The new range of Lexus 2021 models will be equipped with Yamaha Performance Damper for optimized vibration damping.
Vibration damping is one of the finer forms of improving refinements and Lexus seek to improve just that aspect. From 2021, the new range of Lexus models will be offered with the vehicle performance vibration damper from Iwata marque Yamaha. The Yamaha Performance Damper will be used for the new Lexus LC 500 Convertible models from this July and all MY2021 examples of the Lexus LC 500 coupé as well.
The Yamaha Performance Damper will also be installed in the all-new Lexus IS 300 and IS 350, the compact CT 200h, the sporty RC 300 and RC 350, the luxurious GS 300 and GS 350 2WD, the larger ES 350, the popular luxury hybrid ES 300h as well as on models in their line-up of crossovers and SUVs – the UX 200 and UX 250h, the NX 300 and NX 300h, the RX 300 and RX 450h, and the top-of-the-line full-size LX; taking the total model count to use the damper to 10.
What does the Yamaha Performance Damper do?
The Yamaha Performance Damper is a chassis damping component installed in the main structural areas of vehicles. It is a device designed to control and absorb minute distortions and vibrations, contributing to enhancements in stability and comfort in a wide variety of models. The Yamaha Performance Damper was first used in a mass-production model in April 2004, from its basic concept development in 2000, and has achieved a cumulative production of 2 million units in January 2020.
How the Yamaha Performance Damper works?
Normally, when a passenger vehicle is in motion, micro distortions of less than one millimetre occur in the body structure. A metal vehicle body has elastic characteristics and lacks damping force, meaning that external distortion energy is accumulated and released almost unchanged, repeating the cycle of distortion at a natural frequency. The Yamaha Performance Damper adds a damping element to the chassis, thereby absorbing the distortion energy and releasing it as heat. It prevents an excessive rate of distortion on the chassis, thus providing greater mobility and stability as well as superior dynamic capability and driving comfort during normal driving as well as at high speeds when the chassis is subjected to relatively high distortion.
This association between Lexus and Yamaha is far from the first. One of the notable instances of collaboration was the tuning of the iconic Lexus LF-A V10’s exhaust soundtrack. The V10 supercar was one of the first to feature an exceptional new breed of high-revving, or rather quick-revving engines. The LF-A sounded nothing short of an early-2000s Formula 1 race car as the revs piled.
