johnchi

Hi Guys,


While I no longer own my 2IS I am still very much involved in where and how this car keeps getting upgraded.

This review is 8 months old as I was requested to hold off on this until product was launched.

Car has:
KW v3
ISF OEM BBK - Endless MX72 Pads
Cusco fr/rr sway bars and strut bars
Whole lot of bushings replaced etc.
TOMS LSD
A Few other bits and more.

If I didnt know Rafi the owner of RR-Racing and the designer of this product from previous projects he was involved in I would have just shrugged the products description off as another snake oil healing product...BUT... I knew who I am dealing with.
Full disclosure - we have collaborated on several projects over the years in the S2k, WRX/STI and BRZ/FRS scenes but Iam not involved with this or any current project with RR-Racing and this review is being written to make sure you IS folks get whats good for you and not just the ISF guys

I first heard about this Product from Rafi the owner about 9 months ago.
Sounded very good and if made properly would address a lot of the IS platforms shortcomings especially in regards to steering and braking .

Link to the product:
http://www.rr-racing.com/Lexus-Lower...isfxlca001.htm

So I got the product just about a week before I sold the car so I didnt have a chance to install it my self but I did get the new owner to install them on the car about a month after i got them.
While the new owner wasnt really into the "handling" world he called me up and said I have to come "right now" and see what this did to the car. I told him before the install he should expect a good change but didnt want to really give away too much so I could get an uninfluenced opinion from him.

Got into the car and set off on what was initially planned to be a 10 minute drive but turned into a 4 hr trip to the best driving roads within a 100 miles of us.
We went very fast, very slow, up, down and a fair bit of sideways on our lengthy mountain run.

First and last impression:
This is a must have product for anyone even remotely considering any type of even semi spirited driving and even much more so for anyone that likes to go fast, autox, track etc.
EDIT: if you dont like to drive your IS hard, install these and you will suddenly get a glimps of what can be done and who know maybe you will start modding .

Braking
While the car has very good brakes they never felt as good as how they felt after the install. Not talking about stopping distances etc but just about the feel, So much more accurate and manageable, confidence inspiring and consistent. That to me says a lot if you can take a car which really does stop well, has the right tires and pads etc and make the entire setup suddenly feel twice as good. Feel and confidence go a long way.

Steering and steering feel
the steering feel and response and how moving the steering wheel translated into what the wheels and tires did was off the charts compared to how it was before and I would image even more so on a relatively stock car. I would say turn in and response went from a 6.5 (stock to me is 4) to a 8.5 or even a 9 . The transformation is amazing.
The entire steering feel and response is so sorted and tight its almost perfect.
There is so much more grip on the front that the rear was a bit more loose so we messed with front damper settings to get it back to neutral for the owners sake

Normal driving/NVH etc
There is a subsequent effect on how the car rides day to day.
I would say its like adding a few more PSI to your tires .
There is more tautness in the chassis and you feel it through the chassis but in a good way.
There , to me is no negative side to this feeling. No pronounced vibration or any other bad effects.

And back to the present times:

Drove the car again a month ago.
No weird noises, bush and unit seem just fine. Car has had a few alignments over this time period and the bushing was inspected and found to be just as new.
Still got the same great feel as it did about 8 months ago

Buy this Magic sauce!

You can check out the review of the ISF folks in this thread.https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...rr-racing.html

RRRacing

iTrader: (1)

John.... thank you very much for that review. If anyone has any questions, we would be happy to answer them here.

-Rafi

RRRacing

iTrader: (1)

We also just released a video showing the Ultimate Steering Response System (USRS) vs. stock bushings. This video was filmed on an ISF, which is supposed to have stiffer rubber (I think) compared to IS250/IS350, so any improvement on the ISF should be even more apparent on the IS.

LexSense

iTrader: (2)

Wow those videos... definitely a great way to show a quality product!
Seriously considering them for my 3is , any CL discounts?

RRRacing

iTrader: (1)

We are offering some nice discounts for a select few 2IS owners in return for their honest feedback. Please PM us and we will see what we can do. Also reference some info about your car, indicate if you have a build thread, and indicate if you track the car.

thanks!

Rafi

jrule2

Been reading about a lot of your products on the IS-F forums and it's good to see this kind of stuff still being developed for the second gen IS.

I figure this might be an okay place to ask this question - any chance a revalved version of your Penske 7500 coilovers will be available to the ISx50 community in the future?

RRRacing

iTrader: (1)

We are definitely interested in getting 2IS owner feedback on our RR-Racing/Penske coilovers. We have parts in stock, and the revalve and spring rate change would take only a few days. If you are interested, send me a PM.

-Rafi

RRRacing

iTrader: (1)

Actually, its already available. We can do a bit of a discount if you are interested.

To be honest, I do not think any valving changes are required. The ISF is about 200lbs heavier than the IS350, most of that up front. The only thing I would do is go one step softer on rear spring rates. The shock adjustability is huge, with both compression and rebound independent adjustments.

Rafi

flowrider

iTrader: (9)

You 2IS folks might be interested in looking at this thread in the ISF section. It's pretty eye opening:

No Negative Comments - NONE!!!!!!

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...rr-racing.html

I will be ordering set myself!



Lou

RRRacing

iTrader: (1)

I see we are getting IS250/350 orders coming it. I just wanted to say thanks and I am confidant you will all be impressed with the improvement in steering feel our USRS offers.

A lot of read the reviews of the IS vs BMW 3 series, and the one gripe is always that the "Lexus lacks steering feel." Our USRS is really the ticket to achieving that telepathic steering feel that our cars should have had from the factory.

Rafi