Lowering The Lexus

[ABT]

HI I went to ask about lowering my car today.. and i was told that i could only get it lowered by 1.25 Inches... before it does damage to my suspension. Now.. that doesn't seem very much because i wan't at least 2 inches.. have i been misinformed?

Thanks.

Anthony

[simonskippy]

I have had mine dropped lower than that, are you thinking of changing the whole suspension or just replacing the springs?

also I take it you have an IS200?

Si

[ABT]

I was just gonna replace the springs. I was told that lowering anymore would ruin the wheel struts or something.

Yep, i have a IS200 (1999 LE)

[GRiM]

ABT, you've been ill informed. <_<

If you're serious about lowering your car, you can use lowering springs or go the whole hog and get adjustable coilovers, and go as low as you want.

If you're interested, Mat (SuprachargesIS340) is selling his Eibach lowering springs,

And you'll not get much better than those. B)

At £100 for the set, that's a bargain...

see EIBACH SPRINGS FOR SALE

[Zee007]

Mat (SuprachargesIS340) is selling his Eibach lowering springs,

And you'll not get much better than those. B)

At £100 for the set, that's a bargain...

If my memory serves me right Mr. G - I think these are sold........ day before yesterday........

[GRiM]

Well then smacky wristies to Mat, for NOT updating the Buy & Sell!! :o

And him the LOC Chairman too

[simonskippy]

I was just gonna replace the springs. I was told that lowering anymore would ruin the wheel struts or something.

Yep, i have a IS200 (1999 LE)

Who gave you this info out of interest?

Cheers

Si

[ABT]

I'm in Australia, so i don't think telling you who they are will make a difference.. but it is a major suspension company here called pedders who gave me the info.. so i kinda believed them... i might look around for other people who can do it

I asked him why there were other IS200's driving around so low to the ground.. and he said that they were probably ruining their wheel struts / suspension.. whatever..

I wish i had access to the stores / products that u guys in the UK have.. i would join Gold if it benefited me

[GRiM]

There's another Oz LOC member who may be able to help.

stephenc has lowered his car and he lives in Oz.

Send him a PM HERE

[TonyGoose]

I was just gonna replace the springs. I was told that lowering anymore would ruin the wheel struts or something.

Yep, i have a IS200 (1999 LE)

Who gave you this info out of interest?

Cheers

Si

Not misinformed at all ...

If you just use shorter springs, you're more likely to 'bottom out' your shox.

So, you wouldn't want to lower too much like this.

You can however change shox too for some better suited to bigger drops.

Typically this would be an adjustable ride height spring / shox set.

Hope that helps

[JOHNNY-BOY]

I'm in Australia, so i don't think telling you who they are will make a difference.. but it is a major suspension company here called pedders who gave me the info.. so i kinda believed them... i might look around for other people who can do it

I asked him why there were other IS200's driving around so low to the ground.. and he said that they were probably ruining their wheel struts / suspension.. whatever..

I wish i had access to the stores / products that u guys in the UK have.. i would join Gold if it benefited me

There are companies from Japan & the USA who offer discounts to Gold members.

If we get enough Oz members joining then will we target companies down under too.

[stephenc]

ABT,

I hated the guards sitting so high over the rims

Are you in Sydney? Most places here do not have springs lower then 1.5" for IS200s. As I originally wanted a 2-2.5" lowering, the kit offered by Eibach here only lowers the car about 1", so I had to look for other brands. Similar situation with Pedders.

I recently lowered my IS200 with K-Mac springs. They custom make each spring to your required height. I originally had them make new springs which lowered the car 2" front and 2.5" rear. Looked very nice with tyres sitting a touch inside the guards.

However, after a week, I had to take it back to raise the height slightly as I had trouble with the body kit scraping driveways and humps :(

Now, it's about 1.25" to 1.5" lower than standard.

Cost about $610 fitted with 4 wheel alignment.

It all depends on whether you can handle the bumps and scrapes.....then again, if you don't have a body kit, then it's no problem

Stephen

[ABT]

Hi Stephen, thanks for the info! I'm in Adelaide actually. I also hate the big gap between the wheel and the body. I also don't like how the back looks higher than the front.

What i've decided on is, i'm getting King springs. This lowers it by a 1.25 inches. However, i'm going to get the springs compressed further so that it reaches about 2 inches at front, and 2.5 inches at the back. I've got the Limited edition model so it does have a body kit on it. Hopefully wont' cause me too much probs.

Does anyone know if this actually does cause any probs to the car if i just change springs and not the whole suspension?

Thanks.

Anthony

[imi]

Hi,

i've got the same kit as yours ABT and have had mine lowered 35mm with H&R springs only, it's been 2 months now since it's lowering no problems in scraping or bumps, even with my mates sat in car as well, ride not bad either, you get the odd feel of the bump in the road, but i'm happy with it... it looks well sweet driving around in it.. B) B)

[MrSypher]

Hey guys, if you don't mind my .02

Well, I have my GS lowered about 3" with Tein "Flex" Coilovers.. No problems there.. But whoever told you that if you drop your car more than 1.25" or whatever it was is actually correct, IF you're running the springs on the factory struts.. The OEM struts can't take that kind of stress and with hard driving you'll probably get only a few months out of them from the time you install your lowering springs till they give.. But now if you went with awhole strut/spring upgrade you won't have any worries about your struts giving away on you.. The aftermarket struts were developed to take that extra stress/load that sport springs give.. Or you can always go the route I took and get yourself some coilovers, yes the ride is alittle stiffer than a spring/strut setup but with the "Flex" I can adjust the dampening too.. Also with coilovers you can raise and lower your car as you see fit, and your not stuck at one height that the spring manufactures think is ideal.. Well, that's it.. I hope I helped...

[Monster-Mat]

almost correct Mr Sypher.........

i have my car is presently lowered 35mm on Eibach springs, the cars been driven very hard over the last 20 months, and the shocks are still as good as new.

the Eibach springs were developed to be used with the factory struts

i admit im now changing to coilovers, but thats due to the 2jz-gte engine which weighs a little bit more than the 1g-fe

[DUNCAN]

I got my IS200 last October. The first thing I did to it was lower the ride hight. I dropped mine 40mm front & rear using APEX springs only.

No problems with bottoming out or catching the bodykit.

[MrSypher]

But isn't 35mm just over 1"??? Also another thing I thought of after I posted before was that over in the UK you guys have the Sport Pkg. which have different struts, I think they're made by KYB.. And those struts are totally different from the ones used in the States on the non-Sport Lexo's... But for me I have the SportDesign GS and mine came with a modified suspension (KYB)...

SCIS340, do you have the Sport Pkg. because that could play alot into it??

The Sport Pkgs. are new to the States.. They were first introduced with the IS300 SportCross, last year with the GS300 SportDesign and now with the new IS300 SportDesign...

[Monster-Mat]

i have the "sport" model, but the ride height and shocks never changed untill the 2002 models here in the UK

they come 15mm lower than std....and have different shocks/springs, mines a 2001/2002...bit of both actually mine

[Zee007]

I got my IS200 last October. The first thing I did to it was lower the ride hight. I dropped mine 40mm front & rear using APEX springs only.

No problems with bottoming out or catching the bodykit.

Duncan - I've PM'd you matey...... ;)

[MrSypher]

mines a 2001/2002...bit of both actually mine

I gotcha :D