LS430 newbie coming from the drift world

hey guys, I'm from jersey and normally am not on forums much, but this world has so much cool going on I can't not look for advice! I've pretty much been into drifting since it started here with a nissan for 10 years, it's got a 1j and all the race goodies.

[IMG]http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/03/11/upare3yt.jpg[/IMG]

now it's white...
[IMG]http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/03/11/dy3eja4u.jpg[/IMG]

anyway, to the good stuff...I bought this super clean 01 LS430 from a retired old man that took immaculate care of it. 60k miles, new timing belt, navi. The sub was blown so a new 12" box is all I've done so far. I'm planning to go air this summer and since it's daily-driven, would like to know what's been the most effective way of having this car on the ground. I'm looking at the accuair setup on bagriders that comes with struts and curious if that will be slammed or just low?

[url]http://bagriders.com/modlab/categories/AIR-RIDE-KITS/LEXUS/LS430/[/url]

Would I need camber arms, body work, notched frame, etc. to get a tucked look or is it more about wheel choice? I'm not sure of the wheels yet and want to start with air first then build around the wheels I decide on.

Thanks and I look forward to looking more at these builds on here!

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[IMG]http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/03/11/humesebu.jpg[/IMG]

this look is what's inspiring me!
[IMG]http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/03/11/vytepasa.jpg[/IMG]

Nice pickup. I would start with air and then build around your wheels. Depending on width, offset etc you might need some rear camber arms and toe links. I'd recommend figs engineering for those parts. As far as air, that is a personal choice really. My preference is D2 coilovers and bags with the ridetech air management, love it. Good luck on the build.

thanks! I can't wait to get started.

Nice car...I love my LS430, and I am sure you will too.  Probably easier going with some very mild wheels to get tuck, unless you are going crazy with the camber or messing with the physical characteristics of the quarters.  

More pics of the girlfriend too!

yea I'm thinking the same thing about getting away with milder wheels, I love the half covered wheel as long as it's pressed against the fender...will the car drop to the ground with air and camber arms or will it need wires and bumpstops moved, notched frame or some other things? thanks for the advice! and that's my wife haha

Welcome! 

Regarding the car getting nice and low only requires a couple simple mods. Now - depending on how low you want to ride on the road depends on how deep you get into this. The rear does not really need anything - it will basically sit on the floor with air or coils and not hit anything - the only clearance I saw was MAYBE the rear upper arm touching the frame, but that has to be diff on the ground low, I had about 3/4" frame clearance from ground and even with 5 people in the car I had no issues. 

Now for the front, we have a couple situations. The first you will notice is that the front upper control arm hits the strut tower. This can be easily solved by drilling a (I forget) 1" hole and letting the balljoint come through the hole for clearance or you can shorten the knuckle, which to me is by far the best option. Shortening the knuckle will reduce the stress on Upper balljoint and allow you to go lower without cutting anything up on the chassis. Now, if you decide to go with the hole cutting, great. If you are like me and decide you want to ride real low, you will run into a new problem, which is a metal brace on the strut tower that the control arm hits, depicted below by our celsior friends in Japan. 


[URL="http://cdn.mkimg.carview.co.jp/minkara/photo/000/002/376/003/2376003/p1.jpg?ct=5a67c6015107"][URL="http://cdn.mkimg.carview.co.jp/minkara/photo/000/002/376/003/2376003/p1.jpg?ct=5a67c6015107"][IMG]http://cdn.mkimg.carview.co.jp/minkara/photo/000/002/376/003/2376003/p1.jpg?ct=5a67c6015107[/IMG][/URL][/URL]

You will need to cut this out and paint it up nicely to prevent any rust. 

[URL="http://cdn.mkimg.carview.co.jp/minkara/photo/000/002/376/003/2376003/p2.jpg?ct=5a67c6015107"][URL="http://cdn.mkimg.carview.co.jp/minkara/photo/000/002/376/003/2376003/p2.jpg?ct=5a67c6015107"][IMG]http://cdn.mkimg.carview.co.jp/minkara/photo/000/002/376/003/2376003/p2.jpg?ct=5a67c6015107[/IMG][/URL][/URL]

All finished (Note that this celsior is using T-demand Upper control arms, coilovers and their shortened knuckles as well as air cups. 

[URL="http://cdn.mkimg.carview.co.jp/minkara/photo/000/002/376/003/2376003/p3.jpg?ct=5a67c6015107"][URL="http://cdn.mkimg.carview.co.jp/minkara/photo/000/002/376/003/2376003/p3.jpg?ct=5a67c6015107"][IMG]http://cdn.mkimg.carview.co.jp/minkara/photo/000/002/376/003/2376003/p3.jpg?ct=5a67c6015107[/IMG][/URL][/URL]

Also, if you note the trimming of the fender liners, that is ALL you need to cut for zero rubbing, mine was perfect this way. 

As far as arms and camber, the car naturally will sit around -3 F and -4 R all the way down on coils, you can probably pull a bit more with bags, but not much. The ucf30s do not have eccentric bolts for camber like their earlier predeccesor so we are stuck with purchasing arms, unless you round out the bolt holes and get some movement that way. Megan racing makes some arms...but they are questionable in quality, never ran them personally. Besides that, Battle version might make them in the future, otherwise you need to order from Japan from either T-Demand, 326 Power or Nagisa. From what I have researched, Nagisa has minimal adjustment for the price, 326 Power and T-Demand off the widest range of adjustment, somewhere in the area of 50mm on their Demon variant. 

Good luck!

this is the best answer I could have asked for! glad to hear about the rear not having issues and the work you mentioned won't be a problem for me. I was looking to not waste my time with getting unnecessary parts and using others experience before starting.

thanks and I'll keep everyone updated on my progress.

[QUOTE=powerzamcam;487604]hey guys, I'm from jersey and normally am not on forums much, but this world has so much cool going on I can't not look for advice! I've pretty much been into drifting since it started here with a nissan for 10 years, it's got a 1j and all the race goodies.[/QUOTE]


Where in Jersey are you from?  Hit me up!!!!

Piscataway, come to ClubLoose at etown march 30!

nice start man. i love my LS and im sure you will too!

congrats on the purchase. if you are looking for some parts for the ls430, you can check out my part out thread: [url]http://www.vipstylecars.com/forums/showthread.php?34419-SHOW-CAR-LS430-PART-OUT[/url]

or if you have any questions, lmk

Congrats on picking up a clean LS! & Mr.Doback :biggthumpup: Great stuff!
As far as air ride companies, there is just so many to choose from!
You have your basic UAS, UAS bags with coilovers, & bolt-on kits....AirTekk, AirRunner, AirRex....etc...
As far as air management systems AccuAir 4-corner e-leveling system makes life just that much more easier.
I would recommend the e-level with the touch pad or i-level if you have an iPhone or iPad.
GL with your build!

[QUOTE=powerzamcam;487604]


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[/QUOTE]


Wait.... What were we talking about?

in other news 😁

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I've planned out with an installer for the air lift kit, scheduled for this summer...cannot wait!! I'm also doing what mr doback suggested at the same time.

then can start looking for wheels, which will take awhile I'm sure.

[url]http://bagriders.com/modlab/products/LS430-AIR-RIDE-KIT-WITH-AUTOPILOT-V2-MANAGEMENT.html[/url]

dupe delete

dupe delete

Any recommendation on where to source these parts? I'd like to order now for the build in the summer:

T-Demand or 326 Power seems to be the preference?

Front Control Arms
Rear Control Arms
Shortened knuckles

Thanks again!
- sal

Does anyone carry these:

[url]http://www.t-demand.jp/products/proarm_t09.html[/url]

[QUOTE=MobbinVIP;489180]Congrats on picking up a clean LS! & Mr.Doback :biggthumpup: Great stuff!
As far as air ride companies, there is just so many to choose from!
You have your basic UAS, UAS bags with coilovers, & bolt-on kits....AirTekk, AirRunner, AirRex....etc...
As far as air management systems AccuAir 4-corner e-leveling system makes life just that much more easier.
I would recommend the e-level with the touch pad or i-level if you have an iPhone or iPad.
GL with your build![/QUOTE]
Accuair no doubt makes it easier!

Go with accuair, i did mine in my garage, with no issues, and my bros 300c srt8, i dont care much for the ilevel, but the ease of installation is def worth it

[QUOTE=VI IX;489208]Wait.... What were we talking about?[/QUOTE]
i don't know either haha!

welcome man!

[QUOTE=mrbrian8;491249] i dont care much for the ilevel, but the ease of installation is def worth it[/QUOTE]
I agree.  For me ilevel isn't worth it.  I never use it.

Im selling or trading mine

some updates!

@rat4life (instagram) who is heavy into the vw game did a great job installing the bags and autopilotv2 management. now i have the winter to wheel shop.

[IMG]http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/26/mynumyha.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/26/yjy9usaq.jpg[/IMG]

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Wow looks great !!👌


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Your heading in the right direction...looks good

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

Very subtle air install. How did you mount your tank? Any pictures without the spare tire in the way?

looks good man.

dang, bagged! in for pics on your air management set up.

I'll take some with the tire out. how often do you drain the water trap and is it really that bad to leave it aired out overnight in the cold?

atleast drain it every month. If its cold where youre at then every couple of weeks just to be safe

Looking forward to the build

Nice, new to the car scene, thinking about picking up a LS myself


Sent from my iPhone using VIPStyleCars

welcome and nice start! oh and nice legs lol

here's a pic of the compressor, it fits nicely under the spare tire:
[IMG]http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/09/ahemasat.jpg[/IMG]

also the last ClubLoose event I'll be in this year, now I can look for some used dish wheels. any suggestions on size and offset that will give a nice tucked look just a pinch from the fender? thinking 19s or 20s.

I'd like to also get spacers for the stock wheels during the winter.


[IMG]http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/09/3a5ususy.jpg[/IMG]

I'm looking for an Air Zenith compressor just like that. Any problems mounting it sideways like that? I've read that it increases wear on the compressor.

no problems yet but they said it can mount however.

[QUOTE=powerzamcam;501798]no problems yet but they said it can mount however.[/QUOTE]

Cool, did you have to take apart the compressor to reposition the mounts?

I'm curious how you mounted your tank. Looks like it's floating. How do you do that?

How do you like the AZ OB2? Is it loud under there? Does it fill quickly?

anyone have experience on how to get this exact fitment (width, offset, etc?) on stock body?

[IMG]http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/21/ynu6u4u8.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/21/egyduny6.jpg[/IMG]

really liking TEs on stock body

this is a 326 power ls430. read about a ls430 on stancenation on te's and fenders were widened 2 centimeters, front: 19x9.5 offset: 7, rear: 19x9.5 offset: -6, tires: nitto nt555 225/35/19, coils: final konnexion 20kg front and 16kg rear


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thanks!!

no problem bro


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finally getting wheels (hopefully this weekend). bazerias!

anyone have pics or an idea of how 19x10.5+25 and 19x11+25 would fit on the LS430? tires currently are 225/40 and 245/40.

i'm looking everywhere!

got the wheels! sizing seems ok but the front hits the caliper so I'm gonna try a 10mm spacer but that might make it poke further than the rear.

the rear just needs the fender rolled and pulled a little bit. then I can get camber arms later.


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Looking sweet man I would put on 15mm hub centric spacers due to the toyota/lexus very short wheel studs  


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[QUOTE=bigniks;512372]Looking sweet man I would put on 15mm hub centric spacers due to the toyota/lexus very short wheel studs  


Sent from my iPhone using VIPStyleCars[/QUOTE]

thanks! I'm thinking extended ARP studs since the fronts with 5mm spacers already almost poked further than the rear.

[QUOTE=powerzamcam;489647]Any recommendation on where to source these parts? I'd like to order now for the build in the summer:

T-Demand or 326 Power seems to be the preference?

Front Control Arms
Rear Control Arms
Shortened knuckles

Thanks again!
- sal[/QUOTE]

car's looking great bro! where did you ended up finding those required parts?