Looking for a new coilover .Need some advice

[mrharry]

Hey guys

Im currently looking for a new coilover that is great on the track and can drop low. Im currently running BC BR with Swift springs.

Heres a list that im thinking of
RS*R Black i
MCA Red/Blue

any advice would be great

[Captain Snooze]

Originally Posted by mrharry

is great on the track and can drop low.

Doesn't exist.


It has already been discussed that in Australia you are best off going with MCA. They are local and Murray and Josh are super helpful. Have you looked at MCA's website? If you had and you want to track your car you would know you want the Reds. A few people on theses forums have Reds (myself included) and one person I know of has Blues. MCAs are not made to go "low". There is a drop, I don't remember of how much but if you are wanting low then MCAs aren't for you as they were made for performance not show.

Here, have a read:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37468
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32990
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56419
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36454
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30492

[mrharry]

Originally Posted by Captain Snooze

Doesn't exist.


It has already been discussed that in Australia you are best off going with MCA. They are local and Murray and Josh are super helpful. Have you looked at MCA's website? If you had and you want to track your car you would know you want the Reds. A few people on theses forums have Reds (myself included) and one person I know of has Blues. MCAs are not made to go "low". There is a drop, I don't remember of how much but if you are wanting low then MCAs aren't for you as they were made for performance not show.

Here, have a read:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37468
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32990
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56419
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36454
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30492

I plan to go low when its not going to be hitting the track and raise it up for the track when i go

[Digitalanalog]

Originally Posted by mrharry

I plan to go low when its not going to be hitting the track and raise it up for the track when i go

thats alot of alignments you'll be buying

[boredom.is.me]

Originally Posted by Digitalanalog

thats alot of alignments you'll be buying

There's a little something called lifetime alignments.

[Captain Snooze]

Originally Posted by boredom.is.me

lifetime alignments.

What are they? Do they exist in Australia?

[boredom.is.me]

Originally Posted by Captain Snooze

What are they? Do they exist in Australia?

Sucks to suck. Here in le US of A, we have shops like Firestone that offer lifetime alignments. The FS LT price is about double the price of one so it's worth it. It isn't a "race" shop, but they get the job done.

[Jive Turkey]

Originally Posted by boredom.is.me

Sucks to suck. Here in le US of A, we have shops like Firestone that offer lifetime alignments. The FS LT price is about double the price of one so it's worth it. It isn't a "race" shop, but they get the job done.

yeah, if i bring my car to firestone they will have no idea what to do with half the suspension components. but it all depends on where you go i guess, each place is different. regardless i've aligned my car almost on a bi weekly basis to get it to how i want, i'm sure firestone would have told me to go away pretty quick.

Originally Posted by mrharry

I plan to go low when its not going to be hitting the track and raise it up for the track when i go

what you're not stating is a budget.

coilovers need travel, slamming a quality coilover is just pretty pointless. stick with your BC's and swift springs in that case.

[SomeoneWhoIsntMe]

Originally Posted by Jive Turkey

coilovers need travel, slamming a quality coilover is just pretty pointless. stick with your BC's and swift springs in that case.

lots of coilovers adjust ride height independently of spring preload by means of a threaded bottom bracket. there's also other ways of adjusting ride height independent of the struts / shocks.

the biggest limits on ride height are

1) roll center should be kept within reason if you want it to handle well

this can be solved by

a) using a tapered shank in a spherical bearing in place of the front lower ball joint

b) modified or fabricated steering knuckles and/or rear uprights

c) modifying the inboard pickup points on the subframes or going to tubular subframes

d) relocating the subframes higher

then
2) the rear axle issues, which can be alleviated with diff risers, different axles, axle spacers, or a tubular rear subframe

and finally
3) the height of the surface of the earth, which unfortunately cannot be modified. the absolute minimum ride height is whatever it takes to keep the frame off the ground at your maximum bump travel

[totopo]

Originally Posted by SomeoneWhoIsntMe

lots of coilovers adjust ride height independently of spring preload by means of a threaded bottom bracket. there's also other ways of adjusting ride height independent of the struts / shocks.

the biggest limits on ride height are

1) roll center should be kept within reason if you want it to handle well

this can be solved by

a) using a tapered shank in a spherical bearing in place of the front lower ball joint

b) modified or fabricated steering knuckles and/or rear uprights

c) modifying the inboard pickup points on the subframes or going to tubular subframes

d) relocating the subframes higher

then
2) the rear axle issues, which can be alleviated with diff risers, different axles, axle spacers, or a tubular rear subframe

and finally
3) the height of the surface of the earth, which unfortunately cannot be modified. the absolute minimum ride height is whatever it takes to keep the frame off the ground at your maximum bump travel

In terms of performance is what he meant. Your suspension needs bump travel to work. Bottoming out is bad. High spring rates are also bad. Negative camber gains on compression are good. At some point the benefit of lowering cg height is offset by the uselessness of your suspension.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...MqQOmwvZJsB1XQ

[SomeoneWhoIsntMe]

the OTHER thing that hasn't been discussed is what "on the track" means

even the worst setup will get you around a track at an HPDE event, or even cone chasing parking lot circlejerks. because he hasn't come to us with a specific class in mind that he's preparing his car for, we can assume that his car will be woefully under-prepared for any particular sporting event he attends, and thusly he won't be competitive anyway, for reasons far beyond having excessive roll couple

maybe it's just me, but I have a hard time taking complains about "too low to handle" seriously from anyone that still has an interior, radio, a/c, cats, anything but the stickiest of tires, airbags, etc. in their car.

[DAEMANO]

Originally Posted by mrharry

Hey guys

Im currently looking for a new coilover that is great on the track and can drop low. Im currently running BC BR with Swift springs.

Heres a list that im thinking of
RS*R Black i
MCA Red/Blue

any advice would be great

Black-i's are nice (very nice), but changing the ride height often would be a pain. You should be considering airbags or an Aircup system. Can't think of anything else that is going to accomplish what you're looking for.

[Lavalover]

There is even a thread for that:


http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=68140

[SomeoneWhoIsntMe]

Originally Posted by totopo

In terms of performance is what he meant. Your suspension needs bump travel to work. Bottoming out is bad. High spring rates are also bad. Negative camber gains on compression are good. At some point the benefit of lowering cg height is offset by the uselessness of your suspension.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...MqQOmwvZJsB1XQ

all I'll say about mike kojima is he's usually somewhat helpful, but take what he says with a grain of salt. if you'd like to learn something instead of being spoon-fed rules of thumb, check out carroll smith and milliken & milliken.