BC racing or Powered by Max
08-06-11, 12:05 AM
#1
slowmotion
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BC racing or Powered by Max
im looking into getting some coilovers and at the moment ive narrowed it down to the BC racing br model with 8/6 spring rate and the powered by max competition coils 8/6. The car will be driven a lot on the streets with occasional track visits. Any opinions? i have an s5 TII
08-08-11, 01:36 PM
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I was just looking at the stance website and the cheapest kit the have is 1300. But if they're like every other company out there and have their parts made in taiwan, then BC Racing probably makes their parts for them. this is just an assumption, since I don't know much about Stance. They were recommended to me over the apexi and teins from a friend over at citytireonline.com. Same build quality as the other well known japanese brands, and $3-400 less.
08-09-11, 01:43 AM
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Radioactive Rotary Rocket
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I think you're basically right Otaku85, interesting name btw, but Stance seems to be made in Korea actually. Except for the XR line which one vendor swears up and down is made in Japan, but has given no evidence at all to support this fact. The Stance Japan website says "Made in USA" and the Stance USA website says "Made in Japan" so who knows. I think they are an exception. But if the argument is just quality, yes I think you can compare them to the other top manufacturers.
Tein is a little different too because although they are made in Taiwan, they do all of their testing in Japan at Twin Ring Motegi. But Tein actually provides real shock dyno graphs which is the only way we have to really compare these products. When we're doing engine upgrades, we look at dyno plots and most people understand enough to recognize a good curve. The same should be true for suspension dyno plots. But it's slightly more difficult to understand than an engine dyno so it seems like the typical buyer looks at features like shiny pieces and ***** that turn. In some cases these ***** are about as useful as the "real rubber tires!" that used to come on your matchbox cars.
Powerbymax had some sort of dyno graph they relased, but it only showed a very small range and even in the graph there was a lot of hysteresis. It's a sure sign of a bad quality damper. If there wasn't anything to hide, they'd just show a real shock dyno graph.
All I can say is just look at the damper, this should be the most important item during your comparisons. A better damper will perform better on the street and on the track. A better damper will be more comfortable and give better performance at the same time. There has been a long standing myth that an uncomfortable shaking suspension is sporty "because racecar" but this is really just a myth. It doesn't need to be monotube either. KW V3 is still twin tube and delivers performance on par with the monotube competitors because of the design of the damper.
Tein is a little different too because although they are made in Taiwan, they do all of their testing in Japan at Twin Ring Motegi. But Tein actually provides real shock dyno graphs which is the only way we have to really compare these products. When we're doing engine upgrades, we look at dyno plots and most people understand enough to recognize a good curve. The same should be true for suspension dyno plots. But it's slightly more difficult to understand than an engine dyno so it seems like the typical buyer looks at features like shiny pieces and ***** that turn. In some cases these ***** are about as useful as the "real rubber tires!" that used to come on your matchbox cars.
Powerbymax had some sort of dyno graph they relased, but it only showed a very small range and even in the graph there was a lot of hysteresis. It's a sure sign of a bad quality damper. If there wasn't anything to hide, they'd just show a real shock dyno graph.
All I can say is just look at the damper, this should be the most important item during your comparisons. A better damper will perform better on the street and on the track. A better damper will be more comfortable and give better performance at the same time. There has been a long standing myth that an uncomfortable shaking suspension is sporty "because racecar" but this is really just a myth. It doesn't need to be monotube either. KW V3 is still twin tube and delivers performance on par with the monotube competitors because of the design of the damper.
08-09-11, 11:51 AM
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Yeah, I've heard that some of the stance stuff is just rebadged dg-5 stuff, which is good stuff. A full coilover system under 2k will most likely be outsourced when it comes to being manufactured. brands like quantum, ohlins, zeal, aragosta, and so many others that we all wish we could afford. I'm personally putting a set of JZR's on my FD when I get around to it which is about 4k. To each their own. Also I'll try to talk to my friend at DSport and see if they done some suspension testing and see what their opinion. But when I was comparing apexi, tein, and BC's, they all almost have identical build quality, and perform almost exactly the same. This recommendation came from a friend who runs a tire shop and install parts for a 24 hrs of Le mans driver with 200+ hrs in race Porsches.
08-10-11, 04:12 AM
#7
Radioactive Rotary Rocket
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Eibach Multi-Pro R1/R2 are made in California and can be had for under $2,000 but unfortunately they don't have an RX7 application.
There is a thread called the "Big bad *** budget bilstein thread" and it's all about getting custom high end suspension done for cheap. You might want to look into that. There might not be something that fits your bill right off the shelf, but don't doubt the capabilities of a Bilstein or Koni damper. They can be revalved to suit your needs.
There is a thread called the "Big bad *** budget bilstein thread" and it's all about getting custom high end suspension done for cheap. You might want to look into that. There might not be something that fits your bill right off the shelf, but don't doubt the capabilities of a Bilstein or Koni damper. They can be revalved to suit your needs.
