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Hey everyone, recently imported a UCF20 Celsior with just 117,000kms (75,000 miles) and loving it so far, except for the love it needs lol.
Over bumps the right hand side of the car (drivers in my case, US passenger side) feels really weak and like it has a blown shock.
Even over really small speed bumps at low speed, I hear the tire rubbing briefly and one time clunked down pretty hard.
I got the wheels off to take a look and see the springs have RSR stickers on them (photo below). Did a bit of googling and it seems these are lowering springs?
The ebay listing I see says -2 inches to -1.75 inches of lowering for these RSR's for a UCF20.
Measured from the ground to the bottom of the fender and these are what I got:
FL: 26” 3/4
RL: 27” 1/4
FR: 26” 3/4
RR: 26” 7/8
I saw in a different thread stock height is about 28 inches?
I wanna go back to OEM spec, so I think my best bet is to buy a used set of OEM struts to get the springs and then replace the struts with KYB.
As for fixing it - you probably can find just the springs? I dunno, depends on what's available. Maybe you do have to buy the whole kit. Would recommend replacing the shocks while you're at it yes. P.S The car uses shock\damper + coil spring, "strut" is for mcphearson strut which is the cheaper combo of the two used in economy cars.
would try and source a set from a non-rust belt car if possible. Florida, Colorado, Nevada, California.
Visually this is what the difference is between stock and lowered.
Ride height is measured this way. The "Notice" in the attachment is for air suspension chassis:
Went out and re-measured to see at those bolts what my numbers are:
FL and FR: both nearly exactly 8.625 inches / 219mm.
RL and RR: 8.5 and 8.75 inches / ~216mm.
So, yeah. The +- deviation mentioned in your photo shows I'm beyond the spec for stock.
I do have the tire size indicated in the graphic.
Originally Posted by 400fanboy
As for fixing it - you probably can find just the springs? I dunno, depends on what's available. Maybe you do have to buy the whole kit. Would recommend replacing the shocks while you're at it yes. P.S The car uses shock\damper + coil spring, "strut" is for mcphearson strut which is the cheaper combo of the two used in economy cars.
would try and source a set from a non-rust belt car if possible. Florida, Colorado, Nevada, California.
Visually this is what the difference is between stock and lowered.
Hosh, that's a tough one. I love the lowered look but I think I want the OEM factory ride quality more than I want pure looks, for this particular car.
just from the sticker on the spring i would think those are non standard lol
also i agree these are best at stock ride height... i understand where you're coming from since the lowered look does compliment the whole low and flat design of the car, but considering the level of meticulous engineering that's gone into the LS everything is really best kept stock for maximum comfort and performance
my car was lowered for about 2 years so take my word
i still love how it looks in pics but you lose that total serenity aspect of the car... i'm back to stock now and very happy about it
just from the sticker on the spring i would think those are non standard lol
also i agree these are best at stock ride height... i understand where you're coming from since the lowered look does compliment the whole low and flat design of the car, but considering the level of meticulous engineering that's gone into the LS everything is really best kept stock for maximum comfort and performance
my car was lowered for about 2 years so take my word
i still love how it looks in pics but you lose that total serenity aspect of the car... i'm back to stock now and very happy about it
Thanks man, I appreciate your input. Your car looks SO good low like that, but I agree - I want that total serenity back haha. That's why I imported this car was for the legendary comfort. I'll stick to my e46 for harsh and low lol.
Thanks man, I appreciate your input. Your car looks SO good low like that, but I agree - I want that total serenity back haha. That's why I imported this car was for the legendary comfort. I'll stick to my e46 for harsh and low lol.
looks like we have the same idea there lol... my "harsh and low" car is the W211 E55, but when i lowered the LS i didn't have that yet (and i was younger haha) and i had a need to be individualistic and make my car look just a little bit cooler than a standard model
but once i picked up the E-class i was like ok i can't have my sporty car taking bumps and curbs better than my practical car lol... once those tires were used up i sold the 18" wheels and put everything back to standard... and the E55 isn't even harsh or low so it really drew attention to how the lowering with bigger rims affected the LS
looks like we have the same idea there lol... my "harsh and low" car is the W211 E55, but when i lowered the LS i didn't have that yet (and i was younger haha) and i had a need to be individualistic and make my car look just a little bit cooler than a standard model
but once i picked up the E-class i was like ok i can't have my sporty car taking bumps and curbs better than my practical car lol... once those tires were used up i sold the 18" wheels and put everything back to standard... and the E55 isn't even harsh or low so it really drew attention to how the lowering with bigger rims affected the LS
So interesting! Would you say the difference going back to stock on the LS was massive?
I assume it's like when you put coilovers on a car for the first time and it feels dramatically different.
It's funny how as we get older the idea of a nice, quiet ride is so much more appealing haha.
So interesting! Would you say the difference going back to stock on the LS was massive?
I assume it's like when you put coilovers on a car for the first time and it feels dramatically different.
It's funny how as we get older the idea of a nice, quiet ride is so much more appealing haha.
i used H&R 52426 springs with standard shocks, the H&R's are progressive rate rather than fixed rate for the Tanabe's and in my head i was like that's better since you'd want some extra stiffness to compensate for the reduced suspension travel... so i don't think it was nearly as big of a change as full coilovers
when driving on a very smooth road it wasn't even that different actually, but basically everywhere else it was... potholes and other imperfections really became more noticeable on the lowered setup, and pulling in and out of driveways/parking lot entrances could become stressful lol... especially if you had several people and or luggage in the car
i like to really be able to use my cars (if you know what i mean haha) so i want all the suspension travel and sidewall absorption i can get if i'm doing 85+ on the highway... generally i'm just taking it easy but for those moments where you can open it up a bit (gotta let that wonderful V8 breathe a bit!) i don't want any unnecessary worry
If interested, I have some Rear H&R springs that only lower 1" vs. those RSR springs lower to. I bought them to test out in the rear of my car because I thought they were sagging but turned out not to be the case. so at most a max of 2 miles on them.
If interested, I have some Rear H&R springs that only lower 1" vs. those RSR springs lower to. I bought them to test out in the rear of my car because I thought they were sagging but turned out not to be the case. so at most a max of 2 miles on them.
btw i think the H&R springs lower more than 1"
i know officially it's 1" but if you look at pics (i think someone here actually did an official test with a calibrated rig) and from what i remember with my car it was def more than an inch
If interested, I have some Rear H&R springs that only lower 1" vs. those RSR springs lower to. I bought them to test out in the rear of my car because I thought they were sagging but turned out not to be the case. so at most a max of 2 miles on them.
Thanks for the offer, but I'm just gonna buy some used OEM struts and steal the springs off them. Already found a front pair with 125k miles for $95 shipped on eBay.
Now to just find the rears... might be a junkyard trip in my future lol.
Trying to get as close to OEM as possible. Already finding it really difficult to source everything. I think we're approaching last hoorah on a lot of new parts for our platform. Kinda wild!
Thanks for the offer, but I'm just gonna buy some used OEM struts and steal the springs off them. Already found a front pair with 125k miles for $95 shipped on eBay.
Now to just find the rears... might be a junkyard trip in my future lol.
Trying to get as close to OEM as possible. Already finding it really difficult to source everything. I think we're approaching last hoorah on a lot of new parts for our platform. Kinda wild!
Replacing the rear UCA will be a benefit too, my car sagged a lot less after doing those with refreshed balljoints and inner spherical bushings. I purchased my set back in May 2020 and were shipped in from Chicago to my local deal in Ann Arbor at the time, so hopefully you can still snag a pair. Cost $177 each but made the rear a lot less floaty and tracked much better after a big bump in the road. Also the floating rear knuckle bushings I'd suggest doing if you have any kind of slop. It made aligning my car very difficult when they were bad. Febest sells them for about $36, as Lexus wants you to buy the knuckles at a cost of $300 a pop if available (would need to do bearings too at that point)
Replacing the rear UCA will be a benefit too, my car sagged a lot less after doing those with refreshed balljoints and inner spherical bushings. I purchased my set back in May 2020 and were shipped in from Chicago to my local deal in Ann Arbor at the time, so hopefully you can still snag a pair. Cost $177 each but made the rear a lot less floaty and tracked much better after a big bump in the road. Also the floating rear knuckle bushings I'd suggest doing if you have any kind of slop. It made aligning my car very difficult when they were bad. Febest sells them for about $36, as Lexus wants you to buy the knuckles at a cost of $300 a pop if available (would need to do bearings too at that point)
Definitely on the radar to do the entire rear end as well!
I did manage to get Febest TAB-021Z for the rear knuckle, but couldn't find rubber bushing anywhere for the lower rod/strut assembly. Went with the poly PSB505 for that.
10-01-23, 05:05 PM
Do I have lowering springs?
