetings Toyota/Lexus fans!

We know that not too many people own the latest Lexus masterpiece, but we have been very busy developing a suspension for this vehicle, to accompany it's US release!

These springs just arrived via containership from Japan, and are now available for the '06 owners who are already itching to modify their vehicle.

Additional information:

DF210
http://www.tanabe-usa.com/springs/df210.asp

NF210
http://www.tanabe-usa.com/springs/nf210.asp

Our US & R&D Headquarters is conveniently located next to Toyota National headquarters, and during development, we actually acquired a US '06 430 and sent it back to our Japan R&D facility for full R&D of the vehicle. The end result is early arrival of these springs!

For the '06 owners who preordered these springs from our authorized dealers (local forum vendors TM Engineering & Carson Toyota can acquire these), the springs are available for shipment. After installation, please feel free to chime in this thread and post your experience, and/or technical questions for us, we will be more than happy to be of assistance!

For any other inquiries, please feel free to post to this thread, for better search indexing on this forum or you may alternately email us at info@tanabe-usa.com

Best Regards,


Tanabe Racing Development USA
http://www.tanabe-usa.com
info@tanabe-usa.com

 

Welcome to Clublexus!! Thanks for the update and the super quick R&D needed to bring these to the market.

And oh, there ARE tons of owners.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=151614

Here and with over 3k GSs sold a month thus far, we are CRAVING aftermarket support!!

Thanks again

 

Here are the pictures!

We apologize for the qualities of the pictures, as we had to transpose these from an Excel file


Tanabe DF210 Spring


Tanabe NF210 Spring



Again, for those with inquiries about the specifications on these, please feel free to ask!


Tanabe Racing Development USA
The premier exhaust, chassis and suspension component tuner!
http://www.tanabe-usa.com/
info@tanabe-usa.com

 

One question that will likely arise is the reduced life expetancy of the stock shock/strut with aftermarket lowering springs (since no aftermarket exists there yet either). I don't expect you've done any long term study on these yet with stock shocks to give exact info, but any advice or commentary?

Also - what's the spring rate for both of these? I see one quoted as 5% over stock, how about the other?

When the page says drops of up to 2.5" are available, these are not height-adjustable, correct? The 'up to' is just for variations in vehicles, settling, etc expectations, right?

 

wow this is nice. the df springs look better for sure. but dave got good points on the shocks...

hopefully tanabe will have coilovers for the car soon!

 

Can't wait to drop my car. What do you guys think the max wheel size will be, 19" 20"??

 

Tanabe, Great job!
However, the link you have provided above shows that these apply to the 06 GS430 model only.

I have a 2006 GS300 AWD version....would these work on my car as well?

Thanks for clarification....i'm anxious to drop my car as well.

 

20 at least.... 21's if you like that..

 

The DF210 stated 10-15% over stock on their web site.

 

Way to go Tanabe!

 

That's a good question Dave,

There are many factors that go into the wear and tear of a shock absorber. Before we answer that though, here's a small, very basic suspension primer which can maybe help a lot of owners gain a basic understanding of how the suspension works on the vehicle.

Spring
Contrary to popular belief, the springs are what dictate much of the suspension travel and its characteristics. The springs help carry the weight of the vehicle, and as you drive, depending on the strength of the spring, the spring will store energy (compression) and then release it (rebound) keeping the tires in contact with the road.

Dampener (shocks, struts)
The function of the dampener is to control the action of the spring. Without dampeners, the spring would continue to oscillate (move up and down), resulting in a very floaty ride (a feeling associated with many big American cars)

 

When you modify the suspension, aftermarket springs will typically lower the vehicle and have a higher spring rate. The higher spring rates can reduce the amount of suspension travel, to prevent the dampener and chassis from bottoming out. Higher spring rates also have the benefit of reducing the amount of body roll.

The dampeners are hydraulic systems that have internal seals that keep the shocks/struts working properly, and to ensure that the oil and gasses inside do not leak to areas they are not meant to. The seals are what wear out on the shock absorber. It is a normal wear and tear item, but under normal driving conditions, should last anywhere from 5-10 years on a stock vehicle.

The internal design of the factory shocks is effective in controlling factory spring rates, and they usually have some leeway for stiffer springs.

When the spring rate is raised, the springs can potentially put more stress on the seals of the shock since it wants to move faster than the rate the shock was designed for.

Additionally, when the car is going over bumps and road irregularities-- this is when the suspension is doing most of the work-- it can potentially be putting a larger workload on the shock absorbers.

 

and finally, to answer the original question!

The DF210's raise the spring rate 10-15%, which slightly stiffens the ride for better handling, but more importantly, it keeps the suspension from bottoming out from minor changes in road conditions, small to medium sized bumps, etc.

If driving conditions are not severe (the #1 cause for premature wear), then the stock suspension should last for quite a long time. Alternately, we offer the NF210 which keeps the spring rates near factory levels, for near factory ride quality, but a lower ride height and center of gravity.

As always, with any lowered suspension, proper care must be taken to avoid bumps/dips/potholes. Even on stock vehicles, avoiding these keeps the car handling right and driving straight for years to come.

 

gs430w

The limit for tire/wheel size is up to you, the offset you choose, and how much camber/fender rolling you are willing to do

Tanabe is awesome for posting here directly

 

These dont work with the AWD model.....

Tanabe got back to me....