Good budget non adjustable coilovers for street and track?

[Ohio Enthusiast]

I'm looking to get height adjustable coilovers for my BRZ to correct the reverse rake that my current setup produced (which I suspect is also slowly killing my CV axles). I daily drive the car in all seasons, winter, snow and salt included. I drive in a spirited manner on the street. I track the car 2-4 times a year in Mid Ohio. No autocross.

Current mods:

• Drivetrain - stock with stiffer bushings (engine/trans/diff/subframe)
• Power - stock
• Brakes - stock; running track pads and rotors for track
• Suspension - RCE Yellow springs with stock dampers, GP Sport traction mod
• Alignment - camber -2.8 front (camber bolts top and bottom, Pedders offset mounts), -2.3 rear (from lowering). Slight toe out front, slight toe in rear
• Wheels/tires - 17x7 stock wheels with 215/45R17 UHP all seasons for street, 17x9 ET35 with 245/40R17 200TW tires for track

What I'm looking for:

• Height adjustment
• Able to handle daily driving in winter/snow/salt
• Leaning more towards sporty/track than comfort/street. Higher spring rates than the RCE Yellows
• Prefer non adjustable damping
• Comfort can be reduced vs. stock or the RCE Yellows

Options I'm considering:

• Bilstein B14
• RCE Tarmac Zero

Anything good I'm not thinking about? Budget is "as lowest as possible while giving good results". Ideally below $1,500. Anything over $2,000 is definitely a no-go. Willing to consider DIY solutions (separate dampers/springs, strut mounts, etc, so long as there's clear compatibility for the components).

[autoracer86]

RCE SS1

[Ohio Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by autoracer86

RCE SS1

Why SS1 and not T0? Seems that the T0 are a better fit for my needs, no?

[autoracer86]

Originally Posted by Ohio Enthusiast

Why SS1 and not T0? Seems that the T0 are a better fit for my needs, no?

The SS1 is a little cheaper and seems to be a very popular choice for your use case. You can always just ask RCE.

I would says the SS1 is also the better performance option and should still provide good ride quality. I do like that the zero has the better coating though.

[RToyo86]

SS1 have good valving for these, I love my set, only thing I'd consider is SuperStreet series are galvanized vs tarmac are full stainless. Part of the differences when RCE was designing SS to be more price aggressive.
You do gain rebound adjust with SS1 over T0s. I've played with mine a bunch for daily use. Originally quite soft(quick) which was good for bumps but bad for playing on onramps. Ended up right around the middle 11 clicks from stiff.

I'm not sure I'm going to run mine in the snow as I suspect they may eventually rust with day to day use. I picked up a set of GR86 take off to swap in.

T0 being full stainless would definitely be more salt friendly

[Ohio Enthusiast]

I reached out to RCE and they suggested Tarmac Zero from the same reasons I was thinking - non adjustable damping so nothing to fiddle with and stainless steel to handle winter salt. They also said that the T0 are valved similarly to the SS1 at the middle setting.

Hopefully someone has some other suggestions, but looks like T0 are a good bet for me.

[DarkPira7e]

Stainless or not, adjustment hardware will seize. Make sure you're coating the threads and rings when you put things together

[cmiovino]

RCE SS-1 owner here.

One thing I will slightly caution about is "height adjustment". While yes, they're height adjustable technically, you're really just adjusting pre-load (as opposed to strut body length), so you're a bit limited in adjustment. Think of it as fine adjustment. I wanted mine a bit higher to clear my garage, but at the level I wanted, I didn't have enough droop travel for autocross. The springs were well "jammed up" with the perches when I originally set them up.

If you truly want height adjustment, you'll likely need a threaded body coilover. Looks like the Tarmac zeros are very similar to SS-1's in the height adjustment department, just no adjustment on the valving. The issue with threaded bodies is you start interfering with the internals of the body fitting the threaded part in there, so you typically get a less quality valving / internal structure. More higher end coilovers aren't threaded typically. All depends on what you're valuing and how high you need the ride height. I feel like both the Tarmac Zeros and SS-1's will end up being lower than the RCE Yellows by a hair.

Not saying RCE isn't great - they are. I really like mine. Just wish I could have set them a hair higher while still meeting the autox bump/droop requirements for the garage and other obstacles around here.

[Racecomp Engineering]

Sorry for jumping in late!

Yes, it's the same height adjustment for SS1 and T0 so you have to lower the car at least a little bit. We recommend about a 25mm drop.

Out on the west coast, Will L. crushes it in 86 Challenge time attack with T0 coilovers (2024 Touring class championship winner). He's a very good driver.
He was on off the shelf springs last year and just switched to 7k/7k.
He runs the Pedders mounts too. Nothing too fancy.
https://www.instagram.com/trackday_gr86/

They're very good on track. I do think SS1 ride a smidge better (when adjusted down), but for your uses the T0 is a great fit.

I run my coilovers (a custom KW, but the finish is the same as SS1) year round through salty snow and I don't remember the last time I washed my car. They're holding up great and the Tarmac series with the stainless bodies are even better. You should probably wash your car more than me though.

- Andrew