My IS250 F-Sport

[J Henderson]

Thanks! The car feels really good. Better than it was and not at all uncomfortable.

The ride is actually way better now as I think the old shocks had softened up with age, making things quite bouncy and uneven.

Costs were as follows;

GSF bushes - £72

Bilstein B6s - £516

H&R Springs - £142

The springs were bought in 2016 for that price. Probably £200+ for a set now.

[JDM-Fiend]

27 minutes ago, J Henderson said:

Thanks! The car feels really good. Better than it was and not at all uncomfortable.

The ride is actually way better now as I think the old shocks had softened up with age, making things quite bouncy and uneven.

Costs were as follows;

GSF bushes - £72

Bilstein B6s - £516

H&R Springs - £142

The springs were bought in 2016 for that price. Probably £200+ for a set now.

That's good to know, I'm unsure but I feel as though my car feels a bit unsettled currently. More so on long motorways drives. I'm going to get the bushings and suspension checked when I get the car serviced and MOTed next month.

 

I'm also considering the same ISF/GSF LCA bushes.

 

I think if I changed the shocks, I'd likely order the stock ones again from Amayama as they work out about £70 per corner, which isn't too bad.

[BkS]

On 5/15/2024 at 8:48 PM, J Henderson said:

Damn, well it only took seven freaking years, but those H&R springs that were the subject of this quote from Post #1, are finally, finally on the car!

The estimate of lowering by just 10mm was a bit pessimistic, with the ride height now being approx 15-20mm lower than it was.

The springs have also been paired up with a new set of dampers - Bilstein B6s.

The journey to obtaining a set of these was actually quite drawn-out and frustrating. I originally ordered a set in 2022, but due to stock shortages and supply chain issues on Bilstein's end, I got fed-up waiting and received a refund.

I then flirted with the idea of getting a set of coilovers instead from BC Racing, but couldn't help notice that they seem to have spiked in price quite dramatically during the past couple of years. What used to be a tempting £650-700 option, was now something like £900+.

This, coupled with the fact that I had never owned a car with coilovers before, put me off, so I stuck with the idea of sourcing some dampers...eventually.

Fast-forward to a few months ago and I noticed that the Bilsteins were now readily available again, so I grabbed a set whilst I could.

As well as the shocks and springs, I also bought a pair of RCF lower control arm bushes.

This is a popular upgrade, and at less than £80 it would've been rude not to follow the herd.

It turned out to be a worthwhile spend, as the OEM bushings had started to split. Albeit, only slightly. I dare say they would've maybe gotten through another MOT.

The new shock/spring combo seems great so far. The ride quality has actually improved as the old shocks had definitely seen better days. They weren't leaking or anything, but the ride had become a bit bouncy and uneven of late.

Now, the car feels extremely planted and composed again. Turn-in and steering feel is better too. Probably due to the new LCA bushes, although it's difficult to quantity their effect since everything was replaced at the same time.

Overall, I'm very happy with how things turned out. The drop from the springs is just about perfect and after about a week or so, I am yet to experience any issues such as rubbing. The car feels very nice to drive as is, but I'll get an alignment booked to make sure nothing is untoward. To finish up, here's a picture that was taken today. 🙂

The new wheels look fantastic! The new suspension setup also sits the car nicely too. Hopefully I'll bump into you one day, and we can talk all things Lexus 😄