View Full Version : BC Coilovers any good?
BC Racing RM 'MH' Coilover Suspension set MR2 AW11 (http://www.sumopower.com/product.php/3638/91/bc_racing_rm__mh__coilover_suspension_set_mr2_aw11 )
Inverted Coilovers - adjustable top mounts
Inverted monotube damper bodies
wtf is that? the coilover upside down?
BC Racing BR 'RA' Coilover Suspension set MR2 AW11 (http://www.sumopower.com/product.php/3597/91/bc_racing_br__ra__coilover_suspension_set_mr2_aw11 )
any one have any info on those? if yes will they fit mk1a?? or is it mk1b only
hey dude
myself and now quite a few mates have purchased the BC racing br series coilovers and found them an excellent compromise between stiffness but at the softest setting not neckbraking.
not sure on fitment though to the mk1 :s
Hmmmmm they look exactly like the ksport models, maybe they are the same with a different paintjob? Jim will probably be able to shed some light on this...
And about the fitment, tried emailing the seller?
Hmmmmm they look exactly like the ksport models, maybe they are the same with a different paintjob? Jim will probably be able to shed some light on this...
And about the fitment, tried emailing the seller?
ksport no goody then, haven't tried contact yet, just yesterday found the site by accident, and it striked me as i have never heard of them. looks really good, according to their site, it will fit the mk1b, so i guess it is a no go for the mk1a
wtf is that? the coilover upside down?
think they just mean the picture is upside down..:tempted:
http://www.sumopower.com/shopimages/products/normal/bc-suspension.jpg
BC Racing are not the same as KSport/D2. not to say they arent made in the same factory in Taiwan (which is where they are made), but they are a physically different damper externally. they also have steel outer cases as opposed to the aluminium ones of D2/KSport.
theres been a few threads on the various coilovers on here before. theres been some awesome threads on the US MR2OC forums. il summarise here though...
D2/KSport are the exact same product with different colour anodising. thats it. they have all their fancy height adjustment, but generally they are too short even at their highest setting and leave the car sitting low, and if you raise it up you remove all of the droop travel (this is where the wheel drops down as the car lifts up, to simplify it for anyone who doesnt know). on a road car this is poor for performance, and frankly dangerous.
the outer cases and made of cheap aluminium alloy with cheap anodising. the anodising wears away and corrodes over a year or so. the tubes themselves are too thin and made from inferior quality material, and on a damper dyno (not even under side loadings!!!) there is enough flex in these tubes to create massive amounts of friction. in some cases, more friction than there is damping force!!! on the car, being a macpherson strut, they will experience large side loadings, and id imagine there is almost no movement at all because of the friction then. this will also destroy the internals over time.
in terms of the damping itself, the most important aspect of a damper (so many people just think about spring rates and ride height and forget that the dampers are the most important aspect of the suspension and where all of the speed is to be found), is poor. they have no bump force and HUGE amounts of rebound. hence requiring high spring rates.
they are a poor product, not even worth their cheap price. a guy in the states claims to be able to rebuild them, hes said a lot about it but he hasnt posted dyno graphs and wont answer certain questions. i personally think that maybe he is just trying to generate some work through hype, until i see proof of what he has done im going to remain cynical.
right, back to the question at hand though, the BC Racing coilovers. ive seen dyno graphs from the manufacturer, ive seen the dampers in the flesh, and ive spoken to a few people running them on other cars (not on the MR2 yet). the outer cases are steel and seem much stronger, this should reduce friction issues. the dyno graphs still dont look great for damping, but they are certainly much better than the D2/KSport dampers. on the softest settings they look like they could be reasonably comfortable on the road (provided the friction isnt an issue), anything past the softer settings and they get too stiff. and they are still very heavily damped in rebound, and not enough in bump. so they still arent perfect, they arent anywhere close.
also, they are made in Taiwan and are fairly cheap, which generally means there are corners cut somewhere on materials and manufacturing. so id expect them to suffer quality issues.
the "inverted" strut versions sound more promising. an inverted macpherson strut is where there is an upside down damper insert in an external case. to the untrained eye it would look like any other strut, but with a shaft coming out of the top that is about 40mm thick. what you are in fact seeing is an insert that has a 40mm (or thereabouts) chrome outer tube, with a smaller shaft inside it. this is inserted into the strut case upside down so that the damper shaft is at the bottom and hidden inside the case. the chrome outer tube then runs inside teflon bushes inside the strut case. this creates a strut with MUCH higher rigidity, this results in lower friction under side loadings, a stronger strut that bends less, and you also reduce the unsprung weight. also, because the shaft seals are enclosed within a case and shielded from the elements, the dampers are less prone to leaking and thus require less servicing (they do however need the grease in the cases regularly checking and replacing to keep everything in good condition).
a major problem with cheap inverted strut setups is that the chrome plating on the inserts will get chipped by stones or wear away, and then it corrodes. this then rips the teflon bushes apart, the struts develop large amounts of play, and you have to throw them away and buy another set (because its cheaper to do that than get them repaired). also, if the manufacturing tolerances arent absolute perfection, youll get play in the strut and it will worsen over time.
almost all Ohlins macpherson struts are inverted inserts. the only ones that arent are specials and the TTX McP (which is a totally different kind of damper to anything else on the market, and in a class of its own! it does however suffer more from lateral loadings and friction, you simply cant remove that in a macpherson strut)
to summarise it in 1 sentence - if you want a cheap coilover then BC Racing coilovers are better than D2/KSport, Konis and Ground Controls are much better though, and none of them are anywhere near perfect.
that settles it :)
many thanks Jim
many thanks Jim for the usual informed and interesting response..
well summarised. dont like people who talk about BC's as the be all and end all. imho they are the cheapest "decent" coilover that can be bought. if i had the money id have gone for some cusco's (for mk2)
its best to try and avoid Japanese brands wherever possible. their roads are much better than ours, plus everything over there is about drift/touge. sideways is all they care about, on super smooth roads, so its always oversprung and overdamped in rebound. you use Japanese brand dampers on a European road and they are harsh and overwork the tyres. turn in feels sharp because the weight transfers so quickly, so it can sometimes feel quick, its got a go kart feel to it. but ultimately its just not fast. all the Japanese brands are the same, Tein, Apexi, Cusco, HKS, even the Japanese Ohlins. we revalve them all the time, when you take a set of Jap-spec Evo Ohlins and revalve them to a "European spec" it transforms the car. there are Ohlins for the mk2 MR2, and they arent too badly valved as they are, its one of the sets the Japanese managed to get near enough spot on for road use and trackdays. there is also a coilover version, they are harder to find though.
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