BC coilovers

[S.Milone]

Anyone buy these yet?

 

[Tailwalker]

Ordered yesterday; on the way. Install should be the weekend after Easter hopefully.

 

[brfatal]

I'd opt for better. Budget coilovers never tend to offer good results. In terms of abuse, with Subarus at least, they don't tend to last an entire season of autocross on a regular basis without blowing. There is an inherent design flaw in them in that the springs and internal valving are very poorly matched. They have too much spring for how they are valved and the internals are pretty dinky. This leads to a bounce in them that can never be fully adjusted out, lesser handling than a coilover should offer, and a shorter damper lifespan. Nor do the dampers offer as much travel and drop that you would want for a good ride (not enough travel = hitting the bump stops on more impacts than you should = uncomfortable ride) Of all the brands I've ever heard of for sedans, Bilstein is the one one that consistently has the reputation for putting out a quality product worth spending that kind of money on.

 

[S.Milone]

Yeah, while I am aware of all of that, we really have two options for our cars. Megan and BC now.

That being said I have seen people daily on Megan's and drift on them for years and they have held up. I haven't seen or been in any in the genesis sedan yet.

 

[Tailwalker]

I have had some experience with BC, but I do not autocross. My needs were for an adjustable suspension for daily driving, so I purchased a set of the BC's for my 06 GS300 AWD. I had them on for 100k miles with no issues whatsoever, other than the usual settling. They work as good as new, though the powdercoating has come off a few coils of the springs.

This may not be the same experience for those who push them to the limit on a regular basis. I viewed these as more of a styling mod than a performance one, which may be why I had no issues as I had no expectations. I can certainly understand the bad wrap if failure has occurred for those who have tracked the vehicle. I had no problem buying another set for my purposes however. Price point is great, and quality/reputation from the vendors that I have spoken with is better than Megan...for the record they do carry both lines.

These most certainly are an entry level coilover, but they do server their purpose.

 

[brfatal]

Ironically BC makes Megan's (and several other comparable brands') coilovers.

 

[xiaphin]

Yeah, while I am aware of all of that, we really have two options for our cars. Megan and BC now.

That being said I have seen people daily on Megan's and drift on them for years and they have held up. I haven't seen or been in any in the genesis sedan yet.

There is also the Garcia Factory I-One coilovers and SMA if they are still around.

I thought a bout running these before going to air ride. Best review I have found of them is on an NSX forum. Let me know what you think of them.

http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php/159029-BC-Racing-Coilovers-Comprehensive-Review

 

[Tailwalker]

Thanks for the link. Very good read

 

[NJTom]

If anyone in this thread has a 2012 or 2013, switched out your old suspension and want to sell it to me, please send me a pm. I will be interested in buying. Thanks.

 

[xiaphin]

Thanks for the link. Very good read

No problem man. If you don't mind can you take some pictures of the coils before and after installation. I'm interested to see what differences they have when compared to the Megan Coils. I still haven't gone to air ride yet and am thinking about getting coils for a while.

Curious what you paid and where you got them from.

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[Tailwalker]

Sure thing. I plan on posting a fairly in depth installation thread if I can make sure I document everything correctly. I will have pics and all that hopefully.

As to where I purchased and for how much - I am waiting on the vendor to give me the ok as to sharing his information. It is a very reputable company here on the east coast that deals mainly in JDM products.

They are currently beginning the process of sourcing KDM materials for my small build, then will consider offering this service to the community as long as the sourcing and shipping are cost effective for everyone. I will share what I can as I know more.

 

[jtreadway]

I found a good thread on a BMW owners forum that discussed the BCR BR series coilovers, they get pretty good reviews from folks that have actually installed them. The thread is here:

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?1270540-BC-Racing-Coilover-Review

One of the forum members posted this:

BC is NOT the same as D2/Ksport/EAC/ etc.

The Megan coilovers are made in the same factory but they are DIFFERENT coilovers. The BCR BR series is basically a step above the megans. Compared to Megans, BCR coilovers have bigger internals, beefier shock bodies, locking lower rings (so the height adjustment rings don't work loose), and a better damping curve. They end up being a lot more compliant over rough surfaces. And they tend to last longer.
Overall the BCR coilovers are just a nicer piece of equipment.

Bigger internals means more surface area for the shim stacks and valves, which leads to a smoother ride and better tuning of damping. The larger shock bodies means more room for the internals and a stiffer cartridge, which means it will hold up to much more abuse. The BCR coilovers also come with a coarser thread, so you can adjust ride height easier and quickly. Another big thing is that the rear coilovers come with hardened rubber inserts instaed of pillowball bearing in the rear, this cuts down on NVH and makes it nicer for daily driving.

I have run Teins on a few cars I have owned and they are just too harsh for everyday use IMO. The damping they use is very stiff compared to others.
D2 from what I have seen, does not have consistent damping from damper to damper and the build quality is not on par with the rest of the companies.
I have personally run BCR's on 3 of my vehicles and the CMS STi runs a BCR ER series.

I spoke with Scott at BC Racing, the BR series M-08 is $1089.00 including the remote adjustment extenders for the rear. He says the M-08 will drop the ride height by 1". Custom spring rates are also an option. My goal is to soften the harshness of my R-Spec on bumpy roads without introducing the wallowing problem that others have complained of on non R-Spec models. I will do a little more research and see if I can figure out what the optimal spring rates might be for a 5.0 R-Spec.

 

[xiaphin]

Only a 1" drop?? I'm confused a coilover should be able to get much lower. You can almost get a 1" drop from springs alone.

 

[jtreadway]

Actually, I don't want any drop at all! What confuses me is why coilovers don't seem to come in "stock" lengths. I just want to be able to have choice of spring rates and some adjustability for compression and rebound damping. The Genesis comes with coilover style shocks on the front, and separate springs/dampers on the rear. But they are not adjustable, and the springs are not progressive. It is starting to really bug me that there are so few options available for Genesis sedans.

 

[brfatal]

I found a good thread on a BMW owners forum that discussed the BCR BR series coilovers, they get pretty good reviews from folks that have actually installed them. The thread is here:

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?1270540-BC-Racing-Coilover-Review

One of the forum members posted this:

BC is NOT the same as D2/Ksport/EAC/ etc.

The Megan coilovers are made in the same factory but they are DIFFERENT coilovers. The BCR BR series is basically a step above the megans. Compared to Megans, BCR coilovers have bigger internals, beefier shock bodies, locking lower rings (so the height adjustment rings don't work loose), and a better damping curve. They end up being a lot more compliant over rough surfaces. And they tend to last longer.
Overall the BCR coilovers are just a nicer piece of equipment.

Bigger internals means more surface area for the shim stacks and valves, which leads to a smoother ride and better tuning of damping. The larger shock bodies means more room for the internals and a stiffer cartridge, which means it will hold up to much more abuse. The BCR coilovers also come with a coarser thread, so you can adjust ride height easier and quickly. Another big thing is that the rear coilovers come with hardened rubber inserts instaed of pillowball bearing in the rear, this cuts down on NVH and makes it nicer for daily driving.

I have run Teins on a few cars I have owned and they are just too harsh for everyday use IMO. The damping they use is very stiff compared to others.
D2 from what I have seen, does not have consistent damping from damper to damper and the build quality is not on par with the rest of the companies.
I have personally run BCR's on 3 of my vehicles and the CMS STi runs a BCR ER series.

I spoke with Scott at BC Racing, the BR series M-08 is $1089.00 including the remote adjustment extenders for the rear. He says the M-08 will drop the ride height by 1". Custom spring rates are also an option. My goal is to soften the harshness of my R-Spec on bumpy roads without introducing the wallowing problem that others have complained of on non R-Spec models. I will do a little more research and see if I can figure out what the optimal spring rates might be for a 5.0 R-Spec.

BC (in Taiwan) does not make K-sport or D2 (made by the same company in Korea) coilovers. BC does make other brands coilovers, including Megan, they just make them to the specs that other companies request. That being said, the post you cited talks about beefier internals in BC BRs, when the fact is that BC BRs are well known for their dinky, supbar internals that don't hold well to abuse. BC ERs are race oriented coilovers and have a few factors that will allow them to stand up better to hard driving. Teins have better internals, but the reason they are valved so aggressively is because they are geared towards Japanese roads, which are in much better shape than many roads in the US.

That being said, the reason BCs often have rave reviews is not because of their quality, ride, or performance offering. BRs are lacking in all 3 categories. It's because they are cheap and the people who know enough about suspension design know not to get them, so the users tend to be people on low budgets who don't really have a basis for setting what should be expected out of them. Most people think, for example, that coilovers are supposed to ride hard and that's completely false as quality ones can offer better ride than most stock suspensions. That, or they do know about coilovers and order custom springs and valving and are in for the good, few questions asked warranty that BC does admittedly have because they know they will fail for what they are using them for.

For your goal, this is a poor choice. I have never been in a BC equipped car (regardless of BR or RAM, never ridden on ERs) that didn't have a harsh bump to them. As I mentioned earlier, this is not something you will be able to adjust out with any of their off the shelf selections (BC's own springs or Swift springs, though Swifts are more manageable).

 

[Tailwalker]

What then, would you recommend as a viable coilover for the Genesis sedan for sub $1500?

I have seen very little available for the sedan at any price point. Keep in mind that most who own the Genny sedan will not be autocrossing their car, or if so, will most likely not be pushing it to the limits that the coupe owners would. This is just from my standpoint; I may be very off base.

I am in no way as educated as you are regarding the internals of different coilover brands. I can only comment on my experience as well as those observed on Club Lexus who purchased this brand...who's use was 'cosmetic' as opposed to 'performance'. By cosmetic, I mean to correct wheel gap and stance for those who wish it, while not greatly compromising ride comfort.
I was extremely pleased with the ride of the BC's on my GS300 AWD (lowered almost 3")- I would liken it to the stock ride of my Genesis.
I have only heard of one instance - just recently in fact - of someone having any issue whatsoever with their BC's. BC replaced immediately...and I believe it was not an internal issue.

FWIW, Club Lexus is an extremely helpful and involved forum. Members share their thoughts, experiences and whatever information they may have on a very consistent basis, and are much more involved in stance and style than portrayed by this forum. There may be some who had bad experience with the BC's, but the vast majority had them perform as expected.

I am not here to advocate purchasing BC over any other brand; I am here to share the experiences I am aware of regarding this particular product that I did happen to purchase. Were there something better available within a reasonable price point, I would have been happy to purchase that instead.

This brings us back to - what actually is available for the sedan at a reasonable price point and gives you what BC offers that is from a technical standpoint, 'better'?

 

[jtreadway]

Tailwalker, in your earlier post you indicated you had ordered the BC's and might have them installed around Easter. I am very interested in your assessment of how they ride, perform, and look. Hurry!! :>

 

[Tailwalker]

I have yet to receive the coils - there was a delay from the supplier. I got confirmation that they had arrived my 'mod shop' and are being forwarded on to me shortly. I won't have the time this coming weekend, but I hope to have them on this month, along with the ridged collars. Have to work around shop time schedule also...

 

[xiaphin]

I have yet to receive the coils - there was a delay from the supplier. I got confirmation that they had arrived my 'mod shop' and are being forwarded on to me shortly. I won't have the time this coming weekend, but I hope to have them on this month, along with the ridged collars. Have to work around shop time schedule also...

Keep us posted...

 

[FastDEW1]

Almost anything has got to ride better than the stock setup on these cars