BC Racing coilovers - review

[J-B]

90% of my driving is just me so i dont think id have a problem with them being a hard ride, and aslong as you can buy different springs if needed they sound pretty good to me.

Even with the cost of another set of springs they would be cheaper than the Tein coilovers i was looking at

 

[bradc]

What is your camber like now? I'd guess about 1 degree at the front and 2.5 at the rear? I would lower the front a little bit more and keep the rear where it is or move it up slightly just to even out the camber and wear characteristics. Not sure how it will affect handling though.

 

[eddyvr4]

I need to get that rechecked, thanks for reminding. id agree on the fronts, im fairly confident rear camber would be under 2 degrees still, it has your camber mod and was about 1.6 degrees, its probably 5 -7 mm lower at the back now.. Although another problem with droping the rear is the toe increases as well which doesnt help the turn in, so that may need dialling out a smidge too now as well.

front would look better a touch lower, but ive scraped the front bar in carparks/driveways etc a few times & i dont want to risk ripping it off...

 

[unclepaulie]

hey guys, as i have been interested in these coilovers, i hav found that Wholesale Suspension in NSW sell these. now u may be thinking so what, but they can change the spring rates for you! but there is a catch, ebay guy sells them for $1195.00 but he buys them in bulk and cant change the spring rates, Josh at Wholesale Suspensions, said they can do them for $1550 with any spring rate (10 and 6 IMHO) BUT there is a 2-3month wait, unless u lay down 250 bucks


so this is good/bad news (good=softer spring rates, bad = high cost, wait time)


hope this info helps

any one know how much for some tein springs in 10 and 6 kgs to go on the bc coilover????

 

[J-B]

The guy on Ebay will be selling the coilovers with 10kg front and 6kg rear once he clears his old stock according to Eddy.

BUT - the factory does supply 10kg fronts as stock now, so once 'peformance guru' clears his stock, youll get 10/6kg out of the box. But he said they are slow movers.. (so i didnt bother to wait and went with the 12/6kg).

I really want to know how much a set of 8kg front and 4kg rear springs will cost for these. Just in case the 12kg/6kg are to hard.

 

[unclepaulie]

The guy on Ebay will be selling the coilovers with 10kg front and 6kg rear once he clears his old stock according to Eddy.

well thats good news, ill wait it out for a while

 

[eddyvr4]

Just be careful how much you want to vary the spring rates. I believe if you change it too much the damper will need to be revalved. (this applies to any coilover) From my experience the useful range of adjustment is already down the softer end of the dial, so a softer spring would exacerbate that issue. Not saying you cant do it, but check with the BC factory how much you can alter the spring without having to alter the valving on the supplied damper.

again the model is BR series B-01-RS

you can email them on bc@bcec.com.tw

then post the result here...!

 

[Kenneth]

You are really only referring to dampers with a set or limited damper adjustment range. The BCs don't fall under this category.

I think you will find that increasing the spring rate allows you to also increase the damper setting without it causing so much discomfort.

The whole point in BC (and all the other generic cheap brands) is that there is no specific damper / spring rates for cars, you can just choose what you want. It is then up to you to work out the happy medium of damper/spring rate to get a comfortable ride.

The damper works against the spring, stopping its natural inclination to oscillate. If the damper setting is too hard, instead of working against the spring, it starts transmitting shock into the chassis as the spring becomes redundant. If you have jarring, this is your problem.

Too much spring and not enough damper will feel bouncy as the damper is just not strong enough to curb the spring oscillations.

As you have found out, for the spring rates you selected, the happy medium is low on the damper settings (being generic dampers). Therefore, you can get much harder springs and the dampers would need to be turned up in kind.

Don't forget, if you increase the spring rate substantially, the movement on the vertical plane decreases substantially also. As such, the damper must be sensitive to a much smaller range of motion. This is done by increasing the damper strength (making them harder).
Because the damper range is decreased, this does not cause undue amounts of shock to be transmitted to the chassis, and therefore you don't suffer the jarring. The ride would be very hard though.

Just be careful how much you want to vary the spring rates. I believe if you change it too much the damper will need to be revalved. (this applies to any coilover) From my experience the useful range of adjustment is already down the softer end of the dial, so a softer spring would exacerbate that issue. Not saying you cant do it, but check with the BC factory how much you can alter the spring without having to alter the valving on the supplied damper.

again the model is BR series B-01-RS

you can email them on bc@bcec.com.tw

then post the result here...!

 

[eddyvr4]

even with the damping adjustment, Im not sure you can just pick any spring you want. (ive seen +/- 4kg mentioned as a rule of thumb before) Yes the dampers are generic in their design, but they are then valved for the application (spring rate)

I think my dampers would take a heavier spring no problem, given the useful range of adjustment seems at the softer end of the scale. But on my dampers, if you put an 8kg spring, it might work, but you may find anything beyond the softest few clicks too hard, so you limit your range of adjustment.

Whilst there is still enough adjustment in my dampers to go from underdamped to overdamped with my 12kg fronts, so you wouldnt say my dampers are 'mismatched' BUT it seems they are 'optimised' for an even heavier spring, because (at a guess) you would probably need a 14 - 16kg spring to be floating around the middle of the damping adjustment range. If that is true, then putting in 8kg springs could be right on the edge of alright

Most people are considering going for lighter springs, not heavier, hence my caution. Maybe the recently factory revised units with the 10kg F springs have altered valving to bring the range of damping softer, so more of the 30 clicks of adjustment are usable, and an 8kg front would be fine.

you may find some sellers would also revalve them accordingly, but at extra cost...

Just my thoughts though, i am not a suspension expert by any means...

 

[unclepaulie]

sorry drag up a thread, but im goin to get these coilovers from a bloke on Boostcruising, $1575 delivered, 10kg front, 6kg rear

but i have to options:

1)http://www.bcec.com.tw/products/productsVS.html

2)http://www.bcec.com.tw/products/productsVH.html

what people opinions on which would be best for street use, given i can choose either for the listed price

 

[Bad-Karma]

How are you finding the BC's Eddy after driving round on there for a while ?

I'm looking at getting a set from the same place, but am just a little unsure about the spring rates. I used to run Tein HAs in my old STi and they were 'firm' but tolerable on a day to day basis.

 

[eddyvr4]

I Havent done many more kays, so nothing to really report beyond what ive already said. ... . Im getting the haltech tuned on wed so kind of waiting for that before taking it out again for a decent run.

At the moment im loving the new-and-improved handling, and accepting of the tradeoff in ride, but i need to accumulate more kilometres before i can add more comment or see how/if my views change.

Now i think about it, next time the wife goes out (tonite i think) ill send her off in the legnum and see what comment she makes on the ride, if any.


I cant comment on the other BC models, (didnt realise there was that many options actually) i can see one uses pillowball mounts which would be noisier/harsher, but apparently perform better. I specifically wanted the rubber mounts for better noise and vibration suppression..

 

[unclepaulie]

true! well ill go the rubber ones then, i aint drivin a track pig

 

[eddyvr4]

Quick update : Taken the car in to the city couple of times, didnt bother to turn the damping down, and im suprised the ride really didnt bug me. Im still waiting for it to sh!t me and it just wont oblige. Maybe give it more time... I took back some nolathane suspension bushes (ALK kit) on my Turbo liberty because they were too harsh for me... yet these seem somehow acceptable.... it just dont add up.

Feels like it needs an alignment though. I think the stiffer the car is the more tramlining etc you are going to get etc over poor surfaces.

havent loaned the car to my wife yet to see what she thinks.

Also with the car finally feeling more agile now i have dropped the tyre pressures from up around 38/37 down to 35psi, so ive probably recovered a smidge of ride quality there (and maybe more grip too (lower pressure = bigger footprint)

id drop pressure further at the front, but on 18's the alloy is already so close to the road i dont want too..

 

[unclepaulie]

im ordering some soon, but with 10kg fronts and 6kg rears,so that should be more compliant.


[ PM for more details if your keen too]

 

[Bad-Karma]

I ended up ordering a set of Tein Wagon Basics.

 

[SiliconAngel]

i have dropped the tyre pressures from up around 38/37 down to 35psi, so ive probably recovered a smidge of ride quality there (and maybe more grip too (lower pressure = bigger footprint)

Only if the tyre was overinflated previously - if its within the correct pressure range already you'll end up with worse handling and grip by lowering pressure. This changes substantially if you're taking your vehicle offroad, but holds true on a tarmac surface.

 

[Guest]

With the BC-BRs, when you lower the height does it affect the shock and spring travel?

Or does it have a seperate thread so as not to affect shock travel?

If it doesnt affect shock and spring travel i'll be the next person to try the coilovers

 

[Guest]

No the adjustment is separate

With the BC-BRs, when you lower the height does it affect the shock and spring travel?

Or does it have a seperate thread so as not to affect shock travel?

If it doesnt affect shock and spring travel i'll be the next person to try the coilovers

 

[steveP]

most coilovers are base height adjustable.