golffnutt

Justt purchased a 1996 ES300 and the ride seems soft and mushy to me eventhough the dealer says the struts seem to be OK. I like the tighter, firmer, stiffer feel and ride you get with a newer car. Would an aftermarket strut do this for me? I realize this is a used car and will not ride like a new one but what do I need to do to make it ride like a new one? New struts, suspension parts, new springs, please be specific with name brands and model numbers on parts if you can. I really appreciate everyone's help and advice. Thank you. By the way car has 118K on it but is in great condition.

ssultan

You are on the right track. I just did a full suspension over-haul...new Tokico struts, mounts, rubber...the works...also have the Solara OEM strut tower bar...you would not believe how tight the car handles now

Very firm ....I think you'll like it.

golffnutt

ssultan thank you for the reply. What do you mean when you say, "mounts, rubber, the works". Why the Solara strut bar? Keep in mind I know very very little about cars that is why I am asking what is mounts, rubber, the works. Approximately how much did all this cost you? Thanks again for your help.

Pheonix

Eh skip the strut tower bar. They're 99% bling, 1% function.
That last 1% in awsome handling, you get with a strut tower brace. They just don't make any real change.
What he means, is when they take the spring / strut assembly off, to have them put new bushings, mounts, and dampeners on.

The handling is never going to be tight on the stock suspension. The springs are simply too soft. A mild upgrade would be the 1.25" drop the Eibach camry / solera/ es 300 springs give. They are soft for drop springs. Those and Tokio Blue's would do well.

If you want to maintain 100% the float of the stock suspenion, but not have the car understeer, and roll as badly. Just buy a Whiteline rear sway bar. Best $125 you can spend on the car suspension wise.

To get rid of the float, combine Tokio Blue's with any drop spring for a Camry / Vista / ES 300 / Windom / Avalon you can find that doesn't drop a full 1.5". Once you get down to 1.5" and more, you run into stiffer springs.

3rdelement

iTrader: (1)

lol! well there ya go.

Anyone have a picture of what a strut bar for the 96'solera look like solera?

the round bar is ok i guess but i saw some squared off strut bar that really looked nice under the hood.

golffnutt

Phoenix I probably should have made my goal a little clearer. I am only concerned with a better, tighter, firmer ride and am not concerned with improving handling ability. When I drive a new car or low mileage 2 or 3 year old car such as a Maxima, Accord, Infinity, Acura the ride is much tighter, stiffer, firmer ride with factory parts. I am not looking for hight performance but luxury if this makes sense. Given these new comments what would you now recommend. Thank you for your help and patience. My thanks to those others as well who have replied.

Pheonix

That being said, I'd shy away from anything 1.5" or more of a drop.

Eibach, TRD (rebadged Eibach's, overpriced, same thing don't buy them) - The Camry / ES 300 spring drops 1.25". The Solera drops 1.5" and is slightly stiffer.
Tien S-tech's are really good. Better than the Eibach's, but slightly stiffer when you compair them.

The TRD struts are Bilsteins's. They're very good. Well sorted combined with Eibach, or Tien's.
Tokio blue's are also very good.
Behind that is about everybody else. Some struts are really good, and some really suck.

golffnutt

Phoenix thanks so much. I think I will go for the Eibach springs and Tokico struts with new bushings and mounts. Have a great day.

ssultan

Hmmm...sorry I wasn't around to jump in folks. After driving around on the Tokico's...I am finding them FIRM. Quite different from the softer OEM shocks...but then mine were mostly worn out. Now keeping in mind your thoughts on improvement without degrading original OEM ride quality...I'd suggest staying away from performance shocks like the Tokico blues and going with the KYB GR2's. I believe KYB is the original OEM manufacturer for Toyota but I could be wrong. My mechanic did confirm that they were slightly more firm than OEM, but less so than the Tokicos and ride quality was quite good. I'd even keep the original OEM springs. The strut plates/boots I'd change, as well as the rubber seats that sit at the base of the spring. I found my front strut plates with the bearings quite shot...but the rear strut plates/boots were in better shape...I ended up changing all four.

As for the strut bar...the new ES come stock with them and I've seen a large number of sports cars on the market with factory fitted bars. I personally have installed and removed the bar to compare and have definitely noticed a difference in handling...not huge...but it's there. Plus, keeping in mind all the other upgrades we put into our cars, it's an inexpensive option. However, the cheaper, third party bars being sold on Ebay e.g. are crap and flex easily, very unlike the solid OEM bars that come standard on the Solara.

golffnutt

ssultan thank you for the input. Very interesting comments. Tell me what do you think the boots, plates, rubber seats, etc. will cost ? Also where would I find a Solara bar and what should I pay for it? By the way are these parts mentioned above very difficult to replace. I have a trusted mechanic to put on my shocks, I would assume he would probably know how to install these other parts in you mentioned as well, don't you think? Is there any other brand of bar other than Solara in case I have difficulty finding the Solara. Thank you for your help.

ssultan

No problem. Glad to be of help. Well, usually I try to steer away from non-OEM stuff unless it's really high end....

The solara strut bar comes in two flavours, the TRD one which is an upgrade to the stock solara one..this requires modification of the hood but it's nothing serious and your mechanic can easily install it. The other one is the stock OEM one which is a direct replacement for the stock one in the solaras...same year as your ES. Personally, I ended up shaving a bit of the underside of the hood as well to sit flush but thats jsut me...some of the other members have had no problems with the hood closing right away. Either way, it is a 10 minute install for your mechanic or yourself so don't worry about it.

The bar you can order from your toyota parts store...just have them look at the engine compartment diagram and point out the strut bar and order it. I believe I paid Cdn $125 for it plus local taxes which should work out to about approx. US $100 plus taxes.

ssultan

The mounts were all OEM and I ordered them in from my local dealer parts store. These were the worst in terms of cost....I ended up paying almost Cdn $750 all said and done. Each strut plate is about Cdn $150 approx. OUCH OUCH!! The total installation labor for all four struts, mounts came to about $350 Cdn. Hope this helps...

ssultan

Oh yes...please do let us all know how you like everything once it's set up...so far I'm loving my setup

golffnutt

I will be sure and let everyone know. It may be a little longer than I wanted it to be due to prices. I have to get some quotes and go from there. I really really appreciate everyone's time and advice on this subject. Thank you all.

golffnutt

ssultan what bushings did you replace, upper and lower control arm bushings both on the front? are there any bushings on the rear that I should replace? Is there anything on the rear I should replace except the struts? Is there any trusted after market name brands in these parts since they are so expensive from Lexus.? Are there any online Lexus dealers selling at discount prices I could use? Thanks again for your help.