BC ERs with Swift Springs and RA Valving REVIEW / (Picture Heavy)
 

Ok guys the time has come, ive said and said i would do a review on the suspension once i had it on the car but it took some time and im finally getting around to it.

To put things in perspective, i have done quite a few mods to the car all at once but that said while doing some troubleshooting i pulled everything off but the suspension and got a good feel for it. Ill list the mods below then get on to the meat and potatoes.

Mods:
NST Pullies
Stillen 25 row Oil cooler
AEM CAI
ARK Cat back exhaust
Mishimoto Hoses
Whiteline sway bars
40th Ed Akebono Sport Brakes with Hawk HPS pads and Stop Tech Rotors
SPL Rear Camber Arms
Amuse Titan R1 Brace Bar
BC ERs with 12k/10k Swift Springs and custom RA Valving.
Forgestar 18" Wheels
AMS Short Shifter

So first off i just want to say thanks, i had to jump through a number of hoops to get this project done for my R&R and a lot of companies in this community helped out tremendously. Big thanks to Mike at Non Stop Tuning, Pete and Mike at BC Racing, Scott at Fontana Nissan, Paul at Baker Tuning, and Scott at Relentless Autosports.

Initial Impressions: (with all the mods above)

Huge difference, the car looked better, sat lower, the growl of the AEM CAI could be heard when getting pushed a little and the Ark exhaust was loud over 4k rpms but quiet under, making it tasteful and clean without screaming "hey look at me, i have a bag of rice!" The body roll was brought under control by the whiteline sways (which i had set only the the middle setting) and the ride (although a little rougher) was much better thanks to the BC ERs with Swift Springs and RA valving.

http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/4761/moz370z01.jpg

Now lets get down to business! The BC ERs come stock with a 8k 6k set up i believe but i wanted something that would perform a little better on entry level track stuff so i turned to Scott at Relentless Autosports.

Scott worked up a set of BC ERs with Swift springs in a 12k 10k set up and then re-valved the suspension with his own valving to match the new spring rates. All told, from order to delivery at my door it took only 18 days including re-valving.

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/9905/bcerra01.jpg

Initial impression of the suspension is very good. Im not knocking ARK here but prime example of what not to look for in suspension is their new coilovers. Unlike ARK, BC has taken a much better approach to building coilovers and they are all one piece. Everything on them is well done, and the bright side is if you have any issues, all you have to do is pick up the phone and call.


Here is where the problems start...and stop. After installing the BC ERs in the front, which was very easy since Scott had already set the preload of 5mm there, i, and the NST Garage Tech Jonas, were having issues getting the rear spring onto the perches for it and then closing the whole thing up. We could do it, but in the process of closing the whole thing up and putting the bolts back in we were forcing almost 2 inches of compression on the spring, which would lead to early spring fatigue, possible spring binding, and eventually failure. Part of this was because we had left the rubber hat on the bottom of the suspension, in order to prevent metal on metal contact. (Later BC told us to take that out as well as the spring will, after initial load, lock that lower metal collar in and it wont move at all)

http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/4...mmspring02.jpghttp://img522.imageshack.us/img522/4...mmspring01.jpg

So a quick call to BC Racing put me in contact with Pete and Mike over there who immediately got in touch with Swift and reconfirmed spring sizes and then determined i was supposed to have a 200mm spring instead of the 220mm ones i had. So as it was a Friday that we were doing this and it was already fairly late we had to wait until Monday for new springs to arrive, which they did at no shipping expense to me, either way, thanks to BC Racing!

So, new springs go in, everything is installed, and its time to play with the car. Although i havent had the chance, thanks to some troubleshooting a rattle coming from the hubs, to put her on an AutoX course, or take her on the track. I did take her out the the farm we have west of Houston and throw her around a few of the roads and corners we have there. After a few runs i quickly decided up up the stiffness in the front to 20 and the rear is now at 18, may change, im still new to tweaking suspension.

Only other bad note i have is it is impossible to install the adjustment extenders provided with the BC ERs without cutting the top of the interior that covers the rear struts. Ive tried to put them on, then route them around to where pannels join in the back but the top of the interior pannel is only 1/2 an inch off the top of the adjustment valve so unless i cut an opening on the top (which i plan to do) the interior panel will pinch the extenders, preventing them from moving.

http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/3...rstopstrut.jpg
http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/4...rpannelson.jpg


All in all i love the suspension. The 12k/10k spring rates improve the cars feel without making it too rough to drive on the street and its easily adjustable with over 30 stiffness settings available. The suspension is well made and BC Racing, and Relentless Autosports are both upfront and easy to work with in the event of a problem. Ill have some more pics and a little better idea of what the issue is with the rattle once i can get the car back from Secret Service Auto in Houston.

Sorry if this review rambled a bit, first time posting something like this up. Hope it helps!

Great review. Here's a solution for the BC ER extensions and the attachment to the adjustment knob does fit. 3/8" hole for extension flex shaft. I still haven't taken my Z off of the lift yet.

Ugh that is not pretty. If you could mount it on the top part that would be slick!

I just went the lazy man's way and cut 2" holes in the plastic covers so I could stick my fingers down in there haha.

GREAT REVIEW!

I like the way you have the rear extenders, just curious, but after you drilled the holes, where did you get the piece that is covering it, without showing the holes? looks oem. nice

its just a rubber gromet.

You're right. It's a 3/8" ID grommet available everywhere. In order to do the extenders this way you you have to install them prior to bolting the top of the shock to the shock tower. You then slide the extender shaft cover down through the drilled hole and with the extender attachment already placed on the adjustment knob, you slide the shaft up the cover as you install the shock. No change to the extender should be made untill "final" suspension adjustments are done. The white plastic clips stick-ons are just a way of holding the extenders down (rather than hitting the hatch glass).

Yea thats one idea we thought about. What im going to do is cut a 3in x 3in hole and get it done by one of the local shops who can make it look stock.

Then again idk, getting a roll cage done in Feb so i prob will loose the back then. we will see!

thank you. life is complete.

awesome review! great job!

Wow, just saw this..... Thanks for the coilover review, Brandon. Sorry that BC had that glitch and sent you (and gpa7pk) the wrong length rear springs at first, otherwise all would have been perfect :tiphat:.
Glad you like the camber arms, the wheels, and especially the coilovers we got for you. Pretty good parts selection, I might ad ;)

No worries, i kept sayin i would do this and never got to it.

Side note, we sourced the taping / clunking noise. It is something to do with the drive train since as i turn from left to right you can hear the noise move from side to side as weight transfers, and if i drop it in gear and do the same turn the noise is a lot less, and then only at low speeds.

Im out of time to try and figure it out, i head back to Iraq 2morrow :(

Take care and "Hang Loose"......I will be enjoying my BC's while you gone.

Great review. I don't know why you want to attach the extenders though. Can't you reach the adjustment knobs through the interior cover holes, then maybe insert a plug to keep it clean?

Yea thats another option, either way tho you have to drill the interior, but a larger hole would be needed to get fingers through instead of just the extender.

how much are the extenders? I forget, but you can adjust the front dampening settings through the engine bay right?
http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/3...rstopstrut.jpg
^this is without the extenders correct? sorry if this was mentioned already, but couldn't you cut a hole in the black panels and then make some sort of cap out of the piece you remove so its accessible?

oh yea and how much was the total install of the coilovers, camber arms, and allignment? Thanks. REP for the review

Why not trim the extenders down to a shorter length? AFAIK, it's just a rigid rubber tube. The extenders just wrap around the top adjustment knob.

Actually the cap is what im thinking now, that is without extenders yes. You could also do what Daleks is suggesting and cut the extender its self down so it goes through the hole you drill and then sits right outside the interior piece so you dont have to worry about tying it down. Either would look sharp i think.

Total install for coils and the camber arms was only 4 hours i believe and that included some adjustment and the swap back to shorter springs. Non Stop Tuning in Houston charges $75 an hour so $300 or so...The alignment was done later and it was $50 bucks. It was kind of hard for me to estimate time tho because they put all the mods i listed on the front page in at once so i just paid one large bill.


@ Daleks --- its not a rigid rubber tube, it is spun metal inside, that said, i like the idea. Im waiting to see how much of my interior is going to have to come out when i get the cage done tho before i worry about it.

300 plus allignment is exactly what i heard. Thanks for the info. I'm gonna try and think of a cap design or something with a hinge, maybe even a DIY once i get mine done.

Could it be the sway bars popping? May want to try greasing them.


Keep your head down and come back safe.

Thanks, will do.

Im almost positive that the front is the sway bar but its already greased. The rear is drive train related. Only heard at speeds under 40, the noise moves from left to right or right to left as i turn or goes away as i hit the gas. Secret Service Auto and Non Stop Tuning both took a look at it and everything is on the car right, its just something with the drive train.

so which way do u think its easier to adjust the rear stiffness? Taking out the wheel and dropping the suspension or taking out the interior pieces?

Interior pieces!!!! by a long shot!

Its easy, take a look in the back, you will see 4 plastic tabs with little D rings on them , pull those out, then pull out the 2 mats and the plastic shield below them. Then you gently pull on the center back piece and you will find a number of tabs you can slip a flat head screwdriver down to pop off the car with. Once you have that out, you will have to disconnect the light, and then gently pull on the 2 side pieces and find their tabs, pop them free with the screw driver, and your good. It takes me about 2 min or so do do it carefully after i figured out where the tabs were the first time.

Just take your time with it and you will be fine, If for some reason one of the plastic tabs breaks you should be able to pull it off the pannel and get a replacement tab from your local dealer.

Hope this helps!!

^^ helped a lot! Thx man...
I set mine at 20 front and 20 rear but i think the rear needs to be softer

have you tried cutting the extenders? is this something feasible or would it ruin them?

You can cut the extenders I've done it. However I really want to find a plastic plug and make the hole big enough to fit my fingers in. Want it to look more OEM. Since I already drilled a hole in 1 side I'm fkd. But if i could do it all over again. I'd leave it alone and remove panels when need be.

This is how I did mine this weekend. 3/4 hole will fit the extender perfectly and cut the cable to about half an inch and there you have it. I still want to find plugs about 1.5" in diameter and make a hole big enough for me to adjust it that way and hide it when not being used with the plugs.

http://i934.photobucket.com/albums/a...s/IMG_1062.jpg

Nice job! Looks really clean!
I didn't know the extenders could be trimmed like that. Might do the same with mine.
Hiding them with plugs is a good option as well. Wouldn't want somebody absentmindedly twirling the knobs.

Super clean! Nice work. I tried to do something similar but it didn't work out nearly as well for me so I just cut holes big enough to stick my fingers in and adjust haha.

What does everyone have there dampening set at? I keep playing around with the settings. Is there any problems with constantly changing the settings?

clean install redbull!

When I get mine back on I plan to start at 10 and adjust on track similarly to the Koni tuning guide.