JB5674

So within moments of possession on my new RCF, I reached out to Raffi at RRRacing to be a test pilot for a new suspension he was developing. Due to schedules, it took about two weeks for the project to commence. Each day, Raffi and I communicated in one way shape or form ( phone, email, text etc ). I've been in the car game a long time, it's seldom you come across a genuine person and one that is as well knowledged as Raffi. This dude really knows his stuff. This puts a smile on my face as I know my girl would be in good hands. After all, she's brand new!!




Two weeks go by and I pull up to the RRRacing shop. Greeted by Raffi, he immediately showed me is beautiful ISF and further took me for a ride to show me the ultimate end goal was for the RCF. A) This dude can drive. B) after a ride in the ISF I was sold. It was a night and day difference from my RCF. My RCF felt loose in corners, quite frankly scared me around turns due to not feeling planted. I realize the RCF wasn't like the handling I was used to from my 2014 is350 F sport ( she was modded too ). Yet, AWD vs RWD come into play as well. Something about the RCF made it feel overly dangerous going into the twisties....

SideNode: the RRRacing shop car - Raffi's ISF - is fitted with the RRRacing Bazooka exhaust. Man, this thing sounds mean and it screams down the road. I instantly became jealous, as Raffi and I began chatting about how we could do the same for the RCF. So, in due time, I hope to have a very similar setup on my car. YouTube clips do it no justice.





As she sits in stock form





Another stock side photo





Raffis ISF - RRRacing shop car





Raffi's ISF - RRRacing shop car



Old car - 2014 IS350 Fsport AWD

Now to the fun stuff.....

Raffi began to show me the products and further we begin to tear the stock rear suspension out of the car





Rear springs and front coils





Rear shocks







While the rear went in fine, we realized the rear springs began to sag upon loading the suspension with the weight of the car. This wasn't up to par with Raffi, so we pulled the suspension and began to measure. After measurements and inspection of the area, Raffi came up with the idea of fully converting the rear divorced spring and shock setup into a full coilover. The suspension in the rear pretty much mirrors that of an ISF and after a very thorough inspection, it looked like the coilover setup in the rear could work. So the mad scientist gets to work and literally builds the rear coilover out of pieces in the shop right in front of me. I'm not going to lie, I was nervous but knew I was in trusted hands.





Building the rears

So, we get to installing the rear suspension for what seems like the 4th or 5th time and what do you know. It all fits. We measured and checked for clearances to insure nothing would rub. The only thing that is different from stock....a slight modification of the break sensor cable had to be grinded down. Its a small tab and afterward, the wire out bent of the way and tucked behind the tab.





Rear coil in





Omg where's the spring!!! <br/><br/>( to show the new coil setup )





Close up of the wire relocate. Prior to pushing it back.

Once the rears were done. We took copious measurements and loaded the suspension to check ride height. We both began to get excited after seeing the work. While the initial dial in of the ride-height liked good.... We had to back out a slight bit to compensate for suspension settling. Once more, this shows you the type of knowledge one possesses. Raffi measured, measured some more, and measured again to make sure the rear was perfect. Once it was, we began to tackle the fronts.

The fronts were very easy in comparison to the rears. Yet, some of the front suspension bolts were very hard to get off. One thing to note, the brake wear sensor has its own spot on the stock strut setup. We ended up using a zip tie to keep the wire from free-floating. It's ok, this is very similar on ISFs. If you're installing this setup on your own, air tools are a must. It took some time and force to get everything free. Once free, everything was a breeze. Once the fronts were done, we had to do the same dial in process. Initially, the front came out very slammed ( see photo ). While I loved the look, Raffi once more bestowed some knowledge upon me about cornering, suspension travel and dynamics on the track in comparison to " just getting a look ". He's the expert, so I followed his lead.





Front stock and front coil side by side<br/><br/>Note the stock was extremely heavy in comparison to the Penske unit





Front post install





Close up





Front brake wear sensor relocate. Note zip tie





Post install before we dialed everything in. Notice how slammed the front is

I could just do coils, yet I was seeking that same feeling from the test drive in the ISF. So, we proceeded to install the RRRacing USRS lower bushing upgrade. Overall, the install is very straightforward. Due note: you need a torque wrench for the install. Most of the bolts have their own specific TQ spec. Be sure to follow the instructions or you won't be satisfied with your product





Stock bushing





Bushing removed





New USRS bushing installed

So by now, everyone is wondering what does the car looks like....Right? Well, I decided to add 17mm spacers in the rear and 20mm spacers in the front since I had some leftover 3rd gen IS parts . I pretty happy with the outcome, as this minor mod gives the car a bit of added stance and visual appeal.





As she sits





At the alignment shop

Now the fun.....

Raffi took me for a ride in the RCF that I will never forget. When we test drive the ISF, we purposely drove the RCF back to back to show the non-compliance of the stock RCF suspension. Before the install, the RCF was all over the road when showing me the side to side motion. The RCF literally came alive with this new suspension install. The coils came dyno tested ( yes, a shock dyno ) and dialed in. Each shock has its own dyno sheet. Full rebound and dampening can be adjusted for this setup. With the addition of the USRS and the coils; the car felt like a hot razor cutting through butter in the curves. We pushed the car hard in accelerating and cornering on some very bumpy PA backroads. The suspension ate the bumps, as the overall feeling was not jarring at all. The turn in was crisp. You now have sense of where the car is going and the car feels very planted to the road. Literally, glued to the pavement. Raffi further demonstrated some of his epic driving by whipping around turns at high speed to show the full capability of the setup. There was nothing this car couldn't take. The car handles like its on rails. It's not choppy. You don't bounce in corners and the weight distribution is on point. This is how one would want a car of the caliber of an RCF to come. The aggressive look w spacers makes me even consider keeping the ugly stock wheels. Overall, I'm very happy with the outcome.

To some things up: This setup is only unique to RRRacing. Raffi has done extensive R&D on the ISF platform and transferred that knowledge into the RCF platform. There is not another setup like this on the market. The spring rates are a lot stiffer ( I forgot so I'll let Raffi chime in ) and the ride is near stock with that " I know you're tuned " suspension feel we all love. The shocks are flawless and all the tunability that is available with this setup is mind blowing. I've been modding cars since the early 90s. I've come across some highly knowledgeable folks, but really can say it's been a pleasure working with RRRacing / Raffi and learning from him. This man is a plethora of knowledge and as passionate as one can be about his craft and racing. Every aspect of measurement was tied into an achieved output. This type of sheer care and thoroughness is not something we see in mechanics in this day and age. Overall, I would recommend RRRACING, the Penske coil setup and Raffi to anyone.

If you'd like to see the car in person or ride in it, I will be at New Jersey Motorsports Park next weekend ( nov 14th ) for a track day. I cant wait to test the limits of this new setup.

Z3NK1

iTrader: (2)

Thanks a lot for the review. I''m interested to see what price point they come in at and if it's worth changing my plans for the RS*Rs I have sitting at home.

RRRacing

iTrader: (1)

I not want to badmouth RSR on this forum the slightest bit but these two suspension packages are in completely different leagues when it comes to price, and especially when it comes to performance -- its apples and oranges comparison.

Just to give you a sense of the spring rates.... we are running approx 60% stiffer effective spring rate than RSR. That is how we achieve such amazing dynamic control of a relatively heavy car. The car is still comfortable. We recommend even higher spring rates for RCF's that visit the track more often and use R-compound tires.

Rafi

RRRacing

iTrader: (1)

First off, Josh-- thank you very much for that review and giving us access to your car.

We had an epic day setting up this car, and doing the initial testing. One of the most amazing aspects to this suspension build is to what extent all the hard work and development we did on the ISF RRRacing/Penske coilovers translated over into the RCF chassis. The suspension geometry, weight distributions, and other chassis characteristics are actually very similar.

It is rare that I am so happy with the setup from the start -- but this car is absolutely phenomenal with this setup. I don't want to over-hype our stuff, then have guys get disappointed, but I am sure that wont happen

We actually have TWO RCFs at the track on November 14 for testing and final dialing in of the suspension, so we shall test the car at its limits soon (something that is impossible to do on the street)!

-Rafi

toystry

I'm glad that Raffi was able to take care of you, he's a great guy who took a lot of time on the phone to answer all my questions when I was contemplating having him swap out my suspension. I wanted to do this swap but the timing, pricing and distance I'd have to drive made it to where it wasn't cost beneficial for me. If I were in PA, I'd have done it in a heartbeat but I'm 6hrs away from him which was the big reasoning I couldn't do it. Keep us posted, if you and whoever else still loves in 6 months from now I'll likely get the kit and install it myself. Thanks for the review and thanks to RRRacing for bringing new products to the RCF community.

FR500GT

iTrader: (7)

Grew write up! I have been waiting to see some testing done for an RCF Penske setup. I look forward to hearing more about your experience with these especially after your track day.

Meraki Autoworks

iTrader: (8)

Rafi was telling me how he was looking for a RCF tester.. you got lucky! Rafi knows exactly whats hes doing. Car must be driving so nice right now.. I'm jealous!

JT2MA71

iTrader: (7)

Do you lose inner wheel space in the rear when converting to that setup?

DEMIK

iTrader: (18)

Good job Rafi!!!!!

Carnevino

very nice! Likely moving on a set of these myself. Just a suggestion, would have been a great time to swap out the OEM brake cables to stainless/Teflon with the car up on a lift. Do the fronts have adjustable camber plates? Did you install a rear set of camber arms? Finally, how easily was the alignment afterwards? Could you post up your alignment specs when you can?

RRRacing

iTrader: (1)

No, but in the next few weeks we are working on an upper shock perch reinforcement piece which will likely include an aluminum or carbon fiber tie bar. We will try to fab up this piece so that it does not interfere with trunk access in a significant way (and we will try to make it easily removable in case additional trunk space is needed).

The reason we are going to add extra reinforcement is that we want to be absolutely sure that years from now and after 10's of thousands of miles that area does not develop fatigue cracks, since it is seeing higher stresses than before.

Currently we use an upper reinforcement plate but the tie bar and additional bracing will be a low cost option. We are really going to try to make the horizontal support from Carbon tubing, as it will look awesome.


Yes, this is an easy time to swap to SS lines if your car is in for suspension work.

The fronts do not need adjustable camber plates. Please understand that Lexus uses a double wishbone suspension, not a simple MacPherson strut like you find on EVO's and STi's and many other cars. You cannot adjust camber on a car with double wishbone suspension using the upper plates. We manufacture our own aluminum spherical bearing zero compliance upper mounts.

We recommend zero front toe, and OEM spec rear toe-in alignment assuming car is using our USRS plus the the RRR/Penske setup.

There is no need for rear camber arms. When you lower the RCF to our specs, you get the right amount of camber for aggressive street and track day use.

The RCF on our RRRacing/Penske setup absolutely ROCKS!

I can't wait till the track day... we will have 2 RCF's equiped with our suspension making the rounds, and we are also going to try to get some feedback from some pro & amateur race drivers.

My dream is to take the RCF with our suspension back to Road & Track Magazine or Car & Driver, and see what they have to say about the transformation of this car.

Rafi

nelson143

Great review! Thanks.

JB5674

Alignment shop was closed during the weekend. Likewise, too busy today.....
The car is going in at 10 am tomorrow est. Ill post up pre / post spec sheets for all.

As to what Rafi mentioned, I dont believe that extra camber is needed. Really, as she sits, this car is a monster. At high speeds, the turn-in is so crisp and the car is so planted. I have taken highway exits
(U shaped) at 70-80 mph. This heavy beast feels like a go-kart now. Just point and she goes.

Rafi is an experienced driver and with the beat up backroads of PA, the suspension still performed like stock. You do feel more in the road, yet its the feeling we all crave. For anyone that resides in the DC / MD / VA Im happy to take you for a ride. Just shoot me a pm

FR500GT

iTrader: (7)

I was going to ask about this. I know on previous cars in the past, whenever someone would go to a true coilover, there was always some type of reinforcement needed. Especially if the car was a street car and not completely caged with custom mounts. Sub'd

RRRacing

iTrader: (1)

Actually, that's not necessarily true. I know that MOST 350/370z true coilover conversions do not get reinforced. I have not seen any info about related problems. I have even spoken to some Z tuners who insist reinforcement is not necessary.

Another example is the Corvette. Corvettes come with leaf springs, but guys who upgrade typically convert to true coilovers front AND rear. They also do not need to reinforce.

E46 BMW's typically reinforce, but that is because they have huge cracking problems front and rear, EVEN ON STOCK SUSPENSION! There are class action lawsuits that people won against BMW for these problems. So given that history, I understand why BMW owners feel the need to reinforce.

That said, we already have a reinforcement ring, but in the next 2 weeks we will be adding additional reinforcement -- not because we think it is absolutely necessary, but because we want to make this setup bulletproof.

Rafi