ToyotaLexus

Will ride quality suffer if only lower springs are installed?
(probably H&R springs) No change in shocks...

Thanks for any info...

Risk3233

By ride quality, I'm assuming you're referring to ride comfort.

Aftermarket lowering springs are customarily stiffer than OEM. The amount of stiffness depends on the make and model of the spring. As I recall the H&R Stage 2 springs are about 25% stiffer. You will notice the increased firmness in ride.

What you will probably notice more is that the car will lower over 2" and this fact will contribute to a harsher ride. You may also notice that the damping of the OEM shocks may not be able to handle the increase in spring rate as well.

I have Eibach Pro Kits springs and TRD adj. shocks. They ride very similar to OEM and lower the car about 1.1". I can also fine tune the ride w/the adj. shocks.

gte

i have the eibachs, and i can definitely feel bumps in the road more now, i'm not sure if i am going to take them back off or not, i think i am going to try risk's advice and go with the trd struts first before i do that.

lexusnexus

Oh man...........been down the lowered road of harsh rides before....my advice to all...leave the the suspension alone...want better handling ? Go to a better tire 1st then perhaps a 18 " wheel/tire combo....man I had a 95 Legend in superb condition that I spent over $2000 in labor charges lowering - raising - adding Koni's, etc....that is such a waste of resources...I vowed never to screw with a car again...that's why I bought an IS...everything is already dialed in.....the suspension and wheel tire packages out there are not realistic for real world driving, with potholes, poor road conditions,etc....the magazines that show the cars with like 19" rims, and lowered by 3 inches, what a joke !!.....yeah like that car you could actually fully load with people and drive around town....those magazines sucker punch peolple into thinking there cars will be so much better....save your money, better yet buy stocks...there cheap now for the long term investor.....

Risk3233

I agree with your statement somewhat.

I agree that you have to decide what your ultimate goal for doing suspension mods is.

If an owner is satisfied w/the OEM ride height and comfort, then aftermarket sway bars and ultra sticky tires (i.e. Toyo T1-S or S-03 Pole Positions) are all one needs to allow higher cornering speeds.

If you want a greater level of modification to allow higher turning speeds, then springs and shocks along w/sway bars and sticky tires need to be done.

If you want the ultimate tinkerers car, then complete coilovers.

There will be a great diversity in suspension needs in the IS community. Identify what your needs are (i.e. track car, show car, daily driver, etc.) and modify accordingly.

To make a blanket statment that suspension mods are in themselves bad is grossly misstated. Remember, the OEM handling/suspension setup for the IS is geared towards "Joe Average". This means the car tends towards understeer, has gobs of body lean due to the compliant spring rates, and becomes "uneven" during high speed directional changes due to the slow acting damping rate.

I agree w/your statement on oversizing wheel/tire combos. I kept the 17" size, but went wider than OEM and choose a more aggressive offset when choosing my aftermarket tire setup. I was able to widen the track and tire cross-section w/o adding any rotational weight and still having some tire between me and the road.

Sentinel

lexusnexus
hmm
I agree and I dont. U can quite easily run a 2 inch drop in some parts of the country. My friend live is port st lucie florida and the roads are flat a perfect, I on the other hand live in NY and would quickly destroy the front of my car.
Sentine;

EmoDragRacer

just on H&R springs and stock dampers I dont think it was too bad.... after I got my HKS coilovers and slammed the front and rear...it got a lil hectic but I like it that way.... the rears are super stiff and height is all the way down.... and front is tucked also... looks sweet ride ok...

raul

I'm curious, did you have problems getting a positve camber after getting a 4 wheel alignment? Did you install a camber kit? I have a staggered set up for my wheels and I can't rotate. I couldn't get a positive camber and I can't find a camber kit.

liljungnam

i have SPRINT performance springs(2inch drop) And it rides almost as smooth as stock. I Love them. You just have to rem that its lowered!!!! I was thinking about getting coilovers but my friends have all different types of coilovers and the ride feels like a daymn honda but if you like that kinda stuff go for it. I like to keep my luxuary car with the luxuary feel!!!