1of422

I recently picked up a bone stock 430 w 175k miles. I really enjoy the smoothness of the Lexus cars built during the Golden Era of Lexus. I want to maintain that smoothness but tighten up the suspension slightly to better match the power (imho). After reading through the threads I think the following would be a good setup for about $800 vs a custom valved and spring rate coil over setup $$$$.

New OEM Lexus Shocks [oil filled] *from what I understand oil filled is better for ride quality. ~$440
Tanabe NF210 (5% increased firmness) ~$350
Daizen SB Bushings ~$35

Thoughts?

firelizard

iTrader: (1)

Fine except for the Daizen bushings, they're not very good.

1of422

You thinking go oem instead for the bushings?

firelizard

iTrader: (1)

Yup. My Daizen bushings did not last very long before ovaling and creaking badly, and I'm not the only to have less than ideal longevity from them.
The ideal would be TRD sway bars and their stiffened rubber bushings, but those are long discontinued and that's really sad.

TrueGS300

I agree with firelizard. I've modded the hell out of my car, but when it comes to suspension bushings, I replace with OEM. Most people don't realize their old factory ones are worn out anyway, and replacing with OEM still restores the ride and steering response quality. If you want nice manners for the street, you can always upgrade the sway-bars, but not use all the poly bushing junk to avid noise and harsh feel. Last year I restored my suspension by pressing in new OEM control arm bushings, new OEM steering rack bushings, replaced the lower ball joints, replaced the rear knuckle bushings because they had some play etc. Now I did upgrade to some coilovers and sway-bars. But that's for my preference. For you, I'd try a set of sway-bars first and see how you like the feel. Any changes to the shock/spring will loose comfort by varying degrees. A new set of quality tires rather than the most budget set found on most cars makes a difference too. You'll really like the ride of a restored OEM suspension, quite smooth grippy tires, and less body role from the sway bars.

Figs engineering is probably your best bet for a set of sway bars. Megan is not producing anymore, and most others have either gone under, or stopped production through this covid thing. I started with a Megan in the front and added a Figs to the rear later on. But Figs is still selling full sets.

1of422

Ideally i'd like to replace all the bushings eventually if I decide to keep this as my daily, although I'm not sure how bad they [bushings] really are. Fortunately the car was serviced and garaged it's whole life in Orange County [old lady] before I bought it. So I think as far as bushings drying out [mines a 2005) they may still be somewhat ok, save for the sway bar bushings those are being replaced because it's really easy to do. The figs refresh kit almost costs as much as I paid for the car $2500 lmao, but I really love this car!! it really is the perfect car for me. I assume like most of us on here we could afford something newer, but nothing really "does it" for me like the GS does. It was after all built in the worlds greatest assembly plant, Tahara. I'll have to show everyone some pictures of how clean this car is, it's nuts how well the previous owner took care of it, took me over a year of searching to find the perfect GS, I'll have to share the story.

lexo98

iTrader: (2)

I’d recommend Figs for any bushing being replaced. I wouldn’t go with OEM struts and lowering springs. I’d look for something made to be run on lowered springs. Maybe someone else can chime in maybe KYB? I’m running Megan coil overs so I can’t recommend anything I’ve tried

firelizard

iTrader: (1)

I used KYB Excel-G/GR2 (same thing, different name depending on when they were made) struts, which are an OEM equivalent, with Tanabe DF210 springs. It's a nice setup. The springs are not so harsh that the stock struts can't control them. OP has the NF210 which is even softer. Maybe there is a bit of longevity lost in the long term, but I don't see it being significant to the point of deterring me from recommending it.
Bilsteins would be nicer, but that's a lot more money and I hear they can be hard to find nowadays. It turns out Bilstein B8 Plus are readily available online.

1of422

I considered the Bilstiens as their headquarters are just down the street here in Poway. So I normally would buy a set and support my local community through taxes, as I bought Bilstiens for my truck and Jeep. Though from what I read on this forum most people with the Bilstiens in their GS said it was a bit harsher than the stock shocks. There is this smoothness with the older generation Lexus that I really want to preserve while tightening up the suspension just slightly and dropping the car mildly. NF210 + Stock shocks seems like the smoothest option beside custom coilovers. Curious if anyone ran NF210's on new oem shocks.