New to VIP need some of your OPINIONS!

hello everyone, my wife recently had our first son and i got a nice little promotion at work and decided it's time to outgrow the little kid street racer look and have decided to go vip. i've wanted to for a while just never really had the money but that changes with the promotion.:biggthumpup: now i just have a couple questions i could really use your input/opinions on.
 
1st - what would be a good starter car? i was thinking about a 90-94 lexus ls400 i believe they are reffered to as ucf10's? i choose this car because i love it's lines, they are relatively cheap which leaves room for modifications, and from what i can gather they actually come with factory air ride suspension? is there any truth to this? any pro's and con's with this chassis choice? how far can i take this factory suspension?
 
2nd - i know this has probably been asked millions of times but i wanted some personal experiences with both air suspension and coil overs. i'm really leaning towards air since you can adjust ride height at will. but a friend of mine had bags on his car and popped a bag...can the same thing happen to the systems implemented on these cars? also i have heard of companies like air-runner, universal air suspension (i think), canoverair. from what i've read air-runner is #1 on everyones list, everyone agree? 
 
3rd - first few mods you would suggest to make other then a complete tune up/fluid change/diagnostics? i was thinking air/staggered 19's (suggestions are more then welcomed, I'M ASKING FOR THEM!)/chrome toyota (celsior i believe) grille/pulled fenders/and a lil interior (nothing crazy since my son would probably try and rip curtains off the windows...) lol.
 
and if you are wondering, i pretty much want a DUMPED ls400 with crazy fat lips, that will be a reliable daily driver.
 
any help, info, pics, or links will be greatly appreciated. i love this site and cannot wait to start my new project.:giggity: thanks alot in advance, john.

Welcome to the site and congratulations on the birth of your son and the promotion. 
Theres alot of info on this site that should help you so do some reading on your free time when ever you can.
 
As you might know, parts are very expensive, VIP is not for everyone but we welcome those who want to do it right and want to respect the tradition and culture. 
 
The UCF10 is a great starter car.  If your a more spirited driver then the G50 q45 (90-96 but perferably the 1990 model since its the quickest) would be your best bet.
 
You should work on your ride height before rims first with either coilovers or air suspension.  People usually dont factor in the cost of installation of air when trying to plan their budget.  The instalation alone is usually the cost of most brand new coilovers if you are not a hands on guy.
 
After you got the car low, you can start worrying about wheels and other stuff.

well i've almost always done all the work on all my cars. from what i have heard the ls400 have factory air, will i be able to hook up some type of contoller and dumping the ls? and even if i had to buy a new air kit i'd probably just get air runner since i heard they are a direct bolt on. yeah i know vip isn't cheap, but do you think it would be when the cars are this dame sexy? and btw that's why i waited until i got the promotion to jump in this. about the spirited driving, i'm trying to stay away from anything spirited since i already have ALOT of tickets. i'm actually completing the 12 advanced defensive driver course as i'm typing this. so i think i'll stick with the ls, nice and slow. thanks alot on the info and kind comments.
 
anyone know a good site with good prices on air runner kit or others as well? i've found a complete air runner kit for like $4000.00 is that normally what they go for or is there a better connection? thanks alot to everyone who views and replys to this thread.

Thats a good attitude to have. The Factory Air sus that you are refering to is on the ultra luxury trim package for the LS. Air runner is usually in that price range. You can private message some of the vendors on this site, they can help you get it and discuss pricing with them. As for ideas on body kits, you can check out memoryfab.com They have pics.

i wasn't really looking for a kit... yet. i found some rims in a magazine i think i wil probably buy after i get ahold of a solid chassis and suspension. as for the car itself what model came with the air suspension? how effective is it at dumping the car? would it be worth the extra effort of looking for one? or the extra money? what will i need to modify/fab/purchase to harness the ability of the stock air suspension?  are there any other modifications i should purchase before dumping the car on its stock air? thanks again for the input, john.

come on i know someone has had an experience with the factory air ride. if i tap into the factory air ride with the help of a controller will i have the ability to "dump" my car and raise it up for daily driving? would i need to upgrade anything other then the controller? are they worth the trouble of searching for or should i just go get a uas air kit on a no air equipped ls4? are there any draw backs to utilizing the factory components? any info and input is greatly appreciated!

The reason no one is responding is because this is in the wrong section.  If this would have been posted in the Lexus/Toyota section, im sure someone would have assisted you by now.  Heres a recent thread about the factory air system.  Try asking your questions in this thread and I am sure they will get answered quicker.
 
[URL]http://www.vipstylecars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6826[/URL]

I have been a passenger in a factory airbagged Celsior, and owned my own factory air Soarer and a factory airbag Cima and my advice is to steer as far away as possible... unless you like driving stock or close to it.
 
Factory air is designed to be driven at stock height. With an airsus controller you can take it almost down to 0 psi in the bags, which is very low, but also very much the same as driving on the bumpstops with no springs. Even at moderately low heights, you feel like riding on a marshmallow; 
 
To top it off, riding low WILL cause your bags to pop, because they arent designed for it, and because they will be 15yrs old by now. My cima's bags popped when i was sitting in the driveway, and ever since then i had no confidence in the suspension... Imagine that happening at highway speeds! A few others have had popped bags that i know of; usually just leaks but still.
 
It was these experiences which led me to dislike all airbag suspension. Many people swear by aftermarket bags though, and i realise it would be much more convenient... but for me i still love the confidence of a good set of coilovers...

widebody_q- i had it in the toyota/lexus forum but i guess someone moved it??? i had to search for threads by my username and found it here... thanks for the heads up tho.

dominik- thanks for the information, i was kind of worried about something like that happening. so i'm guessing it would probably be easier to just buy a non air bag equipped ls400 and buy some bags for it huh?

My Lexus mechanic advised me to stay away from the factory equipped airride LS400 from 90-94 because of issues with the bags..My advice to you would be to look for a very clean LS  mainly outside because your going to want to redo the interior..look at the pros and cons of having air or just getting coilovers.. Just an idea but you could look into getting a good set of  coilovers and later down the road you could go with a UAS air set-up if you feel the need to bring the car lower....

here's my post from the other thread about stock air on a ucf10/11:

my car had the stock air and i replaced it with coilovers. i had the air ride controller first but i didnt like it. i like to roll low, so i would drop the car all the way with the controller and it would ride bouncy as hell. and plus, if you want to raise or lower the car it takes forever with the stock air. if i was you i'd just go coilovers. plus, if you buy a ucf10/11 or even a 20/21 with the stock air, chances are it wont be long before you blow the bags with an air ride controller. i blew one of my fronts within 2 months of having the controller. just go coilovers man, trust me.

all you have to do to replace it is switch off the air ride using the switch in the trunk. then you have to disconnect the air shocks from the lines. it's fairly straightforward. the front shocks have the unscrew for the lines in the engine bay, you'll see them. then take off the modules on top of the shocks before you pull them out.

so are coilovers good? i've always heard with coilovers if you lower it low it will be really bouncy. also now that you bring that up in my friend's car that had bags when dropped it was really bouncy. but when i'm actually driving i will have it lifted almost to stock height but when i'm parked is where it'll be on the floor if that makes a difference. are they bags bouncy when lifted? remember this will be a daily and i do have a son to haul around with me too. :)

if you inflate them all the way then yes because you'll be topping out the shocks.  but other than that bags are cool.  coilovers ride real smooth even low, lower than bags would i believe.  it's all up to you.  coilovers are gangster because you have to roll low all the time, bags are more convenient because you dont have to worry about speed bumps and things like that.  its your choice!

i'd say go for coilovers, megans coils go for like 1k and it's easy to install yourself.

i'm really leaning towards coilovers also. air is nice, but i like to be able to hit the curves too, and coilovers will help with that. plus our roads here are pretty good, i can roll low all the time. oh, and they are cheaper too and faster to install.
the factory bags are ok, but they are about $1k ea corner from the dealer and if they've never been replaced on a ucf10, they they are about to blow out anyway, adding extra stress to them by rolling on them low will kill them.

LS400 is a good starting point. Order I would mod it is
 
Rims
Suspension
Lip kit
Interior