Front lift

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hammerheadfistpunch

hammerheadfistpunch

Joined
Jun 14, 2013
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Sandy Utah area
Let me start out by stating up front that this is my wife's daily driver and wont be used as a wheeling machine outside of anything these can't already do stock. That being said I hate the front suspension rake and I want more front lift and stroke. I plan on keeping the adjustable suspension as its working great for me and I really like it. The question I am looking for you to help me answer is

1. what springs are available up front that give me about 40mm lift without changing the spring rate. I know TJM has a 40mm spring but its a +50 kg spring (over the V8 or diesel, IDK). and OME has a 1 inch "stock" spring 2884 for the 4runner but I don't know how that compares with the lexus.
2. is there any reason a 40 mm lift would be incompatible with the front shocks. I can't think they would as there is PLENTY of downtravel of the shocks it seems already, but its worth asking
3. Any reason stock camber bolts wont be good enough for +40mm?
4. what are other people doing to level the front.

Side tangent - Is there any reason to keep the stock bump stops so long on the stock air springs? There is almost no rear up travel before you hit them, its obnoxious. My current plan is to bring the back up 10-15mm with the level sensor trick but if there are other solutions Im open.
 
I can't speak to the front but for the rear bump stops if you're hitting them quickly thats whats stopping the axle from hitting the body. Its probably best to leave those alone unless you do a rear spring conversion and change the bump stops
 
The front coils are known to sag about 1” over time and maybe more depending on age and use.

So, replacing just the coils would probably gain you approximately 1”.

There are several spring mfgs like Eibach and shock producers like Bilstein, Toytec, and others who sell 600# and 650# front coils.

I just don’t know if it’s worth just changing the coils and keeping very old shocks that are like 10 years old or more.

I also don’t miss the adjustable shock dampening from soft to sport. It was pretty much useless with old shocks and springs.

So, I would recommend just changing both front shocks and coils. You will lose the electronic shock adjustment even if you just change the front shocks to non-OEM.

I have the Bilstein 6112s with 600# coils and it rides very nice in the front. It does dive down when I brake hard, but the front feels very nice. Try the 650# coils but they might be a little firm with stock weight.

The rear airbags lifted about 1.25” using washers/nuts to lower the air sensor bracket about 1/2” will feel somewhat harsh.

I do ride in E rated tires all around at 38 psi, so that might contribute. Rear ride feels harsh when riding empty empty.
 
captainva said:
I can't speak to the front but for the rear bump stops if you're hitting them quickly thats whats stopping the axle from hitting the body. Its probably best to leave those alone unless you do a rear spring conversion and change the bump stops
Click to expand...

it just seems the air spring stops are excessively tall
 
HomersCanyonero said:
The front coils are known to sag about 1” over time and maybe more depending on age and use.

So, replacing just the coils would probably gain you approximately 1”.

There are several spring mfgs like Eibach and shock producers like Bilstein, Toytec, and others who sell 600# and 650# front coils.

I just don’t know if it’s worth just changing the coils and keeping very old shocks that are like 10 years old or more.

I also don’t miss the adjustable shock dampening from soft to sport. It was pretty much useless with old shocks and springs.

So, I would recommend just changing both front shocks and coils. You will lose the electronic shock adjustment even if you just change the front shocks to non-OEM.

I have the Bilstein 6112s with 600# coils and it rides very nice in the front. It does dive down when I brake hard, but the front feels very nice. Try the 650# coils but they might be a little firm with stock weight.

The rear airbags lifted about 1.25” using washers/nuts to lower the air sensor bracket about 1/2” will feel somewhat harsh.

I do ride in E rated tires all around at 38 psi, so that might contribute. Rear ride feels harsh when riding empty empty.
Click to expand...

I really don't have any interest in losing the adjustable suspension, as I mentioned, because it works really well for me. No leaks and there is a noticeable change between modes. Plus my rear air bags are new and everything back there works as it should.

Do you know the rate and freeheight of the stock springs so I can get an idea of what a 600# spring does for me?

Also, why does raising the rear bags via the stack method make the ride harsher? You should only be changing the volume in the bags, not the overall pressure. When I drive with mine on high the ride is just as soft, only I don't bottom out as often.
 
I don’t have any specific info on the oem front coils.

For the rear air bags, it’s easy enough to try it out, so just do it.
 
Did you ever find a solution for your front?

As for the rear bump stops, I don’t know for sure, but I have heard of the air springs popping off the bases under heavy flex. Perhaps the larger bump stops limit the flex to avoid that?
 
Cooperd0g said:
Did you ever find a solution for your front?

As for the rear bump stops, I don’t know for sure, but I have heard of the air springs popping off the bases under heavy flex. Perhaps the larger bump stops limit the flex to avoid that?
Click to expand...
I haven't settled on a solution yet, leaning towards the one 1 inch stock height spring up front and spacers out back. I replaced my airbags with Arnott bags that key in so I don't think these will pop off anymore if that was ever the case, I would love to try shorter stops and cycle the suspension just to see .
 
Cool, I just did some reading on the Arnotts. I have a '06 Sport in PPI today. With KDSS and being able to run 255/75R17 tires I feel like there isn't a lot of benefit to doing an actual lift. Sure, with a 2" lift I could fit 285/70R17 tires, but that is only about a half inch taller and in the process I would lose the self leveling air springs and the adjustable suspension. That doesn't seem like a worthwhile trade off to me. I don't need a long arm system and I'm not looking to make it a rock crawler.
 
Last edited:
I just got off the phone with a Lexus tech and was told that the front struts are not electronically dampened; they are just "regular" struts. I really thought the sport/comfort suspension settings tweaked the front too, but apparently they just control the rear. But if that is the case, what is the sensor on top of the front stut doing?
 
The damping of the front shocks is changed when you change the suspension setting. The person that you spoke to is wrong.
 
There's definitely an electric motor on top that adjusts the suspension on the front. As long as your strut is functioning like it should, it's adjustable.

There's not an electronic dampening, it's an adjustable strut. The adjustment is controlled by an electric motor to sync the dampening rate with the rear shocks.

edit: spelling/clarification
 
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