Recommendations for BC Coilover setup

[Greeko]

Hey guys,

I am very unhappy with the way the eibach progressive springs and kyb shocks ride. I feel the car is bobbing around and having a hard time loading the suspension into slightly more aggressive corners.

 

I am in the process of ordering some BC Coilovers for my 280 (1JZ, poly bushings , 245/40R17, 17x9 and ZG flares(presently its on blocks and being assembled).

The car will be primarily a daily driver in the spring, summer, fall with the odd autocross day. I don't want to slam it, making it difficult to navigate city streets or sore after driving for an hour lol. I would like it to look decent with good handling. 

 

After reading through some of the comments It seems like the standard coil overs do not drop the car very much (0-2"). The s30 especially the 280z is SUPER high and needs to be brought down a bit....

 

After speaking with BC they told me I can define the exact drop I would like so I am thinking of getting a custom kit with a 1.5-4.5" drop. (4k(225 lb/inch) in the front and 5k (280 lb/inch) for the rear.  (Stock is 115.4 Front, 127.7 Rear))

 

They also said they will be changing the shock body size and stroke based on my request. For a standard lowering kit they run 230mm body with 110mm of travel in front and 290mm body with 140mm travel in rear. They will probably take 20mm off each body and stroke length if I get a lower kit. Pretty neat eh...

 

Any feedback or recommendations would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

 

[seattlejester]

If you are unhappy with the progressive springs, maybe consider just swapping to a linear one? The KYB shocks are actually pretty comfortable and even with spirited driving it does a pretty good job of damping higher frequencies. I really enjoyed my tokico linear springs with the kyb shocks.

 

I think what you are describing is what they consider the extreme kit pretty much. Granted for at least the 240z the extreme has travel that will beach the car on standard sized tires. 

 

I think the consensus is not to go much higher than 5k as you are doing. With chassis flex coming into play if you play around with much higher rates. I don't know if it is the shock or the spring (I'm guessing the shock), the car uses a LOT of its travel even when maxed out on adjustment. On a big dip or hard acceleration I could hear the car scrub the tire and I swear I could feel it lock the wheel from rotating. I ended up raising the car above the height I had with the linear springs and kyb shocks. I now have 2 fingers in the back whereas I used to have 1 with my old combo. Car doesn't catch anymore, but the dampers don't feel that great.

 

 

[primaz]

I do not have a 280 but several 240's and I am in the process of completing my wife's 240z.  I rolled the fenders to ensure no issues with tire rub which is a good thing to do especially running 245's.  Her car has CCW's 16x8's with 245 on all four corners with no flares needed.  I went with the standard BC coil overs but upgraded the springs to their Swift spring option as I have read many feel those springs are a better ride.  I just finished our Mini Cooper 2003 S with BC coil overs with Swift springs and the handling is very good.  For the Mini we had to soften the settings almost to the softest setting for street driving but it works well.  I personally think with a 17" rim that the standard BC's would give it a good stance but again I have no experience with a 280?  My other 240Z is an older build on the suspension, with Ground Control coil overs, 16x8 rims with 245's, rolled fenders, no flares, and that Z is about 4 to 4.5" off the ground so it is fairly low; it is a street car and that is about as long as you want to go as I have to angle every driveway or speed bump to clear.  The BC's are great as you can adjust the camber, etc. easily and you do not need to weld in camber plates and are well made.

Edited December 1, 2017 by primaz

[Greeko]

17 hours ago, seattlejester said:

If you are unhappy with the progressive springs, maybe consider just swapping to a linear one? The KYB shocks are actually pretty comfortable and even with spirited driving it does a pretty good job of damping higher frequencies. I really enjoyed my tokico linear springs with the kyb shocks.

 

I think what you are describing is what they consider the extreme kit pretty much. Granted for at least the 240z the extreme has travel that will beach the car on standard sized tires. 

 

I think the consensus is not to go much higher than 5k as you are doing. With chassis flex coming into play if you play around with much higher rates. I don't know if it is the shock or the spring (I'm guessing the shock), the car uses a LOT of its travel even when maxed out on adjustment. On a big dip or hard acceleration I could hear the car scrub the tire and I swear I could feel it lock the wheel from rotating. I ended up raising the car above the height I had with the linear springs and kyb shocks. I now have 2 fingers in the back whereas I used to have 1 with my old combo. Car doesn't catch anymore, but the dampers don't feel that great.

 

 

I would have gone with Tokicos if i could find them...They are discontinued.... 

I would go with the recommended 4k up front and possibly 4.5-5k in the rear..

 

 

 

 

[Greeko]

10 hours ago, primaz said:

I do not have a 280 but several 240's and I am in the process of completing my wife's 240z.  I rolled the fenders to ensure no issues with tire rub which is a good thing to do especially running 245's.  Her car has CCW's 16x8's with 245 on all four corners with no flares needed.  I went with the standard BC coil overs but upgraded the springs to their Swift spring option as I have read many feel those springs are a better ride.  I just finished our Mini Cooper 2003 S with BC coil overs with Swift springs and the handling is very good.  For the Mini we had to soften the settings almost to the softest setting for street driving but it works well.  I personally think with a 17" rim that the standard BC's would give it a good stance but again I have no experience with a 280?  My other 240Z is an older build on the suspension, with Ground Control coil overs, 16x8 rims with 245's, rolled fenders, no flares, and that Z is about 4 to 4.5" off the ground so it is fairly low; it is a street car and that is about as long as you want to go as I have to angle every driveway or speed bump to clear.  The BC's are great as you can adjust the camber, etc. easily and you do not need to weld in camber plates and are well made.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I hear good things about the swift springs option...

 

Do you have any pics of the 240z with all the gear installed?

 

 

[primaz]

we are about a month from completing the final assembly but here are some pics

[sugisan]

Just wanted to give my person experience with BC coilovers.

I had them on my Mazda2 for less than 6 months and one of the rear shock started leaking. I contacted them several times (through email and their website) to try and get a replacement through their warranty, but they never responded. If you go to their facebook page, many people complain about their none response for warranty issues. 

There are not many options out there, especially a custom kit that you described, but something to keep in mind.