BC Racing BR coilovers review 7k F/9k R

[tmontague]

I thought I'd get a thread started about my thoughts so far on my coilovers. The plan is to update this as I go and get more seat time in my car.

Currently the car is on 14" winter tires and I have had no track days or autox days with it. I have just done some spirited driving and commuting with it.

The install is relatively straight forwards as you do not need a spring compressor like you do with the factory suspension. The longest part by far is adjusting preload and height. If you are doing this in a driveway on your back then it becomes much more cumbersome than if you have a lift. My current set up is 5 1/4" front height and 5 3/4" rear height (measured to the jack points) It currently has a bit too much rake so I will be raising the front a 1/4" so that my rake is 1/4" total.

Front springs 7 3/4" length
https://scontent-yyz1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/29789916_10156416926872743_4052568586639132824_n.j pg?_nc_cat=0&oh=cd4d03c9f6c2174d9c0e06c46d3627db&oe=5B6BA480

rear spring 6" according to Tom Armstrong if you want to successfully corner balance your car then do not get anything longer than a 6" rear spring
https://scontent-yyz1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/30124746_10156416926712743_5843403204924524139_n.j pg?_nc_cat=0&oh=922f9c9901f211608fa54c34eb8bd739&oe=5B75222D

https://scontent-yyz1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/30222276_10156416926587743_5713307579556038640_n.j pg?_nc_cat=0&oh=a1f1ce1be32ec4eaf6ebdf0e2d8fe2b3&oe=5B6D04A6

https://scontent-yyz1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/29792419_10156416926447743_5497515757350904127_n.j pg?_nc_cat=0&oh=02cb3a1845c33bcb69b39a80767c87ac&oe=5B311E8B

my bottom portion of the rear shock
https://scontent-yyz1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/29695425_10156416926302743_8768221561154403061_n.j pg?_nc_cat=0&oh=823996cf192bd7acd00385b6ea6664aa&oe=5B619C54

Bottom of Tom Armstrong's rear shock, as you can see it is stubby'r
https://scontent-yyz1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/29790829_10156416926107743_4606714323538360981_n.j pg?_nc_cat=0&oh=c4293e89364761e8522a3e4f3f706271&oe=5B71DA7A

The coilovers come with this spacer, make sure you leave it installed. The bearing goes on top of this and then the nut get torqued down on top of the bearing. Then the rubber isolator gets placed on top of the nut.
https://scontent-yyz1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/29694395_10156412134807743_5044747694089689531_n.j pg?_nc_cat=0&oh=935f5673d025345b3eb930bcb228ea22&oe=5B2D3DB7

Due to the salty winters up here I had to disassemble all of the coilovers and coat in a layer of copper anti seize. This was messy and took a lot of time but is worth it. I will be coating everything in a layer of Krown rust inhibitor next week to add further protection. I also used a white paint marker to mark my front camber bolts so that I didn't have to go for an alignment, this way the bolts were installed back the way they were adjusted when it was aligned last summer. This appears to have worked well based on a quick look at camber comparing both sides.

After listening to some YW members I felt that the optimum spring rate for me was a 7k F and 9k R set up. This will allow me to remove my TRD rsb which frees up the rear H bar axle to act as a true semi independent system as it is designed to be.

I originally wanted to go with Fortune Auto coilovers but they only offered custom front spring rates and the stiffest they had available in the rear was 3k which was much too soft for me. The DR coilovers by BC were out of my price range so I opted to the BR version which does not have a digressive damper so a potentially less refined ride than the DR variant. My whole reasoning for purchasing coilovers was so that I can corner balance my car and have optimum weight distribution, I can have a higher spring rate and reduce the nose dive I was experiencing at the track and I can customise/adjust the dampening from front to rear to aid in how the car steers in corners as well as have a slightly softer ride when I DD and a stiffer one at the track.

These coilovers cost me just over $1500 CAD with taxes and shipping so all in all not too bad if they last a decent amount of time. They are rebuildable which is good so if they do blow out down the road I don't needs to drop another grand. Quality coilovers (think KW, Ohlin's etc) would have run well over $2000 all in and were out of my price range and amount I was willing to spend on this car just for suspension.

The BR's are by no means a budget cheap set of Coilovers like other ebay ones for $500 USD but are somewhat a middle ground. I expected them to ride harsh due to the high spring rates but to my surprise they are really tolerable. Compared to my previous set up (Excel G struts, Tokiko Blue shocks and MI springs, TRD rsb) this set up actually dampens the small irregularities in the road better. On large bumps or drops in the road (think large cracks) they are slightly harsher as there is more energy from the spring pushing the tire down.

My wife road in the car with my 16 year old son and he didn't mind the new spring rates. My wife stated that she didn't really notice a difference in roughness but she did notice how little body roll there was. I currently have the dampers set at 6 clicks F and 11 clicks R from the softest setting. I will eventually start playing around with these, but my concern is if I go softer then the springs will get bouncy, but we'll see.

A few installation tips and tricks I found out:

To make the rear dampers accessible to adjust just remove the left and right plastic trim pieces located on each side of the back of the rear seat (located when the seats are folded down). This allows you to fully access the top of the shock by just flipping the seat down. You have to remove these pieces anyways to install the shock but don't re install them and you'll be fine. The seat once flipped up covers that piece anyways so you cannot notice it missing.

Adjuster extenders from BC are useless as they are not long enough to reach above the rear speaker shelf so don't spend extra on them. I received mine free as they had a promo but I will not be using them.

To have easier access to front strut dampening adjuster you can take a pry bar and slightly pry the metal cowling that sits in front of the windshield. This will bend the metal and give you the clearance to fit your allen key adjuster into the top of the damper

I'll post pics later this week to give a visual. Overall I am impressed with the ride quality these coilovers give as well as the build quality. Time will tell how long they last but if these last a decent amount of time then I'd say they are a good option at a decent price point. The yaris is a light car and tends to be easy on things like suspension so that should help as well.

[atomic_hoji]

Nice write-up, thanks! :thumbsup:

I've been dabbling in the idea of coilovers for the future upgrade and have had an eye on the BC Racing setup after seeing Tom's install. I've found the same thing you list - not a cheapy eBay setup, but not into the bigger cost brands. Most reviews I've read are positive on the BC line - only the one Yaris review, but reviews on other platforms seem to say they're good. Rebuildable and parts available is nice to boot.

Looking foraard to hear more as you settle into them as a DD and get a track day or two on them..

-- Adam

[fujiwaru]

I've had my BCs installed for about 10 months now, having gone through half a season of autocross as well as a daily and I really enjoy them. Only thing is I wish I got them brand new since I got them used, but they were pretty cheap from another Yaris driver here in the islands so i'm okay with it.

I have 5k springs up front, 3k rear. I might get stiffer springs before the next autocross season starts up later this year.

I use the extenders on my car. I have them routed towards the trunk for easy access.

[malibuguy]

I was curious about these for these cars.

My MI springs on blues ride like a garbage truck. I put the stock springs back on, still reusing the blues and the ride is 90% the same. SO I know the dampers are my main factor for the crap ride quality.

I want to put the springs back on, I hate the 4wd status. But I am considering coilovers. I have Fortune Auto 500s on my Tercel with Swift springs and it rides better.

I recently helped my buddy put some BCs on his gs300 and rides pretty well, but its hard to compare as its another 1300~lbs and independent suspension

[tmontague]

Corner balance and alignment booked for May 1st, I'll post some updates after that.

[ern-diz]

Corner balance and alignment booked for May 1st, I'll post some updates after that.

Nice!

[tmontague]

I was curious about these for these cars.

My MI springs on blues ride like a garbage truck. I put the stock springs back on, still reusing the blues and the ride is 90% the same. SO I know the dampers are my main factor for the crap ride quality.




I agree, the MI spring with Blue's definitely rode harsher than I thought they would but I still found them DDable

so far the BR's quality is impressive but much too early to know definitively. I had a slight whistle on high speed slight bumps coming from the front left strut area. It seemed to go away after a couple days so no idea what that was about

I reduced the dampening down from 6F and 11R to 3F and 8R (clicks from full soft) and the ride actually got harsher. Not much bumpier but harsher. I'll be going back to 6/11 on my commute home. I was surprised by the opposite change then I expected

[fujiwaru]

How have the springs been so far? I've gotten to a point with my setup that the springs feel too soft and I've been having rubbing issues on the front going over small dips in the road. In addition whenever I autocross it, even with the dampers set to max, there is still a significant amount of dive. I've considered upgrading to the swift springs but i'm hesitant to get them since it's also my daily.

[tmontague]

Springs have been great, especially at the track. A bit stiff for daily driving but the roads where I live are atrocious. Imo if you are going to spend the cash on Swifts you are better off with a proper coil over or else your springs will likely be under dampened assuming you go with stiffer springs

It still surprises me how little dive there is on hard braking

[Ronnie V]

I have a set of these coilovers on the way. I also ordered the swift springs on the side........after going back and forth with BC about the fact the stock springs are not included if you get the Swift springs..........

This made no sense to me as the Swift spring upgrade is $500 which is basically the cost of the Swift Springs alone......

So after many emails and 2 phone calls I am getting the BC racing springs on the coilovers and the Swift springs on the side. I did this for one reason, everyone says the Swift springs are lighter. We are going to see exactly how much lighter they are. :)

Ron

[fujiwaru]

I have a set of these coilovers on the way. I also ordered the swift springs on the side........after going back and forth with BC about the fact the stock springs are not included if you get the Swift springs..........

This made no sense to me as the Swift spring upgrade is $500 which is basically the cost of the Swift Springs alone......

So after many emails and 2 phone calls I am getting the BC racing springs on the coilovers and the Swift springs on the side. I did this for one reason, everyone says the Swift springs are lighter. We are going to see exactly how much lighter they are. :)

Ron

What spring rates did you get for both the BC and Swifts?

[Ronnie V]

After riding in Trevs car I went with the same spec he ordered.

7K fronts, 9K rears. I ordered the swifts in the same spring rates. I am going to use the BC springs on another car I have that has coilovers with very tired springs.

[fujiwaru]

Seems like 7k is a good spring rate for the front after going through multiple threads. I'll have to do a little more reading to determine the rears.

Looking forward to hear how the Swifts handle. I haven't heard much on them other than reading Tom's (Armstrong Racing) blogs but I believe he was running 5k Swifts both front and rear. Then again his car was more race car than a daily so it wouldn't necessarily translate over to my car :iono:

[Ronnie V]

7K/9K is a compromise for the street. If my car was a dedicated track car I would have gone 9K fronts 11K rears.........maybe even 10k/13k

A spring is a spring is a spring. The swifts will handle no differently than any other spring. Other than the fact they are supposed to be lighter (which we will see definitively one way or the other) which is good because of unsprung weight.

If your dampeners are not valved for the appropriate spring rates then the most you should go up or down is 2K from the stock setup. Putting a 9K spring on the back without the proper valving in the shock will not work properly.

Ron

[ArmstrongRacing]

Great review Trevor, I’m glad you have had good experiences with BC as well. Even though I’m only running 5k springs, I’ve been told that I should consider going with about 8k springs in the future. What I have now is fine for street tires, but if I was to get Hoosiers then Ill need to upgrade springs as well.

[fujiwaru]

Deciding to go with the same combo 7k front/9k rear spring setup as everyone else. However on the BC website, the smallest spring for the rear was a 160mm? Is that the smallest they can go? I'll contact BC tomorrow to see if they have any other options. Planning for 62-200mm-7kg fronts, and maybe 62-150mm-9kg rear.

[Ronnie V]

There is a shorter spring.

Be warned, I am currently dealing with an improper valving issue on mine. Correct springs installed but I am sure the valving is incorrect. On full soft I can bounce the back of the car up and down like a springboard........not good.

I will update this later today after I call back again. On Friday I had Kevin from sales tell me a person from tech would call me back shortly when they got back from lunch.

I am going to give it till noon today and then try calling in again.

So far not that impressed but let's see how they handle this........

Ron

[tmontague]

To add to what Ron said, BC is not easy to get a hold of compared to other companies in have dealt with such as fortune auto. That said I have had a great experience with my coilovers as mine were valved properly. They did forget to send my adjuster extenders but they fixed that soon after.

Imho the best solution is to buy coilovers through fortune auto and contact bc to see if they will sell you the rear spring perches and springs in the stiffness you want. Order fortune auto coilovers in the rear valving that corresponds to your bc springs.

Not sure if BC will sell you just the rear perches but I don't see why not. Let's hope BC fixes their issue with Ron's order

[Ronnie V]

So I call in today about noon. I got Wes in the service department. After briefly telling him about my issue he told me that they would have to deal with it by email. I never actually sent BC USA an email, my original inquiry went to the BC Racing Canadian retailer........so I can not see how Wes nor anyone else at BC USA could know anything about my problem.

After asking approximately how long I would be waiting for a response I was told hopefully by the end of the week.

Sigh, another company that makes promises and then once they have your money the service stops.

I have a $1500 set of coilovers that are not what I ordered.

I will wait here patiently for BC Racing USA to get back to me, I will update as I get info.......

[tmontague]

When I had a warranty inquiry regarding my end links I contacted bc canada which took forever to get a hold of. They had no info on warranties and told me I had to contact bc north America which eventually gave me an answer.

Did you order through PayPal or credit card? If they don't end up helping then you can open a dispute with them saying you never received what you paid for

[Ronnie V]

Credit Card. I believe it was BC North America I was speaking too.

I really hope it doesn't come to that, I just want the set of properly valved coilovers that I ordered........so easy.

[Ronnie V]

Well a week has passed and nothing back yet from BC North America. I have found some white label style stickers on the shocks where the dust boot covers the shock. The numbers don;t make much sense but they are higher on the front pair than the rear.

Since my spring rates/dampening are supposed to be higher on the rear this again makes no sense.

If anyone is brave enough to order this setup I would love to know what the "T", "C", and "KG" numbers are on these little white labels.

I will post when BC North America eventually gets back to me. BC Canada has been pretty good so far. They have been responsive and they genuinely seem to care about this incorrect valving concern.

More when I have it.........

[tmontague]

I wonder if they valved your shocks opposite to what they are supposed to be?

Sorry again for not being much help with the sticker numbers, they are completely wiped clean on both my tears. Doesn't help that I covered them in Krown when I installed tjem

[ArmstrongRacing]

I’m not sure what your complaints are Ronnie but having a bouncy ride when the damper is turned to full soft is how it should be.

The damper adjustment “controls” the spring movement. So a setting of 1 will allow the spring to react on its own vs a setting of 32 having full fluid restriction in the damper.

[Ronnie V]

Trev, no worries at all man! Thanks for trying.

Tom, I have put that question to Trev as well. I suspected that in the full soft position the shock may indeed be bouncy but according to Trev, with his on the full soft setting they are still not bouncy. I have asked this same question to BC NA and have yet to hear back.

Trev runs his rears from about 9-11 in from Full soft at the track. If I set my shocks to 10 from full soft the shock rebounds 3 times before coming to a rest. I could be wrong but this seems incorrect to me.......like a lack of dampening........again I could be wrong.

Incidentally I was at the track last night and I had them set to 22 from full soft. They seemed fine and the car was working well.

If my suspicions that my shocks are valved wrong are incorrect then why can't BC NA just answer my questions?

More about the little white labels that are on the dampeners under the dust boot since I believe these are the valving numbers. The numbers on my fronts are higher than the numbers on my rears. If my dampeners are supposed to be valved for 7k front and 9k rears these "T" and "C" values should be higher on the rears than the fronts.

Hopefully BC gets back to me this week with some answers. I truthfully hope I am the problem here. It would mean that my new coilovers are correct and this is all I truly want.

I'll post again when BC gets back to me.

[fujiwaru]

I wonder if i'm just lucky but I've been talking to Kevin from BC through email all last week about the spring setup I want to run. He does have a smaller 9k spring for the rear but recommends changing out my shocks to correctly match the spring.

I'll shoot Kevin an email after autocross this Sunday to see if he can provide me more info on the white labels. I have a feeling the labels have worn off on mine but i'll check and report back.

-Arvin

[Ronnie V]

Hi Arvin,

I have also spent some time on the phone with Kevin. To be honest the sales team are very helpful. It's when you have to deal with Tech at BC NA that the problem arises.

When you say "changing out the shock" you mean revalve or a shorter shock?

Let hope you can get some info ont he white labels. Even if just what the numbers mean. My guess.......

T = ?
C = Compression
kg = Volume of air in the shock

The numbers are slightly different from side to side which tells me they build many shocks, test them, then assign closely matching pairs.

I'm interested to hear what Kevin has to say.

Thanks!

Ron

[tmontague]

Hi Arvin,

I have also spent some time on the phone with Kevin. To be honest the sales team are very helpful. It's when you have to deal with Tech at BC NA that the problem arises.

When you say "changing out the shock" you mean revalve or a shorter shock?

Let hope you can get some info ont he white labels. Even if just what the numbers mean. My guess.......

T = ?
C = Compression
kg = Volume of air in the shock

The numbers are slightly different from side to side which tells me they build many shocks, test them, then assign closely matching pairs.

I'm interested to hear what Kevin has to say.

Thanks!

Ron

Yes BC attempts to pair close shocks together where as FA actually will revalve a shock until it dynos the sake as the others within a narrow range. They also send you dyno charts of each shock when you receive the coilovers.

I've have the same experience as you. Sales team is great and very eager to help and get back to you. Tech is not easy to get a hold of and take a while to get back to you.

It took me over a week and a half to get a proper reply about my endlinks and warranty. No one could answer a simple question of are they covered under warranty - BC canada had to refer me to BC NA. FWIW my endlinks are fine it was an untorqued nylock nut that was the culprit.

For the price BC's are great (assuming you have a proper valved set) and I am happy with them. Their after purchase customer support seems to be severely lacking and for almost the same price there are other companies that are smaller and that do a better job. Unfortunately they don't offer customs rear spring rates like BC does.


I hope everything gets settled in the end and you end up with coilovers you are happy with. They really are a decent suspension and really transform the car once dialed in. After some small changes in rear dampening on my last track day I finally stopped the rear end from swinging out and the car is super neutral now - much more confidence inspiring

FWIW my rare dampening is set at 20 for the track and 11 for daily driving. It's my fronts that are 6 for dding and 11 for the track

[Ronnie V]

I'm sure in the end it'll all be fine. It would be so easy if the tech guy cold just call me and answer some of my very simple questions. I am starting to believe that they are fine but the label stickers on mine say otherwise..............

Good to know on your rear dampening for the track....I obviously remembered that post incorrectly. I'm gonna set mine to 11 and go for a rip. My brakes sound like Ken Blocks Fiesta after Gymkhana 4........ :D

[fujiwaru]

Hi Arvin,

I have also spent some time on the phone with Kevin. To be honest the sales team are very helpful. It's when you have to deal with Tech at BC NA that the problem arises.

When you say "changing out the shock" you mean revalve or a shorter shock?

Let hope you can get some info ont he white labels. Even if just what the numbers mean. My guess.......

T = ?
C = Compression
kg = Volume of air in the shock

The numbers are slightly different from side to side which tells me they build many shocks, test them, then assign closely matching pairs.

I'm interested to hear what Kevin has to say.

Thanks!

Ron

They suggested a shorter shock if I get the 6" 9k springs, however I got a response back today saying they can valve the new shocks to match the springs or have them valved to a custom setting, say running a 9k spring but valved to 14k.

Wasn't able to provide me any specific info on the white sticker other than it does relate to the dyno shock curve. Perhaps this could be something floating around? It would be nice if they could provide this chart for customers who purchased their products.

-Arvin

[Ronnie V]

Hi Arvin,

Thanks for trying. At least we have had someone confirm the numbers do in fact relate to the dyno curve for the dampeners.

Take their "promises" of re-valving with a grain of salt. I am sure mine are incorrect and it's been a week and a half since my original inquiry with BC North America Tech.

This is some GREAT customer service here. (eye rolly emoji)

I am still optimistic that I can get this sorted out by my advice to any new buyers that want custom spring rates/valving would be to ask for the shock dyno paperwork with their dampeners.

Stay tuned..........

[Ronnie V]

and BTW, with my shocks on 11 from full soft the back of my car bounces continuously on a mildly bumpy road.

This is so wrong its comical.........

[Ronnie V]

Still working away at this. BC Canada called me today again. Nice people.

Tech wants to know if my Echo is a Drift Car. Interesting........it got me wondering if anyone in the history of the world has ever built a FWD drift car.

I was on the floor laughing. Fortune Autos on the way.

Good luck to any and all that want a set of "Custom Valved" coilovers from BC racing.

[tmontague]

Wow their lack of understanding their own product is astonishing.

Are you using BC's rear spring perch and swift springs and just using fortune auto for their shocks?

[Ronnie V]

That's the plan Trev. Although Eibach makes the springs I need for the rear as well. I had the Fortune Auto's valved to 8K/10K. All I am getting from Fortune Auto is the shocks for the rear.......I will probably order the 10K springs from Eibach.

I got DSG edition Fortune Autos, they include all shock dyno paperwork with them. :)

[Ronnie V]

Update.........

At BC racings request I had sent them a video of the car.

I had the shocks set on 5 in from full soft and the car clearly rebounding 3-4 times before coming to a rest.

Low and behold I have been told this is exactly what BC racing shocks are supposed to do. Anyone seeking a bouncy track car should contact BC racing for their suspension needs.

Anyone that wants a properly dampened track car should call any other coilover manufacturer on earth. In the end I went with Fortune Auto.

If someone by chance actually does order a set of "custom valved" coilovers at these rates I would love to know what the values on the white stickers are. I am dying to know if I was just unlucky or if BC racing says they revalve and actually just throw a set of springs on and ship them out.

I have a feeling BC racing revalves NOTHING, EVER, for ANYONE.

Buyer beware.

[tmontague]

Seriously? Wow, that reminds me of Toyota saying that burning a L of oil every 1800km is acceptable in their oil burning 4banger.

I can honestly say that I'm confident mine are valved properly. I had tokiko blues after using oem shocks on MI springs and I could tell the difference in an improperly valves spring.

What us most dissapointing about BC is their lack of knowledge on their own product. They should know what the numbers on the sticker mean, period.

Thanks for sharing your experience, let me know the the FA's are, I'm interested in seeing your set up as it is likely a set up I'll use in the future

[Ronnie V]

So long overdue but as promised..........the weight of Swift springs vs "stock" springs.

Comparing a 8" spring in identical spring rates.......

BC racing - 1469 grams
Swift - 1094 grams

So the weight saving is considerable. Especially considering they are unsprung weight.

I am a fan of swift springs.......BC Racing still have no idea about customer service. Fortune auto confirmed my beliefs that BC racing has no shock building or shock dyno equipment in the USA.

For a set of properly valved coilovers call Fortune Auto. Superb customer service and no runarounds........

Cheers,
Ron

[tmontague]

Yep, definitely no manufacturing or assembly in the states, it is a Taiwanese company. On the contrary FA has their shocks made in Thaiwan (IIRC) and Forsberg all the valving and assembly in house in the US.

The more I get into tracking my car and using aftermarket parts, the more I realise how important customer service is and knowledge of theirbsctual products. Hence why I use carbotech brakes, super happy with conversations I've had with the. Iver the phone and their knowledge/recommendations