BC Racing Coilover Review, Very Impressed (pics)!!!
 

I know I do not post too much, but I felt the need to let everyone know of my findings! I could not be happier with the setup I got. After many months of searching for a decent set of coilovers for a decent price I decided on BC racing. I read a lot of reviews almost all were positive, so I figured I would give them a shot. For $999.00 shipped the coilovers came with 30 way adjustable struts, camber plates, new endlinks and some of other goodies. It would cost two to three times that much from KW, GC or TC Kline for the same setup.

One thing you should know is my 318Ti is far from stock. It has a worked m52 2.8, full exhaust, supercharger, 3.73 LSD and countless other mods to the motor that I can not remember right now. Last time it was dynamo I was at 300hp to the wheels and about the same for torque. The car is gutted has two really light race seats, and urethane mounts everywhere. I have been doing autoX and doing HDPE's for about 10 years now. So I have had quite a few suspension setups in this and other cars.

BC Racing does not make a specific setup for "swapped Ti's", so I put together a setup that I thought would work well. Thanks to http://www.circuitmotorsports.net specifically Circuit MS (found him on bimmerforums) they we able to put together exactly what I wanted. My order contained front m3 struts with 600lb springs and z3 rear shocks with 700lb springs and perches. He went the full 10 yards for me and less than a month later I had a completely custom set for the same price that they normally charge.

I am a BMW tech so install was a breeze, but I also a have a degree in industrial deign/engineering and I must say the quality of these is superb. Before these coilovers I had H&R sports with Bilstiens and then later switched to H&R Race springs with stiffer 6 cylinder Bilsteins up front. H&R's and Bilstein combo for the road was a great setup but on the track they are pretty horrible. Since my Ti is becoming a dedicated track car I really needed something more responsive and stiffer. I have not tracked the car yet with my new setup, but I have a very good feeling they will do great, I will post an update as soon as i do!

This is where I got them:
BC Racing coilovers from Circuit Motorsports

I know most of you want to see pics so check them out below.

Even the packaging was really nice
http://i841.photobucket.com/albums/z...g/IMG_3681.jpg
http://i841.photobucket.com/albums/z...g/IMG_3687.jpg
http://i841.photobucket.com/albums/z...g/IMG_3682.jpg
http://i841.photobucket.com/albums/z...g/IMG_3683.jpg
http://i841.photobucket.com/albums/z...g/IMG_3686.jpg

On to the install, this is not a how to just some comparisons I made along the way.

The front struts with unsprung weight used to sit here:http://i841.photobucket.com/albums/z...20183501-2.jpg
And now sits here:http://i841.photobucket.com/albums/z...6-20183525.jpg

Same thing in the rear. Before:http://i841.photobucket.com/albums/z...6-20202341.jpg
After:http://i841.photobucket.com/albums/z...6-20202328.jpg
Comparison:http://i841.photobucket.com/albums/z...6-20203129.jpg

Front m3 struts/coils with 328i swaybar and m3 end links that came in the kit:
http://i841.photobucket.com/albums/z...6-20202352.jpg
Rear shock lower mount comparison, Bc Racing uses a solid pillow ball insert rather than rubber, me like: http://i841.photobucket.com/albums/z...6-20202309.jpg
In order to use my Rouge RSM i had to remove two bolts from the BC upper shock mount, But It was a simple procedure, Before: http://i841.photobucket.com/albums/z...6-20185855.jpg
Used a deep socket, vice and a hammer to remove they are just press fitted: http://i841.photobucket.com/albums/z...6-20204100.jpg
All done: http://i841.photobucket.com/albums/z...6-20185836.jpg

Couple shots after It was completed. I left the front at stock settings and adjusted the rear a hair. I could probably drop it on the ground with all the adjustments these coilovers offers:http://i841.photobucket.com/albums/z...6-25185538.jpg
http://i841.photobucket.com/albums/z...6-20230158.jpg

This last picture shows my co-workers m3 on ground control coilovers. He was actually jealous on how well my car handled especially after I told him the price. I have since aligned the Ti and Easily got 3.25 degree camber running m3 front spindles. I also have loads of caster, just enough room to clear the front bumper. http://i841.photobucket.com/albums/z...6-20230115.jpg


I will update with some better pics/track results soon! Can't wait...

Oh and here is what my H&R/Bilstein setup use to look like through the corners:http://i841.photobucket.com/albums/z...g/IMG_2621.jpg
http://i841.photobucket.com/albums/z...g/IMG_2627.jpg

I love it....Clean simple lines...Height is nice....Very well done....

BC's are pretty good...
 

Josh:

When I had my MINI shop, Minspeed, we started using the BC kits after a bad experience with Spax early on. The BC's proved very reliable and durable, for street or racing applications. We had only one leak down out of about 52 kits used-not a bad failure rate in my book, and they covered it. The only thing I would do is keep an eye on the rubber boots. In a couple of cases, they tore a bit early. Ask BC for a few to have on hand just in case. As soon as I have some time, I'll get with you on those other things...I'm trying to get my wayward son's car ready to sell.

You owned Minispeed! Never saw the shop, but I was very impressed with the business cards. Haha, You must know Greg then, I work with him over at Vista BMW/MINI. He used to say great things about your shop. I did not even know that you guys closed down. My wife had a Mini and she misses it everyday, we got a new 328i (F30) due to a new arrival in the family. The mini is the only car that feels more like a go-cart than the 318ti.

Let me know when you want to get together. The wife is working Sunday, so I'm on kid duty, we could get together than if you'd like. Let me know...

I have the exact same setup (spring rates) on my Z3 drift race car. I bought them at the time for my 97 318i, and when i wrecked that I switched them straight over to the Z3.

I bought mine a few years back from a professional drifter that is sponsored by them for his E36..very impressed with thier quality and performance, especially for the $$ involved.

Who Chelsea Denofa? Hahah^

So you are running the e36 coupe/seden specific setup on your z3? I found that the regular e36 rear struts are much too long for the TI so i would imagine they would be for the z3.

Probably?!?

Yes Chelsea. the old style bc rear shock look different than yours. it is threaded at the bottom into the shock body. i pulled the eyelid bolt out and trimmed it to be able to bottom out the eyelt in the shock body...gave me over 1" more drop

Lol. I'm pissed e36 is gone. But his e46 is pretty dope. And he's driving the RX-8 now

Yes e46 looks okay, the 36 sedan was just brute looking tho lol. Joon's old car at least has power and similar angle abilities..hopefully it will serve him well in the points.

I have a bunch of old skool parts on my car..Chelsea's old BC suspension setup (same specs), Sean Love's (SLR) actual original knuckles from his personal 328i from competing years ago...

here is a shot of my BCs and the mods..from 2 years ago
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l3.../Photo0481.jpg
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l3.../Photo0482.jpg
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l3.../Photo0485.jpg
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l3.../Photo0486.jpg

the whole thread if you want to read
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1475760
another one
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1564369
and the last one for the Z3 install
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1589428

sorry for the thread jack..but it's all relevant BMW info ;)

what type of wheels are those and specs?

Got BC here as well, can't be happier.

Yeah I have heard they made various improvements to the newer ones, I can not adjust caster though, but I could not get anymore if I wanted to without cutting the bumper. So win/win there. I could do the same thing you did except the adjuster is now on the top. The shock body is basically threaded into an insert, which can go down maybe 1.5 inches. The only issue is that would mess with the physics of the strut. If you can help it you should really lower it with the sprigs/adjuster. I'm running the back about 1/2 inch up on the adjuster and its as low as I would ever want to go. If i removed the adjusting nuts and some of the extra spring pad i have under the perch I could go another 2" lower easily.

Those are just some Ebay replicas of the e46 m sport wheels that came on the later models. They have a deeper dish than the factory BMW ones though and are not a true two piece. They are 8.5s and I run 225/40/18 in the frot and 255/35/18 in the rear. I only paid $400.00 for them brand new, and picked them up in Sarasota,FL (not sure if the company is still in business. The build quality is excellent though, I have had them for over 5 years and if i would have maintained them properly they would still look like new. They are basically just my to and from track wheels now as I have some BBS RK's with R-compounds.

You didn't need spacers for the front or anything to avoid hitting the shock?

Nope, because when you use camber plates to adjust the camber the wheel stays parallel to the strut. I also have Crash bolts, but did not adjust those negative at all. I think 3.25 is plenty of camber! Those pictures are pre-alignment/crazy neg. camber. I will have to take some more pictures soo you guys can see the craziness. I'm actually going to get some spacers so I can get a wider track in the front, but they are not even close to touching the strut.

Jigger...I have no spring pads or adjusting collar in the rear...low as I can go currently. Considering making extended tophats if i want to drop further, or just so that I can actually use the adjuster. the handling right now is spot on though, and I have enough problem getting the z3 on and off the trailer as it is at the height now.

I just re-read you first post. I forgot that you have regular e36 suspension on your z3. The struts are much longer on the regular e36, since you cut yours and screwed them all the way in you are much closer to where you need to be. Are you running the springs from a Chelsae's car also? If so that could keep you from going lower since they would be about 2 inches taller also. I have an extra set of e30 rear springs i think they are 750lbs that would do wonders for you. If I removed my adjuster my car would sit on the top of the tires, lol.

I really love hearing true use stories and positive results! Thanks much for your detailed review and vendor recommendation.
I want to start AutoX and the 318ti needs a new suspension so hmmmm this good deal almost sounds perfect!

whats a good spring rate for drifting, im about to order some bc racing coils too

Im using 10k front springs and 12k rear.
The reason im using the e36 stuff is that is what i used to have and i just transferred it.

Yeah, my only regret is that I waited so long to buy coilovers. I was trying so hard to find a spring strut combo that worked on a swapped TI but nothing really wow'd me.

If you have a stock motor and most of your interior I would probably go 500lbs in the front and 550lbs in the rear. Some people might have different options on the matter. If you daily you might want to go a little bit low on the spring rates. The cool thing with the BC's are they are 30 way adjustable so you can really fine tune it.

Would it be appropriate for you to share the name of whomever you worked with at Circuit Motorsports? I've been trying to figure out for months what setup to use on my swapped ti and had pretty much decided to go with TC Kline. These seem like they might be a reasonable option and the price is definitely better.

No problem at all His name is Tristan. You can reach him at: sales@circuitmotorsports.net or 407-325-2176. I was considering TC Kline also, but BC racing has way more options for a lot less money. I was in the same boat a couple of months ago and could not be any happier with my decision. Make sure you tell him you have a swapped ti and get the proper front struts, I suggest m3 ones since they have the mounting tabs for the sway bar and it also comes with endlinks so it bolts right up.

yeah my car is strip to the bones and m42 motor turbo so yeah and i dont daily its pretty much my track toy.

Any more impressions of these to share with us at this point?

So far they have been wonderful. I only did one track event and it was at the drag strip. All I can say for that is the dampening adjustments made huge improvements over the way my car hooked and launched. About 3 runs later I got it just right. I have an AutoX later this month that is when I will really be able to test them out. They are great on the street we setting them to full soft. I would be racing alot more but we just had a baby a couple of months ago.

Will update with my findings

I'm using some 17x8.5 wheels that have about 3/8" clearance between the rim and the stock strut body.

I assume these use a long enough spring that the spring will be the closest thing to the rim/tire and these will actually reduce the clearance a considerable amount? I assume I'll need a spacer to make these work or is there another option to get more clearance (positive camber from the lower strut mount some how)?

Your wheels looks like the are pushed really far forward into the wheel well. Are you running M3 offset control arms with the offset bushings? That will cause the geometry to get screwy and make the wheel sit really far forward in the wheel well.

BWM never speced a car with both. You either do the standard control arms with the offset bushing, or go the other way with the later m3 control arms but a standard bushing.

The build quality does not look that bad on the BC racing coilovers. However, the difference in price between these kits and the other kits you mentioned is in the dampening and the changes that adjustments make. There is plenty of dyno plots showing the changes a Koni DA makes in comparison with the lower end coilovers. Ultimately though, it is what makes you happy for the money spent.. Enjoy..

I'm running treehouse racing solid control arms busing and Meylee HD control arms with m3 front spindles. I think it may just be the combination of the picture and wheels, They are not even closer to touching my front bumper and were within reason when on the BMW alignment rack (we have special software and alignment pins). When I was doing my research I do remember reading about how every strut and shock is dyno'd matched as a pair and custom dampened per spring rates (not sure if this is true or not). I did find this review with a dyno graph from an NSX that is very in depth. http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php?t=159029

I have not even had a chance to track the car yet through any corners. I do have an autoX on Sept. 30th and will take alot of pictures, and then hopefully do some Hdpe's once the heat alleviates from south fla.

Just realized I had no pictures of the insane camber I got from these. I will take some when i'm at the autox.

Is it true that BC coilover creates alot of noise ??? I really wanted to get this for my 318ti compact... But I don't like squeaky noise... Do you know what causes this noise?...

I don't know where you heard that, but since i have had mine they have been very silent. Maybe some increased road noise due to the stiffness, but other than that, none. You can change the dampening to full soft also for daily driving and it will be much quieter and smoother. I have been running these things hard, made some minor adjustments and am so far very pleased with my setup.

Ok thanks... I've heard from my mechanic who is a guru on modding bmw's that BC had lots of noise clunking and squeaking noise... I really wanted a fully adjustable coilovers and found your post and pretty much sold on getting it... I'm just worried about the noises... any ways I'm going to search more about this rumors... thank you! :cool:

Pillow ball mounts can "clunk" if they use low quality bearings.

Something I just noticed, but is the lower rear shock mount a spherical bearing or a solid metal bushing?

pads
 

do you notice any difference without the pads? im thinking about taking mine out with my h&r's/bilsteins and ive heard both good and bad things from taking the pads out

I've taken mine out on the rear. It lowers the car slightly more but also creates more creaking noises. More metal on metal friction noise. I'll be putting them back in though, for the amount it lowered it it's not worth the added noise.

I'd just save up for some coil overs like BC Racing and do it the right way.

You'll have to excuse me for taking this slightly off topic but what are the benefits of the 328i sway bars? Or are they just necessary because your car is swapped? Also, do you run an x-brace?
T.I.A.

Anybody have a good recommended spring rate? Im thinking about getting the BC BR's and am trying to figure out which springs to get.

So how much did this cost you?