Manaray

Great write-up Dave...glad my coilover post helped ya out...so what are you looking to get next in terms of coilovers? I'm actually going to move out of Tein FLEX (Henry, are you ready yet?? ) into a set of JIC FLT-A2's for my GS (that is if I keep my GS)...a wee bit stiffer...maybe closer to what you're looking for (they're also more adjustable than the PSS)

rominl

iTrader: (4)

see my post in classified? help me to find a buyer then we will talk

Hameed

Dave, now that you've had your Bilstein coilovers on your car for a couple of months, what are your impressoins now? I remember vaguely you said something about the coilovers not being as well balanced overall compared to your Eibach/H&R suspension setup.

Please give us your long term impressions. Knowing what you know now, would you do this mod again if you went back in time?

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

Will do sometime this week, ping me if you don't see it. I'm in Chicago area tonight on slow dialup, a bit too painful for a decent writeup this late in the PM

Mr Johnson

In Chicago and not giving a shout out to the Chicago ClubLexus brethren?!?

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

It was just for the night (got in around 11pm) Mr J. and I had a client presentation to give with prep at 7am. Best I could do was to watch for you guys on the highway . Wish I had more time.

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

OK, here’s the next installment in the long term Bilstein PSS coilover review. I still haven’t ridden in another GS with Tein (or other brand) coilovers, so I can only compare these to stock, L-tuned and Bilstein+Eibach combination suspensions.

As a reminder, I have a LOT of other suspension modifications to my GS, so these results may be different if you don’t have a similar setup. Here are the suspension mods I have on my GS400:

Bilstein PSS Coilovers
Bridgestone Pole Position S-03 Tires
Piaa Rozza Altra Wheels 18x8 F, 18x9 R
TRD Front Strut Tower brace
TRD ‘Race / Blue’ Front and Rear Sway Bars
TRD Lower Chassis Brace
Tom's Rear Lower Chassis Brace
Tom's 6-piece Suspension Brace Kit
Tom's Rear Strut Tower Bar
L-Tuned Steering ECU

Stiffness
After driving with these for about four months now (maybe 2,500 miles), I have come to the conclusion that they are considerably stiffer than I thought they were initially. The roads in Charlotte aren’t that bad and are relatively smooth, but when I’ve taken longer trips or on older roads with more surface variations I can definitely say I’m getting a pretty stiff ride, even compared to my old Eibach / Bilstein combo which could be a pretty stiff ride in its own right. On smooth ‘normal’ roads and normal conditions I can’t really tell much difference from the old setup which I now appreciate more. I don’t often have more than two people in my GS to comment on how it rides fully loaded as I usually take my LS400 when we have more than just my girlfriend & me or when we’re hauling stuff around.

Handling
I’ve taken the car on a number of challenging roads, most notably during our ‘Tail of the Dragon’ ClubLexus meet where we drove an extremely curvy road in the mountains (318 curves in 11 miles). Since I was one of the meet organizers, I chose to follow behind all the meet participants as ‘safety car’ to make sure we made it through safely, I still had plenty of chances to drop back and push the car in the turns. I have not yet been able to brake the car lose in a turn and am increasingly impressed with the handling capabilities of the Bilstein coilovers. I know a small bit of understeer is desirable for handling, I just haven’t found out where the ‘break loose’ limit is on these yet. I knew where it was with my old Eibach / Bilsteins.

The only handling issue I had was really as a result of my testing new driving techniques. A buddy of mine drives racecars on weekends (Spec racer Fords) and went with us to the Dragon meet. I observed the way he took turns – choosing his line, braking later, harder and briefer than I would have to loose a bit of momentum and accelerating out of the curve. On the second day I was trying to imitate that style a bit and braked too much and ‘pushed’ into the turn. I think it was more of an issue with my applying too much brake going into a steep curve at too high a speed. Recovered with no issues, but it was a memorable lesson.

I plan to take an instructor-led track driving course in November at a nice road course with wide open curves (no hard concrete walls or cliffs) to learn some better driving techniques on approaching turns and learn the breaking points of my car (click here if you're in the SE US and interested in attending). I'll do another writeup after that course.

In my opinion
OK, here’s my subjective update on “would I do it again”? I probably don’t drive my GS hard enough regularly to warrant the $$$ I spent on switching from my Eibach/Bilstein combination to the PSS Coilovers. The Eibach/Bilstein are a bit stiffer than the L-tuned suspension combination based on the several L-tuned rides I’ve been in (also see a great thread by WhiteLS (click here) ) and all my other suspension mods gave it the needed tweaks to make it handle great even before the coilovers.

If I had stock (or perhaps even L-tuned suspension w/o a lot of other suspension mods) I would definitely consider the Bilstein PSS as a key suspension upgrade. If was going for a lower look than I could get with springs/shocks (I still probably have another .5 inch I could go down) I’d also consider them, but Tein coilovers go down much further and if low is what you want, I’d get those. I do prefer the lifetime warranty you get with the Bilsteins, which was one of the reasons I chose them over the Tein.

So in summary…. Stiffer than I initially thought, still like them a lot, handles better than I can drive it.

D2-AUTOSPORT

Dave thanks for the informative write up, do you have the ability to dial in a softer ride? I know it would hamper handling some, but perhaps you could reach a tradeoff. Also do you think the sways/braces/etc are contributing to the stiffness.

These are a great product at a great price, I've been watching them since you got yours!

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

D - no firmness adjustment on the Bilsteins, I think only the Tein Flex allows that adjustment. You can only adjust how high/low you want the ride to be.

Absolutely the sways/braces/etc are contributing to the stiffness... no doubt. There is a big difference in ride from mine and from what I recall riding in another members GS with ONLY the Bilstein PSS on (no sways, braces other than stock).

D2-AUTOSPORT

Thanks Dave, I though I read somewhere that the dampening/rebound was adjustable on these, as well as Tein HA.

Thanks for the info man, very informative!

Neo

iTrader: (3)

FYI - Since EDFC will work on Tein the HA, RA, Flex, and CS, the dampening adjustment is allowable on these models.

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

Good catch Neo, thanks!

On the PSS did a bit more research since I hadn't really looked at the adjustable nature being a big issue for me if I couldn't use the EFDC. Looks like I was correct, but its a bit confusing because there is a PSS-9 model (not available for our GSs) that IS adjustable.

"The Bilstein PSS Suspension features both coilover and standard monotube gas pressure shocks with performance level valving along with application specific, progressive rate coil springs. The PSS system lets you set your car low and tight for optimum performance or back to a more stock like ride height and handling characteristics. Ride height adjustments can be made on the vehicle without removing the suspension. The solid aluminum spring seat and lock nut allows a selective adjustment of the vehicle's ride height. Spring travel and vehicle body height change, but the spring seat remains pre-loaded throughout the allowable range of adjustment."

bravo261

iTrader: (1)

ah, this type of stuff is what keeps CL on top. thanks sincerely, dave

TwentyTen

ditto