Looking for some information on coilover choice and experience from people who compete in Sprints/Time Attack etc.

I have tired old OEM suspension on my 2005 WRX.
I would like to add coilovers for the adjust ability they afford.

The car will be my daily for at least the next year possibly 2. The car isn't mapped and isn't clad with expensive parts ergo putting Nitrons, EXE TC suspension on isn't practical or worth it at my level in my opinion.

I'm looking to fit HSD MonoPro or BC RM Series coilovers. These surely will be an improvement over old tired OEM shocks & springs? Open to other options around the £850~ mark.

What I'm looking for is some information on what spring rates I should go for and corner weighting, maximum drop before roll centre becomes an issue ,max front and rear camber on a Daily driven car.

22mm ARB's front and rear.
1425kg (Including me)
Standard 4 pot brakes with M1155 pads
215 AR-1 tyres (Will be going for 235 once I use up my AR-1s)

Current Spring rates 168lbs inch Front (3Kg/mm) - 119lbs inch Rear (2.1Kg/mm). Standard height.

I will be competing in Sprints 7 times a year and possibly some track days. So the car will be on track 1 maybe 2 times a month.

Thanks.

 

Have you considered the MeisterR zeta+? They are around the same price,but there is also a GB on this month which gives you 20% off.
I looked at options and these came out on top with reviews and advice from members compared to the other options you mention.
I cannot speak from experience as I've not fit mine yet.

 

To be honest I've not considered MeisterR before, not to say I won't just not heard much about them or what they are like on track. Will have a look about. Cheers.

 

got some bilstein b16 on mine been running a year near enough on them now and i must say for road and track use there bang on ..

just something else to consider even heard the b14 are good for road use and some track just not damper adjustable

 

Speak to Simon at Chevronmotorsport they are the best in the business for handling

 

plus one got my b16 from chevron with custom damping give them a ring only thing is i had to wait for a few months.

 

+1 for the MeisterRs. I've had them on my wagon for over a year now and I'm really impressed. Although I have also heard the bilsteins are good.

 

+1 for MeisterRs from me too. I've used them on track and was very impressed.

I also had HSD monopros on my wagon for a while, but for me (and SWMBO) they were too hard for daily road use. If you want them, ping me a PM as they are just cluttering up my garage.

Once you've sorted the suspension, you might want to think about getting some Brembos at least for the front. The difference in stopping power is amazing. I suppose for sprints you won't have to worry too much about brake fade, but you could still make a good improvement in lap time by improving the brakes.

A thread with some discussion here

 

Thanks for the replies guys,

I ended up going for RM series BC Racing Coilovers.

I'll let you know how I get on.

Cheers.

 

I had some RM series BC's years ago and they were hopeless for a track car, lack of droop resulted in the inside rear lifting all the time and valving isn't ideal. You would have been better staying with a standard style damper like Pedders and tweeting roll bars bushes etc until you could afford something like KW Var 3's or KW Clubsports or Whiteline 2 rpm 3 way dampers. I have just changed from KW Clubsports which were excellent to Whiteline 3 way dampers which are far superior but are probably out of your budget. This is a mistake people make all the time fitting poor coilovers rather than a better none adjustable shock nod spring set up until they can afford a decent adjustable set up.

 

The problem is people seem to think unless you spent a lot of money on Coilovers everything else is crap. This isn't always the case, of course there is entry level budget/rubbish that is a waste of time and money. There are several factors to considering when choosing suspension though. the level of competition, the car and the driver, the track etc. RM Series Coilovers will be more than enough for what I need. I know people who are getting the same lap times with £4,000 suspension as when they had £1,500 suspension.
Non Adjustable suspension did not cut it when I went looking, the damping and spring rates available were not man enough and not a big enough upgrade from standard and unless I went down the custom route of matching springs with dampers it wasn't worth the hassle.

I do understand what you are saying, it's just frustration with the amount of people saying everything is **** unless you pay top dollar, which isn't always the case.