iH8RICERZ

iTrader: (4)

Most full coilover set ups are height and dampening adjustable. If you go with a lowering spring and aftermarket shocks, some shocks are equipped with a dampening adjustment ****/dial (take koni yellow's for example). Not sure if they make Koni yellow's for our cars but I know they have a cup that you can adjust up or down to adjust ride height of your stock or aftermarket springs, but that's not the case on any other aftermarket shocks.

4everkidd

iTrader: (2)

Unfortunately Koni doesn't make a setup for the isf.

Personally I don't see the need to run an aftermarket damper with the springs with the options that are out the right now. Tokico makes an aftermarket setup as well as our oem struts.

Realistically it comes down to personal preference. There is no way I could go any lower than I am with the swifts in Calgary, the city is plagued with road construction and the entrance to my underground is very aggressive.

UCrazyKid

They are not the same. Coilover is a bit of a misnomer as in many cars the spring coils do reside "over" the shock body. McPherson Struts for example are always like this, where the spring sits atop the damper surrounding the piston rod. Modern Volkswagen rear axles for example have the spring sitting beside the shock for example.

When coilovers were first developed they were for racing use and the goal was to add these features:
1. one unit that includes shock and spring than can be removed from the vehicle in one piece without having to compress the spring
2. use of a smaller coil diameter that just clears the shock body to create a more compact unit allowing for better wheel and brake caliper clearance
3. infinite (within a range) height adjustability for setting ride height and corner balancing a vehicle
4. reduce unsprung weight.

Most coilovers come in "Kits" where the springs are matched to the damper (shock) and hopefully matched to the weight/needs of the car they are indicated for.

Many coilover kits use adjustable damping rate shocks (available in 1,2,3 or 4 way adjusting) however some less expensive kits have fixed valving

With the increase in popularity of coilover kits (mostly for the street because they allow more lowering) many new brands have popped up and they vary greatly in quality. There are many built in China that are worthless and many from the US that are excellent and $$$$.

My feeling is that "most" users will not make full use of a coilover kit is just used on the street. In my experience watching forums, most users buy a coilover kit and do the following:
1. they do not need to match springs rates and dampers valving
2. they set the ride height at installation to where they like the look and then never change it again.
3. they do not spend the extra money to have the car corner balanced
4. they do not spend the extra money on camber kits to correct the camber after extreme lowering
5. they play around with the damping settings for 1 or 2 weeks and then never change it again.

"most" users would probably be fine with a lowering spring and a sport shock (piston travel optimized for shorter spring) and then just forget about it. (Bilstein, Koni, H&R, Eibach, Swift, etc.)

If you are going to track frequently regularly and know the benefits a suspension can give you when tuned correctly (*usually this means you have already driven the vehicle in stock form and reached its limitations) then a set of mid to high level coils are probably the way to go. But you have to pay to play and they are expensive.

Others opinions may vary from mine but I do not intend to imply that I am some sort of suspension expert. I have just run a lot of suspension types on a lot of different cars and I am speaking from my experience.

One thing you do not want to do ever, run a very short spring with a stock shock. In time you blow out the shock running it outside of its ideal travel range. You will also run into bottoming out. It is best to go with a short shock to match the shorter spring.

Coilover:


Shock and Spring:

ERDoc74

does anybody know about these D2 coilovers?
http://www.carbodykitstore.com/lexus...h=26_3878_7340

UCrazyKid

Not so good, on the low end of coilovers, lots of complaints that they don't hold up especially in applications of heavy cars (like the ISF).

ERDoc74

thx!. I was almost going to buy some swift springs today and just forget coilovers as I just hate to shell out $5K for the Penske's (although I bet they are sweet) but maybe I should just get some BCR coilovers with the swift spring option from figs or CMS.... It's ecomonical.... (about $1250 vs $5k) adjustable.... ? but is it better than '11 OEM setup?

UCrazyKid

It's not an easy decision. Personally driving an '08 myself I would be thrilled just to have a '11 suspension! to my knowledge BCR re-valves Bilstein dampers. If I were doing a suspension myself I'd probably go Swift and Bilsteins, I'd want to know more about how the BCRs are valved but it is likely to be a GREAT combo on a modest budget.

IMHO a cheap coilover will be out performed by a good set of springs and Bilstein or similar damper all day long for the same approximate price.

For a ton of other suspension info check out this website: http://www.fatcatmotorsports.com/ Look at the FAQ/Tech articles section.
It's for Miatas (my project car) but this guy knows suspension! He also has a wonderful Excel spread sheet for suspension calculations but you would have to carefully measure out all the components on the ISF to make it work for your car. http://www.fatcatmotorsports.com/FRC...MSDS_1_6NA.htm

ERDoc74

but I can't find any Bilstein shocks for our IS F except for these:
http://vipautosalon.com/store/index....rmance-dampers
what makes me nervous is that I don't know of anybody on here that's using these and I can't figure out which shocks these are when I go to Bilstein's website....

UCrazyKid

I feel like we are hi-jacking 4everkidd's thread, maybe we can take this offline or to another thread but just to finish this off.

I found Bilstein part numbers here: http://web1.carparts-cat.com/default...7018004&12=140
FL: 24-155311
FR: 24-155328
Rear: 24-155335
and I've got a request out to a US distributor to see if they can get them.

ERDoc74

You're totally right! (sorry 4everkidd!)
thx for the link.. do yo9u speak german? lol let me know if get a quote on those... I'd like to know as well!
thx!

4everkidd

iTrader: (2)

Haha no problem fellas.

My thread was about being informative as there was a lot of questions in regards to swift spring setups.

Feel free to keep your convo going as it will help other forum members make a well informed decision.