tqh

Viper, does that mean your wheel diameter is larger now? Your speedometer may appear slower than your actual speed...

sick21

But I'm sure his tires aren't large enough that it's that big of a difference... It's not a Jeep with giant tires.

Anytime you go with a wider tire though that goes equal a rougher ride...

viperdoc

The circumference is only 1.5% bigger...not enough to notice from the speedo. When the speedo reads 20mph my actual speed is 20.3 mph....when the speedo reads 65 mph my actual speed is 65.9mph. I disagree with the wider tire equals a rougher ride though. My experience is that it tends to smooth out the road even better. My f sport now rides very smoothly without the jarring impact from road imperfections, but still handles very, very well. And with the h rated tire, I can ride with tires filled to 38psi and still have a better ride than when the michelins were filled with 31psi....and so far, no change in gas mileage either.

I went wider because it was easier to get a more aggressive look of the wider tire as well as a slightly taller sidewall to help with the ride quality. I could have done a 235/60 but that would have been a more than 3% increase in circumference. And I didn't want to go to 18 inch wheels. The 245/55s offered what I thought would be a good compromise and it I can say it worked out great. It's just another option rather than monkeying with the suspension and the risks involved with that plan.

Here is the link to my earlier post with pictures. https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...x-f-sport.html

dansforest

I just bought a 2014, and totally agree the ride quality is not great. It does have horrible cheapo tires on it though....really wish there is someway to make the thing ride smoother....I love everything else about it.....

I cant believe other folks dont notice how it feels every imperfection in the road...

Clutchless

When you replace the tires, research them at www.tirerack.com for those with a softer ride. They will make a difference.
They do a lot of testing and post owner's comments. A great asset when selecting new tires, plus they have great prices if you buy from them. Also Consumer Reports does a lot of tire testing and you can find them online for a fee or their magazines at any library if you do not subscribe or have a friend who subscribes.

dansforest

So, interesting enough, the tire shop i took it to, said the tires on it, being cheap, probably are softer than most.....due to being cheap. Not sure I agree with that though....There is so much that goes into a tire....that them being cheap....really equals no technology, cheap rubber, and who knows what else. I just dont know if new tires are going to improve anything...That is the bigger question.

Clutchless

The cheapest or biggest bang for your buck is to change out the rear shocks for something else. Softening the rear shocks should make it ride smoother as it is the rear hitting stuff that you often feel more. As the reviewers at Car & Driver said of the F Sport, it rides worse and does not handle any better than a regular RX350. So you probably will not notice any handling difference. If you do not like it you can swap back your F sport ones and sell the others on this forum.

The labor to swap them out is about an hour at any shop (except a dealer) Either regular OEM rear shocks or KYB or Monroe will be softer than the F sport rear shocks. The OEM ones are much less expensive.
Look at www.lexuspartsnow.com or www.myLparts.com I seem to recall that both rear shocks are the same.

dansforest

I have a regular RX350, not an f sport. So wondering if the same solution would apply. Its a 2014...which they did change the suspension setup in 2013....I feel the front and back...every imperfection in the road.

Clutchless

In another thread someone replaced the rear shocks with KYB and felt it rode better. Again, your impression may differ..

dansforest

I saw that, from what I have read, those are the OEM shocks?
I also read, that the coil springs are really the culprit. Lots of $$ just to try to figure out why it rides the way it does. I think the cheap tires are the main issues, since not many people complain....I wish i could get my hands on another rx350 around the same year, and test drive it.

RealWing

Dont worry about removing those so-called lateral dampers if you want to add a hitch. They have absolutely nothing to do with roll control. Being an inquisitive engineer, I removed the plastic panels on my F Sport to get a good look at the front and rear 'dampers". This is what i found: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...ce-damper.html

Jim

Cfomosi

Hello all
I have a 2013 Rx350 f sport. I've seen this post about the rear shocks and it has helped to smoothen the ride a bit but it's still harsh overall. I've contacted TEIN (the coilover maker) and they make custom coilovers, The thing is that parts will be needed to be sent in so they can take measurements and build the coilover.
What I've been trying to do is search online ( with no luck of course) to find the following parts so they can take measurements.
For the front complete suspension consisting of:
1.shock absorber
2. coil spring
3. dust covers
4. all hardware pertaining to mounting it into the car ( nuts, bolts, washers, plates etc )


this also applies to the rear. but I'm not doing the rears, because switching out the rear sport shocks to regular base model shocks works fine

I'm trying to get the front only done so i can soften the ride while maintaining stock height.
The cost to do a COMPLETE custom coilover front and back STARTS AT $1700- the more features you want to add, the more it costs.

since I'm trying to do the front only, it starts at $700

Thanks

Clutchless

Welcome to CL. There are many OEM discount Lexus parts sources online to find those parts new if you want to spend a lot of money.

If you just want to buy a used front strut for an RX350 there are many of them on eBay. Then ship them the used strut to measure and analyze.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...temCondition=4

If you have to have an F-Sport strut, that is probably a more difficult search. You can also try Rancho Used Lexus Parts (Google them) and ask if they have any.

Or save your money as the Tein stuff may not be any better than just putting some Sachs or TRW or Bilstein B4 front struts on it. I think Rock Auto has the Sachs/TRW fronts.

Search around, I found the Bilstein B4 passenger (right side) available at Rock Auto and Car Id, but not the driver side. It may be difficult to find. They are the best riding ones. They are listed for the 2011 Toyota Highlander FWD which has the same front suspension as the RX.

Bilstein B4 front right: 22282675
Bilstein B4 front left: 22282668


However those may be very hard to find so try a set of Monroe front struts and call it a day. They should be softer than KYB front struts.

Why do you think Tein, a performance suspension company will end up producing a product for you that rides softer? That is not what they do, they make products that do the opposite.

Most of your ride quality is from the rear shocks. Ditching the OEM ones for Bilstein B4 shocks, which are listed for the 2015 Highlander. You can get them on eBay
Bilstein 19-282862
https://www.ebay.com/itm/28406092844...id=11037488818
Or if not available the Sachs 316603 or TRW JGT4910S (same thing) would also soften the rear end. I know I had them on my RX and removed them after 2 months because the ride was too soft and there was too much body roll for my taste.

Cfomosi

hey, thanks for the reply, will be researching the info you listed.

as for our question why TEIN would make a coilover for my car? It's because the make custom coilovers- thats what i need them to do. I want to maintain stock height but soften the front.

The part# for shocks you mentioned for the highlander, does it fit the F sport?

Madcar

@Clutchless (or anyone who wants to chime in) - if replacing the rear only on a AWD 2013 (not F), do you know if there is much difference in buying OEM or possibly the Sachs brand?
I'm replacing mine and I'm not a softer ride mine - and I'm assuming my original shocks are part of the issue. They have approx 100K miles on them but they are not leaking.
Will making a change to new OEM make much of a difference - or are Sachs a better option if I'm trying to get back to a smoother ride?
Appreciate your feedback