RealMarty

In another thread Dzman said

I've had my GS400 for 3 years and as much as I love it, I'm ready to put the "floaty" feel behind me in favor of a firmer ride and sharper response. I'm convinced of the value of the steering ecu, but I'm still up in the air over the springs/shocks. Do I need both?

I drove a GS430 with all of the above and liked the feel. But, I'm not looking for a lower look. I want better handling. I also have a fairly steep driveway and, with the stock suspension, I slightly scrape the mufflers on the way up it with my 250 lb. stepson in the back seat.

What will the shocks add and what will the springs do?

Has anyone done just the ecu and shocks and added the L-Tuned springs later? Can anyone tell me what each will bring in the way of handling improvement?

Thanks for your help.

Marty

advsystems

I have a 99 GS4. I first installed the L-Tuned ECU. The steering was firmer, with a better on-center feel. Inputs were more controlled and feedback was greater. Very similar to my old MBZ C-Class (a good thing). After installing the L-Tuned spring/shocks the car sits ~1" lower (be careful when driving on inclines or over speed bumps with the cabin loaded). The handling change was dramatic. Firmer yet very controlled. The floating vagueness when pushed is gone. The ride is not harsh (I have TRD Bilsteins on my 4Runner which are much firmer). The limiting factor now is the OE 16" wheels/rubber. Overall, I am very happy with the mods.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

My sentiments are the same as advsystems.

I don't think replacing shocks and not the springs is a good idea since they're a matched set.

Also, lowering the car doesn't necessarily mean the car rides even lower with a 'heavy load' in it because the lowered springs compress less (hence the better handling).

If you have 16s though, I think upgrading to 17s or 18s would be a good move, without lowering. Granted, a wheel/tire upgrade is MORE expen$ive than the springs/shocks, but putting L-Tuned springs/shocks and staying with 16s doesn't make a lot of sense to me either but your mileage may vary.

kyle3481

hey im thinking to get the full Ltuned kits, side skirts....ect, after i see this post....im kinda afraid to do that now......dunno...because mygs430 is my daily ride....so.....any suggestions???? i really really love the look of the fully Ltuned GS!!!

gmendoza

I have the same concerns about the L-Tuned package. I know that my car will have a better look but I wonder if it's really worth the extra money (about $800 total after you have it installed). I am also concerned about Los Angeles' famous bumps and dips...I'm not too sure what to do. I just installed 18s with 245/40s all around and I think my car is already a COMPLETELY different car(other people seem to notice it at every turn now!). I can imagine that the car would look much nicer at about 1" lower but I am not too sure if it's worth it for me. Honestly, most of my friends that don't know about springs/shocks tell me not to do anything to it (this includes the FEMALES!!!). Take a look at my pictures, you'll see that the car does not look bad the way it is now (it is not lowered at all!). Let me know what your opinion is. Do I really need to lower it? Would it really make a difference? Why?

https://www.clublexus.com/cgi-bin/cl...x.JPG&img=&tt=

https://www.clublexus.com/cgi-bin/cl...x.JPG&img=&tt=

https://www.clublexus.com/cgi-bin/cl...x.JPG&img=&tt=

RealMarty

The 17s are a definate on my GS4. The 16s were never in consideration.

I've got them now and, as far as I'm concerned, they are offer the best combination of handling and ride quality for daily driving without getting into the "you gotta fill the wheel wells" argument.

biggie27

Those rims look like the giovanna Rio's if I am not mistaken if they are I have the same rims on my G$400 and I just got the L-tune spring/shock combo and it looks tight I got stares where ever I went to the point where I had one girl actualy get out of her car and come talk to me ( her boyfriend didnt like it to much ) but if you get the giovanna 18" rims with the dunlop sp9000 245/45 series and the L-tuned suspension I garentee u you'll be happy I'll post some pics up soon and U can be the judge of it

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

gmendoza and RealMarty - I drive my car quickly around Atlanta area and we have bumps and dips all over and I have never grounded the car. The only case of 'scraping' I've had is the front bumper on the top of a concrete block at the end of a parking spot, or the end of my driveway which has a deep drainage channel running perpendicular to it, so I have to drive over that slowly.

Granted, I don't have skirts which would make scraping a bit more likely, although hardly so because the skirts don't really go lower than the rest of the chassis as far as I can tell.

Getting back to springs/shocks, the 1" drop of L-Tuned really does make the car look better. With 16s, 17s, or 18s and the stock suspension, the gap above the wheel tops to the top of the wheel arch is too big... take another look at your own pictures (or car) and compare to some in the gallery. The L-Tuned upgrade is a mild one. It's 7/8" in the back and 1 1/8" in the front (at least that's what it was for me).

If you want to get rid of float, it's the way to go.

And as far as daily driving, I really don't think you're going to hit anything. I still go over 6-9" speed bumps at 20+ and nothing happens.

Marty, I think you're in Atlanta, right? If so, I can *show* you.

RealMarty

bitkahuna,

I live in Roswell and I'd love to take you up on your offer.

What would be perfect would be if I could impose on you to come to my place and we can try your ride on my steep driveway.

Please e-mail me at mslippman@mindspring.com so we can hook up.

I really appreciate the offer!!

SCWells72

I disagree. Actually I had family in town this weekend and drove four people around in my L-Tuned GS430 (shocks, springs, and steering ECU). Normally I have no problem pulling out of my slightly inclined driveway with a driver and passenger, but with my father (~190lbs), niece (~70lbs), wife (~150lbs), and myself (~190lbs), the car scaped in and out unless I approached at a VERY sharp angle VERY slowly.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

When you say 'normally' do you mean without passengers, or do you mean with 3 passengers and the old suspension you didn't scrape?

I didn't say a lowered suspension won't compress, but stiffer springs won't compress as far, so given an equal load there's less compression. This isn't verified by me, but let's say stock suspension with 500lbs load compresses 2 inches, and L-Tuned suspension with 500lb load compresses 1 inch. Voila, the additional standard 1" drop you get from L-Tuned means that with 500lb load both setups are the same distance from the ground.

SCWells72

Ahhhhh...gotcha. Actually with three passengers before the new suspension/lowering I never scraped in or out of my driveway, but now I do. There's still a little travel beyond the stock setup.