2005 Ls430 Sport Suspension

[doody]

Hi everyone, I bought my LS430 2005 with sport suspension package 4 weeks ago. I feel like it rides harsh compared to my previous 2 LSs. It has Goodyear Eagle GT tires on it, would that cause it to ride harsh or this is the nature of the Sport suspension?.

[SW03ES]

I've never driven one with the sport suspension...but I would expect it to ride harder than previous LS cars without the sport suspension.

Those tires may very well have a lot to do with it though...

[doody]

I've never driven one with the sport suspension...but I would expect it to ride harder than previous LS cars without the sport suspension.

Those tires may very well have a lot to do with it though...

Well, I did some research on the internet and found out that a lot of people complained about these tires for the harsh ride and being completely out of balance that one of the people in his review claimed that when he approched Goodyear, they didn't deny it and they gave hime a big credit towards his next purchase and he still didn't use the credit cause he went back with the Michellin tire, which reminds me of a comment the tech who made the 160 point inspection said. He said that what took a lot of time was trying to balance the tires and he did his best but he's still not happy, I drove the car and there was no vibration up to 75 MPH so I said OK. I'll go ahead andorder the Michellin Primacy and I'll let everybody know what happens.

[1990LS400]

Additional options are to downsize to the 225/55-17 tire size on the 17 inch wheels that were standard on the 2005 LS430 or even to the 225/60-16 tires on 16" wheels that were standard on the 2001-2002 LS430. You wouldn't be the first to do either. You're kind of stuck with the sport suspension -- would be costly to switch all the components to those that came with the standard suspension.

[nc211]

The tires will make a huge difference. It's those stiff sidewalls that cause a good bit of that "chop" feeling. My GS has those Goodyear GT3's on it too, and they're horrible! I've also got the entire service history on the car, done at Arlington Lexus here in Chicago from day one. LOTS of balancings done to the car! And my current set of tires were put on by the dealership to replace the worn out oem's...also Goodyear GT's.

But, where I live, I'm not willing to invest the kind of money decent tires require to fix it. There isn't a smooth road up here.

By the way, what part of Oklahoma are you from? I've got some history in Oklahoma, including Edmond and Grand Lake for the past 17 years. Love that 75 mph speed limit you guys got down there!

[SW03ES]

Jim, the Sport LS430s all had the 18" wheels...I bet he has the 18s...

The 17s on the LS430 ride almost exactly like the 16s...the 18s make a difference though.

[doody]

Jim, the Sport LS430s all had the 18" wheels...I bet he has the 18s...

The 17s on the LS430 ride almost exactly like the 16s...the 18s make a difference though.

You're right, they are 245-45-18 and the good news is that sears called me this morning and I went and put the Michlin Primacy on and the results were shocking, honestly, I expected slightly better ride comfort but the difference in the ride was huge that I could not believe it and at the beggining I thought it's just psycological so I stopped by a friend of mine that has 06 LS430 UL and we went on a 22 miles ride and he was shocked too and then we went back to his house and took his UL which happened to have the Goodyear GT tires and according to him his UL felt like a Mack truck after getting off mine with the sport suspension that he told me that he will go to the dealer to try to trade his UL for one with the sport suspension and I told him that mine used to ride as rough when it had the Goodyears so he called Sears and ordered a set of Michelins. Just wanted everybody to know that tires will make a world of difference in the ride comfort. Accrodingto the tire guy at Sears, the Goodyear GT is an Ultra Performance all season tire which has a very hard side wall and rated for higher speeds and aggressive driving habbits and that affects the ride comfort extremely because in aggressive driving, manufacturers has to put a very stiff side walls to minimize swaying on sharp turns on high speeds and it doesn't mean that Goodyear is a bad tire, it only means that the tire is designed for aggressive driving. Now getting back to the ride comfort with my new tires, I really enjoy the sport suspension, firm but smooth.

[SW03ES]

I don't really know why it is, but tires are VERY important for the ride on a Lexus...glad it worked out!