The SUS MP21S1 is a one piece front design. The older Ohlins for this platform used to be both 2 piece.

Pics:

https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-3in6...437462.jpg?c=2

My MCS 2-Way with 9k(F) 11k(R) ride miles better than my Tein Street Flex I replaced.

Only one pic showing the two piece design. :iono:

Xida/949 is two piece as well, even on the Miatas the lower mount is threaded. It's not the devil and everything has some form of compromise, even $10k Penske's aren't magic.

This is a good thing to point out too. Motorsport grade coilovers tend to actually ride very well. Another anecdotal data point, my 800 lbs/in spring Xidas rode miles better than my 400 lbs/in Bilsteins in my Miata.

The difference of 1 vs 2 piece is that in a one 1 piece design the length of the shock is the entire body, where as on a 2 piece design the shock body does not extend the full length. In that example on the right you can see the Ohlins front shock is the entire length, where as on the left it is not. That's 1 piece vs. 2 piece. To your point though, exactly right. Everything is a compromise and you don't always benefit from increased shock travel at a certain point.

The suspension mounting point is threaded and adjustable on both dampers pictured, no different from a BC Megan or Tein which also have the damper body go past the strut mount, they just don't waste money cnc machining a strut mount and instead weld steel together for the necessary features. The picture you show is no different from the 'old' design either.

By your definition Tein, BC, Megan, etc. are all '1-piece' fronts.

https://frsport.com/images/detailed_...d36a94c14b.jpg

Edit: adding tein;

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/00...g?v=1608045906

That's fair. The difference is that those brands you mentioned use a china shock cartridge that wasn't designed for the application and is likely way shorter (therefore having decreased travel). For some more anecdotal data, there was nearly 15% more total shock travel on my RCE T2's than my FEAL 441's for the reason stated when I tested them side by side.

I have been on my RCE SS-1s for about 3 months and they are great. The ride is similar to OEM but the handling is spot on; zero body roll. I’m in the middle with dampening and haven’t even thought about changing it.

For $1,500, they’re tough to beat, IMO.

The silver ones are Megan track coilovers. I had those at one point and I think they had the shortest front shaft I've ever seen on any car suspension - so that "one-piece" design intended on preserving usable length and travel was pretty much wasted on those coilovers.

Yeah, looks like the ST are back from $527.40 to $879.00. Whatever that was, it ended today it seems.

Damn it. I sold those. I'll take a look at the XT and XTA models and weight those versus shelling out the extra $1000 for KW or Ohlins. I mean, at this point, if an extra $1000 is the price for peace of mind and my car becoming less sketchy and less annoying to drive, then it's what I'll gonna have to do to do it right and never have to worry about it again.


Son of a beach... What a bunch of crooks. I wish I would have known this invaluable information beforehand. Wish I would've went the extra $400 and went with the KW or Ohlins instead of RS*R. I am very angry. But I have no one to blame but myself for not doing enough research. :mad0259:


Thanks for this comparison. Honestly, I might just go for the KW V3 or Ohlins. Really hard to beat the "you get what you pay for" statement when you've already failed twice due to going cheap. Now its a matter of deciding which one of those two, I guess. Part of me is just dreading getting the XT or XTA and it not working out. Third time's usually the charm, though, but I might have to go all out to make it happen.

Hmmm, this one is appealing too. I'm seeing KW pop up once more, along with "affordable", both of which appeal to me as it seems like I'd be getting quality for a good deal, but then that begs the question of what is the compromise that RCE SS-1 has that the KW V3 doesn't suffer from?

I think this thread has completely derailed itself with this pedantic 1piece vs 2piece conversation. The type of coilover means less than the quality and internal damping characteristics. With Ohlins/KW/Xidas etc you're paying for what's inside (as well as the build quality) over any of the BC based systems.

Also keen to know the coilovers that provide the best comfort / performance / price. Won’t be tracking the car so was thinking of giving the Bilstein B14s a go.

KW V3 has stainless bodies while RCE SS-1 has Zinc bodies like the STs. But considering the engineers over at RCE are experts with our car's suspensions, and the SS-1 is like $600 cheaper, I'd opt for the ss-1.

Only major difference would be a possibly higher spring rate on the SS-1, meaning they could possibly be more track oriented than the KW V3.

Ss1 is single adjustable and v3 is double adjustable.

If it's not seeing track/autox then the softer spring rates and oe top hats are a better fit.