3fiftyblk

Hi!

I'm trying to lower my RX350 and adjust the suspension to be more sport/race handling. I bought some springs that I like. The springs are the eibach truck pro-kit.

I'm wondering if anybody else has done this and would you also recommend purchasing matching struts/shocks.

A friend of mine with a BMW recommends buying matching struts to match my springs. If I don't, he warned me my 350 may get that bouncing low-rider feel. I don't want that bouncey ride! I would like to make it more BMW'ish and not as soft as what comes standard on the rx 350 suspension.

These are the eibach springs I bought and bringing the car down 1.2" will be perfect for me http://www.stillen.com/product.asp?id=EIBPROKT01&c=SU

What is the best way or appropriate way to find a set of matching shocks?

Has anybody adjusted their suspension to be more performance oriented?

Can anybody recommend a lexus or toyota suspension shop in the northern california area? I live near San Jose.

Is doing this a bad idea?

The gap between the tires on the 350 & the wheel well is a little ugly to me. And, I'll do anything to get rid of the gap and go for more of a race look & feel.


-Gabriel

AM1

iTrader: (6)

heres something to think about. you will never ever get an lexus to handle like a BMW no matter what anyone says. the ride will probably be soft too unless you change the struts to something that is much much stiffer. changing the struts is a good idea since the new springs will have a different rate and such. but then again since they are eibachs they should be ok without changing it.

Kan-O-Z

You can get any car to out handle, out accelerate, out perform just about any car. It's just a question of how much you want to spend Now, just some thought...the RX rides really well. Do you really want to spoil the ultra smooth ride that no other SUV can match? Trust me this is something you will appreciate every day. The handling on the RX is actually pretty good. It does lean when pushed in the corners but it still handles pretty well. Personally the RX does what it's supposed to do very well and I wouldn't mess with it too much. Of course if you want to improve it's looks some nice wheels would help.

Kan-O-Z

Lil4X

Gabriel, welcome to CL!

You are facing an uphill battle, I'm afraid. This is one of the most common questions we get on CL, and one of the most difficult to answer. You have to consider what you want to do with your car, what you are willing to spend, how much you are willing to sacrifice in terms of comfort, stability, and utility for ultimate "race" handling.

An RX is a sport utility vehicle at its core. Designed to haul various configurations of cargo and passengers in comfort on the highway and in some limited off-road applications, the vehicle has already traded a low cg for ground clearance, giving it a rather higher roll center than even a family sedan, let alone a sports car.

Its suspension is fairly compliant in roll for passenger comfort and to allow the wheels better ground contact in soft-road applications, meaning that it will not achieve high cornering limits especially with its high cg. Finally, the RX is far too heavy by at least 1200 pounds to be a handler, based on the power that can be fitted to it. Worse, because it carries the weight relatively high it will not be particularly stable at the limit.

Stiff springs alone do not make a handler. Suspension mounting points, spring rates, cg, roll centers, bushing compliance, strut valving, wheels, tires, and many, many other issues to be considered. Because all of these items must work together, any change you make will probably require a number of additional changes for the vehicle to perform properly. Prepare to spend a TON of money - and be ready to accept a lot of compromises.

In short, making a sports car out of an RX will be a challenge. It might be easier to turn your vehicle into a boat - or something else far outside its design envelope. If racing is your goal, consider the purchase of a good used coupe or roadster such as a CRX or a Miata that has plenty of aftermarket parts available and many experienced tuners who work with these vehicles. By starting a lot closer to your goal, your overall cost of developing a "fun" car will be considerably lower, and you will be much happier with the result. Keep your RX, do a few appearance mods, polish it up nicely and retreat to it when you want relief from the kidney pounding of your track car.

3fiftyblk

Thanks for the feebdack lil4x!

Hmmn... ok, what if I just go for bringing the car down / lowering it. What is the best way to do that with making the ride really bad or damaging the car?

The high cg and large gap between the tires and wheel well really don't have the look i'm interested in.

I do have custom wheels on my 350 already, integrated ipod & sirius from vais, and component speakers everywhere. And, it is almost perfect inside and out!

If the ride becomes a bit more or more stiff, that is ok too. I just don't want to end up with a ride that is softer than what i currently have stock. But I think lowering it a bit would look really nice.


-Gabriel

AM1

iTrader: (6)

i guess you are right about that. heck i never thought a virtually stock rx300 could win a off road race but rod millen had a fully built rx300 that did just that a few years back. anyways i guess i mean that besides spedning a lot of money doing bolt on stuff wont do much to change the handling charateristics of the car.

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

If your car is new, using the stock shocks should be okay up to around 50K or more miles. Eibch's have a slightly higher spring rate, but they are mild and are designed to be okay with the stock shocks. If you can manage I would get matching sports shocks as well, but you don't have to. The ride will not be affected much at all. It will be a siffer, but not bad at all. Handling will improve a bit as well.

If you really just want to lower your car for looks and retain the ultra soft suspension, your best bet is to get air suspension. With air, you have nearly identical ride comfort at stock height, but you have the ability to adjust the ride height to anything in between ultra low to even higher than stock. If they had air suspension kits when I did my car that is they way I would have gone. I had Eibach's on my 04.

Kan-O-Z

I was in the same boat as you and even purchased the TTE (Team Toyota Europe) springs for the RX350 that lower it about 1.2" and stiffen the ride up just a bit. It may be just what you are looking for. I ended up changing my mind and never installed them! They are sitting in my garage brand new and in the box. They are designed specifically for the RX with stock shocks. Let me know if you are interested.

Kan-O-Z

3fiftyblk

Thanks for the great advice! I'm not exactly sure what I'll do. It looks like their are a few options and I definitely will look in to the air suspension option for sure. That could definitely give me lots of flexibility. Then I could bring it down super low with my buddies & bring it up to height when the fam is with me or when I pull in to work... which would be really sweet.

If not, I'll get the springs installed & get sport shocks too. Even though my ride is brand new,.... 50k miles is not that far away from me. I have a pretty long commute. The eibachs should be good b/c they reportedly only bring it down 1.2" which is def good enough to remove the gap -- to my liking.

Thanks again everyone!

-Gabriel