BC Coilovers with T3 bolt in camber plates

[theczechone]

Hi guys, 

wondering if anyone has done this? The best i can tell, i will need to make a custom spacer between pillow ball and the BC top hat. I will post pics later.

[JustinOlson]

What would you want to do this since the BC coilovers have bolt in camber plates already if you go with the standard 3 stud variety?

[theczechone]

Hi Justin i think we have talked on another thread. 

My strut towers were hacked up to begin with and about two years ago i decided to go to a T3 bolt in camber plates. I did a ground control type coilover setup, but i didn't like that the springs would be completely unloaded when the car was jacked up and I wasn't happy with the available suspension travel at the ride height i wanted to be at. So i decided to go with the BC coilover setup. 

I tried to adapt to the T3 camber plates, and Gabriel from T3 was super helpful, even designed a setup that would work with the BC setup at a low cost to me. 

 

But i wasn't very fond of the way T3 top hats interact with the camber plate. So i welded on my three bolt plates as i shown in the other thread.

[mmendes]

 

 

My strut towers were hacked up to begin with and about two years ago i decided to go to a T3 bolt in camber plates. I did a ground control type coilover setup, but i didn't like that the springs would be completely unloaded when the car was jacked up and I wasn't happy with the available suspension travel at the ride height i wanted to be at. So i decided to go with the BC coilover setup

that is basically the exact predicament im in. How do you like the BC setup so far?

 

Also, I see you're in south Lyon, I live in waterford, work at chrysler. any chance I could come by and see it in person? I'm thinking of swapping out much of the suspension and brakes this winter but it'd be awesome to see the fitment before spending the cash. I'm also pretty handy with a wrench but an excellent buyer of adult beverages. 

[theczechone]

Hi 

The quality of BC parts is top notch. T3 provided a solution at a very reasonable price but after analyzing it i wasn't happy with the way the T3 top hats interact with the camber plates. My car is still deep in the project phase so i can't report on the ride, but from what i've heard, it's pretty good. 

I have both T3 setup and a BC setup in my garage so you can take a look at the parts before buying anything. 

I am an engineer for AVL powertrain, I have some colleagues that work on site at chrysler. You can come by and check stuff out, talk Z cars, wrench, drink alcoholic beverages in whichever order. PM me for my number.

[mal_tiempo]

Just curious, what didn't you like about the T3 top hat/camber plate combo? I have the weld-in version of that setup for the front waiting to go on, and I'm probably going to go with the bolt on version for the rear (my strut tops were hacked up by a shop already).

[theczechone]

My concern is mainly with the front setup.

To aid in turning, T3 uses a needle roller thrust washer that is sandwiched between the top hat and camber plate. The conventional camber plate design uses a ball joint carrier to handle suspension shock loads as well as turning. While I think the T3 setup is innovative I think it has a flaw. The camber plate is fixed to the chassis, but the top hat changes angle as the strut goes up and down. The only compliance in the system is the thrust bearing, but it is not intended to be loaded in such a way which leads me to believe that it will fail prematurely. 

 

See the cross section below. I made a ( representational) model of the strut assembly to made sure i am not missing anything. In the section, The yellow is the camber plate, the red is the top hat, and the gray rectangular bit is the thrust washer.

 

 

Having voiced my concern, i know there is a number of people using this setup so my worries may be unwarranted.

The BC coilover setup uses a ball joint as used in a conventional camber plate. Unlike the T3, the ball joint carrier on the BC setup is steel, so it should not wear out as fast as an aluminum one would.

[mal_tiempo]

My concern is mainly with the front setup.

To aid in turning, T3 uses a needle roller thrust washer that is sandwiched between the top hat and camber plate. The conventional camber plate design uses a ball joint carrier to handle suspension shock loads as well as turning. While I think the T3 setup is innovative I think it has a flaw. The camber plate is fixed to the chassis, but the top hat changes angle as the strut goes up and down. The only compliance in the system is the thrust bearing, but it is not intended to be loaded in such a way which leads me to believe that it will fail prematurely. 

 

See the cross section below. I made a ( representational) model of the strut assembly to made sure i am not missing anything. In the section, The yellow is the camber plate, the red is the top hat, and the gray rectangular bit is the thrust washer.

 

strutassy_exp.jpgstrut_section.jpg

 

Having voiced my concern, i know there is a number of people using this setup so my worries may be unwarranted.

The BC coilover setup uses a ball joint as used in a conventional camber plate. Unlike the T3, the ball joint carrier on the BC setup is steel, so it should not wear out as fast as an aluminum one would.

Interesting, staring at the parts off the car I thought that was a weird interface/I was missing a part, but I figured it was okay. Hopefully it's okay, I won't know until after winter anyway.