Ls 430 Firm Ride

[EDDIEM]

we have recently purchased a 2001 ls 430 after owing a 99 ls 400 for several years. i have noticed what i think is a much firmer ride in the 430 which i have been told is normal. but what i have noticed is that my sons identical 2001 ls 430 rides smother than my car. his 430 is much more like the ls 400? anyone have any suggestions as to what might be causing this?

[MikeP]

Is it possible your LS430 has the Sport Suspension? If not, make sure your tire pressure is correct. I did own an LS400 and now I have an LS430. I find the LS430 to have a more controlled ride, but by no means harsh.

Mike

[90LS400Lexus]

That is what I would imagine. Perhaps you have the "sport" suspension. Unlikely, since it the car is not that old, but perhaps someone changed out the original struts and placed a performance strut on it. This is what happened to my 1990 LS400. When I first got it, I thought the ride was quite firm and rather harsh- especially in the rear. After I went through some of the service records, I discovered that the previous owner had just installed KYB GR-2 struts on the rear which was a high performance strut. I wasted no time in getting those off of the car and installed OEM Toyota struts. These provided a much softer ride, but still not as soft and "cushy" as I would like. Granted, it "floats" at higher speeds, but some of the sharper bumps in town at lower speeds can be felt a little too much. Not the ride I expected from a car that was announced as "best riding car in the world" in the 1989-1990 road tests when these cars were new. May be in part that my front struts are worn. With my fronts- it seems strange, because I am 98% sure that they are the originals, but the car does not "bounce" in the front, like a worn strut typically causes a car to do, but rather it picks up all bumps in the road and seems like the front occasionally "bottoms" out on some bumps, if one tire hits a large bump. As mentioned, I like a very soft ride- even if it means worn shocks/struts, as long as they are not so bad that it hampers the safety of the car, but seems like every car I seem to get- even the cars that are supposed to have a soft ride- for some reason has a "firmer" than normal suspension for that car. I guess this could be because I guess the cars I get have also had the struts/shocks replaced by aftermarket ones, which typically offer a firm ride.

Good luck.

[1990LS400]

2001 was the first year that the LS was available with a factory 17 inch wheel option and a "Euro-tuned Sport Suspension System" option - see: http://www.lexus.com/cpo/model_detail/ls/430/2001.html

The 17" wheel option came with a warning that "Your riding comfort may decrease and road noise may increase during driving." If your car has the 17" wheel option, you can likely find someone who would gladly swap their 16 inch wheels and tires with you since larger wheels seem to be the "in" thing with the younger crowd.

The easiest way to find out which size your car has is to check the tire side wall for the size. Factory 17" wheels came with 225/55-17 tires. If, heaven forbid, someone put 18" inch or larger aftermarket wheels on your car (which would really trash the ride quality), you could still find some kid who would gladly swap wheels and tires.

I would think that a Lexus dealer could "look up" your car in the Lexus on-line system to see if was sold with options that would degrade ride quality.