Racecomp Engineering Superstreet-1
 

https://i.ibb.co/Z63fcq9/rce-SS1.jpg

So my tax return is helping finance a set of RCE SS1 for my BRZ. The coil overs arrived earlier today and I'm planning to put them on the car once the weather warms up, probably mid to late April.

I used to run HKS Hipermax GT IV coilovers and the RR Racing Sport Performance BBK and tracked my car semi-regularly but the coilovers were damaged following an off-track excursion that ended up with the car hitting a barrier and the BBK was sold to help finance the repairs. As of this writing, the car is 100% bone stock.

Initial impressions: I've only held them in my hand for about 5 minutes before I put them back in the box but so far, the SS1 feels heavy and solid. Certainly heavier than the HKS and OEM suspension, but probably also more durable, and at least the design won't be susceptible to the same failure that my HKS coils suffered.

This thread will chronicle my experience with them as I compare them to the OEM suspension and the HKS coilovers I had previously. I daily drive my BRZ from spring to fall, and plan to attend 2-4 track events per season, pandemic permitting, so you know what sort of talk to expect from me.

In! Just ordered mine today, too!

This is the type review I have been waiting.

Please don't waste anymore time.

Thank you

Not trying to hi-Jack but I will do a log too. I’ve never used coilovers or modded my suspension in any way. These logs are invaluable

Nice! Let me know if you have any questions with set up or install.

- Andrew

I have been running these for a year now and they have been great. RCE also provides excellent customer service. You should have a good experience with these coilovers.

Mine have been fine for 20k miles now. Still feel same as they did when i got em.

Well I am going to officially pull the trigger. Looking forward to getting them and my first track day on them. Going all out to destroy my PB at buttonwillow on the last big track day prior to the semi shutdown during the hot socal summers.

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Well I got them installed with help a fellow 86cup driver. I have never used or installed coils but its a pretty simple process. It would take me longer doing it myself, I but feel I can help others if needed and pay it forward. Ride height is currently at about 1.5 Finger gap all around. I love how simple it is to adjust ride height. Alignment needs to be fixed compared to my current setup but they ride better and yea still retains a similar feel to current setup(Good thing). I can get away with a bit more of a drop 25mm vs 20mm and the ride is still better overall. Can't wait to get it alignment done and do my first track day with them. So far for the price RCE nailed it. Really solid bang for your buck. Other good options in this price range but it the support and the company that put them ahead of others. I would say my second choice would still be the Tien Flex A's by CSG.

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Here is a picture with my new arc-8 wheels. Don't mind the poke up front, camber plates are not dialed in. Getting alignment done Friday. Wheel gap is point [emoji106]
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...6a2839f66b.jpg

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Looking to pick up a set soon. Following for reviews! Roads here are terrible so I'd be interested to hear more about how they perform day to day.

If you run them on softer settings they ride surprisingly well. But steering response suffers quite a bit. Roads aren't great here either but these have rarely felt harsh. Firm for sure though.

I can second this. Going set a bit firmer for street and test.

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I installed them on the car this past weekend, took a before and after picture but no pics of the install itself. It's not special anyways.

Before:
https://i.ibb.co/82d1d8D/PXL-20210424-161057598.jpg

After:
https://i.ibb.co/CtCFFxt/PXL-20210425-212551132-MP.jpg

I set initial ride heights and eyeballed a toe alignment and I've been street driving it like this since. I've got a proper alignment scheduled for Monday but I wanted to give the suspension a bit of time to settle before settling final ride heights and getting the alignment but I still have to drive the car to work in the meantime.

For now, I'm not going to make any judgements on how the car handles because the (lack of) alignment is definitely impacting it. It feels notably stiffer than stock as soon as you sit in the car, yet I can say it's more comfortable than the HKS suspension was over really bad bumps and potholes.

Anyways, I'll set final ride heights this coming weekend and get the alignment on Monday morning. I'm targeting -3f/-2.2r, 0 toe all around, to put me back at the place I was at on the HKS suspension.

Got my alignment:

https://i.ibb.co/VmG6B7g/PXL-20210503-190751557.jpg

We hit targets in the rear but tech maxed out the camber adjustment at about -2.2 in the front. Car's ride height is 13 and 1/4 inches from hub center to fender (around 1.25 inch drop from stock) so I wonder if this is the expected maximum with stock mounting hardware.

Tech did push the struts in as far as possible and maxed out the camber plates. I remember we hit a similar limit on the HKS coilovers and I put in camber bolts in the lower hole and moved lower bolt to top hole, to get the remainder of the adjustability required to hit -3 in the front. @Racecomp Engineering wondering if this is expected and if the proposed solution is the same.

My shop could get 2.9 and 3.2 up front with just SS-1s. We matched up both sides.

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That is low. Usually we recommend using the OEM 14mm bolt in top and bottom holes...you would easily get over -3 in that case.

Even without them though, that's a little low...should be able to get more than -2.5 degrees with stock bolt arrangement. Keep me posted.

- Andrew

Kw slotted strut gives you around -2.5 with stock upper bolt and around -3 with oem crash bolt only, you can have a little variation due to different ride heights but roughly these are the values.

Well, I'm reminded that the car was in a front-end accident before so it's possible that has complicated what is available from an alignment. Either way, now that the car is aligned, it looks like the rear might actually ride a bit lower than the front so I think a bit more adjusting is in order anyways. I'll use that opportunity to put in bolts with more adjustability and book another alignment.

For now I've been driving with a proper alignment since Monday morning and can give some early impressions.

Dynamically, on uneven pavement, the car is *far* more composed than it was with stock suspension. Stock suspension feels very wallowy with a lot of movement that feels kind of like a chair with a leg too short that tends to bounce back and forth at opposite corners. The SS1 just soaks it up at each corner and the whole car doesn't get nearly as upset. The HKS suspension was also much like this although I couldn't say which was ultimately better.

The other thing I can note is that the rear of the car is much more confidence inspiring on the SS1 in general. Certainly more than the stock suspension and I even think it's better than the HKS in this regard. There is one corner in particular on my commute home that is up hill, off camber, and heavily cracked pavement where going full throttle on the HKS or even the stock suspension would result in the rear of the car stepping out. Testing this same corner on the SS1, so far the rear has actually remained stable which is a nice feeling for a change.

On overall ride comfort, the SS1 is pretty close to stock with a single exception and is so far better than HKS was, in any situation, particularly in the rear. It kind of felt like the HKS coils maybe didn't have enough spring rate for the travel in the strut because deep potholes were extremely crashy. My only complaint about comfort on the SS1 isn't a general complaint but rather a very specific one, which is going over a particular set of uneven train tracks that are notably more comfortable on stock suspension. You have to drive these particular tracks very slow or you'll break something, and the stiffer suspension combined with uneven tracks makes the car bounce around a lot.

Anyways, that's all for now. I'll update again once I get any further.

Thank you for this initial review.

From a daily driving perspective you have given good feedback.

What are your stiffness settings on the coils?

Would love to hear some spirited drive reviews. Im sure they will be good too.

Rebound settings haven't been adjusted at all so it's however they come from the factory. I think whatever they're at right now is comfortable, tight, and stable.

In regards to spirited driving, I'm over it so don't expect anything from me there. I'll give performance driving impressions once I get on track which I'm hoping for next month but we're under lockdown and there is no sign it will end by then so we'll see.

I didn't mean spirited illegal driving. :)

Track driving review will be more than welcome.
Thanks for all the time and patience in updating your views.

Went to my first track day with the SS1s. There track settings were pretty close. I was able to shave 2 seconds of my PB. Only change was wider wheels(heavier than my old ones) suspension and more camber up front .6 more negative camber.

Car felt more stable that my old setup, wants to rotate better and handles sudden changes better which does not upset the car as much as stock suspension. Don't expect mircles but the changes are noticeable. Look forward to more tracks days to really dial in the settings

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https://youtu.be/Pn2rIqV8_vY

Here is a lap on the RCE SS1s. Just turn sound off or way down :)

Front 1 click stiffer over recommend track settings
Rear 2 clicks softer in rear

Pretty sure it would have been a bit lower as I had to let up a bit for the BMW into the S's

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Got the bolts in last weekend and reconfigured right heights and got a new alignment today.

https://i.ibb.co/R3DctDh/alignment-2.jpg

So we're on target although the front right is maxed out at -2.9, so getting more than this will require a more invasive solution. We will see if it's even needed, I ran this alignment on Hankook RS3s a few years ago and tire temperatures and wear were nice and even.

Not much to add specific to the suspension. Our government has just extended lockdowns to mid-June so no track reviews are going to be possible until then at the earliest. :(

Finally got some track time last weekend so I can give some track impressions on the SS1. For reference, I was driving on regular street tires (225/45/r17 Falken Azenis FK510) so regardless of anything else, I'm not going to be setting a new personal best or anything. I'm also seriously out of practice, this being my first time out since my accident. I only drove the car in sport mode in order to ensure that I drove the car home. I'm out of practice having not driven on track in over 2 years, and the last time I was on course, I put the car into a wall, so I decided to just spend the day and reacquaint myself with the track and track driving and take it easy.

This track is basically flat, technical, and kind of slow and it has some pretty bumpy pavement in places which presents unique challenges for vehicle suspension. The SS1 seems at home on this track though, at least to the point that I wasn't thinking about it unless I made an error, which is a good sign I think. There was no apparent understeer or oversteer bias in the suspension although driving in sport mode I think makes the car aggressively reign in any oversteer so it's hard to tell for sure. The SS1 definitely responds much faster than stock suspension which I find makes a car easier to drive and make corrections as you aren't waiting as long for weight transfer to finish. Also in contrast to the HKS suspension, it also soaks up the bumpy pavement and the occasional low speed slightly raised curb very well. The HKS was a bit too jarring over the really bad pavement and you could feel the tires skip across the pavement under braking which doesn't happen with the SS1. You also didn't dare hit raised curbs on the HKS unless you liked feeling your back teeth rattle. It's nice that I can take even tighter lines in places and the suspension doesn't seem to mind.

I'm planning 1 more track day in the fall in addition to the regional auto slalom event in August provided no major unexpected expenses crop up and we don't go back into lockdown again by then. I'm hoping to get a better tire, something like an RS4 or whatever else is in it's class next year and I think I should be able to improve my PB. I'll update again after the autoslalom and the next track day if I can expand on any more impressions.

I've had these on my car for a couple of years.

As a street and track blend/compromise I absolutely love them. They ride BEAUTIFULLY on the road, increasing handling/response and feel a huge amount from stock with a MUCH smoother/softer ride in nearly every way. Feels like cheating.

For AutoX, crank them all the way up and they are pretty great too. Even with wide 200tw tires they keep body roll low, contact patch up and have a great feel.

For track, the faster of a driver you are the less they will impress you. They feel a bit soft for hard track use, but still not bad. Just a tad underwhelming.

My wish list for these if I could choose:
I'd gladly give up the soft half of the adjustment (basically make the middle setting the 'softest" as it's PLENTY cushy there), have full stiff currently be the middle and go that far beyond into the stiffer range and they'd be PERFECT.

Still, It's hard to find affordable coilovers that aren't rough pogo sticks, and for the price these do a pretty decent impression of the Ohlins R&T (which are a tad soft for track use as well, but are REALLY nice on the road).

I don't have regrets - anything i'd prefer (namely RCE T2) are nearly 2x the price of these SS-1 so i'm plenty happy.

Well said. If you had them for that long might need a rebuild?

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I have 2 years and ~17k miles on my SS1's. No track days but plenty of autox. I swapped out the 6kg/mm springs to 7kg/mm springs last year. 2/86 in pax 4/86 in raw time(fastest raw time on street tires) yesterday in the fairly competitive Finger Lakes Region.:cheers:

No, it's not my DD. Seen just a few track days, a handful of autoX and maybe 3k road miles in that time.

They're still fresh.

How was that spring swap process? I take it you like the new rate? Very interested.

It was an easy process. Lower the spring perches, remove the suspension from the car, take the top hat off and slide the new spring on. IIRC I needed a large deep socket for the front camber plates, it's a decent sized nut. Setting the ride height again was pretty easy. I lowered the perches by an appropriate amount for the increased spring rate and spring length compared to the old springs and my ride heights were pretty spot on.

The higher rate is great for autox. The car reacts quicker in transitions and rolls much less. I took a quick 20 mile ride with just the 7k rear springs installed. I did not notice much difference in NVH. When I put the front springs on I noticed a definite uptick in road noise in the cabin at low speeds which I thought was odd.

It's not a change I would make if the car was strictly street driven or only occasionally autoxed. The car is a fair amount stiffer on the street. The body roll and engagement while driving on back roads isn't there unless you're driving at ludicrous speeds. I still think it rides well for what it is, a 392 lb/in spring with solid front strut top mounts. The ride still isn't jarring, it is busier though. For the cost of springs it's worthwhile IMO if you're looking for something more focused.

Not exactly apples to apples pictures,
6k springs

https://i.ibb.co/3pDdDcY/6kgmm-springs.jpg

7k springs

https://i.ibb.co/tK0HbZm/7kgmm-springs-2.jpg

Thank you for the reply! I'm definitely interested in this. Did you order the springs through RCE or somewhere else?

I might wait until mine need servicing/refreshing and then definitely have this done at the same time.

I bought a used new set of springs off the forums. I'm sure RCE wouldn't have any issues setting you up with 7k springs.

Swift springs are a popular spring upgrade. I bet if you work with RCE they will point you in the right direction

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We can set you up with 7 kg/mm springs when you're ready. :)

- Andrew

Was out doing autoslalom today. Still running Falken FK510, and the SS1 with -3f/-2.2r alignment, same as my last track day. Classed in STX on account of the suspension but I won't even be competitive with CS/DS drivers on account of my tires and my rust... but excuses won't buy me a faster car...

So I did pedal dance to get the most out of the car and more importantly, get a better feeling for how the suspension behaves without the fascist electronic nanny state taking over. I wasn't interested in worrying about suspension settings or tire pressures, more concerned about learning how to control the car at speed again. I'm happy to announce that it is my opinion that this suspension is better behaved than the HKS suspension was at the limit. In particular, I think the weaknesses of the HKS suspension come down to the 4k rear spring rate which doesn't feel like it's enough for the available stroke. Small mistakes on the HKS were easy to correct but big ones induced terrible snap oversteer. The 6k rear rates on the SS1 seem to keep the rear in check better, at no time was I unable to resolve a slide with ease. I'll also note that when slaloming, the car seems to be capable of handling slightly higher slaloming speeds before the chassis gets upset, something else I attribute to the higher rear spring rate.

I should be clear that I'm on the very edge of both the available weight transfer speed and the tire under my current configuration which makes me believe this suspension is well suited to this class of tire but I think someone looking for suspension for competitive auto slalom might want to look at something with more spring rate. I mean, you might be able to compensate with bigger sway bars and by increasing dampening but I think you should probably just look for something with more spring rate if that's where you want to go with your car.

Hi there, I'm looking into SS1 & came across the thread.

I'm do enjoy more backroad/canyon driving in southern cali/bay area + lots daily with occasion track once a year.
After your experience with them for almost 2 years, Would SS1 be a good match to my use of the car?


Btw can you tell me what is your tire/wheel setup in the photo here? :thumbup: :thanks:

I think the SS1 would be great for your use case.

I can tell you those gold 6 spoke wheels are a 5x100 bolt pattern, 71mm center bore, 17x7 et42 and they fit over the RR Racing BBK I had when I first bought them. I don't know the make or model and neither did the guy I bought them from.

The tires are 205/50r17 off-brand winter tire and I run that setup in the early spring and late fall and park the car on them over the winter.

I'll also use this chance to provide a bit of an update regarding my experience with the SS1. This year, I got a set of Konig Hypergram 17x9 et40 and 245/40r17 Falken RT660 tires for track use.

http://midnightwanderers.com/car/brz...-hypergram.jpg

I haven't done enough autoslalom on this setup yet to speak intelligently about it so I'll leave that out. That said, it has no problem handling the RT660 on track days. Weight transfer happens fast enough on my local course sweepers and transitions that you just set the car into the corner and then put your foot down all the way through and the car is completely stable. Trail braking is intuitive too. I've already set a new PB at my local road course by over a second on this setup and I'm still learning how to utilize the added grip from this class of tire.

Is there a trick or something I’m missing on how to loosen the 4 t-35 bolts on the camber plates?