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new pics, our test set is sold and on its way to Ah Lau.
__________________ Redefining Lexus Aftermarket Parts Since 2001 -- We are your Lexus suspension experts--
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Just a quick update on this particular custom setup that FIGS is organizing.
My original suspension had done about 41,000km. Small stutter bumps were no longer being damped, but large hits were still being damped OK. For example, driving over a series of ripples about 40kmh, if not done perfectly square on, would produce a wallow much like a duck waddling. Driving on paving stone type surfaces at about 20kmh after about 3 seconds would produce a vibration / buzz filling the entire cabin. It was time to replace the whole set of shocks.
I bought the R&D unit that FIGS used to develop the model being sold in this group buy.
It arrived in Singapore today.
I went to a friend's workshop to install it. He is an accredited scrutineer and also a suspension tuner, The car went up the hoist, and was down again in under 2 hours. The replacement Ohlins were bolted straight on using the height, preload etc settings that came with the shocks. The work was completed without any rush. After that my friend made some measurements using corner scales to confirm that everything was fairly within spec. Then I went for laser wheel alignment.
After that we went for 3 test drives over the same route of about 3 km.
The first test drive was with the alignment guy. Immediately it was obvious that the car was just springing about randomly.
After a quick drive the alignment guy got out and my friend the shock tuner got in for a second drive. He suspected that the damping settings on the front vs the rear were (mistakenly) set by his own mechanics to full soft vs full hard, and this caused the car to settle into a sickening resonance. The mistake was confirmed and all shocks were set to full soft.
On the third drive small adjustments were made along the route. Eventually I accepted the car (for the time being) with front rebound 4 clicks out from full soft, and rear rebound 2 clicks out from full soft.
Impressions:
Car feels as stiff as stock, except that I'm now on 18" rims but it rides as stiffly as though it were the original 19" rims.
Damping is much improved over stock, without the "zinging" sensation when hitting speed bump type objects.
Rapid turn-in / turn-in with hard braking is much improved over stock.
Car feels like new again.
The wheel alignment settings (not really related to the shocks) was for a lively feeling for street use. Now the steering effort is lighter as compared to using the 18" rims on original factory alignment settings. The front wheels are Volks VR G25 rims 18x8.5J offset 35 with Michelin Pilot Super Sport 225/45/18 with about 4,500km done. The rear wheels are Volks VR G25 rims 18x9.5J offset 43 with Michelin Pilot Super Sport 255/40/18.
Conclusions: well worth the money, even after driving only 50km since the shocks were set up with the initial settings.
Thank you for the post.
One thing about the tuning, you should always back out from the "full hard postion" as it is the only deterministic valve position. So all the way in, then back out, say 20 clicks vs just backing out until you do not feel any detents. This ensures that the valve gap and damping preload are identical or at least to a specific number.
Other than that we always tend to let the rear be on a softer damping than the front. It allows a different modal frequency and diversifies the damping range to get more total coverage over different surfaces. In any case sounds like you are off to a great start and I am glad things made to the the other side of the world OK FEDEX FTW.
Mike
Originally Posted by Ah Lau
Just a quick update on this particular custom setup that FIGS is organizing.
My original suspension had done about 41,000km. Small stutter bumps were no longer being damped, but large hits were still being damped OK. For example, driving over a series of ripples about 40kmh, if not done perfectly square on, would produce a wallow much like a duck waddling. Driving on paving stone type surfaces at about 20kmh after about 3 seconds would produce a vibration / buzz filling the entire cabin. It was time to replace the whole set of shocks.
I bought the R&D unit that FIGS used to develop the model being sold in this group buy.
It arrived in Singapore today.
I went to a friend's workshop to install it. He is an accredited scrutineer and also a suspension tuner, The car went up the hoist, and was down again in under 2 hours. The replacement Ohlins were bolted straight on using the height, preload etc settings that came with the shocks. The work was completed without any rush. After that my friend made some measurements using corner scales to confirm that everything was fairly within spec. Then I went for laser wheel alignment.
After that we went for 3 test drives over the same route of about 3 km.
The first test drive was with the alignment guy. Immediately it was obvious that the car was just springing about randomly.
After a quick drive the alignment guy got out and my friend the shock tuner got in for a second drive. He suspected that the damping settings on the front vs the rear were (mistakenly) set by his own mechanics to full soft vs full hard, and this caused the car to settle into a sickening resonance. The mistake was confirmed and all shocks were set to full soft.
On the third drive small adjustments were made along the route. Eventually I accepted the car (for the time being) with front rebound 4 clicks out from full soft, and rear rebound 2 clicks out from full soft.
Impressions:
Car feels as stiff as stock, except that I'm now on 18" rims but it rides as stiffly as though it were the original 19" rims.
Damping is much improved over stock, without the "zinging" sensation when hitting speed bump type objects.
Rapid turn-in / turn-in with hard braking is much improved over stock.
Car feels like new again.
The wheel alignment settings (not really related to the shocks) was for a lively feeling for street use. Now the steering effort is lighter as compared to using the 18" rims on original factory alignment settings. The front wheels are Volks VR G25 rims 18x8.5J offset 35 with Michelin Pilot Super Sport 225/45/18 with about 4,500km done. The rear wheels are Volks VR G25 rims 18x9.5J offset 43 with Michelin Pilot Super Sport 255/40/18.
Conclusions: well worth the money, even after driving only 50km since the shocks were set up with the initial settings.
__________________ Redefining Lexus Aftermarket Parts Since 2001 -- We are your Lexus suspension experts--
BCR - KW - PENSKE - OHLINS - HKS - GREDDY - STANCEPARTS
Links - Arms - SuperPro Poly Bushings - Solid Bearing Conversions - Motor Mounts
RB BBK's and 2P Rotors, G-Loc pads, Radium Fuel Systems
Custom Fabrication Design and Machining - Industrial 3D Printing - Laser Cutting 2018 USTCC Sportsman Class Champions - 2018 NASA ST5 National Champions
Oops thanks for the info on how to set the rebound damping!
FedEx was good until the "last mile" (these are issues obviously outside your realm of influence).
I encountered several problems with the Singapore end of the operations and have provided feedback, to which they responded only after I contacted them on their Asia Pacific Facebook page (ie reporting the problems through the local customer service number just got me a pack of lies).
Even then the people responding at the Asia Pacific level were mediocre (eg not calling me back at times they themselves promised etc).
Close guys, keep up the interest. If we do not see movement in another week I suggest we just get regular orders going in an effort to get parts in before the race season hits. We are already starting to get very busy which will push out lead times.
Thanks Mike
__________________ Redefining Lexus Aftermarket Parts Since 2001 -- We are your Lexus suspension experts--
BCR - KW - PENSKE - OHLINS - HKS - GREDDY - STANCEPARTS
Links - Arms - SuperPro Poly Bushings - Solid Bearing Conversions - Motor Mounts
RB BBK's and 2P Rotors, G-Loc pads, Radium Fuel Systems
Custom Fabrication Design and Machining - Industrial 3D Printing - Laser Cutting 2018 USTCC Sportsman Class Champions - 2018 NASA ST5 National Champions
__________________ Redefining Lexus Aftermarket Parts Since 2001 -- We are your Lexus suspension experts--
BCR - KW - PENSKE - OHLINS - HKS - GREDDY - STANCEPARTS
Links - Arms - SuperPro Poly Bushings - Solid Bearing Conversions - Motor Mounts
RB BBK's and 2P Rotors, G-Loc pads, Radium Fuel Systems
Custom Fabrication Design and Machining - Industrial 3D Printing - Laser Cutting 2018 USTCC Sportsman Class Champions - 2018 NASA ST5 National Champions
03-10-15, 08:59 PM
FEDEX FTW.
