ashmay

Good morning, all!

I'm a long-time lurker but first-time poster. I thought I might start this thread about some LS340 suspension work that I plan to complete in the coming days.

I'm going to replace the strut assemblies on all four corners of the suspension with . . . A1 Auto suspension parts. But, it's not why you might think. In fact, this will wind up costing me more than just replacing everything with genuine parts straight away. More on that in a moment.

It's semi-universally accepted that Chinese suspension parts are low quality and a poor substitute for the truly stellar Lexus components. But, how big is the gap, and could that difference be represented somehow (albeit roughly) in marginal difference per dollar? All we have are anecdotal stories (of which this is one) of individual experiences. Rarely do we see what I have planned here - I'm going to replace the very well-loved Lexus suspension parts with A1 parts and do my best to measure the difference. After that, I will replace the A1 parts will genuine Lexus parts and do the same. I expect to measure (subjectively) a significant difference. But, we shall see.

It'll be more difficult to measure things like ride comfort, which is very subjective. It will be easier to measure things like failed components and abnormal sounds.

In the meantime, I bought four A1 suspension assemblies (two front, two back) and a couple of sway bar links (front) for a grand total of just over $400. Genuine parts will probably cost a little north of $1,500 all in. Labor cost for these purposes will be zero, because I will do everything in my garage - even the wretched rear suspension process - twice. I'll net to zero the alignment costs (again, twice) because I assume I would need an alignment using either method.

Will the genuine parts be $1,000 better than the A1 parts? Probably. But, we will not know until we try.

Ash

CA2WALS430

Interesting post. Yes, I paid $1500 for just the rears at a dealership last fall when one of them finally blew up, not bad after 20 years. Fronts were done in 2021. I think the parts you are ordering will be like tires and I have commented on this before. Everything will feel great new, but the longevity is where the expensive stuff earns its' worth. I will be curious in your 10-year follow-up to this post.

bradland

How many miles does your car have?
There's so much going on with an LS suspension, 2 ball joints in the front, huge LCA bushings, robust spring insulators, etc.
Your current shocks/struts are not new so replacing them with new, albeit Chinese made, parts flaws your study from the start.

Parts vary widely in quality. Even parts made in China can vary in quality. I shudder to think how many shops send cars out on the streets with $4 tie rods!
More importantly and in the interest of your "measurements" genuine Lexus/Toyota parts are obviously excellent quality but this is measured in longevity.
CA2WALS430 has already mentioned this. The chinese parts will likely feel fine for 6 months to a year while the Toyota parts will last up to 10 years.

But hey it's your money and your time so.....

05ls430518

iTrader: (1)

Yah it's "cheaper" in the short run but everytime you change the struts you need to get an alignment if you don't have camber adjustment for the rear you need that, also alignments should be done with new tires. So add up all that 3 times minium for 5 years it is for more expensive than the oem suspension. Just my opinion and personal experience.

Oro

I redid all four corners of the GS this month, with OEM Kyb shocks and mounts. Total cost was UNDER $400 (RockAuto).

I’m not too proud to use A1 parts - in fact am going to order some axles from them tomorrow. But for shocks/mounts, the OEM KYB units are not expensive.

ashmay

So…this is suboptimal. The sway bar link broke under light suspension loading.

I reinstalled the completely shot OEM sway links, and I don’t have enough confidence in these products after this to sink time into the rear suspension. So, I finished the front corners, and I’ll


test those for a bit. I’ll replace them with OEM sooner than originally planned.