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Just ordered my set from Vivid Racing to replace my stock air struts which have been slowly going out ever since I bought the car. 14k front and 12k rear should do the trick. Also grabbed the Daizen steering rack bushings and the 19mm Ultra Racing rear anti sway bar.
Now the waiting game begins. 4 weeks build for the coilovers and some undefined time for shipping from MY for the rear anti sway. I should start a little build thread for this car...
12k in the rear? That's going to be rather bouncy with those springs back there.
Hopefully not a dumb question. Would coil overs work on a non-air suspension LS or are coil overs purely a solution of air suspension cars? I ask because I'm chasing down some harsh ride issues, and I'm beginning to suspect the springs at 143 K are part of the problem.
Hopefully not a dumb question. Would coil overs work on a non-air suspension LS or are coil overs purely a solution of air suspension cars? I ask because I'm chasing down some harsh ride issues, and I'm beginning to suspect the springs at 143 K are part of the problem.
They're considered a modification I suppose. I think they're seen on a lot of ULs since the cost of entry level coilovers are about equal to buying the OEM struts, springs, and associated parts. A lot of people go from air to stock OE struts and springs to keep the original ride quality. With coilovers you change the ride quality of the car, but gain the ability to make adjustments. Ride height, damping force, and more available springs for different spring rates.
A big thing with coilovers is that you get what you pay for. For the most part, lower end, no-name ebay coilovers will give undesirable ride characteristics. Reading through reviews, the sweet spot for entry level seems to be around the 1k mark. BC DR, FA 500, Silvers Neomax, etc...
started her up but could not drive as wife's car blocking the driveway. Hasn't been driven since 6/7 so just wanted to make sure it would start. this is why although many do not agree, I don't feel a car "has" to be started every few days. If it does, imho something isn't right. The BMW hasn't been driven since Feb. I would fully expect it to start up, it's sat for longer in the past. I know this is not ideal and daily driven is, but what are we going to do during times like these?
edit at lunch time, took a 14 mile ride, 8 of which was at highway speed. At least she fully warmed up and got to drive somewhere.
I replaced the left, outer brake lamp assembly. $390 from a dealer. 2 tips here. Access the 3 nuts from the small door, but first stuff some paper towels in the cavity below the nuts. You will drop at least one of them, and retrieving them is a bear. Use a 10mm wrench to loosen, then spin off with your fingers. Getting to the inside nut is a little difficult to reach, so feel around and locate it, then use a sharp razor blade to create a little flap you can pull back to get to the nut. When the job is done, that little flap folds back in place, and the small door covers it. Job took about 25 minutes.
1. Replaced front brake pads and rotors. I just changed them last July but with money issues at that time, I used Wearever parts from Advance Auto. That was a mistake. This time I used Brembo pads and Centric rotors. HUGE difference.
2. Replaced passenger side rear view mirror. A large, thick piece of tire from a car in front of me hit the mirror and broke part of it. I had clear Gorilla tape holding it together. I found a replacement on Ebay for $160, had it painted at local Maaco ($75) to match my Millennium Silver. Installed myself (easy job), not sure how much I saved over a Lexus dealership, but I'm sure it was a decent amount.
3. Replaced the filters under the two front seats. I'm sure that the originals were in there. Very dirty and 17 years old. I notice a better air flow when using the cooled seats.
4. Two weeks ago, I had a local shop replace the valve cover gaskets. This shop is owned by two guys, one who left a Toyota dealership and one who left a Lexus dealership. They work on Toyota and Lexus almost exclusively. Their reputation is great and they did great work for me. Parts and labor total was $300. I can fix a lot of things on a car, but I didn't want to tackle that job.
5. Three weeks ago, I changed the spark plugs. The original plugs were in there! They looked pretty good for having over 270,000 miles on them. A great piece of mind to have them changed.
My 2003 LS430 just flipped 274,000 miles. It truly runs like a dream. Greatest car that I've ever owned.
Up next: replacing some interior bulbs with LED, and finding a good body shop to repair a few rust spots (thanks to Wisconsin winters and slated roads). In the coming months, I'll be looking to replace the original shock/strut assemblies. I'm keeping this sweet ride for at least two more years, probably more.
BTW, this forum is awesome. I've learned so much from the users who are so generous with sharing information.
The spring keeper on the left mirror kept slipping, so the mirror would travel all the way to the front, aboot 180 degrees from parked. I tried to put a double split coupling on it, but the cover would not go back on. So, I got the keeper/washer down a good bit, then drilled a 1/8 hole in the tube, and put a roll pin in there. Works like new.
Been a busy day.
I was able to install two Toyota OEM Exhaust Dampers right under the rear differential. One is facing down (to the right in the picture), the other one is facing "forward right" (to the left in the picture) to make sure they are a little bit more effective.
My original plan was to get Hyundai product in there, but as i mentioned earlier, seems that Hyundai no longer wants to sell cheap OEM quality dampers which I believe are great.
Now that I confirmed they work well in my car, I placed order for 6 MORE. Amayama sells them for $12 dollars each, while US Dealers offer them starting from $33. I paid $130 including shipping, and all of them ARE going directly to the exhaust, in between mufflers and catalytic converters, preferably near transmission mount and other connections to the body of the car. The goal is to reduce or even completely eliminate exhaust vibrations.
Yesterday, I replaced front struts and mounts, upper control arms, lower ball joints, tie rod ends, and sway bar end links on my 2006 Modern Luxury. All parts were Genuine Lexus, with the exception of the struts. The struts are KYB, to match the rear struts which were recently done. Car goes to the alignment shop this afternoon, but a quick test drive and shakedown last night revealed that the strange clunks and rattles that I was experiencing are now gone. Car has 223k miles and I am hoping to get at least another 200k from the car. The parts were not cheap, but at least my labor was “free.”
Yesterday, I replaced front struts and mounts, upper control arms, lower ball joints, tie rod ends, and sway bar end links on my 2006 Modern Luxury. All parts were Genuine Lexus, with the exception of the struts. The struts are KYB, to match the rear struts which were recently done. Car goes to the alignment shop this afternoon, but a quick test drive and shakedown last night revealed that the strange clunks and rattles that I was experiencing are now gone. Car has 223k miles and I am hoping to get at least another 200k from the car. The parts were not cheap, but at least my labor was “free.”
Jeff
I'm interested to hear more details post alignment. I'm chasing down some harsh ride over road irregularities issues, so I'm eager to hear your take on the improvements. I've done new struts (KYB), OEM strut mounts, OEM motor mounts and tranny mounts, and lower control arm bushings (all installed by my indy). I saw a lot of improvement, but the ride still seams harsh to me. Next up are rear sway bar end links, rear sway bar bushings, front lower ball joints, and front sway bar bushings.
I'm interested to hear more details post alignment. I'm chasing down some harsh ride over road irregularities issues, so I'm eager to hear your take on the improvements. I've done new struts (KYB), OEM strut mounts, OEM motor mounts and tranny mounts, and lower control arm bushings (all installed by my indy). I saw a lot of improvement, but the ride still seams harsh to me. Next up are rear sway bar end links, rear sway bar bushings, front lower ball joints, and front sway bar bushings.
The goal is to reduce or even completely eliminate exhaust vibrations.
I was about to ask what your goal was with bolting hundreds of dollars and 50 lbs of dampers all over the place, then I read this last sentence.
Hmm... If it were me and I was having "exhaust vibrations", I would check and/or replace all of the rubber exhaust hangers first which would most likely eliminate any exhaust vibrations you think you might be having. Probably 30 bucks and a half hour at your local exhaust shop.
Before I did my muffler delete, I had zero vibrations of any kind in my LS430, even at full throttle up to redline. Heck, I still don't have any vibrations. I just hear a slight rumble from my car now is all.
Sorry... I just don't see the point behind this little project of yours.
Interesting day today after watching all those YouTube videos on vinyl wrapping cars I gave it a shot, it’s definitely very tricky for one person. I made some mistakes from squeegeeing to slow causing some wrinkles in some spot and forgot to clean the front corner lesson learned i also couldn't fully remove the winshield spray tips on the hood, it looks very good tho color is satan metallic gloss black. All those smear marks came off
06-30-20, 03:51 AM
