BC Racing Suspension (Install, and initial impression) Review

[mdracer76]

Hey all,

Figured I'd post up some pictures and impressions of a new suspension that I installed on my Z.

Over the weekend I installed (with the help of Dave and Juan at Function Tuned) the:

BC Racing BR-Type Coilovers for the 350z.

First impressions:

Packaged really well, and looking at the components on the suspension and I'm impressed!

30 levels of adjustability:


Nice touch for this price range.. A bracket for your brake lines / etc


The whole package:



Install is pretty strait forward:



Remove old (worn out) suspension



install shiny new BC Racing Coilover in front and rear:

Rear:


Front:

(additional items in the picture *SPC A Arms*)

Height adjustment is very strait forward, we adjusted the height on them coilovers to where we wanted them. The rear is set all the way down, but due to all the weight reductions on the car ( CF rear hatch with lexan being a biggie) the rear sits a little higher than what I thought it would.. but no complaints here. Also to note: The Design of this kit allows FULL shock travel, no matter what height you set it to.. VERY impressive.

You should also have the car aligned as soon as your ride height is set.







If you really want to go the extra mile have the car corner weighted.


Driving Impression

Wow, around town, on dampening set to full hard.. nice.. it feels like the car is on a razor. Its firm .. for sure. very little dive in corners. I feel even more confident on entry, and exit of corners. Wow.

Dampening set to on full soft... its surprisingly comfy, and compliant. I don't think I'd run this setting much since I don't mind a 'rough' ride. Since my Z is a weekender I don't think I'd use this setting unless I was on a reallllly long trip.

Dampening set to about the middle 8 all around. This is almost the perfect compromise, firm.. but not over-bearing, and not too 'soft'. Unless I am doing a track day, or going out to have some sideways fun.. this is where I will probably leave the car. I'm going to do some more 'fine tuning' with the dampening a bit more to see f I can come up with my perfect 'street' numbers.

I'm sure folks on this board will give me a :icon8: look since BC racing is not a 'brand' that you hear allot about. (think JIC, Tien, etc) and some JDM whores will shun it. I say, if you want a suspension, that does not break the bank, this is it.

I'll update this post with my impressions on how the coilovers feel on the track as soon as I can.

~Mike

[geoff567]

Nice write-up MD, I'll have to look at those when I have some spare cash.

[mdracer76]

Thanks.. figured Id drop an update...

have not had allot of time to track the car, however I was at a charity event this weekend for "Toys for Tots" and decided to do some doughnuts and small drifts (anyone that knows me, knows I'm a ricer and love to do stuff like this)

The suspension felt GREAT. Very predictable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kmSwJg1qSo

and then we threw on some 17" stockers for some moar!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSw3qWj4Gsk

[liftback]

u awesome!

[mreis2012]

hey mike great job on the review. I saw these BC coilovers for sale and i started to research and i couldn't find anything. I came across your thread and i found it very helpful. great review and props on your z. I am ordering my BC and I'm gonna install them soon.

Thanks

I hope you keep us posted with your damping tunes

[AndyB17]

Originally Posted by mreis2012

hey mike great job on the review. I saw these BC coilovers for sale and i started to research and i couldn't find anything. I came across your thread and i found it very helpful. great review and props on your z. I am ordering my BC and I'm gonna install them soon.

Thanks

I hope you keep us posted with your damping tunes

BUMP any damping tunes or recommendations fellas?

[xxxBUSBYxxx]

did you need a camber kit for the drop or any type of upper A-arms or anything like that?

[aaron.cobb3]

BC products are great. I would love to put my Z on coils. Are you adding some aftermarket sway bars later on or do you have some already?

[AndyB17]

@BUSBY: If you plan on dropping more than half an inch than you definitely need some rear camber arms at least. If you want it to sit real nice you're going to need front and rear camber arms for sure.

I'm currently running this setup with front and rear SPL arms and they're ballin! Dropped ~1.2" in the front and ~1.35" in the rear for a sleek looking ride thanks to AcidJake. With the 30 way adjustable coils I have the front set at 18 and the rear at 20 for a good DD/performance compromise. As a side note with these hoes set at full stiffness you wouldn't need sways IMO unless you plan on tracking the car. With my 18/20 setup I definitely feel the need to get some sways as you can feel the body roll drastically when cornering hard yet the wheels stay firmly planted. I highly recommend these coils for the price and performance they offer. Simply can't be beat.