ISC N1 Coilover Review
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ISC N1 Coilover Review
Decided to do a review on these coilovers as I didn't find anyone running them on the LS cars however they are popular with the BMW and Subaru crowd. What really sold me on these was they they offer 3 valving options in addition to being 32 way adjustable. They offer StreetComfort, Street Sport, and Track options. Spring rates are 16k front and 10k rear. I went with the Street Sport as I could always turn the valving down for when I go for long road trips, yet still be stiff enough to keep body roll down and keep the wheels from hitting the shock towers and fenders as much as possible. Additionally, they have a 5 year warranty where as the BC,s and D2's only had a 1 year warranty. Off their website they were $902, they're $850 on Enjuku but they dont state what valving option they are so I decided to avoid that.
Always make sure you verify preload before installing coilovers, spec for these is 5mm, a good trick is to use the width of the spanners (they're right at 5mm).
Don't mess around with trying to get the stock shocks out without disconnecting the upper ball-joint. I didn't have the popper so I tried to avoid it with a spring compressor, 1/10, don't do that. Just used a bfh and hit the flat on the upper control arm (cast into it for this) and it popped right out and was much easier. Also youre supposed to be able to use a 6mm hex socket and a wrench on the nut of the sway bar link to be able to push it out and disconnect it, of course mine were old and stripped out as soon as i tried that so I had to use vice grips to keep it from rotating while I unbolted them, ripping the boots in the process. Just some install things to look out for which are going to be the same regardless of what coilovers you use. Anyways after taking much longer to install them due to that and a crappy air compressor I got them in. I could've just done them on a lift at work and avoided all that but decided to do it at home, decision my hands did not thank me for. Anyway's, they're in.
I was worried they wouldn't go low enough but I installed the fronts all the way down and once they settled you would definitely sit fender to lip after they settle (18's on a 40 profile so the overall diameter is an inch smaller, on 19's and a 35 profile you're going to be tucking the wheel).
Ended up raising both the front and rear about an inch just because there's too many speedbumps just to get to work, I liked my oil pan attached to my car, it ended up sitting like this, it could use some wheel spacers which ill get later on but for a daily its not bad
When I installed them I had the fronts set to 12 clicks from full soft in the front and 16 in the rear. for the first day they did ride a bit stiffer than I liked ( I still wanted that smooth highway cruiser ride) but after the first day or two they softened up considerably and Im still at the same dampening settings. It rides smooth and soft, but sportier than stock, kind of like stock but without any body roll. Its corners flat without body roll and its more fun to drive although you're not really going to be beating on an LS but it does make it a lot more fun. Im really glad I went with the Street Sport valving, its super comfortable for daily commuting and road trips right in the middle of the dampening range but if I want go softer I always have that option in my back pocket or if I want to go lower on 19's I can always turn the dampening up to save the fenders although I wouldn't have a problem at this setting either. I'm glad I went with these over the BC's, the spring rates and the valving work perfectly together to provide a comfortable ride while still going as low as you want. Plus they look good, and looking good is half the battle. Ill keep the thread updated with how they last over time but Ive already put about 800 miles on them and will be driving down to Florida here soon and I'm confident they'll do great.
Always make sure you verify preload before installing coilovers, spec for these is 5mm, a good trick is to use the width of the spanners (they're right at 5mm).
Don't mess around with trying to get the stock shocks out without disconnecting the upper ball-joint. I didn't have the popper so I tried to avoid it with a spring compressor, 1/10, don't do that. Just used a bfh and hit the flat on the upper control arm (cast into it for this) and it popped right out and was much easier. Also youre supposed to be able to use a 6mm hex socket and a wrench on the nut of the sway bar link to be able to push it out and disconnect it, of course mine were old and stripped out as soon as i tried that so I had to use vice grips to keep it from rotating while I unbolted them, ripping the boots in the process. Just some install things to look out for which are going to be the same regardless of what coilovers you use. Anyways after taking much longer to install them due to that and a crappy air compressor I got them in. I could've just done them on a lift at work and avoided all that but decided to do it at home, decision my hands did not thank me for. Anyway's, they're in.
I was worried they wouldn't go low enough but I installed the fronts all the way down and once they settled you would definitely sit fender to lip after they settle (18's on a 40 profile so the overall diameter is an inch smaller, on 19's and a 35 profile you're going to be tucking the wheel).
Ended up raising both the front and rear about an inch just because there's too many speedbumps just to get to work, I liked my oil pan attached to my car, it ended up sitting like this, it could use some wheel spacers which ill get later on but for a daily its not bad
When I installed them I had the fronts set to 12 clicks from full soft in the front and 16 in the rear. for the first day they did ride a bit stiffer than I liked ( I still wanted that smooth highway cruiser ride) but after the first day or two they softened up considerably and Im still at the same dampening settings. It rides smooth and soft, but sportier than stock, kind of like stock but without any body roll. Its corners flat without body roll and its more fun to drive although you're not really going to be beating on an LS but it does make it a lot more fun. Im really glad I went with the Street Sport valving, its super comfortable for daily commuting and road trips right in the middle of the dampening range but if I want go softer I always have that option in my back pocket or if I want to go lower on 19's I can always turn the dampening up to save the fenders although I wouldn't have a problem at this setting either. I'm glad I went with these over the BC's, the spring rates and the valving work perfectly together to provide a comfortable ride while still going as low as you want. Plus they look good, and looking good is half the battle. Ill keep the thread updated with how they last over time but Ive already put about 800 miles on them and will be driving down to Florida here soon and I'm confident they'll do great.
Last edited by Pelayee; 11-18-18 at 08:47 PM.
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Interesting read. Im right now on a lookout for coilovers for my ls400. I see people suggesting bc racing, but I am worried about spring rates being only 12/8kg. Im going to be running 18 225/45 front and 245/40 rear. I was looking into godspeedmax 20/18kg, 32way adjustable but I didn’t find any reviews about them. They also offer godspeedss which I believe are 14/10kg 16way adjustable only. Issue is I live in middle east and with shipping costs bc racing are the cheapest ones as I can ship them from Europe (close to 10x cheaper shipment price) but theres no godspeed, megan, or the ones you just reviewed on uk ebay. So im still stuck in between and my wheel gap is killing me!!!
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spuds (11-20-18)
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Thank you,informative post.Added to my Lexus bookmarks.
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Interesting read. Im right now on a lookout for coilovers for my ls400. I see people suggesting bc racing, but I am worried about spring rates being only 12/8kg. Im going to be running 18 225/45 front and 245/40 rear. I was looking into godspeedmax 20/18kg, 32way adjustable but I didn’t find any reviews about them. They also offer godspeedss which I believe are 14/10kg 16way adjustable only. Issue is I live in middle east and with shipping costs bc racing are the cheapest ones as I can ship them from Europe (close to 10x cheaper shipment price) but theres no godspeed, megan, or the ones you just reviewed on uk ebay. So im still stuck in between and my wheel gap is killing me!!!
Just finished driving down to Florida for Thanksgiving, Georgia’s roads were so bad a corner light popped off after hitting an overpass expansion but the coil overs rode well for the entire 8 hours, I definitely would not hesitate to do it again.
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