Nice shiny parts delivered today!

[The-Acre]

Hats off to Rockauto (and FedEx) 4 air struts ordered on Monday, delivered this morning!  I paid the VAT up front but not customs, but no mention of it which seems odd, although the invoice said "customs pre paid"

 

[Farqui]

Gotta love Rockauto 😎

I've always found their delivery fast and on par with a local dealer LOL.

I've never been stung for any additional fees either, unlike Japanese orders.

That looks dandy, almost too good to install...but when are you hoping to get them fitted?

[The-Acre]

43 minutes ago, Farqui said:

Gotta love Rockauto 😎

I've always found their delivery fast and on par with a local dealer LOL.

I've never been stung for any additional fees either, unlike Japanese orders.

That looks dandy, almost too good to install...but when are you hoping to get them fitted?

I know just what you mean about too good to install!  I'm busy this weekend, then it's the New Forest for 3 days, so if the weather is reasonable I'll make a start next Thursday.  I've got all the info I need so it should be ok.  It's probably worth a mention that Lexus Spares who post on here were only £600 more for 4 genuine struts, a lot less than a Lexus main dealer.

[The-Acre]

14 minutes ago, Greer said:

I thought they have a UK outlet, these prices are in UK pounds....https://bit.ly/2pSOVb1

No UK outlet sadly.  That's how I ordered them, in pounds.  They've gone up since Monday I see, nearly £20 more each.

[Tinonline]

Yep always need to check the VAT etc but worse case still worth the extra.

Sometimes it is included but not always...

[The-Acre]

57 minutes ago, Tinonline said:

Yep always need to check the VAT etc but worse case still worth the extra.

Sometimes it is included but not always...

Overall, £1600 less than Lexus Hedge End quoted!   My total price with shipping was £2,400 so I'm chuffed with that.

[RRKiller]

I'm really curious about the comfort and handling comparing to the originals.

A wile ago I did some research and these aftermarkets were only available for the fronts and not for the rear but you seem to have a complete set. 

I went for the original ones and payed about 1200 euro's each and decided to fix the other side as well for equal damping quality's... Quite expensieve but its such an important part.....

[RgrWynne]

2 hours ago, Greer said:

Phil, so all the horrors we read about the air suspension systems needs nothing more than 4 air struts + I assume the air bags refilling. How long are they expected to last?

Air bags do not need refilling. All the horrors you mention, in my opinion are exaggerated and I certainly do enjoy the quality of the ride, and if you have to pay to replace, so be it, you still have real quality motoring for a very cheap price. How long they last is probably unknown, but I do know there are many around running without problem, and I do not think they are a major issue on the USA  site, although, I believe they also have normal suspension over there.

There is too much demonising of the LS430, all LS’s are brilliant vehicles.

[The-Acre]

On 11/18/2019 at 8:12 PM, RRKiller said:

I'm really curious about the comfort and handling comparing to the originals.

A wile ago I did some research and these aftermarkets were only available for the fronts and not for the rear but you seem to have a complete set. 

I went for the original ones and payed about 1200 euro's each and decided to fix the other side as well for equal damping quality's... Quite expensieve but its such an important part.....

The ride is just the same as the original set up, maybe slightly better.  Arnott air struts seem to have generally good reviews.  Apparently they make refurbished units or brand new, so I went for new. 

[The-Acre]

44 minutes ago, RgrWynne said:

Air bags do not need refilling. All the horrors you mention, in my opinion are exaggerated and I certainly do enjoy the quality of the ride, and if you have to pay to replace, so be it, you still have real quality motoring for a very cheap price. How long they last is probably unknown, but I do know there are many around running without problem, and I do not think they are a major issue on the USA  site, although, I believe they also have normal suspension over there.

There is too much demonising of the LS430, all LS’s are brilliant vehicles.

The new struts came inflated, but not fully.  The instructions say that they must contain some air when delivered so you have to feel the "air spring" before installation to make sure there's resistance, plus it's a visual thing.  It took about 15 seconds to fully inflate. 

[The-Acre]

2 hours ago, Greer said:

Well maybe but I don't >KNOW< that, Ive gone back over time reading old posts occasionaly & >PREDOMINANTLY< I've come across a suspension system which is little more than an unreliable, problematic but inherent part of the 430, in fact there is very little else mentioned about that model. Sometime within this past week or 2 a radiator problem of some sort exists on a post on here & is >ALSO< inherent in the 430 range. All I ever want from any car is reliability without inherent build problems, that concept cannot exist with the 430, in other words I am an average car owner driver

I think if you want a luxury car on the cheap you have to expect big bills at times.  

[Farqui]

51 minutes ago, The-Acre said:

I think if you want a luxury car on the cheap you have to expect big bills at times.  

Agreed, especially on older vehicles.

[RRKiller]

On 11/26/2019 at 8:22 PM, The-Acre said:

The ride is just the same as the original set up, maybe slightly better.  Arnott air struts seem to have generally good reviews.  Apparently they make refurbished units or brand new, so I went for new. 

Ok and what do you mean with better? More comfort? Better handling? More stiffness? I am always in pursuit of comfort. 

[The-Acre]

4 hours ago, RRKiller said:

Ok and what do you mean with better? More comfort? Better handling? More stiffness? I am always in pursuit of comfort. 

It seems to feel better at speed, but of course an old one was leaking oil so I suppose it's bound to feel better!  They are certainly equal to OEM struts in every way.