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I just picked this 04 LS430 from a friend that is overseas in the Navy. Its been parked at his parents house here in the Bay Area for about a year collecting dust. I recently sold my 07 GS350 because it was not big enough for my needs. I have a 1yr old daughter and her car seat takes up so much space. So i gave my friend a call and struck a deal with him. I initially was in the market for the dark grey on black but prices were so high. The car has a few issues that i will eventually fix
-Steering wheel doesnt go up or down ( in and out is ok)
-RF door actuator doesnt work (FIXED)
-And a small hiccup when cruising on freeway ( rpm drops 300-400 ) I cleaned the MAF and throttle body, and ran 2 cycles of Techron and it went away. Strangely, this happened to my first 01 LS i had for a few months.
Other than those issues, the car is in pristine condition. He took great care of the car and bought it from the Lexus dealer in 2014 with all services done to it. Im glad we were both able to help each other out; me getting the car i want....and he was able to get out of his payments because i paid off the loan and he doesnt have to waste money paying for insurance on a car that just sat there.
My first LS was a green 2000 LS400 dumped on bmw style 95s
My 2nd LS was the 01 LS430
My 3rd LS was a 99 dumped on Leon Hardiritt Ritters ( my FAVORITE of them all. regretfully sold it to fund for my NSX that I no longer own)
Im hoping that this will be my last LS because I love the 04-06 LS. The little minor changes made such a big difference. The ride is Great compared to my other LS that were slammed on coilovers. Riding with a daughter in the car, I cant be bouncing around rolling with stretched tires anymore.
However, I also do some kind of modification to my cars. After doing research of ride comfort, I ordered a set of Tanabe NF210 just to get rid of a little bit of wheel gap without much sacrifice. I also have a set of my favorite OEM wheels, the 18" GS350/ GS460 blade 5 spoke wheels.
I envy the guys that can slam their LS on some clean *** wheels....but its time for me to step away from that scene
So I installed the Tanabe NF210 (1" front 0.8" rear) and put the GS350/ GS460 18" (245/45/18) wheels on. Still waiting for the springs to settle
sorry for the picture filters. I was just trying something new.
After I installed the springs and drove around for 30 miles. I did not notice any ride comfort changes. It felt very similar to stock. Very little change to even notice. After installing the 18s I felt a bit of a rougher ride, but not by much. I heard more road noise. Possibly due to the Toyo Proxes tires. Overall, im happy with the outcome. Hopefully I will be the first and only rocking these wheels. Some people dont like these wheels but these are my favorite OEM wheels.
After about 3 months of looking at an uneven ride height, i was getting really annoyed. Even though the NF210 gave a 1" drop in front and .8 in the rear, the front still had a larger wheel gap. I think the rear springs may have sagged a bit, or maybe settled in. On top of that, I ride around with my bowling gear, baby stroller, and battery jump box in the trunk. I had the youzealand 30mm ss kit for over 2 months and finally got around to installing it. I started by installing the fronts only and the stance was exactly what I wanted.
BEFORE (youzealand 30mm in front)
AFTER (front installed only)
Its basically a 1 finger gap in the front. Its about a 2.2" drop (1" from the NF210 and 30mm from the spacers). I decided to leave the rears alone for now. I just ordered some wheels from Japan but wont be putting it on anytime soon. Gonna enjoy this new look for a while until i get bored.
Nice look, yoitskenn, although I personally prefer the height when you had only the NF210. Your ride looks clean though and not "overly done".
Our LS is Mercury Metallic Silver too like yours and can relate to the trunk accessories. Our trunk is also always carrying a jogging stroller, 3 folding chairs, air compressor, and battery jump starter. Love the trunk space! The battery jump starter has helped out others way more often than ourselves, IIRC the count is 6-2 over the past two years.
When I first installed the NF210, the drop was decent, but then as time passed the rear settled in and drop a bit more. And i began lugging my bowling gear around, which caused it to have an uneven drop.
I love the new look. puts a smile everytime i see it now.
Very nice. The 18 inch OEM Lexus wheels are a masterstroke. Would love to put 18's on mine, put I am not certain whether or not they play nice with the air suspension in the Ultra Luxury Package.
Sliver looks great on 430s and I wish mine was not Crystal White, but it is what my older brother choose so given the tradeoff between 100% dealer history (all in Georgia or Tennessee) and not having to pay sales tax when buying from a sibling in Tennessee, and it was just too good to pass up.
I think most people would choose white over silver. I'm just not a fan of the tan interior that most of the whites come with. White on grey leather would be my first choice (other than saddle which is impossible to find)
The 18" blades from the gs350 are my favorite OEM wheels. It's also 1/2" wider than the LS 18" giving it a better stance. There's a few GS430 18s on the LS out there but I have yet to see another like mines. But I'm sure it won't be for long.
04-12-16, 02:48 PM
My 4th LS and Hopefully My Last.
