Pbm's vs Bc coilovers
 

I'm torn between buying pbm's (powered by max) or bc coilovers with the extreme drop. Does anyone have any experience with the 2 coilovers? How do they compare with how low they go and the ride quality. I wont be doing any major driving just that static stance look. I can't seem to decide with which to buy.

I don't mind the stiff ride

Thanks for the help if any

Save your money and buy air ride if all you care about is hard parking and looking at it. That way it doesn't drive/ride like dog shit when you need to go anywhere.

No thanks I dont need the privilege to raise my car when I need to go somewhere. That's why I'm going to stay static

So I guess speed bumps and small abrupt parking lot entrances don't exist in Las Vegas?

If you want to buy crappy coilovers that will just allow you to slam it then why even inquire about ride quality? Nothing has a good ride quality when you have it that low. Buy whatever is cheapest so that it doesn't kill your wallet when you need to replace them.

Yeah basically and the roads are mainly smooth in my area no speed bor anything

Why not get cheap Megans then?

Or just remove the spring in the stock coilover then weld it? < I'm being a smart ass there. :D

buy good or not at all save your money so your not buy 2 cheap sets just 1 good set. KW or wait for Zeal to make some for our cars. QUALITY over quantity.

You obviously didn't read the OP. He just wants to be low, not have a quality coilover system.

I've ridden on the first production set of PBM coilovers (Dan's FR-S). They are actually really damn nice. These were the MAX Pro, I believe (the more expensive of the two). They sourced a spring that they liked a lot better than the Swift ones they were getting previously.

He took me down one of their local roads that has to be one of the worst in SD. Cracks and repairs everywhere. It rode firmly but smoothly over everything, then we did a few circles in the cul de sac.

One thing that probably helps a bunch is that he had their custom LCAs which add a good deal of travel for the rears. Solid diff bushings, too IIRC.

But I'll say, I was not expecting them to ride so nicely for "entry level pricing" coilovers.


Oh, and his car is pretty slammed. I could barely fit my shoe under the car.

For reference:
http://www.gtfactory.jp/cms/e107_fil...6_dsc04228.jpg

Oh I read it I was just trying to save hime from buying 2 sets because the first "cheap" set will blow or break and those mfg will not help you out, in fact most will not. I was doing research for a good set of coilovers for mk3 supra for a track build, I tried to contact multiple mfg multiple times and only had responses from Zeal, JIC, BuddyClub, and eventually Tein. Others wouldn't even acknowledge me so they were instantly off my list (wouldn't write me back in an email they probably wouldn't help me out if a shock blew). Zeal by endless and JIC were the ones who worked with me the most, BuddyCLubs were discontinued, Tein set was discontinued as well. A good set will run 2k but well worth it.

Thanks for being help. There just isn't any reviews on the pbms

No problem! I think if you have any questions about the PBM stuff, send them an email. Dan is usually really busy, but if you get to talk to him just say Matt V. (with the BRZ) sent you. He knows a crapload about suspension and how to fix the issues caused by lowering a car to extremes. Personally, I don't want to go that low. But I am seriously considering his coilovers if I don't just get springs.

wait for the RSR Black-i

Not true what so ever. You have 0 evidence to back that up.

But, back to topic. From personal experience I can tell you that BC Coil-overs suck ass, horrible valving, and ride like shit when you slam your car.

PBM Comps are supposed to suck, pros are supposed to be decent.

STANCE in my opinion makes the best entry level coilover, rides super smooth and good when your super low.

lol at all the closed minded guys posting in this thread...

and kw v3's aren't great by any means

I have a set of PBM coilovers and is one of the best bang for your buck entry level coilover. My friend owns stance coilovers on his brz and rides a bit more comfortably compared to the PBM on the same dampening settings. But I do admit the stance looks more well engineered due to the inverted mono tube. Haven't had a chance to test out bc coils so I have no valid opinion.

only thing about KW is that he wants to slam his car, and KW's don't go that low. I think it's 1.5" max f/r.

KW goes lower than that. I have a couple inches of threads left on mine front and rear and have already gone at least 1.5" - 2" all around. However you are right - KWs are not for slamming your car.

Lol. You must be new to the concept of suspension. To give you a very basic, non scientific answer, a shock cannot do its job when it is near or at full compression from the get go. This is what you have with a car that is super slammed. So your only options are let the shock bottom out, or max it out on full stiff to avoid bottoming out. That means (and I'm sorry it's too hard for you to comprehend) that the car will ride like shit. Lets not even take into account how terrible the suspension geometry is thrown out of wack by being that low.

That is 100% correct, on droop type coilovers like KW. BC Racing, Megan and a lot of other guys are not droop style, the ride height is adjusted by the shock body and not the spring. The shock travel remains the same no matter what ride height you are at.

It is not to be disputed however that the guys slamming their cars throw off the suspension geometry like no ones business, but we all know those guys only care about achieving a look and not how the car rides/performs.

BC's go lower than the PBM's. I much prefer the ride quality of the PBM's though and thats where I'd spend my money. (I did) but yah, get the Pro's.

I am an Engineer, have driven at over 2 dozen road courses, and have daily driven cars lower than what 99% of this forum has experienced.

Again you said "Nothing has a good ride quality" which isn't true. Ride Quality has nothing to do with roll center. Ride Quality is how the car feels when you drive it to the grocery store, and how it feels when you drive it across the country.

You could be on bags, touching the ground, and it would rice nice provide the equipment is not shit.

Again with the coilovers we are discussing, ride height is independent, your shock stays at the same length no matter what, so your argument is negated.

http://oi48.tinypic.com/315hcfb.jpg

"full stiff"

-That has nothing do with ride quality.

A good damper will feel like how your ride feels stock.

I wasn't associating the messed up geometry to ride quality. Go read again.

Dampening does effect ride quality. Yes, a good damper will feel like stock - but we aren't talking Ohlins or KW or Koni. We're talking budget coilovers. The valving in them is trash. Guys that want to set their shit as low as possible might run into the issue of bottoming wheel into fender due to poor compression or other issues and since the only adjustable aspect of a budget coilover is ride height and rebound dampening the rebound gets set all the way to hard to attempt to compensate. This clearly affects ride quality.

Ride quality is ultimately personal taste. Having experienced many of the budget coilovers myself (BC, Megan, DGR, K-Sport, etc) I understand what good ride quality is - and this is why I went with a high quality coilover. Rides like stock.

BCs can be lowered without compressing the shock. i think you might confusing the OP


ive never heard of the PBM coils but i have the extreme drop BCs , i believe they are the lowest you can buy on the market, but i could be wrong.

i disagree, a rolling static car looks better than any hardparked "air" car IMO .

So much for asking for help about a topic and people on here take it COMPLETELY off topic

And being able to air up when driving away is a privilege its not really needed. I agree with you a rolling static car looks better.