Hello all. It's been 3 months since I've had my '08 IS F. I have aftermarket springs that came on the car which lowered it an inch or half an inch. It looks nice, BUT damn I can feel every bump and my back hurts! I was thinking of going to stock springs. Has anyone done stock rear springs, but kept the aftermarket springs on the front to have a staggered look? Looking for options on having a comfortable ride without getting beat up on the bumps and dips in the road.

 

Look for coilover's. The early models are notoriously harsh/stiff, good coilovers should fix this. The '08 I've had a few months came with HKS GT IV's, which are still plenty stiff, but not jarring or uncomfortably so. I think Meraki Autoworks vendor has them for reasonable price, as well as other options.

 

Coilovers. You can get a decent set for $1200-1800, BC Racing with Swift 16/12, KW+Greddy, or HKS hipermax GT 4's are all recommended.
Another option is to get 12+ suspension, but if you want to get rid of the front tall height or want more adjustability besides stock, coilers are th way to go.

 

I was in the same boat with my 08's stock suspension. I am on KW V3 coilovers now and its a night/day difference for comfort. If street comfort is what you're looking for, I'd definitely recommend them. They retain the use of the OEM top hats so theres no issues with clunking noises like some other aftermarket setups cause. If you're looking for something thats more track beast orientated but still comfortable enough for street driving, then the Ohlins coilovers would be the way to go.

 

Ohlins are still one way adjustable unless you spend over 6 grand. Penske is the more affordable track coilovers, at 3500.

 

I put Swift springs on the front only of my 2008 two months ago, quickly got tired of how rough the ride was on top of the already rough 2008 suspension and removed them. I upgraded to KWs and they are night and day. Still stiff, anything for this car will be, it'll never be like a Camry or whatever, but the bump absorption is way, WAY better.

Here's the staggered, front lowering springs only / stock rear look that you asked about though.

 

I went with Fortune Auto 500 series coils and a softer spring rate 11k front & 8k rear. Much smoother ride on these old bones.

 

I went with KW V3 on my ISF and it was night and day difference.

But to save some $$$ you can do BC w/ Swift, or KW x Greddy coils.

We have lot of them in stock. Feel free to contact us with questions and for pricing!

-Josh

 

Thanks everyone! I'll be evaluating my next move.

 

I just finished getting my isf inspected here, I have Hks hypermax coilovers and hardrace/milky white adjustable upper lower arms rods and ball joint/tie rod ends. Compared to stock, (when it was just coilovers) it wasn’t to bad as far as bumps and dips were concerned. Adding everything else made it lose any luxury feel and feels like my old jzx90/100s. I would recommend getting close to OEM spring rates and run coilovers over Oem springs and absorbers. If you’re not tracking, I would just go stock, side wall size plays a part as well, 30 profiles compared to 40 or the 60 on my van feels like a go cart compared to a couch lol.

i too have back problems, I may wind up going back to stock suspension and seats, even though my brides are awesome and love the way they look there’s a lot left to be desired as far as comfort.

 

I put stock 13 suspension on and dropped down to an 18 with a 40 series tire, and my car rides exceptionally well. The trade off was im back to having gap in the front. I mostly did it because I felt the roads were tearing up the car, and the ride was rough on swift springs.

If you want to be lowered or track your car, I recommend Dual adjustable coilover so you can at least adjust compression and rebound.

I ironically just bought some Tillett seats. I have a garbage lumbar spine, so we shall see how it goes. I need more lateral support for tracking.

The closer you get to race car, the further you get from daily comfort unless you have a mclaren with trick suspension settings. In the end, what matters the most to you?

 

The McLaren 720S for sure.

 

Anyone who has the KW V3...did you leave the adjustments as is from the factory or did you tweak them to make them comfortable? I tuned the rebound to 6-7 clicks on the front and havent done the rear yet. its definitely improved but I'm still not pleased with the overall ride. Im about to raise it a bit because these stupid roads are infuriating driving around. Anyone change the compression as well? Im looking for settings. I dont think ill track the car more than twice a year, if that even. I just want a nice tight luxury drive. I know its been mentioned before that this isnt a luxury cruiser and get something else, but even my previous 2010 absorbed dips and bumps better. Any help would help. I do have RCF wheels on with 225 up front and 275 in the back. Looking to swap from Summers to All-Seasons shortly. Thanks!

 

Run the softest you can without issue, and work towards the stiffer end of adjustments (giggity) really pay attention and get on a few road types to make sure it’s tolerable, or go stock suspension with some better springs. My wife had an air ride factory Toyota and even upgrading to accuair, kept the suspension settings proportional to the factory set up. Wheel and spring(air pressure and height) dimensions/specs ran adjustable camber plates and arms but stayed rubber bushings just to keep the tires as planted and not cambered as possible and that worked well for her car. My chaser needed max stiffened setting rear and softest front for the way it’s geometry was set and both vellfire and estima vans were springs and slighting lower profile wise. I’d youre not tracking having good adjustable suspension is less necessary as luxury but it’s on how you want itnto feel. Trial and error to find what you like. Hope that helped. What’s good to you might be too soft or too stiff and low to someone else.

 

Thanks man! Giving me hope! I will be tuning tomorrow and report back.