How to Install Coilovers on a Lexus RC F (2015-2024)

Installing coilovers on a Lexus RC F is the single biggest handling upgrade you can make to Lexus's 467–472 hp, 5.0L V8 coupe. At roughly 3,958 lb, the RC F is heavy for its class, and the factory suspension is tuned for grand-touring comfort — which means noticeable body roll and a tall, comfort-biased ride height. A quality coilover kit lets you drop the car 0.4–1.6 inches, dial in damping, and set corner ride heights to sharpen turn-in without wrecking daily drivability. In this guide our Tampa, FL shop walks through the two coilover kits we stock for the 2015–2024 RC F, the full install sequence, torque and alignment targets, and what the job realistically costs.

Why Install Coilovers on a Lexus RC F?

Coilovers replace the RC F's separate factory spring and damper with a single height- and damping-adjustable unit, letting you lower the car and firm up the chassis to fight body roll. The RC F needs it more than most: with a naturally aspirated 5.0L 2UR-GSE V8 making 467 hp and 389 lb-ft (2015–2019) or 472 hp and 395 lb-ft after the 2020 facelift, it has the power of a sports car but carries roughly 3,958 lb — enough that reviewers have long flagged the stock car as fast but heavy and soft.

The RC F uses a forged-aluminum double-wishbone front and multi-link rear suspension, so a coilover swap is a straightforward mechanical job on both axles. Lowering the car 0.4–1.2 inches drops the center of gravity, tightens the stance over the wheels, and — paired with stiffer 455 lb/in front and 800 lb/in rear springs on the KW kit — reduces the dive, squat, and roll that blunt the stock car's responses.

Do 2017–2024 RC Fs Need an AVS Cancellation Kit?

No. The 2015–2016 RC F runs conventional passive dampers, while 2017–2024 cars added Adaptive Variable Suspension (AVS), a 30-level electronic damper system, as standard. Both coilover kits below are conventional (non-electronic) units that fully replace the factory damper. On AVS cars, the shop simply removes the adaptive damper and ties off its electrical connector — the RC F throws no error codes and needs no cancellation module, unlike most German adaptive-suspension cars. That makes the RC F unusually friendly to a coilover swap across every model year.

The Two RC F Coilovers We Recommend

We stock two coilover kits proven on the RC F chassis: the KW Variant 3 Inox-Line for buyers who want the best of everything, and the Tein Mono Sport for a track-capable monotube at a friendlier price. Here is how each is built.

The KW V3 is a two-way adjustable coilover: rebound damping is set independently across 16 clicks, and compression across 12 clicks, so you can control body roll and dive separately from how the wheel recovers over bumps. The “Inox-Line” stainless-steel strut body is rust-free for the life of the car, and KW backs it with a limited lifetime warranty (up to 5 years on the V3 inox when installed by a KW dealer). For the RC F it offers a continuously adjustable drop of 0.4–1.2 in front and 0–1.2 in rear.

The Tein Mono Sport is a monotube coilover, meaning the oil and gas chambers are separated to resist aeration and fade under repeated hard use — the reason it is Tein's flagship street-and-track damper. Damping is adjustable across 16 levels from a single knob (compression and rebound move together), and the full-length body sets ride height independently of spring preload. Tein rates the RC F fitment for a recommended 0.8–1.6 in (20–40 mm) drop on 12.0/11.0 kgf/mm (roughly 672/616 lb/in) springs, and the damper is rebuildable when it eventually wears. One install note: the kit requires machining the factory rear spring insulator to seat correctly.

KW V3 vs Tein Mono Sport: Which RC F Coilover Wins?

Choose the KW V3 if you value independent rebound/compression tuning and a lifetime-warranted stainless body; choose the Tein Mono Sport if you want a track-ready monotube and rebuildability for roughly half the outlay. Here is the head-to-head.

Tools and Parts You Need Before You Start

A coilover install on the RC F is a two-axle job that ends at an alignment rack. Before you lift the car, gather the following so you are not stopping mid-install.

• Two-post lift or a floor jack with four rated jack stands
• Spring compressor (only if reusing the factory top mounts)
• Metric socket and wrench set, breaker bar, and a calibrated torque wrench
• Penetrating oil for the lower strut and control-arm bolts
• A tape measure or ride-height gauge to set fender-to-hub heights
• Alignment rack access afterward (and corner-balance scales if you have them)
• Your coilover kit — KW V3 or Tein Mono Sport — plus the factory service manual for your model year's torque values

How to Install Coilovers on a Lexus RC F: Step by Step

The RC F's double-wishbone front and multi-link rear both come apart cleanly. The front strut is a single assembly, but at the rear the shock and coil spring are separate components that must be removed one at a time. Work one corner at a time and always use factory-service-manual torque values — the figures below are ballpark examples, not FSM-exact specs.

1. Lift and support the car safely. Put both axles on a lift or jack stands, remove the wheels, and let the suspension hang at full droop. Never work under a car held only by a jack.
2. Free the front strut. Disconnect the sway-bar end link and unclip the brake line/ABS bracket from the strut, then remove the large lower strut-to-knuckle bolts (~80–110 lb-ft on reassembly).
3. Drop the front assembly. Support the knuckle, remove the three upper strut-mount (top-hat) nuts in the strut tower (~35–50 lb-ft), and lower the factory strut out. Because the front is double-wishbone, camber is set at the OEM adjustment — no camber plate is used.
4. Remove the rear shock, then the spring. Unbolt the rear damper's lower and upper mounts and remove it; then unload the lower control arm and take out the coil spring separately. On the Tein kit, machine the factory rear spring insulator now.
5. Pre-set the coilovers off the car. Assemble each unit to a target ride height, transfer top hats where required, and snug the perch/gland nuts so all four corners start close to equal.
6. Install and set corner heights. Bolt the coilovers in, reconnect end links, brake brackets, and sensors. On 2017+ AVS cars, unplug the OEM adaptive damper lead and secure the connector — no cancellation kit needed.
7. Torque to spec and align. Torque every fastener to FSM values (lug nuts 76 lb-ft, end links ~50–75 lb-ft), set the car on the ground, roll it to settle, then take it to a rack for a mandatory four-wheel alignment.

Budget roughly 2–3 hours for the remove-and-replace and 6–8 hours total once ride-height dial-in and the alignment are included — the height trial-and-error is what eats the clock. At a typical $90–100/hr shop rate, install labor alone runs about $300–400, with another ~$200 for alignment and corner-balancing.

Ride Height, Damping, and Alignment Settings

A lowered RC F must be re-aligned, and dialing damping is the last 10% that makes coilovers feel right. Start soft and firm up: on the KW V3, begin near the middle of the 16-click rebound range and adjust compression separately if the car feels harsh over sharp bumps. The alignment targets below are typical performance-street values a shop dials in after lowering — they are not factory specs, so confirm final numbers on the rack.

• Front camber: -1.5° to -2.0° (many RC F owners settle near -1.8° for even street-tire wear)
• Rear camber: -1.5° to -2.2°
• Front toe: zero to a touch of toe-in for crisp turn-in
• Rear toe: slight toe-in (about 0 to +1/16 in total) for stability

Two rules keep a lowered RC F trouble-free: do not exceed the recommended drop — going too low invites bump steer, tire rub, and lost suspension travel — and re-check torque and alignment after the springs settle over the first 100–300 miles.

Complete the Build: Exhaust, Intake, and Brakes

Once the stance and handling are sorted, most RC F owners want the 2UR-GSE V8 to breathe and sound the part, plus brakes that match the newfound cornering speed. These are the RC F upgrades we pair most often with a coilover install.

The Borla S-Type is a true-dual 2.5 in T-304 stainless axle-back with classic S-Type volume and quad 4 in bright-chrome tips — a bolt-on wake-up for the naturally aspirated V8 that keeps drone in check. Want more of the titanium exotic note? The Invidia Q300 cat-back below runs rolled titanium tips.

AEM's dyno-tuned intake swaps the restrictive factory airbox for a mandrel-bent aluminum tube, a washable Dryflow synthetic filter, and a heat shield with a carbon-fiber lid — a $525 breathing upgrade that wakes up throttle response on the 5.0L. (Note: this intake cannot ship to California under CARB rules.)

Firmer, better-behaved suspension exposes soft factory brake pads. Project Mu's HC+ front pads add high-temperature bite for spirited street and track days on the RC F's big Brembo front calipers, so the car stops as hard as it now turns.