BC coilovers installed (how-to & feedback)

[COR BLMY]

Import Image Racing

$1000 introductry price

http://www.importimageonline.com

[flyboy2160]

cor,

thanks for the nice report and pictures!

would you please describe the materials used for the lower outer portions of both coilovers: the part on the rear shock through which the lower bolt passes and the part on the front shock to which the swaybar and brake hose fittings appear to be welded.

thanks,
flyboy2160

[COR BLMY]

the "outer lowers" on the front are steel ,and on the rear alum.

[COR BLMY]

If I may add some info that was asked of me...

One question was "can they be installed WITHOUT the sheet metal mods ??"


YES !
The camber could be set at your pre determined amount for example at 1 or 1.5 deg and then installed. no problem
The rears can be used without sheet metal mods ... but you would need to preset the adjustor.
To readjust the 2 top bolts could be removed on both sides and then jack up more (or let the rear come down and you could reach the knob.)
If you do it that way ...if you shoot me a note before you do the install... I would have played around more with the different settings. And perhaps able to give you a starting piont.

Another question was "Why a 2 inch hole for the rear adjuster?"

A 2 " hole is used because the top of the rear moves in an arc. From up on jacks to loaded and compressed, at the level of the top part of the frame (where the hole is cut) the extender woul move about or more than an inch.
If a 1 inch hole was cut while jacked up and the extension centered it would touch or possably be damaged just by putting the weight of the vehicle on the ground.

You will see when you remove the rear shock the it has a huge "bushing" on the top plate that mounts it, that allows for this movement.

The last was a VERY IMPORTANT tip and bit of info ...
To be sure that bottoming is not a problem, in setting up ride height. Screw the lower inner shaft all the way to the bottom (or almost) of the lower outer ... THEN adjust ride height by raising or lowering the bottom spring perch.
That way the internals of the shock are positioned to be able to work and NOT bottom out the shock.
If the "inner lower" was way up high and the spring perch low to give correct ride height, the internals would be working in the bottom of the bore and may bottom out.

Thanks for the questions and valuable input

[meb]

"The last was a VERY IMPORTANT tip and bit of info ...
To be sure that bottoming is not a problem, in setting up ride height. Screw the lower inner shaft all the way to the bottom (or almost) of the lower outer ... THEN adjust ride height by raising or lowering the bottom spring perch."


COR BMLY,

That is mostly correct. The spring perch should be set so that there is enough tension on the springs to retain them if the suspension reaches full droop - I wrote that at the bottom of page one here. Ride height should always be adjusted by turning the cylinder in or out of the lower sleeve. But, as you wrote, everyone must begin by installing the cylinder as far as possible, or nearly so, into the bottom sleeve so that suspension travel is preserved.

Read my reply again so you guys don't screw this up. The dampers will not last long if you do not follow this procedure correctly.

[MINICHEF]

GREAT WRITE UP AND PICTURES
ARE TEMPLATES PROVIDED FOR THE REAR SHEETMETAL MODS?
HOW DID YOU DETERMINE AND OR MOUNT THE REAR ADJUSTER?
WHAT IS THE POSSIBILITY OF WATER NOW BEING ABLE TO ENTER THE CAR WITH THE REAR SHEETMETAL MODS?

[mct]

I should be getting a set in the next week or 2 as soon as they arrive in the states and will attempt the "no cutting" install option LOL.

One thought a buddy of mine was throwing around was to replace the allen bolts on the camber plates with hex bolts so that a bent wrench could adjust the front camber without any sheet metal cutting.

Think this would work?? Would it be safe? Thoughts would be appreciated.

[COR BLMY]

Originally Posted by mct

I should be getting a set in the next week or 2 as soon as they arrive in the states and will attempt the "no cutting" install option LOL.

One thought a buddy of mine was throwing around was to replace the allen bolts on the camber plates with hex bolts so that a bent wrench could adjust the front camber without any sheet metal cutting.

Think this would work?? Would it be safe? Thoughts would be appreciated.

I just think that may work ... GREAT idea
a good "crows foot" may work.

I' ll eyeball it and see

Also my son may be getting a set and before we cut we will check

[COR BLMY]

Originally Posted by MINICHEF

GREAT WRITE UP AND PICTURES
ARE TEMPLATES PROVIDED FOR THE REAR SHEETMETAL MODS?

HOW DID YOU DETERMINE AND OR MOUNT THE REAR ADJUSTER?

WHAT IS THE POSSIBILITY OF WATER NOW BEING ABLE TO ENTER THE CAR WITH THE REAR SHEETMETAL MODS?

>>> No no instructions ....
>>>I made a mark with a sharpie in a long stick that followed the line of the shock in a jacked up position (wheel hanging) and another mark following the line of the shock with the rear "wheel" jacked up , I then drilled my center hole in the middle of those 2
>>> No / VERY VERY little . Once you remove the rear shock you will see why

[brownflyer]

Awesome write up, cor blmy!!! Great detailed instructions. Nice set-up too...
Did I forget any other complementary adjectives?

I'm up in your neck of the woods, Fairfield, and would love to check out your system one of these days and compare notes.

How do you like the 8kg springs? I was running with 8kgs upfront on the Megans and although stiff, they were ok. But when I changed to a larger wheel and smaller tire (sidewall), it was really transfering the road imperfections to the car. So I decided to go with 375lb (6.7kg).

[COR BLMY]

Hey brownflyer.

I am up in to Fairfield / and even Dixon fairly often.

Be happy to show and tell .

The 8s are stiff ... no mater how you adjust.
On soft setting they feel a bit harsher than the H Sport and stock shocks that came off but not as "bouncy"

I like them as I am a "wanna be always racer".
The sterio is on when I have a co-driver
Usually windows down to hear exhaust
And I sight entry, apex and exit on all turns

For those wanting a Caddy ride this is not the way to go

The more agressive you drive the better they feel.

[brownflyer]

It's a deal. Let me know when you'll be around this area and I'll buy Lunch/Dinner or whatever. Just give me a few days advance notice, my schedule is very flexible.

['*Ace*']

I paid $699 for a set of these on EBay...

[COR BLMY]

Originally Posted by '*Ace*'

I paid $699 for a set of these on EBay...

I haven't seen the new series on ebay ...

Do they have a "cone" shape in the lower lock ring (the new ones do)


Take a photo when you get them and post if you can

[mct]

Just installed my BC Racing coilovers today and all I can say is WOW!

I will have afull right up over at www.motoringfun.com once I get a chance to feel them out for a while.

Thanks to bean, COR BLMY and Pete from BC Racing for all their help in helping me pick the right adjustments for my setup.

By the way - for those concerned about the sheet metal cutting on the strut tower - using a 5mm ball hex key (T-handle), we were able to reach the camber bolts with no problems and with no cutting. I set my camber to -2.2 degrees in the front and even had room to reach the bolts even further if needed for further negative camber.

[MINIATIC]

GREAT TO SEE MY HANDS IN THE PICTURES ABOVE...I am happy with the BC-Racing coilovers as well, MCT and I installed it this weekend and had no problems or had to do any cutting to the seheet metal. Thank you for all the feedback.

[COR BLMY]

Miniatic...
So great the the install went well AND most of all no cutting for the towers.

[MINIATIC]

Originally Posted by COR BLMY

Miniatic...
So great the the install went well AND most of all no cutting for the towers.

THANK YOU!

[Ryephile]

I have a set of BC coilovers on my MCS. Their apparent quality is very impressive. Out of the box, their construction and assembly look top-shelf. Playing with the damping adjustment knob clearly demonstrates a wide range of damping capability to suit a wide range of springs rates and setup preference. The pillowball front and rear mounts are very sturdy and precise feeling. I was impressed to see the upper spring perch is mounted with a ball bearing, reducing spring bind over damper excursion.

For the install, I set them up so I have 2/3rds travel as extension and 1/3rd travel as compression [including bump stop compression]. As part of the install, I fabricated a front-drop spindle, relocated front pick-up points and steering rack, and an R56 rear trailing arm [among other goodies].

I wasn't impressed with the 8kg/mm front and rear springs the BC's came with. I replaced them with a set of Swift 2.5" ID coilover springs; 7kg/mm front and 5kg/mm rear. With my corner weights of about 800 front and 460 rear, these spring rates allowed the droop vs. compression travel I was looking for.

Driving impressions, even out of the box, were very positive. You can feel the quality damping curves; very similar feeling to my roomates' Evo IX; firm but never harsh. After swapping the stock springs for the Swift springs, the level of quality and feel went up dramatically. The car has a ride quality that is without excuse; the handling balance is superb, and NVH is only marginally more than stock, despite the full spherical setup. I'm currently running my dampers at 10 from full-soft in front and 11 from full-soft in rear. This gives the car a firm enough rear damper curve to give awesome transient response without it feeling unbalanced or having a rear-biased harshness.

I highly recommend these coilovers provided you're willing to spring [pun, ha!] for a set of Swift springs. I got mine from Evasive Motorsport [an Evo tuner] in Cali, just down the street from Swift NA.

Coilover setup:

Front:
Spring: 7kg/mm 6" free-length Swift spring with zero preload
Damper position: 10 clicks from full-soft
Length: 1/4" from full short, with 3/8" spindle drop
Ride height: 12.0" [stock was 14.0"]

Rear:
Spring: 5kg/mm 7" free-length Swift spring with zero preload
Damper position: 11 clicks from full-soft
Length: Full short, with ABS and brake line bracket moved to the top of the lower shock mount to allow for full-short length.
Ride Height: 11.6" [stock was 13.5"]

Here's a side profile shot: Tires are 205/40-16 [22.5" diameter], hence having wheel gap


If you're interested, my whole suspension thread is HERE.

Cheers,
Ryan

[Longboard Mini]

Nice write up Ryan. How much did the springs cost?

Longboard

[ChrisMCS04]

Here, I did the work for you...such a nice stance, beautiful car

Originally Posted by Ryephile

Here's a side profile shot: Tires are 205/40-16 [22.5" diameter], hence having wheel gap


If you're interested, my whole suspension thread is HERE.

Cheers,
Ryan

[Darkness]

Ah, I remember that now. Last night was a long night of looking at coilovers and lowered minis again since I quit looking because I thought I was done with the suspension. Looks like these will be able to go low enough! As soon as I decide a spring rate I'm probably going to order.

This week I'll be putting stock springs back on the rear with the konis, but I'm going to leave the Hsport and Konis on the front for a while. Don't feel like taking those apart until I know what I'm going to do. Should be a interesting ride.

[gnatster]

A pdf with the Swift Spring specs incl MSRP can be found by clicking this.

[Ryephile]

Here's where I bought them: $357 shipped! They were very nice guys to deal with, and they shipped reasonably prompt for being a custom order. The only caviet is that since they're custom ordered there are no returns; this means calculate twice and order once, lol.

[gnatster]

TSW also sells Swift, no idea on pricing.