LSM
5+ Year Contributor
- 118
- 36
- Mar 25, 2018
-
Phoenix,
Arizona
So, unfortunately, my DSM build went to crap and I had to give up on it a couple years ago.
Because of that, technically this isn't a handling question about DSM's, but me needing to know whether or not I can use my very expensive air ride that I bought for my DSM build in my 2003 IS300. I am really needing a response from someone on here that has a good amount of knowledge regarding this question and air suspension (air bags). Here is why.
Like I said, I was building a 2GB GSX, but I was forced to give up on that. Up to that time tho, I had bought around $35,000 worth of upgrade parts, and then I had to sell them all off while trying to lose as little money as I could.
During this time I was rear ended in my daily driver while stopped at a red light and it threw me into the car in front of me, screwing up both my front and rear end, and they totaled my car.
I ended up buying a 2003 Lexus IS300, which gives me the option to build the 2JZ. I also began looking into which few parts I had left for the DSM build can still be used on my IS300, and I found I could still use several pretty expensive parts, so that is cool! That's when I began looking closely at the K-Sport all wheel air suspension (air bags) and noticed how similar each air strut (not sure if that is the correct term) is incredibly similar to the IS300 coilovers.
So then I emailed K-Sport and asked if there was a way I could buy just the couple of different parts of the air struts they made for my IS300, since I had paid over $4,000 for it, and the same IS300 system is now roughly $5,500 after tax due to inflation. Of course, they claim that I can not use the kit for the DSM because they claim that not only do they not sell the different parts I need separately, but that the motherboard of the DSM kit is calibrated specifically to the 2GB Eclipse GSX. Yet, the only big differences I can see at all is that the rear struts have a different kind of bottom mount than the DSM's do, and the mounting bolts are just a couple millimeters farther out than the DSM ones are. That's it.
I can't help but strongly feel that the only reason they told me those things was because they want me to buy a whole new setup for my IS300 so they can make more money. At least I know without a doubt that was a big part of them telling me that, which is common with any company. But here's the thing, not only is the 2G GSX suspension much stronger than the IS300, so I know that if anything, the ones I have are stronger than they would need to be but the cars both have damn very similar dimensions and gross weight as well. I also don't see how the motherboard being "tuned to for my DSM" would make much of any difference, because obviously, it's not like it connects to the ECU or something crazy. And again, in worst case, the DSM ones I have are already stronger than what I would need for my IS300, and overkill is almost never a bad thing. Am I wrong?
The front air struts bolt right up to the front of the IS300 with me only having to add some stainless shims to make up for the larger bottom bolt size on the IS300, and I would need to move the top mounting bolt holes out just a couple mm. As for the rear struts, I was planning on cutting the bottom mounts on the rear coilovers on my IS300 and having them professionally welded to the bottoms of the rear DSM air struts, and then they would bolt right in after again just moving the mounting bolt holes on my IS300 out a couple mm's.
So basically, with just some minor fabricating, all 4 air struts (again, sorry if this is the wrong term) will bolt in to my IS300 no problem. There will be no clearance issues anywhere that I can see and no other issues that I can think of. Because of that, I just can't see any legitimate reasons why the rest of the air suspension kit wouldn't work perfectly fine on my IS300!
Can anybody on here who has extensive knowledge, or even similar experience with this situation, please let me know if I am correct or not?!
Will this in fact work fine on my IS300 like I think it will, or are there other factors that I'm not thinking about that would actually cause any serious issues? Any solid information about this will be greatly appreciated!! Thank you very much ahead of time!
Because of that, technically this isn't a handling question about DSM's, but me needing to know whether or not I can use my very expensive air ride that I bought for my DSM build in my 2003 IS300. I am really needing a response from someone on here that has a good amount of knowledge regarding this question and air suspension (air bags). Here is why.
Like I said, I was building a 2GB GSX, but I was forced to give up on that. Up to that time tho, I had bought around $35,000 worth of upgrade parts, and then I had to sell them all off while trying to lose as little money as I could.
During this time I was rear ended in my daily driver while stopped at a red light and it threw me into the car in front of me, screwing up both my front and rear end, and they totaled my car.
I ended up buying a 2003 Lexus IS300, which gives me the option to build the 2JZ. I also began looking into which few parts I had left for the DSM build can still be used on my IS300, and I found I could still use several pretty expensive parts, so that is cool! That's when I began looking closely at the K-Sport all wheel air suspension (air bags) and noticed how similar each air strut (not sure if that is the correct term) is incredibly similar to the IS300 coilovers.
So then I emailed K-Sport and asked if there was a way I could buy just the couple of different parts of the air struts they made for my IS300, since I had paid over $4,000 for it, and the same IS300 system is now roughly $5,500 after tax due to inflation. Of course, they claim that I can not use the kit for the DSM because they claim that not only do they not sell the different parts I need separately, but that the motherboard of the DSM kit is calibrated specifically to the 2GB Eclipse GSX. Yet, the only big differences I can see at all is that the rear struts have a different kind of bottom mount than the DSM's do, and the mounting bolts are just a couple millimeters farther out than the DSM ones are. That's it.
I can't help but strongly feel that the only reason they told me those things was because they want me to buy a whole new setup for my IS300 so they can make more money. At least I know without a doubt that was a big part of them telling me that, which is common with any company. But here's the thing, not only is the 2G GSX suspension much stronger than the IS300, so I know that if anything, the ones I have are stronger than they would need to be but the cars both have damn very similar dimensions and gross weight as well. I also don't see how the motherboard being "tuned to for my DSM" would make much of any difference, because obviously, it's not like it connects to the ECU or something crazy. And again, in worst case, the DSM ones I have are already stronger than what I would need for my IS300, and overkill is almost never a bad thing. Am I wrong?
The front air struts bolt right up to the front of the IS300 with me only having to add some stainless shims to make up for the larger bottom bolt size on the IS300, and I would need to move the top mounting bolt holes out just a couple mm. As for the rear struts, I was planning on cutting the bottom mounts on the rear coilovers on my IS300 and having them professionally welded to the bottoms of the rear DSM air struts, and then they would bolt right in after again just moving the mounting bolt holes on my IS300 out a couple mm's.
So basically, with just some minor fabricating, all 4 air struts (again, sorry if this is the wrong term) will bolt in to my IS300 no problem. There will be no clearance issues anywhere that I can see and no other issues that I can think of. Because of that, I just can't see any legitimate reasons why the rest of the air suspension kit wouldn't work perfectly fine on my IS300!
Can anybody on here who has extensive knowledge, or even similar experience with this situation, please let me know if I am correct or not?!
Will this in fact work fine on my IS300 like I think it will, or are there other factors that I'm not thinking about that would actually cause any serious issues? Any solid information about this will be greatly appreciated!! Thank you very much ahead of time!
