Are you planning to add the PTFE lube to avoid noise from the ball joints? I'm leaning to your solution as well but concerned on noise.

 

Anyone have experience or considered the BC DS series coil overs from Figs? I'm considering going this route, with Swift springs and it will put me around $1700. Another question is, if I go this route, and get custom valving and spring rates, would it be similar to offering around the sane price range? I don't track my F, just looking for a ride that's on the softer side, similar to KWv3, without spending the $3k+ they are now and I don't need Ohlins or Penskes, since I'll never use them for what they are spec'd for.

Another question, how many of y'all rebuild/refresh your coil-overs at a mileage or usage interval?

 

I have BC DS from FIGS on my daily IS300. I also upgraded to swift springs. I am happy with how the car rides. I have Ohlins on both my RC F and IS F and I notice the BC is less compliant when it comes to high speed bumps. But that could be because of damping adjustment, which I have not really played with much.

 

Likely yes.

I know I’m making your decision harder, but I’m seeing a lot of love on Instagram for the HKS coilover offering, which comes in around the same price. Just food for thought. The non track crew seems to love them.

 

The big difference is Figs will dyno the BC shocks and make sure they're all doing the same thing. HKS offers no equivalent, and without a dyno, your guess is as good as any if the shocks are even in the same ballpark for functionality. There are only a few trustworthy brands, and champions all know which ones they are (Bilstein, Ohlins, Penske, Moton). Also, there's no reason to believe just because a racer is running someone's sticker they're actually running the product. A long time ago, a NASCAR fan asked Richard Petty if he ran STP in his racecar. He replied, "Sure do. I've got a can of it bolted right under my seat." As I have said many times before, I had a horrible experience with Tein, and I would never run their stuff even on my dog's lawnmower.

 

I've considered the HKS but have always thought, from my reading here that the mass produced coilovers were just "OK", so I was hoping to get more out of Figs built BC DS with swift spring. Keep the feedback coming

 

In the Facebook groups the consensus is the HKS ride much better than the BC, that's why I went with them. I've seen quite a few people make the switch and be happy. The BCs seem to fit the bill for those who want low and don't care about ride quality. Once people want a decent ride and stay around $2k, they go HKS.

 

Are you referring to the BC DS with Swift from Figs or off the shelf BCs and perhaps the BC BR?
I think, and again looking for real world experience here and not just what people have read online. For comparison, I bought King shocks off the shelf for my Tacoma, and they rode "OK", but after i sent them out to get custom valved for my truck's weight and usage, it was night and day better. Same shocks with a re-valve, same spring rate can make a world of a difference, so just trying to get clarity from our BC experience. I'm fine with paying $2k or more to ride low and get ride quality (no track) if i can get custom valved, and perhaps dyno'd shocks than to go with HKS because its "JDM".

 

I don't have the details you're looking for, I'd recommend finding owners the Facebook pages for owner experience like I did. Why not just ask Mike since he sells them all?

 

Went with the Bilsteins on my 09 and have not regretted. For a daily driver with about 10in so far, I am ever so happy.

 

On the FB owners page, most are referring to the BC BRs (with or without the Swift springs option) because that was all that was available at the time. There are several different BC coilover teirs available for the IS-F but most who had them were the BRs and unfortunately, in a small user basis as the F, most people ran their opinion about BC coilovers in general and just parroted what everyone says about them. Better off talking with the guys at FIGS to get the best general answer and user experience and they are pretty good about it.

 

I'm on BC BR + Swift 14/12 on my IS350 at 100k~ miles with no issues
My IS F is on BC DS + Swift 18/14 and rides smoother (dampening) at near stiffest setting than my IS350. 15clicks (about half) softness was super cush and comfortable but I prefer it to be stiffer.
Both cars are set about 2 finger gap all around.

Very happy with both, mostly just street and spirited corners with occasional canyons

 

Awesome to hear, this was the exact type of feedback I was looking for from CL!!
I didn't want the noise from social media and sure I can call Figs, but wanted to get forum feedback...afterall, that's why we're here. *edit, just realize my join date was 13 years ago

Sounds like 20/16 swift springs are not too bad of a route to explore?

 

I actually was speaking with Figs for a bit, the 16 springs were backordered a few weeks when I was ordering and I figured I would try the 18/14 set up. I was originally going with 16/12 on BC BR but upgrade to DS because of the stiffer spring. Depending if you prefer stiff or soft,,, 20/16 sounds pretty stiff o.o

 

You'd need some significant aero to make 20/16 work.