RCE Tarmac 2 Daily Drivability?
 

Hey all, I've done a good amount of research on suspension as I plan on going to coilovers within the next few months. My car is mainly a DD, but I also do a good amount of autocross and plan on starting track days as well soon. It seems like at the roughly 2000$-2500$ price range, people love the RCE Tarmac 2, and that's the setup I'm leaning towards right now. Tire-wise I'm on 245 section Dunlop Direzza Z2 star specs.

How comfortable are the Tarmac 2s on a day to day basis? How do they compare to stock in terms of comfort and NVH? I plan on getting the default 400/400 springs and using the stock top hats. Any other impressions with the Tarmac 2s? Thanks!

With the right DD set up (approx 1 inch drop, stock top hats, and a little bit of time with the adjusters), they are definitely daily driver friendly. Better than stock on certain types of bumps, worse than stock on others. Certainly not cushy, but not IMO something that you would feel the need to apologize for to a passenger.

Our roads here are awful, and I've spent plenty of time on them in downtown Baltimore. There isn't any more "cringe before impact" than there was compared to stock (which was fairly rare in my 2016 BRZ anyway).

Camber plates and a bigger drop will increase the NVH. As always, we're available to help with set up for specific uses/needs/combinations.

Hopefully others can chime in as I'm sure you'd like to hear from people that aren't RCE. :)

- Andrew

I'm running KW v3s (which is what I think the Tarmac 2's are built around) with Tarmac 2 springs and they're very comfortable for me in as a daily driver. I live Philadelphia and we are also potholes central. Nothing cringe worthy to note.

I had T2s for several months. They are certainly good quality, but the springs were stiffer than what I want for a DD that sees about 15 track days per year. I bought some B16s from RCE and really like them. They are a better fit for my priorities than the T2s were. I also prefer the feel of monotubes over twin tubes.

Not a direct comment on the DD friendliness, but if you run the SPC camber bolts in the lower hole and stock lower bolts in the upper holes of the knuckles you can get almost -4* of camber on the stock top hats. No need for camber plates for useful camber! I'm running that on my V3's (well, group N front top hats, but same deal). It was at -3.8* maxed out, dialed back to -3.2*.

@Pat I was considering the B16 too, but I think the progressive springs turned me off from that setup. Bilstein says they can build me a custom valved setup for linear springs but I'd rather have something proven and off the shelf. That's why the RCE T2 is something i'm heavily considering.

I've had the T2's on since Feb. Love them. They upped my autox game. bigtime. You can adjust the dampers to "soft" and they are plenty cushy. Springs play a big role in ride quality. I have 400# front and rear springs. Maybe you can go a bit lighter for a softer ride. The T2's are great build quality and support has been great as well.

I was just wrestling with this question myself. I used to track a decent amount (around 12-14 days/year) and bought RCE T2's w/standard 400# spring rates. Loved them on track. Recently a change in life situation meant I couldn't track as much so I was debating whether to sell the T2's off. I thought I'd try them with RCE's recommended street settings first.

I'd call them liveable on the street. Smaller bumps are fine, but larger bumps/dips can be jarring especially on the rebound side compared to stock. I may take another click or two out from the rebound settings to see if that helps. They are very comfortable given what they are (probably thanks to the quality damping), but there's no doubt in my mind they ride harsher than stock. FWIW my overall drop is about 3/4".

NVH is about the same as stock if you're using the stock tophats.

I'll probably end up keeping them in the hopes that I can make a few track events in 2019.

You can definitely take a few clicks out of rebound and improve the ride. Our recommended settings are more of an all around set-up, you can dial back rebound for a slightly smoother ride from there.

- Andrew

2Wavy, I did what Andrew is talking about and felt they were underdamped at that point. I feel like 300# springs on these would be more what I'm looking for with these dampers. That said, Andrew and RCE know way more about this stuff than I do, and I may be in the minority in thinking 400 # springs are too much for a DD on this platform. Of course, some of it is personal preference, too.

Ride quality is a tough thing because at the end of the day it is all subjective. I hate running camber plates for the NVH and I've had plenty of folks tell me they don't notice the added NVH...but I do.

I'm running ~300 lbs springs, on a different shock, and it's a fantastic road and track set up. It doesn't have the out right speed as a full on competition set up but it soaks up the bumps very well. I might be in the minority here, but, I'd just get another set of springs to play with if the 400s are too much. Springs are inexpensive to play around with.

I remember there was something about what you were feeling and what you were looking for that was difficult to figure out over the phone. Would have been good to go for a ride/drive in person but Colorado is a trip. That said, 400 lb springs aren't soft and the Bilsteins were probably a good way to go for your uses in the end (glad you like them!).

We have done 6 kg (336 lbs/in) springs on T2s and it is pretty nice. There is always personal preference with this sort of thing and usually we can get it dialed in just right.

- Andrew

Honestly, I think I'll just stick with monotubes from now on. I've always used them up until trying the T2s and just think I prefer the feel of them. But I'm glad I got to try the T2s, as they are a good example of a nice twin-tube. I'm pretty sure I just had a spring rate higher than what I was looking for. Thanks again for all the help with my situation, Andrew.

@DarkSunrise did you ever get a chance try the settings Andrew suggested and see how it feels on the street?