JB5674

Chiming in here -

I have all the mods and bolt-ons from RR-Racing, To date: RR-Racing Titanium Intake / Apexi Air Filter, RR-Racing Air-to-Oil Separator, Borla Exhaust, PPE Headers ( Ceramic Coated in CeriCoat ) - my other mods are not pertinent to power

@MrBig - The RCF is not a drag car. Period, plain and simple. The car wasnt designed for it. Its a true GT car and for that, its meant for the track aka road racing. With my Penskee Coilovers ( from RR-Racing), and RR-Racings USRS ( control arm bushings ) the overall driving characteristics of the have changed. Its a lot tighter, feels more planted, and its a very predictable car. I have upgraded my pads to endless MX72 for the more bite and longer wear on the track. If you havent been able to track your car on a true road course, you really arent utilizing the full potential of why Lexus made the car in my honest opinion. The mods are to make the car run at the highest efficiency vs 1/4 mile times.

@Johnnyreb - the statement made by cosmo1 is indeed correct. To date the WHP gain in HP is approx 40WHP or 60hp total. My car is lighter due to the coils and the exhaust, thus you pick up a few hp due to the unsprung weight drop ( not seen on a dyno ). As for the tune, the tune is more icing on the cake. The hp gain is not as much, but the TQ gains are huge and you can really feel the car pull in 3rd gear. For example, I used to drive all the time w my Apexi Throttle controller on Yellow / Purple as it tricks you to thinking the car is a lil faster. With the tune, the throttle controller will break traction and makes the car feel like a monster. With tune, the car is smoother across the entire band and makes the car work more efficiently ( the same was said on a friends all stock GSF now on RR-Racing Tune ).

The long an short is RR-Racing is the first tune from a true Lexus R&D specialist. I am proud to support Rafi and his actions, as I have been to the track with him to test these very products on my own car. The guy really knows his *****! Likewise, he's like the Stig on the track. Dude can drive!! Seeing the development of the tune first hand, I can say that anyone that runs this tune will not be dissatisfied.

~JB

BOBFSPORT

Every time I have ever contacted RR-Racing it's gone something like this.. I'd like to get a tune let me know when you guys are available for me to come by? Call us tomorrow and make sure you check out our exhaust and coilover options too! Stop trying to upsell me on something I didn't ask for (and I already have) before you have even made an appointment to touch my car for what I did ask for . As for the JBs post raving about them, I just find it too coincidental that you were the first RCF to have the penske coilovers installed by RR and now you defend them every chance you get. So I guess we need ALL of the RR-Racing bolt ons for the tune to work? Get the **** out of here! This car wasn't designed for any of the crap you are talking about. It was designed for driving on public roads!!! And stop calling the guy the ****ing stig please!

RRRacing

iTrader: (1)

I am really sorry you feel we try to upsell you... When someone calls asking about a tune, I don't think we are out of line to suggest other products we have as well. Most of our customers actually really appreciate that because in many cases they were not aware of all that we offer.

As far as getting your tune done... we can schedule you for this Friday, just PM me.

And lastly, about Josh's "Stig" comments... I find it very flattering, but clearly he is just excited about his car and his experience with us. We certainly don't pay Josh anything, and the only product that we gave him at reduced cost was the Penske suspension setup, and we did that in return for all the access he have us to his RCF when we developed the coilovers, and he even let us track his car, so the we are very thankful for his help.

RCF makes a *great* trackday and street car. You don't need 400+hp for the street, as street racing is for morons. The unique thing about the RCF is that you can literally beat it at the track every weekend, drive it to work during the week, and all you do is basic maintenance -- in that sense it is an amazing car. With some basic mods and decent driving skills, you can *easily* run in the fastest HPDE groups with the Porsches, Vettes, and have a great time. We have hosted several track days at NJMP, and I have yet to have a single customer say that they were in any way disappointed, in fact, most folks are usually elated when they realized what they missed out on, and how pointless it is to try to drive "fast" on the street.

-Rafi

skipetenj

iTrader: (2)

How was the RC F advertised and compared? On the track (if you remember all the Lexus advertising). I am an RC F owner and as Rafi said you can beat it up at the track every weekend and drive it during the week with just basic maintenance. I have tracked my car from day 1 and have keep records of lap times and other performance data. The improvements are phenomenal - 1st step Penskes & USRS; next intake, headers, exhaust, aos; then rotors and pads and now the tune. The initial 2 mods transformed the car into a beast on the track. The second two really improved the overall performance (yes brakes are a performance item) especially at a track like Watkins Glen. I trash BMWs, Vettes, etc.and it is not even supercharged. Most of those vehicles are on the trailer for there trip back and forth from the track.I have had professional instructors/drivers takes some laps behind the wheel and they are absolutely amazed. I did a lot of research when I decided to mod the vehicle and I saw the potential in Rafi (RR Racing). The developmental work that he is doing is tedious and costly. He has made an incredible commitment to the future of Lexus modifications. Too many people are quick to judge Rafi, but he is the real deal - devoting numerous hours away from his family and friends. Please feel free to PM me if you questions or want to discuss anything.

yellow2112

its posts like this that make me remember why I don't use a forum for my own business.

Imagine the nerve of the guy, trying to promote his business!

I'll tell u something else too. You really shouldn't come to public forums and flame the vendors. I'm surprised the mods allow this kind of crap to go on to be honest.

I spent 15 years in the mr2 forum community and while we may not always agree with some vendors, we realized we were lucky to have people to do R&D on our cars. This forum (or at least this car) has literally zero companies doing this kind of thing. I'm appreciative of the effort paid advertisers give just to try to make a living and I don't think they should be publicly called out in this manner.

ISFPOWER

iTrader: (20)

this is a public forum. although we are lucky to have them making products, it comes with a price tag that they benefit from.

bad reviews, good reviews, all should be posted if necessary.

cosmo1

Amen to that brother..

RRRacing

iTrader: (1)

You are absolutely right, bad reviews as well as good reviews should be posted..... BUT, no one is posting a bad review here, because the most important part in reviewing a product, is actually having the product, and the fact is that so far everyone who actually has our RCF tune, has reviewed it positively

As for comments about the price. The only reason we priced it at $400 is that we would prefer to tune as many RCF as possible, and we know it is an inconvenience for folks to mail us their ECU. Our intitial pricing on the ISF tune was $650, and that was the first commercially available tune in Lexus/Toyota history! If you venture over to the ISF section, you will find tons of positive reviews and dyno results.

Rafi

ISFPOWER

iTrader: (20)

i was the one of the purchasers of the initial tunes for the ISF. 650 was the price of the tune but it was more like 800 dollars with shipping. i chose the fedex shipping at the time ( more expensive but safer for my location) and it was still sent USPS back though you guys even though i wanted the fedex option. another thing i didn't complain about but money lost ( i could of just chose USPS option on your site to save money if i knew it would be sent that way).

you guys have already posted in one thread that the RC-F is different than the IS-F in terms of tuning and more testing and development for a tune is coming after you get done with the supercharger stuff for the ISF. What does that mean for the people who paid 400 for this initial tune for the RC-F? is there a credit for the next and better tune available ?

16GSF00336

iTrader: (2)

Straight from "RR Racing Web Site:"

Updates
If we make any version updates to this tune, we will make any such version updates available to our customer free of charge.

New Upgrades and Tune Releases
We are continually developing new upgrades to the GS-F, including a new tuned intake box which will require complete custom ECU map in order to realize the full benefits of these modifications. New ECU tune upgrade/releases will be offered at a discount to customers who bought this tune.

mr2dave

^^^^ fully agree.

RRRacing

iTrader: (1)

FYI, There will not be a tuned intake available for the RCF. We completed testing early this week, and there is no point to making it.

All other upgrades to the standard tune are free of charge. For example, lets say we discover that we can get better results by making some changes, we will offer that for free. We have worked with NUMEROUS IS-F customers across the country to customize their tunes for their specific needs, such as altitude, unique circumstances of their car/gas quality, for FREE.

As far as shipping your USPS vs. FedEx, we do that when we think we can get you your package *faster* by doing so. If we get your ECU and flash it, and miss the FedEx deadline, then we literally take it to the USPS central facility right before they close, rather than waiting for the next day to ship the package FedEx. There is a cost in time, money and effort for us doing that, so its not just a straight shipping charge. We have NEVER had an ECU lost or stolen, not once.

Rafi

ISFPOWER

iTrader: (20)

thanks for the reply Rafi. But having an option of what we want to use as shipping and you guys using what you want thinking its a better solution, than the difference in cost should be refunded. also, reason i choose fedex for shipment to the business is because USPS is known to lose and give the packages to the wrong businesses around here. Last thing i want is something like the ECU not going to where its intended. you have to look at it in that perspective as the buyer as well. not just receiving it the fastest. If i needed it that bad, i would pay for next day air with signature .

cosmo1

Since my mods are finally finished I will be sending my ecu off next week. When it comes back I will be doing a full review and hopefully a dyno.

tiltmode43

I agree that forum members should be appreciative, but there's nothing wrong with one voicing their opinion on this sort of thing. After spending a decade+ on car forums I'd say the majority of readers (though not all) can see through silliness. There may be a few who take criticisms about upselling from a niche shop seriously while others just see it as normal, and may even find it amusing that someone feels the need to complain about it publicly.

In either case, the only way niche cars will get parts specially developed is if vendors with *passion* dedicate their time/effort to it. Niche cars are the antithesis of a large market/spread of potential customers. So long as vendors for cars like this show dedication to platforms that other companies don't care as much about, I'm fine with vendors telling me what services/products they offer, as well as reading comments for/against this sort of thing

I agree - if a vendor goofs and does not reasonably attempt to correct the issue, this is definitely a problem. It's sad that some vendors lack the ability to own up to their mistakes and sometimes it takes public posting to get the ball rolling. On the flipside, some forum members can act entitled and abuse this concept if things aren't done exactly as they request (despite what is reasonable or not), but I digress.

I think the price tag comes on both ends. An ideal situation is a dedicated vendor that develops good products and makes money from doing so. Due to lower volume, consumers may pay a higher price tag. Due to a smaller pool of competition, vendors will be put under a magnifying glass by the community. The important thing is to support product development and appreciate those who are making the first steps.

All that said, as far as ISFPOWER's shipping situation I do agree that if a method other than paid for were used, the difference in cost should have been provided to the customer. Or perhaps, the item should have been held until the following day and shipped via the paid method, unless there was some large deadline or big guarantee it would be shipped out a certain day. Either way something like this wouldn't stop me from purchasing from RRRacing in the slightest. In either case, this is all a tangent from OP's review.

Thanks to JB5674 for the review & thanks to RRRacing for developing this product! Looking forward to some more customer dyno's comparing before and after. $400 is very reasonable for a tune that has *any* gains, be them low, mid-range or top end. Consider the (semi)off-topic comments free thread bumps RRRacing, and keep doing what you're doing

edit: LOL! Joined CL in 2009 yet this was my first post. Guess it's obvious which F car I'm really interested in! haha