Coil Over Conversion - Air to Steel

[Gibbon62]

Hello All. 

I have owned my 09 LS460 for the last year and have not had any problems with it. I have confidence in the car generally but have become slightly obsessive over the air suspension. The car has 80,000 miles on the clock and I cannot see any evidence in the service history that the air struts have ever been replaced. 

I find myself worrying that it is slightly sagging, or getting the tape measure out to check if it has. I figure that at some point it is going to give up the ghost and create problems so I am considering converting it to traditional springs and shocks, more for piece of mind if nothing else. 

Has anyone had any experiences with doing such a conversion? Does it ruin the ride? Or could it even improve the ride as new shocks and springs are likely to better than 80,000 mile old air shocks?

I could opt for Arnott reconditioned shocks all round, but then I will worry about compressor failure or air leaks....

The plan is to sell the existing shocks as used items on E-bay which should somewhat off set the costs of which ever route I take. 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 

Cheers

John 

[ambermarine]

The issue with your synopsis is cause and effect,the car was designed for air struts and although swopping out to coil  overs on the 400 and 430s as proved successful the 460 is a different animal with a totally changed suspension with double the control arms the previous range had.

The previous range was designed for both coil overs and air as an extra option so the design of the suspension was initially for coil overs not the case with the 460 so any coil over experiment is a shot in the dark.

Personally I would not persevere with a car that was constantly worrying me, that is counter to the idea of owning a Lexus,there are options to the car you have in the Lexus family that have no issues my advice is to do some research and consider those options.

[steve2006]

My JDM 2004 Celsior was converted from air to springs before I purchased it and the ride and handling seems fine to me.

The kit (LS430) came from the company below and they do supply 2 kits for the LS460 depending on 2 or all wheel drive set up.

As Phil mentions there are differences in the suspension between the LS430 and LS460 and the latter was designed as air only so no guarantee you would have the same results as me but the strut quality is very good and USA manufactured.

Also take into account the additional shipping and VAT costs which will push you towards £1200.00!

https://www.strutmasters.com/suspension-parts/lexus/lexus-ls-460/2009-lexus-ls-460

[Gibbon62]

55 minutes ago, ambermarine said:

The issue with your synopsis is cause and effect,the car was designed for air struts and although swopping out to coil  overs on the 400 and 430s as proved successful the 460 is a different animal with a totally changed suspension with double the control arms the previous range had.

The previous range was designed for both coil overs and air as an extra option so the design of the suspension was initially for coil overs not the case with the 460 so any coil over experiment is a shot in the dark.

Personally I would not persevere with a car that was constantly worrying me, that is counter to the idea of owning a Lexus,there are options to the car you have in the Lexus family that have no issues my advice is to do some research and consider those options.

Hello. 

Yes, I hear you. I think the issue is less with the car, and more with my attitude to the car. I like the LS, having graduated from an IS and GS, and I have a very high level of confidence in it generally, it really is just the air suspension that gives me worries. It is an aging system, that especially on UK roads takes a real hammering. 

I wish there were a way of gaining the confidence I seek but my understanding it that checking on the condition of air struts isn't as easy. It is an aging system though, so is inevitably going to start seeing issues at some point, and I plan to keep the car long term. 

The only thing I would say is that I believe that the XF40 LS was available both standard and air (at least in the States). I would also say that the Strutmasters conversion is quite popular in the States too. The Americans seem to have much healthier aftermarket for the LS compared to us Brits, but I guess that is because they have many many more LSs on the road then we do, and more of a modding culture. 

I am going to do some maths, perhaps a good middle ground is to buy reconditioned air struts, sell the used ones on E bay - I see some chap is asking £300 a strut for used, 80,000 mile examples - perhaps wishful thinking but I will keep and eye on the sale. 

Thanks for your reponse, much appreciated! 

 

John

[Gibbon62]

52 minutes ago, steve2006 said:

My JDM 2004 Celsior was converted from air to springs before I purchased it and the ride and handling seems fine to me.

The kit (LS430) came from the company below and they do supply 2 kits for the LS460 depending on 2 or all wheel drive set up.

As Phil mentions there are differences in the suspension between the LS430 and LS460 and the latter was designed as air only so no guarantee you would have the same results as me but the strut quality is very good and USA manufactured.

Also take into account the additional shipping and VAT costs which will push you towards £1200.00!

https://www.strutmasters.com/suspension-parts/lexus/lexus-ls-460/2009-lexus-ls-460

Hi Steve, 

Yes, the Strutmasters seems to be the most popular. I need to start doing some maths to see what the difference will be between replacing all the air struts with reconditioned ones, and perhaps a new compressor, compared to the cost of a coil conversion. If the difference isn't huge, I might stick with air....

The annoying thing is that as it stands I don't have any issues, I just worry that one morning I will come out to a low rider.......I like to know that everything on my car is in tip top shape, even if that means doing things before any issues arise. 

Thanks for your response!

John

[Malc]

50 minutes ago, Gibbon62 said:

even if that means doing things before any issues arise

paranoia seems to be setting in methinks .....  you have a fantastic car with everything working as it should and 80k miles is tiny for these cars

12 years old is nowt in an expected lifespan of the Ls460 .............. pop a couple of pills for your worrying syndrome and leave well alone and save your cash for when summat does really need sorting out ................. maybe get a more periodic check of all that strut stuff than the annual servicing and MOT ....  for a more regular peace of mind

Best wishes whatever

Malc

[Gibbon62]

3 minutes ago, Malc said:

paranoia seems to be setting in methinks .....  you have a fantastic car with everything working as it should and 80k miles is tiny for these cars

12 years old is nowt in an expected lifespan of the Ls460 .............. pop a couple of pills for your worrying syndrome and leave well alone and save your cash for when summat does really need sorting out ................. maybe get a more periodic check of all that strut stuff than the annual servicing and MOT ....  for a more regular peace of mind

Best wishes whatever

Malc

HA! You are right, I am a terrible worrier and I find myself going down all sorts of rabbit holes when I get going. I need therapy!

John

[Tulpen]

I have a 2007 LS 460 which is just coming up to 120,000 miles. I've had no problems with the struts at all, having owned it since 2013. My local Lexus dealer gave me an exercise regime for the suspension which I do once a month:

1. Run the suspension in all its modes for at least 30 miles each..

2. Run the suspension on HIGH for at least 30 miles.

I, also, do the same for the gearbox settings.

Oh, and don't drive the LS as if it was an LFA  😄

Hope this helps.

 

[steve2006]

As Malc says don’t worry about it, if the day ever does comes and your facing a saggy back end the chances are it will lift as soon as the pump runs and you can still use the car. It won’t leave you stranded. 

Once you know you have a problem then think about the best solution at that time and as Brian suggests  exercise your suspension to keep those seals in good condition.

[Gibbon62]

53 minutes ago, Tulpen said:

I have a 2007 LS 460 which is just coming up to 120,000 miles. I've had no problems with the struts at all, having owned it since 2013. My local Lexus dealer gave me an exercise regime for the suspension which I do once a month:

1. Run the suspension in all its modes for at least 30 miles each..

2. Run the suspension on HIGH for at least 30 miles.

I, also, do the same for the gearbox settings.

Oh, and don't drive the LS as if it was an LFA  😄

Hope this helps.

 

 

14 minutes ago, steve2006 said:

As Malc says don’t worry about it, if the day ever does comes and your facing a saggy back end the chances are it will lift as soon as the pump runs and you can still use the car. It won’t leave you stranded. 

Once you know you have a problem then think about the best solution at that time and as Brian suggests  exercise your suspension to keep those seals in good condition.

Thank you both, I needed talking off a cliff. It is crazy to embark upon such a costly and time consuming project if I don't have any indication of problems. 

I think your exercise regime suggestions are very helpful and I certainly will do these things. It is good to know that the chances of it stranding me are low - I think that is my biggest fear. 

Next time I take it in for a service I might ask them to do a visual check for general condition and perhaps the soapy water test, but I am confident that any problems will come apparent due to sagging after being left over night. 

Thanks again. 

John