RRRacing

iTrader: (1)

Thanks again James - glad you are enjoying them

ChpEng

iTrader: (1)

May I/we trouble you for comment on NVH vs stock of the "full Figs" all-ball-joint rear control arm setup? Have you retained the trunk liner or stripped it out?

LSpho

2011 Lexus ISF - RRracing 12k/10k road and track: So far driven about 3k miles on them. They feel really good and compliant when the grounds are good. Though seemingly too much rebound/aftermath harsh oscillation/pogo stick over bumps/mounds/dips. I've tried the dampening in all ranges. Softer end, middle end, and stiffer end. Relatively similar results in rebound harshness. My helper springs are on top not sure if that makes a difference, I see in some that they're on the bottom of the springs.

I don't believe I am too low or anything (only half inch lower than stock ride height in the rear but all around) 265/35/18 on 18x9.5+40 nt03. There is crashing through the front on bumps/ruts/raised sections but that is most likely because of the RR LCA USRS bushings though I have the street variant which is said to be a little more compliant.

ernisill

Can't thank OP enough for creating this thread it has been extremely helpful! Thought I could contribute with a review of my recently installed Fortune Auto 500s.

On my 2010 IS-F with 224k miles on the original OEM suspension, important to note that is my only reference for comparison. I've owned the car since 215k miles and am certain the dampers were blown or at least very worn out. So while I know the car has a reputation for being very stiff and rough riding, I've never felt one on healthy OEM dampers or any comparisons between the stock suspension updates for different model years.

At the recommendation of Chris at Nightrun Garage I went with the 500 Series with 16k front and 12k rear, on their in-house springs which are rumored to be sourced from Eibach (did not opt for the swift spring upgrade). I kept the rear ride height the same as stock and lowered the front around 0.75 of an inch.

The ride quality has absolutely amazed me! At 80mph on the interstate I've had my butt lift up out of the seat on big dips/bridges before and now they're very smooth and well absorbed. I won't be nearly as hesitant to have a sip of coffee now at those speeds haha.

Slower 35-45mph in my city streets, manhole covers, patches and potholes are significantly better. Before they all had a harsh crash feeling that is now well dampened and absorbed. It honestly feels like an OEM "sport package" suspension in the comfort department, I'm very impressed.

Another big factor for me was them being made only an hour away from home, in case I ever need them serviced or rebuilt. I'll also re-visit this in 6 months or so to update after the honeymoon/placebo of new parts has worn off a bit haha. Hope this helps someone, this forum is absolutely amazing and was honestly a big factor in me deciding on an IS-F in the first place. So an enormous thank you to all of our moderators and regular contributors!

photomaker

I want to echo what @ernisill said and thank the OP for compiling this comprehensive coilover thread. I have an 08 with 77k miles and what was an OEM suspension with at least two "leaking" shocks. I am the original owner, so I know what the stock suspension was like when all was new. This is my DD, and I have no plans to track the F, but do very spirited driving (100% Sport Mode) and loved the OEM ride/feel. I am running larger tires (245/35/19 front and 285/30/19 rear) and my goal was to keep the original ride quality (i.e. no scrapes, rubs or "bottoming out" on dips and speed bumps), while lowering the front about 1/4" to even out the stance.

Since I wanted to remain as stock as possible, my first inclination was to replace all of the shocks with the Bilsteins(I had no plans to adjust ride height at that time), but backorders and mixed reviews had me rethinking my decision. After much research(mostly this thread and some very helpful and technical advice from @ChpEng) , I decided to get the Ohlins Road & Track setup with 16k front and 12k rear. The only drawback to that decision was a nearly three-month wait for the coilovers. They arrived a couple of weeks ago and I had them installed last week.

Now that I've driven on the new setup for about a week, I can say with 100% certainty that this was the BEST upgrade I could have made. The cars is much smoother on rough highways, as well as much more forgiving on rough roads with lots of potholes and patchwork. My car used to react harshly to rough city streets, and I thought it was because of my thin-sidewall tires, but I was wrong (it was the worn-out shocks). I already absolutely LOVED driving this car, and now it has become even more enjoyable. Corners are even more fun and the F just hugs the road even better than before.

Again, thanks to the OP for putting this information together, as well as a big thank you to all of those who contributed their knowledge and expertise all over these boards. This board helped me to find my F back in early '08, and has helped me in many ways throughout the years.

THANK YOU!!!

Jwconeil

I have eyed those a few times. I’ve never seen anyone disappointed in any of the Ohlins products.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

I was thinking a set of those and a set of the TTX for track duty. Not sure I'd be super happy doing the daily with the TTX, but a set of R&T optimized for street would make daily duty a pleasure. The best part of having an all solid bushing suspension is changing shocks is infinitely easier and quicker.

Jwconeil

I talked to one of our members that has a 13
on TTX, and he said it rides smoother on the soft setting than his OEM suspension rode. He is pretty low as well. I’d wager you would be very happy with the TTX. From what I’ve read, it is pretty much the best at everything, including comfort.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

No doubt it can be done, but which one is better to suffer the slings and arrows of daily driving? TTX is really what I want for track days, and if I run them all the time, they'll be getting rebuilt routinely because they'll get tired over time, where if I have TTX for track and DFV for daily, I can spend less money on maintenance and have sharper on track performance. Worst case, the DFVs need a rebuild and I run the TTX for a few weeks while they're getting serviced, and the TTX stay reasonably sharp for a longer period of time. At least, that's what I'm telling myself....

crushlee

Anyone have thoughts on the newly released RR Racing dual adjustable Road & Track coilovers? Been eyeing a quality set mainly for spirited driving and potentially intro to some tracking down the road. Have kept eyes on Ohlins R&T's but not sure I can get myself to commit $1500+ additional to these. Seem like a good mid-option which has custom spring rates and dual adjustability to further fine tune.

autovation

iTrader: (1)

I'm in research mode and ready to buy some coilovers. I'm Looking at the pros/cons for the latest offerings out there, here is what I have it narrowed down to:

• Penske (RR Racing) - $3559.99 $4145
  • Now called RR Racing Penske Coilover Suspension Stage II
  • Do these make noise? Are these aluminum housings and lighter weight than other coilovers?
• Penske IS-F Track Coilovers, Swift Springs (Figs) - $4800 (same pricing still!)
  • Oversized lower body caps to allow a true M14 mount. Competition uses the standard lower cap mount with a 1/2" bolt.
  • FIGS Provided Complete Upper Hats front and rear. Pillowball mounts for fast response and free misalignment of shocks during travel. These are 100% machined and lower profile with press fit studs. This means favorable weight reduction over the bulky units our competitions sells.
  • Saves about 60lbs over stock components.
  • Due to the sperical bearing mounts some noise may develop in certain environments. Dry- PTFE lube will remedy any noise if applied into the lower bearing joint properly.
• Ohlins Road and Track (Figs) - $3792 (same price still!)
  • Read a few posts about "bottoming out" or something like that, then they changed to Penske's and were happy.
  • One forum member (jat0223) says they are not LX comfortable but more comfortable than stock 2011 suspension. So these look promising but the cost is on the high end. If cost wasn't a concern, I think these would be the coilovers to match (or beat) the 2011+ OEM suspension.
• Toms Advox (ModInJapan) - $4500 $4230 (on sale right now)
  • Now we start getting into the high tier cost for coilovers. It does not appear that anyone on this forum has owned these, at least not in the IS community.
  • Product may emit knocking noises during cold weather or at low speeds. Please acknowledge these factors when increasing performance.
  • Steel Shell Casing, Single Tube, Twin Piston, Rubber Chamber Type
• Ohlins TTX ILXA Competition (Figs) - $6385
  • And rounding out the top of Figs offerings in terms of cost are these. Another Ohlins branded coilover but these appear to take it to the next level. If the cheaper Ohlins offering is comfortable, I'm sure these would be as well (and I sure hope so at that price).
• Sachs Novel - $7500 Y760,000 = $5628 (favorable exchange rate is a big price reduction here)
  • And rounding out the end of the list is a coilover from Novel. Most users know Novel for their carbon accessories or the extravagant sounding exhaust but they seem to offer a suspension option as well. These obviously come with a price tag to match the rest of their lineup but I had to convert the price from the Japanese Yen to USD because nobody seems to sell them here. I'm sure one of the vendors can get them but I did not want to start bothering our vendors just for this thread. Obviously out of my price range but it would be interesting to hear if anyone has experience with these.
• NEW - Sachs Novel - NOVEL SUSPENSION SYSTEM (type 2?) Y836,000 = $6410
  • I'm not sure the difference between the 2 versions, maybe Hyperco springs??? It just said this:
    • Another dimension of cornering force is generated with a sharpened setting of combinations of SACKS dumper with HYPERCO spring.
      • Spring rate
        • Front:16kg/mm
        • Rear:12kg/mm dampers
        • Damping force adjustment.
        • Full-length adjustment
        • Rubber upper mount
• CCSR/CCSP TRD Coilovers
  • Not available new, is there a place in the USA that could rebuild them?

ChpEng

iTrader: (1)

I installed the Figs/Ohlins R&T kit a couple of years ago on MY11 and have been very pleased with it. Recommendations:
1) Call Mike at Figs or Rafi at RR Racing and discuss your use case, taste, and budget. They both run great shops and have years of experience with this platform.
2) Use the discussions in #1 to converge on spring rates first, then purchase the best dampers which fit your budget. If the car will be primarily street-driven, then the salient decision is 12 or 14kg/mm R to pair with 16kg/mm F. The ISF does not have much wheel travel, especially if lowered, so damper quality and characteristics are key. Doubling the OEM spring rates will change handling remarkably. Be as honest with yourself as possible about NVH tolerance.
3) There is immense value in having one of the shops in #1 support your installation. For me, it did not make sense to buy a coilover kit from anyone else. Iteration gets expensive and time-consuming.
4) Install adjustable-length swaybar endlinks and front LCA rear #2 bushings either before or at the same time as the coilover kit.
5) Make sure to budget in a corner-balance alignment with someone knowledgeable who can square up the swaybar endlinks at the new ride height. Removing swaybar preload is a noticeable effect.
6) Note that wheel/tire mass and tire sidewall size influence ride and handling. Less unsprung mass yields "free" compression damping and quicker acceleration. I started with OEM sizes before the coilover installation but settled upon an 18in square setup afterwards and am pleased with the ride/handling/braking trade-off's.

Jwconeil

I ordered Figs Penskes. Hope to have them in 2-3 weeks. Figs has top notch service and Mike has been extremely responsive and helpful in figuring out what I need for my use case.

autovation

iTrader: (1)

Does anyone know which of these are the aluminum (lighter weight) coilovers vs the heavier steel casing coilovers?

• Penske (RR Racing) - $4145
• Penske IS-F Track Coilovers, Swift Springs (Figs) - $4800
• Ohlins Road and Track (Figs) - $3792
• Ohlins TTX ILXA Competition (Figs) - $6385
• Sachs Novel - $7500 Y760,000 = $5628
• NEW - Sachs Novel - NOVEL SUSPENSION SYSTEM (type 2?) Y836,000 = $6410

ChpEng

iTrader: (1)

Sweet! Installation should be a breeze on the lift.