wing

Hope I'm not highjacking the thread too much.

what would you recommend to keep a similar stock ride (09 car) and better performance on the track?

I know a lot of people like the out of box KW3 solution, but they are expensive. I'm thinking it would be less expensive to go with a good shock like a Koni or the BC and a different spring, ,16/12?

The track here is ultra smooth, so I'm just battling quick weight transfer left to right in a few complexes and nose dive in braking.

I don't really want to lower the car, although the front could go down a big, the rear already is slammed enough. Don't care about the looks just like going fast haha.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

Lexus raised the front of the car about 10mm (my guess) from pre-production to production to help reduce damage from parking lot stops and curbs. Although I haven't measured the chassis, I suspect the camber curves would look a whole lot better with the front just a little lower.

Mike's explanation of needing more spring for lowering the car omits one very important thing - as you lower the car, the roll center on the chassis gets farther away from the center of gravity, so the springs need to be a whole lot stiffer to provide the same roll resistance as the stock setup. The length of the roll couple (roll center to center of gravity) is like a lever on the chassis. The longer it is, the more spring rate you need to resist roll. This is also why some people with lowered cars like bigger swaybars.

786

having lived with BC's 16/12 in my daily driver for a few months i can honestly say a resounding "meh"

they don't really do anything well.

should have stuck with new OEM shocks at that price point.

clarionguy

hmm I was going to purchase 16 / 12 and BC - not receiving the best responses from people especially over time.

What other better options are there? '13 stock shocks?

I have a 08 isf

786

I would stick to OEM at that price point, the BC were quite disappointing. If I had it to do over again I would have done '13 shocks, springs, and bumpstops. Only reason I didn't was the wait was too long.

Hell, I would have been happier with new '08 OEM shocks

ISFPOWER

iTrader: (20)

you prob did the 16k/12k on the stock bc springs. having another member having 14k/10k regular bc coilovers vs mine with the upgrade swift springs, he said my car drives and feels a lot better. im sure we aren't on the same dampening. plus his made noises, mine coils are dead silent.

FIGS

iTrader: (11)

What setup procedure did you follow to tune your settings and what settings are you using? What ride height are you at? Often I get customers thinking they are preconfigured, They are only setup with initial spring preload, that is it. Its still up to you to make all initial adjustments to your preferences. We offer a lot of guidance when it comes to this to make sure you get what you want. We also stand behind our configurations with a satisfaction guarantee. There is a lot you can do with fine tuning with this rate.
Mike

MR2QIK

Hi everyone,

I've got some 14/12 rate bc coilovers from an is350 (was via Figs). Are those rates ok for my 2011 ISF? The shocks were valved for those spring rates. Obviously they'll fit. Don't plan to go much lower than stock. 0.5 rear & about 1.0 front. I think the front is obviously ok, more worried about how it'd match with the rear slightly increased rate, or can I simply adapt to this with different dampening?

Cheers,
Jay

Cheers,
Jay

Gymkata

I have BC coilovers with swift springs 16k/12k and I am very impressed with the performance at the price point (I can't speak to how the BC coilovers with BC springs work). Now I'm sure a better coilover like Penske would be light years better, but IMO the BC/Swift combo is way better than stock (2008). The ride is a bit firmer but the dampening is better so it is more comfortable overall...at least for my liking. I just got back from 2 days at Summit Point Raceway and my suspension worked very well...both of my instructors were absolutely blown away at how composed the car was at the limit for such a big car...of course my square sticky tires definitely played a part in that as well.

I haven't played around with the suspension tuning at all yet. It is set at whatever stiffness setting FIGS shipped it at and the ride is the ride height that FREED Engineering installed it at. I told them to keep the rear close to stock and lower the front to match the rear height. If I had to guess I would say the rear is about .25-.5" lower than stock and the front is 1" lower...just a guess though.

infate

iTrader: (5)

Thinking the same thing for me. Any others want to share their views or opinions if they have this same setup b/c all I see are 16/12 or 14/10 opinions?

FIGS

iTrader: (11)

These are the rates we suggest based on the balance of the car, but also keep in mind a lot can be done to further improve rear end bumpsteer (waggle) with our other suspension components.
The 16/12 setup will give you a lot more dynamic damping settings to adjust without risking too much travel. The 14/10 setup is only for those looking for a little drop and no plans to modify anything else (tires, power, braking.) BC makes a great product, unrivaled for the price point and still one of our leading mods to couple with our suspension products to transform the car as a system, not just a single component upgrade.
Mike

infate

iTrader: (5)

Thanks for the reply FIGS. I meant if it could be ideal to save some money and reuse the coilovers from my IS250. I have 14/12 spring rates on them, and was wondering if that extra 2k in the rears will dramatically impact the optimal performance of the car or could I just adjust the dampening setting accordingly and be happy I saved a grand.

FIGS

iTrader: (11)

Well if you were running 1412 on an is250 chances are you were pretty low. If you wanna run that low on an Isf you should probably just upgrade the front spring to a 16 K. We offer Swift spring upgrades but we could also get you a bc spring if that's what you have right now.
Mike

blackisF08

iTrader: (2)

hey mike i have a questions for you, i have an '08 model with almost 90K miles on it an i am pretty sure the suspension needs to be replace or upgrade it. my question for you is what springs rates should i get to make the suspension better and more comfortable than the stock '08? i am no planning on tracking the car but i wanna improve handling and comfort on it, it is my daily driver and i am also keeping it stock for winter purposes and maybe lower it down 1 inch on the summer



thanks.

Zelfiris

From reading this thread, the recommendation is 14/10 for comfort and no wheel mods

16/12 for a bit stiffer than OEM feel and wheel mods (wider tires and rims).

And most people are happy to choose upgraded swift springs over the BC springs