knihc2008

iTrader: (1)

LOL Thanks but I was just kidding...

Torii

springs will cause you to replace sxocks every 20k miles if u r lucky

teejnut

iTrader: (6)

I agree that stock shocks will wear out faster with lowering springs but saying it'll wear down every 20k miles is incorrect. How fast the shocks wear down will vary depending on the drop, conditions of the shocks, and driving conditions.

In any case the shocks will wear out faster then normal, I don't think anyone has had their shocks go bad YET. Sucks that there are no aftermarket shock options yet.

Torii

I say that due to using eibach pro springs on my other 2 vehicles and both need ed new front and rear shocks after 20k miles.

maybe the lexus will be different.

of course you dont need new shocks if you like to bounce down the road.

iSuxeL

iTrader: (21)

I think the whole spring/shock wearing out faster is a myth. Just my opinion.

tjZ06

With a properly paired shock it IS a myth. It also depends on the suspension design of the car.

There are a few factors that can lead to increased shock wear and damage with lowering springs.

• Bottoming the shock out: with the car sitting much lower static there is a far greater chance of fully compressing the suspension (aka bottoming out). HOWEVER a lot of cars have bump-stops that will stop suspension travel before the shock itself bottoms out. I'm not sure if this is the case w/ the IS though. If it is not the case though it can damage the shock for it to bottom out and it is more likely to happen with a lowered car.
• Increased spring-rate: in general lowering springs have a higher spring rate. In most cases lowering springs are intended to improve handling, and higher spring rates are often used to this end. Also, the higher spring rates are used to help prevent bottoming out despite the lower ride height. However, the shocks on our cars were valved specificaly to work with the spring rates of the factory springs. With a high-rate aftermarket spring your car will be "under-dampened." This leads to increased body oscillation since the shocks cannot properly control the vehicle with the increased spring rates. Oscillations relate directly to shock cycles, and any shock only has so many cycles in it's life. You are not getting less cycles from your shocks, just more cylces per mile.

-TJ

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

^^nail meet hammer. Increased spring rate is what kills the OEM shocks sooner than normal. Every spring manufacturer has reasons why they need more spring rate, and some actually work the numbers to provide a best compromise between ride quality, ride height, change in roll center, and resistance to bottoming. Any time you change rate, you should be changing damping to match the new rate (which also makes me wonder about the usefulness of things like the EDFC for street cars since changing your damping means leaving the optimum setting for worse compromise setting leading to increased wear and shorter service life.)