my air suspension ls430 2004 sucks
03-01-09, 10:08 AM
#1
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my air suspension ls430 2004 sucks
My air suspension is just awful. for anyone who in any remote way enjoys driving this is a complete no no no. The car floats, drifts, bump steers very heavily over rough terrain. The car has been dealer serviced. I have had the car since it had 20k miles. I have also driver 3 others with similar specs and the all seem to behave the same way.
03-01-09, 11:20 AM
#2
What kind of car are you coming from previously? Mine by far does not drifts and not sure on you definition on float. It could me float smoothly over bumps or float like a boat? I was going to suggest you try to drive another UL but its seems you have already. Have you try driving a standard non-ul for comparison?
03-01-09, 12:05 PM
#3
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if your coming from a very sporty high end vehicle or a sporty car with some upgraded suspension then i would agree with you that your ul probably feels like a cold damp moist fart to you. but for a big lux sedan its not too bad, but don't compare it to an amg big body benz though, cuz that just wouldn't be fair.
03-01-09, 12:34 PM
#4
My air suspension is firm
My air suspension is firm, it doesn't float, and my car doesn't drift.
I also don't like air suspension due to reliability problems. I still can't figure out why any car company uses it. Car manufacturers can design outstanding suspension systems without using air suspension. Air suspension is pure hype.
It has a long history of failure (Mercedes Benz hydropneumatic suspension so not quite air), Range Rover, etc.
I also don't like air suspension due to reliability problems. I still can't figure out why any car company uses it. Car manufacturers can design outstanding suspension systems without using air suspension. Air suspension is pure hype.
It has a long history of failure (Mercedes Benz hydropneumatic suspension so not quite air), Range Rover, etc.
03-01-09, 12:49 PM
#5
Rides on air... floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee... 
I guess it's the ability to adjust the height "on the fly" that gets most people. I think a good adjustable coil-over beats stock air any day, on any car, Lexus or MB.
I guess it's the ability to adjust the height "on the fly" that gets most people. I think a good adjustable coil-over beats stock air any day, on any car, Lexus or MB.
03-01-09, 01:16 PM
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air suspension sucks it drifts, Floats, bump steers
I am coming of ls400 1998 with springs and it is much more stable than this ultra with air suspension.
03-02-09, 09:42 AM
#7
I know exactly what the issues are and why people have different opinion of the air suspension.
A 100% stock UL does floats and drifts due to crappy factory alignment setting and overly soft suspension setting, even in sport mode.
airtime and sojah don't have these issue is because their car has been lowered and realigned. When you lowered the air suspension, either with the data system controller or by adjusting the rods, the suspension firms up A LOT, so the car don't float anymore. Then most people get an alignment done after they lowered their car, that makes the car don't drift anymore.
A 100% stock UL does floats and drifts due to crappy factory alignment setting and overly soft suspension setting, even in sport mode.
airtime and sojah don't have these issue is because their car has been lowered and realigned. When you lowered the air suspension, either with the data system controller or by adjusting the rods, the suspension firms up A LOT, so the car don't float anymore. Then most people get an alignment done after they lowered their car, that makes the car don't drift anymore.
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03-02-09, 10:57 AM
#9
airtime and sojah don't have these issue is because their car has been lowered and realigned. When you lowered the air suspension, either with the data system controller or by adjusting the rods, the suspension firms up A LOT, so the car don't float anymore. Then most people get an alignment done after they lowered their car, that makes the car don't drift anymore.
03-02-09, 01:49 PM
#10
Smart man. There's a lot of truth to that. I'm currently riding on my winter stock but dropped. Handles just find. For the sake of testing, I raised it back to factory height via the datasystem controller and its an whole other animal. The driving dynamic just changed. I wouldn't say uncontrollable or anything dangerous, but much softer and not sporty.
03-03-09, 05:34 PM
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My 2006 UL with air suspension rides like a magic carpet. Just drove RT from ATL to Orlando and even in a snow storm on the way home Sunday the ride was great. Only glitch was the Laser Cruise kept going out and a msg to clean something came up.
Last time I drove a car that floats and drifts it had the wrong tires on it. Bought my car because I really love the air ride. Sorry others are disappointed with it. After reading some of the Air Suspension posts you would think it was awful. So may I add: To anyone considering a UL with air would suggest you drive both air and non-air. I did and found the air ride to be far superior so I bought one. Best car I have ever owned and I'm in my 60's. Oh yeah, with the money I saved buying a used UL I also bought 5yr/60,000 mi warranty for peace of mind.
Last time I drove a car that floats and drifts it had the wrong tires on it. Bought my car because I really love the air ride. Sorry others are disappointed with it. After reading some of the Air Suspension posts you would think it was awful. So may I add: To anyone considering a UL with air would suggest you drive both air and non-air. I did and found the air ride to be far superior so I bought one. Best car I have ever owned and I'm in my 60's. Oh yeah, with the money I saved buying a used UL I also bought 5yr/60,000 mi warranty for peace of mind.
03-03-09, 07:16 PM
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My UL drifted to the right. Took it in for an alignment after deciding on a height on my DataController and new wheels and they did their best to correct the tendency to go to the right.
03-04-09, 10:58 AM
#15
..........Back on topic, you think Lexus knows what they are doing with a $80k car. So to the OP, check tires for wear and alignment as suggested above. Your car should be stable at any speed.
Last edited by airtime; 03-04-09 at 11:01 AM.