Review: RCE Yellow Springs and KONI shocks

[Grimlock]

Intro

Since I purchased my BRZ I knew I'd want a new suspension under it - something a bit more aggressive and a bit lower. I've done the coilover thing in the past, but I've always been impressed by a good spring/shock setup.

After some research, I decided I'd go with Yellow springs from @Racecomp Engineering. They know what they are talking about with suspensions; plus they are a local company, so that means a lot to me. But there were no aftermarket shocks available at the time. So I waited.

There was a lot of talk about Koni springs and after having a set of Koni Sports on a Miata, I decided I'd wait for them. @Turn in Concepts , being right down the road from Koni, provided me with the shocks. As a bonus, they pre-installed the fronts into stock damper housings before mailing them off to me (for a fee). That allowed me to keep my stock shocks intact for posterity and resale.

RCE provided me with the springs, OEM crash bolts, and a Whiteline rear camber bushings (aka, their BRZ Lite kit). I also bought a set of Whiteline rear subframe bushings based off of Andrew's suggestion.

I decided to have the whole install done at Racecomp because I didn't want to install those camber bushings myself given the amount of work involved (ain't nobody got time for that).

When I got the car back from RCE they had installed everything but the camber bushings (the alignment shop does that), and they couldn't get it to the shop then because of the "massive" snow storm we were expecting at the time. The alignment and camber bushings will be done shortly.

Suspension Impressions

When I picked up the car, the Konis were set at full stiff, so I drove it around like that for a bit. At full stiff, the car is very stiff. I could feel ever pebble, every undulation in the road. Waviness in the road that I never knew was there was now apparent to me. I though the car cornered flat before! This was quite the experience. At this setting I don't see the need for sway bars at all.

But, for daily driving 'full stiff' is too stiff, so I dialed it back some - To one full turn from 'full stiff' (there's 2 turns up front and 2.25 turns for the rear total). This setting felt pretty good. The suspension compression felt pretty stockish to me, though. I wanted to be a bit more aggressive. I dialed the front and rears to 1/2 turn from full stiff. And that's where it is today. It's a bit more aggressive and I like it. So that's where I'll start tuning it once I get my stickier tires.

On the street I notice that the traction control kicks in less when I decide to punch the gas on a hard turn from a stop. The rear tires are definitely sticking more, and I like that. The suspension gives me more confidence even with my "Prius tires."


As a side note: adjusting the shocks is very easy. The fronts are right there obviously, and the rears are pretty accessible. Fold back the outside edge of the trunk mat (there's grooves for this) and then bend back a little section of the sidewall carpet and the adjusters preset themselves.

Autocross

A few week ago I took my then-stock BRZ to an autocross. The car was fun, but it was pretty hard to keep the back end from sliding all over the place and I posted times accordingly. You could tell the bones of the car were good, and the tires were the main thing holding it back.

Well, fast forward two weeks and there's another autocross at the same lot, so I decided to take the BRZ there again, now with its shiny new suspension. Let me say that, even with the stock tires (and the lack of a proper alignment), the new suspension made a world of difference. The car can still easily rotate, but unless I mash the go-pedal the back end follows the front pretty well. It's a neutral set up. I didn't really detect much (if any) understeer. It just felt very good. The tires are still holding the car back, but I was able to propel the BRZ to a second-place finish in my small class.

All-in-all I can't recommend this setup enough. And the cost of the suspension (and bushings), including the cost of installation (and alignment), was about as expensive as mid-level coil overs (KW V3s). But even with the coil overs you're still missing camber correction, which is absolutely necessary, in my opinion, if you wan to get the most out of your upgrades.

Working with @Racecomp Engineering and @Turn in Concepts has been great as well. There was a slight snafu with my order (in addition to the stupid snow storm threat), but it was resolved quickly with some great effort put in by a lot of folks.

And here's the requisite cell phone 'pic for clicks.' This is my car after the suspension install. I've driven it about 400 miles since the install, and the ride height has stayed the same according to my tape measure.

Let me know if you have any questions.

[Apex Chase]

Planning on doing RCE yellow, Koni dampers, and bushing upgrades as well. Thanks for the feedback.

[FastLane1000]

Thanks, for the review. I can echo the feeling of more neutral after Koni Sports and springs. The back end feels more planted and the car feels more balanced. I have a lot more confidence going in to a turn now. I've had mine on full soft since installing but may try tightening them up. Thinking of cutting holes over the rear adjustment points but leaving the circle semi attached like a little door over the adjusters.

[Brzzee]

Thanks Grimlock for a great review.

Your combination is exactly what I've spec'ed for my BRZ. RCE puts a tremendous amount of effort in their R&D which makes their terrific customer service just icing on a very sweet cake.

I'm going to be training at Quantico, VA in April. Any possibility of seeing your set-up? PM please, if so.

[was385]

Out of curiosity (because I'm not all that experienced with this), what is the difference between shocks/springs setup and coilovers?

[Racecomp Engineering]

Thanks for the review! It was a pleasure working with you. I think this kit is great for someone looking for a worry-free, fast, FUN, and confidence inspiring sport set-up that looks good too.

Originally Posted by was385

Out of curiosity (because I'm not all that experienced with this), what is the difference between shocks/springs setup and coilovers?

A coilover is simply a shock/spring set-up that is height adjustable and (usually) uses standard sized springs.

- Andy

[UnOvertime]

I am getting my RCE yellow springs next week. I was thinking of the Koni's since they are on sale, but the RCE's work well with the stock shocks and I was thinking of going until they needed to be replaced. However upon seeing reviews, I am not so sure that I should pass them up now and get it all done at once.

My car is strictly a DD and will probably never see a track/autox day.

[Grimlock]

Originally Posted by UnOvertime

I am getting my RCE yellow springs next week. I was thinking of the Koni's since they are on sale, but the RCE's work well with the stock shocks and I was thinking of going until they needed to be replaced. However upon seeing reviews, I am not so sure that I should pass them up now and get it all done at once.

My car is strictly a DD and will probably never see a track/autox day.

My thoughts on this is that I would get the Konis now. For several reasons:

1) They are on sale for a few more days. I bought them before the sale and I still think they are worth it.

2) It's the same level of work to put them in now as opposed to waiting, so if you wait you'll be doing the same work all over again.

3) You can start enjoying the better setup now.

What you gain by waiting is that you can get a feel for just the springs and then see what difference the shocks make. I can't separate the two (comparison-wise) because I did everything at once.

[was385]

Originally Posted by Racecomp Engineering

A coilover is simply a shock/spring set-up that is height adjustable and (usually) uses standard sized springs.

- Andy

So this is just buying the pieces individually with Koni's and RCE springs instead of together (coilovers)?

[UnOvertime]

Originally Posted by Grimlock

My thoughts on this is that I would get the Konis now. For several reasons:

1) They are on sale for a few more days. I bought them before the sale and I still think they are worth it.

2) It's the same level of work to put them in now as opposed to waiting, so if you wait you'll be doing the same work all over again.

3) You can start enjoying the better setup now.

What you gain by waiting is that you can get a feel for just the springs and then see what difference the shocks make. I can't separate the two (comparison-wise) because I did everything at once.

Any thoughts on this from @Racecomp Engineering?

[Grimlock]

Originally Posted by was385

So this is just buying the pieces individually with Koni's and RCE springs instead of together (coilovers)?

No. "Coilovers" have a threaded perch (where the bottom of the spring sits). So you can adjust how high or how low the perch sits on the shock. Lowering the perch lowers the ride height of your car, and raising the perch does the opposite. They do come as a combination though (the springs and the threaded-perch shocks)

Basically, with coilover you can adjust your ride height after install. With regular springs and shocks you are limited to one ride height.

Height-adjustable coilovers started out in the racing world. With them, you can adjust the height of each corner of the car individually. Because of physics, when you raise or lower one corner in relation to the others, it changes the amount of weight of the car that each corner supports. By adjusting the ride height with all of the wheels on scales, you can get it so that each side supports relatively the same amount of weight. That allows left turns on the track to be dynamically the same as right turns.

When they became cheaper and available for street cars, most people use them to dial in the exact amount of lowering that they want. Like springs/shocks, coilovers come in 'performance' setups and 'looks' setups, so not all are created equal.

[leon78]

Just ordered the same set-up on monday....thanks for the write-up.

[Grimlock]

Originally Posted by Brzzee

Thanks Grimlock for a great review.

Your combination is exactly what I've spec'ed for my BRZ. RCE puts a tremendous amount of effort in their R&D which makes their terrific customer service just icing on a very sweet cake.

I'm going to be training at Quantico, VA in April. Any possibility of seeing your set-up? PM please, if so.

Thanks! I wouldn't mind showing you my setup, but Quantico is a couple of hours away.

[was385]

Originally Posted by Grimlock

No. "Coilovers" have a threaded perch (where the bottom of the spring sits). So you can adjust how high or how low the perch sits on the shock. Lowering the perch lowers the ride height of your car, and raising the perch does the opposite. They do come as a combination though (the springs and the threaded-perch shocks)

Basically, with coilover you can adjust your ride height after install. With regular springs and shocks you are limited to one ride height.

Height-adjustable coilovers started out in the racing world. With them, you can adjust the height of each corner of the car individually. Because of physics, when you raise or lower one corner in relation to the others, it changes the amount of weight of the car that each corner supports. By adjusting the ride height with all of the wheels on scales, you can get it so that each side supports relatively the same amount of weight. That allows left turns on the track to be dynamically the same as right turns.

When they became cheaper and available for street cars, most people use them to dial in the exact amount of lowering that they want. Like springs/shocks, coilovers come in 'performance' setups and 'looks' setups, so not all are created equal.

And now I understand. Thanks!