(Gen 3|ES300) Suspension Overhaul & Upgrade Complete!

[Slooooooow]

Here are pictures from the installation process over at JP Importz' garage.
Take a look and then GO MODIFY YOUR ES & Camry suspensions !!!!!!
It's so worth it!!!





(I get to modify my signature. The equipment that was "incoming" is now installed!!!)

[EvoFire]

Can wait till finished pics. I've only seen one dropped ES before and didn't get a good look.

[Slooooooow]

Yeah, I wish I could get them this afternoon, but my camera gets pissed when I use it out in a thunderstorm. Don't know if y'all have heard about it or not, but the season transition weather in Texas is a real a$$-kicker.

And storms are forecast all the way through Monday.

[EvoFire]

Well ur dry most of the time... In west Canada here, it's pissing rain every day during the winter. Can't even wash the car even if I want. Every car of every color just turns into a gray color.

[darkfro]

Yeah today its hot. But where at in Texas are you from? I want to get my suspension done but I don't want to take it in to just any shop. When I had a Del Sol a shop off 59 screwed my suspension up bad.

[Slooooooow]

Dallas/Fort Worth
The shop I went to is JP Importz in a NE Dallas suburb called Garland.
They do independent Toyota/Lexus repair and a LOT of guys in NorTexLex have used them for tuning/modding/etc.

[WhiteRabbit]

^coooool, Im in garland too!!! maybe we should have a meet haha.

i do my suspension work myself though =) just got some coilovers in the other day, woo hoo! 2"+ drop

[toyota95]

looking good..can't wait to see..

[bigbird]

nice man, get some pics up so we can see it lowered.

[-SCWEET1-]

looking good.

[Slooooooow]

Impression:
Having only a 10-minute commute, I've not really had the opportunity to get the car out and work it to determine my impressions of the new suspension system.

Tonight I volunteered for a honey-do that took me 23 miles down and back up the Dallas North Tollway. For you non-Dallas folks, it's a rich man's autobahn on which some of us regular folks occasionally sneak. The top half is nice and curvy with more sweepers than hairpins, but it's fun when taken at higher speeds. The south end is fairly straight with ups and downs over hills.

The north end experience was invigorating! This car can actually handle when properly suspended. It's not my Mini Cooper S, but it could play ball with it in the same yard. I was actually carving up the tollway, much as I used to in my Cooper! Nice, nice, nice. A Dodge pickup and an Infiniti decided to try and match my pace on the curves as I came back north and the truck nearly scrapped the walls a couple of times and went into the center lane once. I'll hand it to him though, he didn't flip it, and at least he tried to play; the Infiniti backed down after finding too much lean on the first couple of good curves. This type of cat-and-mouse and gamesmanship happens very frequently on the Tollway because there are lots of pretty, exotic, extremely expensive and extremely capable rich boy toys on it regularly.

The southern end was fairly uneventful as it's quite straight, but it did give me time to appreciate how I feel as if I'm sitting much more between the four wheels instead of on top of them. The feel of the road is much improved, and I'm not sure why. I would've thought I'd have to modify the steering system in some way to affect the road feel, but it's a welcome result regardless.

All in all I highly recommend the equipment I've purchased.
I also more strongly recommend pursuing any suspension modifications to this vehicle - just do it! It really changes its demeanor for the better - even if you're not auto-crossing it. Backroads trips can quickly become your preference.
Two thumbs up thus far.


Cons:

• Front suspension "crashing" (over larger road bums, e.g. bad
  railroad crossings)
  • Already mentioned on my installation webpage. Should be remedied with the application of new bushings next week.
    
• Tire rub moments:
  • I did experience two episodes of brief (as long as it takes you to say "blip") tire rubbing on the front end as I came up and over whoop-de-doos in the road. I'm going to chat with Jason (JPI) about this and see if the new bushings will help with this, or if I'm in for some fender well rolling.

Pros:

• Improved cornering capability
• Improved road feel
• Complete absence of the front strut mount popping noise
• Decreased Noise/Vibration/Harshness
• Greatly diminished fender-to-tire gap

Thanks for stopping by. I'll update you after next week's additional work and fine tuning.

[Slooooooow]

The install, before/after pictures (including exterior pics of the car) are FINALLY online here! Please let me know what you think.
I feel the difference is dramatic - aesthetically as well as performance-wise.



We finally got a little break in the rain where I could go snap some shots!
Now, back to building an ark...

[bigbird]

looks great man. glad u like the setup.

[94CoupeV6]

Nice it looks a lot better now. It's crazy how similar our cars are to the ES300. It's the SAME damn thing with different headlights and tailights. And I guess not all Camry's are fully loaded, but mine is!!!

[Slooooooow]

Originally Posted by bigbird

looks great man. glad u like the setup.

Many thanks, BigBird! I do like the setup!

On an update note, this morning, JPI installed my new bushings. I wasn't hating the ride as it was - it was kinda of a "race car" raw - and now it's even better - more civilized. It rides more now like a "nicely tuned performance suspension," a ride my wife won't despise when she drives it. In fact, being lucky enough to have a wife who enjoys performance suspensions/handling, I know she's going to like it as much as I do. (Y'all should see her autocross!) The "crashing" of the suspension over sizeable road bumps is now gone! Woot!

I consider this suspension project "done" and I'll be moving onto the next project - getting a better-sounding, better-performing exhaust that can pass August's inspection.

Major props again to DFW's JP Importz for providing the best bid for doing the work, and for doing work that is not common (since not many upgrade their ESs) and doing it well. Jason and his folks are a pleasure to deal with.

Feel free to hit me with any questions about this effort, and please continue to post comments/suggestions, etc. Then go do it on your Gen3 Camry/ES!