BC Racing BR Coilovers review <autoX/Street>
01-28-2015, 11:15 PM
#1
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 77
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
BC Racing BR Coilovers review
Intro: Bought a set of very low mileage BC Racing BR Coilovers from another member here on the boards right after Christmas(Thanks liquid_helix136!!!). A couple of days later, went to install coilovers and a few other parts and found out one of the rear dampers was half way dead when breaking coils down to do a spring change. Came to the conclusion that the damper was never filled with correct amount of oil at the factory due to no external leaks and no signs of being 'cleaned', previous owner recommended me contact the manufacturer to see if any warranty assistance. Long story short, BC Racing agreed to warranty the damper. I recently installed them on the car and WOW. The car literally rides better than OEM coils/dampers! I am very ecstatic to say the least.
Install: Gravy. No complaints other than the front brake hose retaining ring is a little oversized and would not stay put when tightened down. I used electrical tape around the damper body threads so the ring/clamp had something to bite into without damaging the damper threads. It worked. Damper setting adjustments feel positive, basically feels like a high end scope on a rifle. Each click can be felt and heard. Dampers come with four separate adjuster wheels (not ONE like TEIN) that tighten to the top of the damper rod via 14mm nut and are easily removed if so desired, I chose to leave mine on for quick adjustments if needed. The left rear strut is a bit of a pain to adjust due to the fuel filler hose in the trunk passes right over the top of the adjuster, not a biggie but pretty sure BC or other strut companies sell remotes to relocate or extend the adjustment wheel. Setting ride height takes forever, it helps to have a friend avail.
Impressions: The OE parts were very floaty on the interstate especially on overpasses on the local tollway going ~75mph, which made me lose some confidence in the car at higher speeds. The OE struts/springs feels like bound/bump/compression in the strut is fairly firm but rebound has very little control of the wheel drooping, makes me feel like I am in a rally car or Baja trophy truck LOL. On the AutoX, OE felt slow to react to quick transitions, especially the rear, making for one or two embarrassing spins on track. After getting the BC's installed, another FSB setting change and proper alignment, the car grips so much better to the point where I was having a hard time finding the limit of the car while testing in a parking lot! The car handles neutral now with maybe a hint of repeatable understeer, PERFECT.
Conclusion: I do not feel the need for a $2500+ set of coilovers for a street car, or even a local competitive AutoX car for that matter. The BC Racing BR coilovers are perfect for a street/autoX car; easy on the wallet, high quality (minus the QC whoops) and just enough adjustability to grow with the drivers abilities right up until professional level. In fact, it is quite displeasing when I read posts in this forum and see people recommending Ohlins and KW V3's/club to someone with very little to no track experience for their STREET CAR. I recommend you save the $1500 dollars and buy a helmet, good driving shoes and find a local HPDE or performance driving lessons and blow the rest of the money on midget hookers and ice cream. It is worth every penny
Old setup:
2007 Honda S2000 AP2
OEM struts/springs (26.5" height from ground to bottom of fenders)
Moddiction 1.25" FSB on middle hole
Miata RSB w/ poly bushings
255 square Sumitomo HTR3 on TRMotorsport C3 Black 17x9 +63 wheels
K&N FIPK
PLM header (wrapped) / Berk TP / Berk 3" single exhaust
Hondata - Gernby tuned - colder sparkplug
Camber 1.5F 2.5R
Caster 7.0
Toe 0"F 1/8"R total
Notes on track - very difficult to turn the steering wheel, most likely due to high caster trying to 'jack' the car, the car has heavy understeer and snap oversteer if the rear is not allowed enough time to settle when on throttle, front tires showing signs of chunking and overheating and tread depths are fairly even across, rear tires worn more-so than fronts but most likely due to lack of rotation and lots of street miles... front needs more camber and less caster, front adjusters wont give me more camber
Notes on street - steering is very stable at highway speeds most likely due to high caster, stock dampers terribad on hwy. Exhaust drone stops at 80mph right where the fun begins
The change:
BC Racing BR coilovers (25.5" height from ground to bottom of fenders, exactly 1" drop)
10K BC front Springs / 8k GroundControl rear springs (damper settings 10F/8R from softest, this has not been optimized yet but should be baseline)
Megan Racing offset front lower ball joints w/ RCA plates
Moddiction 1.25" FSB on outer hole (softest)
Camber 2.8F 2.5R
Caster 6.0
Toe 0"F 1/16"R total
Notes on street - steering wheel is much easier to turn and also more willing, hwy steering lost stability and is not twitchy per-say but more sensitive to inputs than before. Over bumps and transitions, the car is very quick to settle but not jarring, again feels better over bumps than OEM. Putting 8k springs in rear instead of the stock BC 10k rear springs should be a good combo to gain ride quality and to remove some snap oversteer from the rear under throttle. Sway bar change def helped neutral the car back out. Car added confidence when at the limit, the limit has been raised substantially, car is Neutral with hint of understeer and seems still predictable, feels like oversteer is possible with heavy throttle input but perhaps more controllable and less snappy??? Need more time...
Install: Gravy. No complaints other than the front brake hose retaining ring is a little oversized and would not stay put when tightened down. I used electrical tape around the damper body threads so the ring/clamp had something to bite into without damaging the damper threads. It worked. Damper setting adjustments feel positive, basically feels like a high end scope on a rifle. Each click can be felt and heard. Dampers come with four separate adjuster wheels (not ONE like TEIN) that tighten to the top of the damper rod via 14mm nut and are easily removed if so desired, I chose to leave mine on for quick adjustments if needed. The left rear strut is a bit of a pain to adjust due to the fuel filler hose in the trunk passes right over the top of the adjuster, not a biggie but pretty sure BC or other strut companies sell remotes to relocate or extend the adjustment wheel. Setting ride height takes forever, it helps to have a friend avail.
Impressions: The OE parts were very floaty on the interstate especially on overpasses on the local tollway going ~75mph, which made me lose some confidence in the car at higher speeds. The OE struts/springs feels like bound/bump/compression in the strut is fairly firm but rebound has very little control of the wheel drooping, makes me feel like I am in a rally car or Baja trophy truck LOL. On the AutoX, OE felt slow to react to quick transitions, especially the rear, making for one or two embarrassing spins on track. After getting the BC's installed, another FSB setting change and proper alignment, the car grips so much better to the point where I was having a hard time finding the limit of the car while testing in a parking lot! The car handles neutral now with maybe a hint of repeatable understeer, PERFECT.
Conclusion: I do not feel the need for a $2500+ set of coilovers for a street car, or even a local competitive AutoX car for that matter. The BC Racing BR coilovers are perfect for a street/autoX car; easy on the wallet, high quality (minus the QC whoops) and just enough adjustability to grow with the drivers abilities right up until professional level. In fact, it is quite displeasing when I read posts in this forum and see people recommending Ohlins and KW V3's/club to someone with very little to no track experience for their STREET CAR. I recommend you save the $1500 dollars and buy a helmet, good driving shoes and find a local HPDE or performance driving lessons and blow the rest of the money on midget hookers and ice cream. It is worth every penny
Old setup:
2007 Honda S2000 AP2
OEM struts/springs (26.5" height from ground to bottom of fenders)
Moddiction 1.25" FSB on middle hole
Miata RSB w/ poly bushings
255 square Sumitomo HTR3 on TRMotorsport C3 Black 17x9 +63 wheels
K&N FIPK
PLM header (wrapped) / Berk TP / Berk 3" single exhaust
Hondata - Gernby tuned - colder sparkplug
Camber 1.5F 2.5R
Caster 7.0
Toe 0"F 1/8"R total
Notes on track - very difficult to turn the steering wheel, most likely due to high caster trying to 'jack' the car, the car has heavy understeer and snap oversteer if the rear is not allowed enough time to settle when on throttle, front tires showing signs of chunking and overheating and tread depths are fairly even across, rear tires worn more-so than fronts but most likely due to lack of rotation and lots of street miles... front needs more camber and less caster, front adjusters wont give me more camber
Notes on street - steering is very stable at highway speeds most likely due to high caster, stock dampers terribad on hwy. Exhaust drone stops at 80mph right where the fun begins The change:
BC Racing BR coilovers (25.5" height from ground to bottom of fenders, exactly 1" drop)
10K BC front Springs / 8k GroundControl rear springs (damper settings 10F/8R from softest, this has not been optimized yet but should be baseline)
Megan Racing offset front lower ball joints w/ RCA plates
Moddiction 1.25" FSB on outer hole (softest)
Camber 2.8F 2.5R
Caster 6.0
Toe 0"F 1/16"R total
Notes on street - steering wheel is much easier to turn and also more willing, hwy steering lost stability and is not twitchy per-say but more sensitive to inputs than before. Over bumps and transitions, the car is very quick to settle but not jarring, again feels better over bumps than OEM. Putting 8k springs in rear instead of the stock BC 10k rear springs should be a good combo to gain ride quality and to remove some snap oversteer from the rear under throttle. Sway bar change def helped neutral the car back out. Car added confidence when at the limit, the limit has been raised substantially, car is Neutral with hint of understeer and seems still predictable, feels like oversteer is possible with heavy throttle input but perhaps more controllable and less snappy??? Need more time...
01-29-2015, 09:07 PM
#2
I had the same coilovers with 12k springs all the way around with a similar setup(suspension), square wheels and tires 2554017,eibach front sway bar,rear bump steer kit and I absolutely hated them! I did about 6-7 track days with poor lap times didn't settle well, did not like quick lateral transitions it would disrupt the car way too much. For street use they were bouncy and extremely harsh, swapped them out with HKS Hipermax coilovers and it was a night and day difference. I have improved my lap times by 7 seconds i know i can drop at least 3 or 4 more seconds easily and I have only done 3 track days with these. If your going to track i recommend saving a little more and buying a set of kwv3 or something better, they often pop up used with low mileage around 500$ more then the bc racing coilovers.
01-29-2015, 11:46 PM
#3
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 77
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I think your ride quality and snap oversteer problem you had with the BC's was attributed to your rear spring selection. HKS Hypermax III springs are 13F/11R, the spring ratio alone would make the car feel more comfortable and less oversteer under throttle, comparatively. I can't imagine another s2000 owner drive my car and describe the ride as "bouncy", perhaps at the next local meet I will ask around to see if I can demo a few high-end coilovers out but I just have a funny feeling ride quality has more to do with spring rates than dampers 
01-30-2015, 06:05 PM
#4
I never stated my car had snap over steer or over steered at all, I always had a proper alignment and have a rear bump steer kit so I never suffered with either one. It wouldn't settle well at high speed lateral transitions and was easily disrupted by using curbing at the track. On canyon/mountain drives the car was extremely bouncy, all over the road and wouldn't dampen bumps or imperfection on the road making it hard to push the car with confidence. With the hks I feel the bumps in the road but it dampens it very well and always keeps the tire in contact with the road being able to really enjoy spirited drives with confidence. It was also bouncy in the front almost reminded me of my crx with cheap function form coilovers. I also doubt 56lbs (1k) is really going to make the vehicle feel more "comfortable" especially with 13k in the front, when ever I decide to go with tein srcs (16K front/rear) I doubt I will experience the car being unsettling at high speeds transitions or over the curbing on track. I know people with srcs that drive on the streets on a regular basis and have rode with them and the ride was way smoother then the poor ride i was experiencing with the bc racing. So I can assure you high spring rates will not determine ride quality its how good of a damper you have.
01-31-2015, 08:23 PM
#7
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 77
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The lawl in this thread makes my head hurt. Judging by the responses, I am fairly certain your minds would be blown if I told you lowering spring rates ADDS traction. The use of 16k springs is absolutely retarded without the use of aero, full slicks, and very large brakes. No damper in the world is going to make a 16k spring daily-able so stop kidding yourself to justify your purchase. I would ask everyone to leave this threads responses to intelligent and Motorsport related comments.
If you do not understand basic suspension theory and application or ever been on a track, this is not your thread to chime in on.
If you do not understand basic suspension theory and application or ever been on a track, this is not your thread to chime in on.
Trending Topics
02-01-2015, 08:26 AM
#8
Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,376
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The lawl in this thread makes my head hurt. Judging by the responses, I am fairly certain your minds would be blown if I told you lowering spring rates ADDS traction. The use of 16k springs is absolutely retarded without the use of aero, full slicks, and very large brakes. No damper in the world is going to make a 16k spring daily-able so stop kidding yourself to justify your purchase. I would ask everyone to leave this threads responses to intelligent and Motorsport related comments.
If you do not understand basic suspension theory and application or ever been on a track, this is not your thread to chime in on.
If you do not understand basic suspension theory and application or ever been on a track, this is not your thread to chime in on.
02-01-2015, 12:39 PM
#10
Looks like you shouldn't chime in on your own thread as you don't really have any intelligent or motorsports related knowledge or understand basic suspension theory, application or ever been on a track.
On a side note. For anyone ever considering bc racing coilovers I highly advise against it, its a waste of money. The oe suspension will out perform bc coilovers in a heartbeat. If your looking for cheap performance get stock cr suspension or save up for a good coilover. If your looking to dump,stance or hellaflush(butcher the performance) This is not the car for you! buy something else and butcher it.