TRD / Similar suspension bushings / Arms for IS300

[GeeEss]

I recently picked up an IS300. The car is crabbing, wandering and generally all over the shop handling-wise and has notice-able toe-in when braking hard. I'm fairly sure the suspension bushes need replacing & i have decided to completely replace all the Arms & Linkages; and if possible get harder compound rubber bushings; i.e. TRD units.

I went to the Site < ww.trdparts.jp/english/list_altezza.html > and noticed that all the listed bushings are for the SXE10, GXE10 < IS200 > versions only. There is even a TRD Link set for the XE10 versions; which I'd jump on if it was IS300 compatible.

Cross-referencing IS200 Vs IS300 in ToyoDIY I see that the part numbers for all the components listed in the TRD linkset are identical between IS200 / 300; so why are the TRD bushes & complete arms only listed for SXE10 / GXE10?

From my online trolls; I know that TRD < used to? > offer Sway bars for the IS300; they were White / Yellow to distinguish them from the blue-painted parts sold for the is200. TRD also used to Offer a Sportivo Kit for the IS300 < now discontinued > but that included Springs / Shocks / Sway bars only; not uprated Arms / Bushings.

What are the available options for IS300 owners wanting to upgrade their bushings arms? Am I missing something? Is there another TRD Site that specifically caters for Lexus < i.e. IS series > cars?

Is TRD my only option? I.e. do any other manufacturers make uprated rubber bushings for the IS300?

GS

[BrianRA23]

FIGS make a bunch of suspension stuff for the IS300 in the US.

http://shopfigs.com/v1/index.php?rou...tegory&path=42

[mattysshop]

George, is the car lowered in any way?

i had a problem which i think was due to excessive camber on the rear.. as i had a problem similar in many other cars with lots of rear camber.. mine was running OEM shocks with King Low springs.. so what did i do? i gave it MORE camber haha..

when i put some Fortune Auto 500 Series coilovers in, i also had some new tyres fitted. stock 17's, and it runs cheapies on the back and some KU31's on the front..

it has about 4.7 deg Neg camber in the rear and the fuel tank straps are 100mm off the ground (lowest point on the XXE10 chassis) the car has NEVER ever felt more composed and feels awesome to drive.. fully laden with 4 adults and a full fuel tank it sits about 70mm off the ground.. and the ride quality is just amazing still.. this is a testiment to the Fortune auto valving technology.. although the spring rates are much harder than factory, and about 50% harder than the king springs, the car rides ALOT smoother, but tightens up and track like when you are giving it some hand fulls of steering...

before you jump into suspension arms etc, i highly recomend you look at suspension first up.. it is the only mod i have done handleing wise.. and honestly the car is amazing to drive.. and a good wheel alighnment even with the stock adjustment, has still given me about 15,000km on the 'cheapies' on the back and not really too much camber wear, i honestly expected them to be fubared!! and was looking into buying some adjustable uppers, and did some reasearch into the FIGS arms.. i have his direct contact details if you need them..

i really think you should get some coilovers first up..

[GeeEss]

Hullo Matty,

Not as far as I can tell; FYI the inspection report said the Bushings were past their best / half gone & would need looking at next major service.

The other "1/2" reason I want to flick the arms is that the car is a UKDM import wagon and spent the first 5-6 years of its life copping UK weather & salted roads so while the chassis is 100% sound; the arms and all exposed bolts & brackets are quite heavily pitted.

These things are about 55-60kg heavier than the sedan and you can really feel it; like it chowed down a plate of pasta too many and it went straight to its ass; which I guess explains why they specced them with 7.5" rims on the back.

So I thought; since I'm going to change the arms and I'm terminally OC I may as well go nuts & pay thru the nose for TRD units. . . Or maybe not.

I may just pull my head in and order OEM units. The main reason I was considering TRD arms was that people on various (mainly USA) Forums reckon the OEM bushings are too soft. I would be happy to be convinced otherwise; that new OEM arms/bushings + Fortune Coilovers will do the job - mainly because it would save me a LOT of money. . .

The cars in long-term storage until I sell at least 1 of my other cars < see: Classifieds hint hint > so it's not urgent but I would like to get the thing sorted before X-Mas.

[4th surf]

Man that is one sexy car..

OK from my experience in years gone by as a vehicle inspector they will have picked up on obvious visual cracking on the parts of any bushings that can be seen and also during road test as you have noted that the car "Wallows". Trademe.co.nz can be your friend here as can searching for and finding the NZ Nolathane catalog. Alternately and this may sound rough but one option is to burn the rubber out of the bushes, buy a length of urethane and find a friend who owns a lathe then spin your own bushes up

[GeeEss]

Hi there "4s",

Yeah; I should have thought about NZ; I have occasionally bought parts from Papakura Toyota in Auckland for a JDM AE92 & AE111 that were cheaper than quoted by my usual Japan based supplier. Thing is their pricing can be erratic; some stuff is quite cheap while other bits are much dearer than ex Japan.

In any case I'm not real keen on Polymer bushings; I have them in my Road/Track AE92 and they can be quite harsh; which is why I would prefer TRD / OEM as they are a harder compound rubber.

In any case I am waiting to hear back from TRD USA on availability / pricing for IS300 bushings / arms. I have gotten stuff from West Coast Toyota Dealers before & the pricing can be amazing; much cheaper than ex-Japan < on some parts at least >

[GeeEss]

George, is the car lowered in any way?

i had a problem which i think was due to excessive camber on the rear.. as i had a problem similar in many other cars with lots of rear camber.. mine was running OEM shocks with King Low springs.. so what did i do? i gave it MORE camber haha..

when i put some Fortune Auto 500 Series coilovers in, i also had some new tyres fitted. stock 17's, and it runs cheapies on the back and some KU31's on the front..

it has about 4.7 deg Neg camber in the rear and the fuel tank straps are 100mm off the ground (lowest point on the XXE10 chassis) the car has NEVER ever felt more composed and feels awesome to drive.. fully laden with 4 adults and a full fuel tank it sits about 70mm off the ground.. and the ride quality is just amazing still.. this is a testiment to the Fortune auto valving technology.. although the spring rates are much harder than factory, and about 50% harder than the king springs, the car rides ALOT smoother, but tightens up and track like when you are giving it some hand fulls of steering...

before you jump into suspension arms etc, i highly recomend you look at suspension first up.. it is the only mod i have done handleing wise.. and honestly the car is amazing to drive.. and a good wheel alighnment even with the stock adjustment, has still given me about 15,000km on the 'cheapies' on the back and not really too much camber wear, i honestly expected them to be fubared!! and was looking into buying some adjustable uppers, and did some reasearch into the FIGS arms.. i have his direct contact details if you need them..

i really think you should get some coilovers first up..

If only I was that lucky < to only have to think about Coil-overs >; Shite. . . I had the Senior guy at Heasman's Steering look at the car yesterday. . . and he wasn't impressed with the underside at all. Recommended I not only get new arms but that all the Camber bolts were fk'd < i.e. corroded > and needed replacement if I wanted to be able to align the thing.

Shit happens. . . When you want something different. . . .I've been after a Wagon for two years < damn the RTA & their import rules & DAMN the retards at Toyota Australia for not bringing them in - even NZ got them!!! - they go for about $10K over there. . > . Anyway, when this thing came up literally 500m from my place - it was Karma - I had to do it.

[Ken_T]

To my understanding of the situation, the IS300 was never sold in Japan as an IS300. So why would TRDjp list parts for a car that technically doesn't exist to them.

Anyway, if you click on the gita link, it takes you to the altezza page. Although it doesn't list the JCE10 on most of the parts, I would think that 99% of the parts are the same. and you can confirm this via toyodiy.

The rear diff is bigger on a JCE1* but the the subframe is swappable with IS200/altezza so I'd think that the rear arm bushes would be the same as IS200. I'd think the rest of the parts you're after would be the same between IS200 and IS300.

Also, found this cool pic:

[GeeEss]

To my understanding of the situation, the IS300 was never sold in Japan as an IS300. So why would TRDjp list parts for a car that technically doesn't exist to them.

Anyway, if you click on the gita link, it takes you to the altezza page. Although it doesn't list the JCE10 on most of the parts, I would think that 99% of the parts are the same. and you can confirm this via toyodiy.

The rear diff is bigger on a JCE1* but the the subframe is swappable with IS200/altezza so I'd think that the rear arm bushes would be the same as IS200. I'd think the rest of the parts you're after would be the same between IS200 and IS300.

Also, found this cool pic:

Hi Ken,

Yeah; that's pretty much what I figured. I've done a fair bit of pre-purchase due diligence and I'm quite comfortable those TRD bits will fit & work just fine on a JCE10. Having said that I will probably just get new OEM arms; I'm not going to be throwing it round a track after all. The $$$ would be better spent on decent Coilovers @ Mattyshop's suggestion.

Nice photo too. . . I've always loved the look of the Wagon and never thought I'd end up owning one.

I contacted a number of Compliance workshops in NSW & QLD a couple of years ago to see if there was any chance of them doing one but none of them were interested; said its appeal was too limited & they'd never make money on them. . .

So now I've got one; but with all the corroded fasteners & bracketry I've got to replace this things going to end up costing me a bomb; but I needed a compact-ish Wagon & this thing (to my eyes) is so much cooler & distinctive (+ better built / more reliable / cheaper parts) than a 3 series BMer its not funny. . .

The only downside is the Auto-box but living in Sydney I figure I won't mind it after a while.

[mattysshop]

the 5 speed auto behind a 2JZ even atmo is much better than the electronically limited 1G-FE infront of a 4 speed auto beleive me!

[GeeEss]

Yup; driven both of them. I do, I do. . . .