BC Coilovers, Which Spring Rate!?!?

[hibbs24]

Hi all,

Looking at BC coilovers for my Rev 1 on Driftworks and they offer two different spring rates for the BR Series.

Now, I think I'm right in saying that a higher spring rate value means a stiffer suspension set up.

So basically my question is, which would be best for a road use and possibly track use next year?

What are the standard spring rates and how important is it to stay close to these values.

Cheers

Rich

[peteV6R5]

I have 5 8 on mine with the V6 engine. If you set it up fairly soft for road use they are not harsh, stiffer than standard but not harsh. If you put them to stiff damping then on the road they are a tad harsh.
Good range 30 clicks from soft to hard.
normal driving 5 up from soft - on track or spirited driving 5-7 down from hard.

[hibbs24]

That sort of clears things up. I think I'll go for those ones.

Much appreciated

Rich

[Howlin_Mad]

I have the softer spring rate BC coilovers with a 30mm drop and they are pretty brutal on bad roads which we have a lot of round where I live. Get them on a good road surface and they are epic though.

Driving on the same roads in my stock Auto is so much more pleasurable, no swerving to avoid sunken manhole covers and huge potholes nearly 2 or 3 inches drop!

HM

[hibbs24]

Hmm, see I still can't decide. I'm just torn. The roads round where I live aren't too bad. The one road out has about 4 sunken manhole covers to avoid, only two of them require a quick swerve.

But I am lured into going for the 'softer' ones. Adjustability is obviously vast anyway with either spring rate, but as a daily drive, it seems like I should go for a softer option.

The reason behind coilovers is that the suspension has seen better days and requires total replacement IMO.

Rich

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[Howlin_Mad]

Hmm, see I still can't decide. I'm just torn. The roads round where I live aren't too bad. The one road out has about 4 sunken manhole covers to avoid, only two of them require a quick swerve.

But I am lured into going for the 'softer' ones. Adjustability is obviously vast anyway with either spring rate, but as a daily drive, it seems like I should go for a softer option.

The reason behind coilovers is that the suspension has seen better days and requires total replacement IMO.

Rich

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The other alternative (I was in the same position as you) is to find some cheap rebuildable struts from a breaker and buy some new kyb dampers. Works out roughly at about £500.

HM

[TonyleFrog]

I have the softer spring rate BC coilovers with a 30mm drop and they are pretty brutal on bad roads which we have a lot of round where I live. Get them on a good road surface and they are epic though.

I really don't understand why you suffer from this because I never have. I have the same 5/8s as Pete. The lower spring rate option wasn't on offer way back then (Shinny and I were the first on here to fit them AFAIK).

With BCs suspension drop is totally irrelevant due to the manner in which the ride height is changed. The position of the bottom locking collar (and therefore the effective compressed spring length) remains constant throughout.

My 2p worth is it depends on what you mostly use the car for. If it's primarily a weekend fun toy and occasional track day car then I would pick the 5/8s. If it's a daily driver then maybe go the other way.

[Howlin_Mad]

I have the softer spring rate BC coilovers with a 30mm drop and they are pretty brutal on bad roads which we have a lot of round where I live. Get them on a good road surface and they are epic though.

I really don't understand why you suffer from this because I never have. I have the same 5/8s as Pete. The lower spring rate option wasn't on offer way back then (Shinny and I were the first on here to fit them AFAIK).

With BCs suspension drop is totally irrelevant due to the manner in which the ride height is changed. The position of the bottom locking collar (and therefore the effective compressed spring length) remains constant throughout.

My 2p worth is it depends on what you mostly use the car for. If it's primarily a weekend fun toy and occasional track day car then I would pick the 5/8s. If it's a daily driver then maybe go the other way.

Come and drive on my roads and you'll soon realise! Vinny will back me up on the roads around here, especially the Bloxwich to Brownhills road. Effing horrendous in both directions

HM

[TonyleFrog]

Come and drive on my roads and you'll soon realise! Vinny will back me up on the roads around here, especially the Bloxwich to Brownhills road. Effing horrendous in both directions

Assuming the roads you mention are significantly worse than those in other parts of the country (the jury is out on that atm) then I doubt you would chose to use them for making progress. If you have to use them for daily driving, then softening the BC damping settings well back should sort it.

If you stump up for a decent 3 course meal I'll happily come up and see for myself. It will have to wait though as my BC equipped Rev 4 is off the road until next year. It's not the ideal machine to be using on icy winter roads.

[peteV6R5]

Kiz - there are some pretty awefull roads - the one you are talking about I have driven in the past and yes it is one of the worst, bet it hasnt got better over the years since I last drove it.
I agree with TLF 5/8 are IMO would be the right choice Rich as he is wanting to take onto the track as well as public roads.
I have as stated in my 1st post on this thread the damping set 5 clicks up from softest setting for normal road use.
When I plan a spirited drive then I up the damping to help the car stay settled -but then I usually know the roads I will be playing on .
Lastly on the track event at Silverstone I had mine set at 5 from firmest and it felt flat (photos show this as well) and under control until I pushed it to much at brooklands.
When we came off circuit to come home I had to stop and set the damping down (forgot to at circuit) as it was too hard for road use.
In order of road use that I have for comfort have been
Standard set up
Apex lowered 30mm (10% firmer)
BC Coilovers (15% firmer than standard set on V low damping)

I have been in 2's with Tein etc / HSD's etc and they to me feel harsher than the BC's.
Horses for courses - I think the 4/6 could suit the NA better as the engine set up is much lighter than the tubby or V6

[Torero]

I have 5/8 BCs as well and have had all my suspension and steering components changed (ball joints, uprated droplink,s track rod ends Whiteline ARBs, polybushes etc) along with new tyres and wheels this year. So I'm happy that mine is in the best condition it can be.

The BCs are only lowered 25mm and on the softest setting (which I started off just to get a baseline) are actually too 'floaty' for me and I did like Pete and adjusted to 5 clicks down and it was a vast improvement, I have now run for around 2k miles and I can't fault them. They run superb and good roads and motorways and are fine even around London poor roads. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them.

I was always old skool and believed that coilovers were for track use only and the best combo was Koni's and Eibach's until I read a few reviews on the forums and I thought I'd give them a go and I'm far from dissapointed.

Just to add that the build quality for the price is second to none, well worth the money.

[hibbs24]

Cheers guys,

That's really helpful and I'll make my decision in the new year when the money is set aside.

Cheers

Rich

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