Jackieee_TL

I installed some ISC coilovers on my 13' TL last Sunday and driven it for about 450 miles so far. I got them from XLR8 Performance for a great price and fast shipping. Since there isn't much review for these yet (for our 4Gs), I figure I'll try and give my review and opinion on these.

Stock with 20mm spacers all around.


Lowered around 2" I'm guessing? I had pictures of the install from my phone, but wouldn't transfer over to PB. These pictures were just taken tonight, and I'm tired, so they are crappy. Spacers were removed because fenders got rolled and new wheels test fitted.
Front view.

Rear view.


This is how much thread I have left on the fronts. At first, I lowered it about 3" up front, but it was tucking 1/4 of the tires and looked retarded since it was so cambered and tucked.


First impression:

My first impression of these coils after removing/examining them from the box was that they were solid, great construction and paint work.

The spring was semi preloaded, and had rubber stops on either end. Before the install, I preloaded the springs 5mm as recommended. Idk why Tein's don't offer this, but this was a big deal for me since I hate having the chance of spring rattle. I know most of you that own Tein SS are gonna say it's an install error or something, but a floating spring setup like that will/could have spring rattles over bumps depending on drop height.

Lowering the car with these coils also doesn't sacrifice strut/piston travel since there's a lower perch for height adjustment.

Also I liked how the ISC coils came with new top mounts, so one less thing to do while installing them.

Ride quality:

After installing these with damping set 12f/10r from soft was a little bumpy. I then went 10/8, then eventually settling at 8/6. With this setting, it's very close to how the stock SH-AWD felt.

I haven't pushed these thru hard turns yet, since the wheels grabbed my front fenders (luckily it wasn't too bad). But you can definitely notice less body roll. Also idk if it's just me, but braking seems to be much more responsive. Maybe less nosedive could be the answer?

Problems I encountered:

This is not the manufactures fault, but the top nut wasn't completely tighten. Initially when I took them out of the box, they seemed and felt tighten. The fronts were easily tighten due to spacer, but the rears had to be dropped and tighten.

Another pic from the front view (little teaser for now). Also my DD in the background which had Tein Basics before, and currently some cheap ass Racelands coils.


If I'm missing something or if you guys got questions or need more photos. Just let me know.

Mr Marco

Nice work, thanks for the pics!

TeamAcura

Dang the fronts has a lot of thread left! Nice review. How much were the coilovers if you don't mind me asking? I'm not sure why you have the front softer than then back but the front damping rate should always be stiffer than the back though. The rear should be softer for a more comfortable ride.

See some poke and stretch on those wheels. Hurry and post the pics of already!

Excelerate

iTrader: (1)

Thank you for the review. These XLR8 ISC coilovers are really a great option for the Acura crowd and we hope more people are able to discover that for themselves.

And yes that top nut always need to be tightened before install.

Jackieee_TL

Thanks TeamAcura. Yeah, there's a lot of thread left both front and rear. I'll try and get a picture of the rear later on. As for price, PM Josh over at Excelerate for some kind of deal. I have the front dampers set stiffer than the rears. Started at 12f/10r, and currently 8f/6r from softest.

I'll get some pics of new setup soon. For now, specs are 20x10 all around

Thanks again, Josh for answering my questions between these and the Tein SS. I'm so glad I went with these in the end!

Edward'TLS

Jackieee_TL, with your current damper stiffness setting, how has the handling dynamics been changed to :

heavy understeer, mild understeer, neutral, mild oversteer, or heavy oversteer ?

Jackieee_TL

With the current damper settings and stiffer springs, there's a lot less body roll. Going on those sweeping freeway on-ramps hard without giving it gas for the AWD system, there's still mild understeer in my case. My car understeers quite frequently when turning sharply, but stomp on the gas and everything sorts out fine again. I know the stock Michelin's MXM4 are horrible tires tho. Makes the cars steering feel very mushy and on quick corner exits, I also notice/feel the rear doing like a mushy slide (guessing weak sidewalls for a 2 ton car).

Excelerate

iTrader: (1)

You're welcome and thank you. Enjoy!!!

ufmike316

i had the tein SS and removed them in favor of the stock suspension due to spring rattle. wish i had read this review first.

AntSauce

iTrader: (2)

Spring rattle on Tein SS? Is this an isolated issue or is it common?