[weehe126]

Looking for opinions on using these suspension setups for autocross/DD. I currently have Koni yellows with H&R sport springs and camber plates. Started auto crossing this year and have actually been very competitive. Won my STU class and consistently in top 1/4 - 1/3 PAX.

I'd like to be even more competitive and was wondering if I would actually notice a different with either of these coilovers vs the yellows. If it is an obvious improvement going to coilovers, is the $2k extra price for MCS worth it? Or, how good of a drive would I have to be to even notice a different between the two?

[brigade24]

Last i checked, MCS was only able to do a setup for the F30 in the remote version so the 2WR and not the 2WNR. perhaps things have changed.

there will be a def difference between the Konis and MCS...the adjustability of the MCS will require some time to figure out but once you do, it'll will make the car more competitive than on konis. The ohlins are also very good but would need to be revalved to be competitive with MCS.

the worth depends on what you're trying to do or how badly you want to win.

I did the same as you a few years ago in my 335. Did well (2nd) at a couple of SCCA National Champ Tours for a couple of years. I never placed well at Solo Nationals though it was a different game entirely but I would be curious to see the B58 run in STU...you've got tons of torque in the right place, with good suspension, wide rubber, some tuning and diff...you might do some damage.

[weehe126]

This is what I was planning to buy: https://www.bimmerworld.com/Suspensi...et-non-CO.html
I've pretty much decided I will be getting these because the cost of the Ohlins will probably be close after getting them revalved. Also, I'm pretty sure the MCS will be more comfortable for a DD than the Ohlins.

The car does surprisingly well for a class that's normally AWD. The 8AT gearing is actually very ideal, just keep it in 2nd the whole time. After the coilovers the only other thing I would plan to do is get wider rims with custom offsets to run F275/R295 tires. Currently running 255/275.

[weehe126]

Ordered the 2WNR yesterday, complete setup from bimmerworld. They recommend 600#/900# springs but I settled on 500#/900#. Felt a front frequency of 2.4 vs a rear of 1.8 would not be fun to drive in the streets. I'll do a review once I get them in and get some set time.

[AmuroRay]

Originally Posted by weehe126

Ordered the 2WNR yesterday, complete setup from bimmerworld. They recommend 600#/900# springs but I settled on 500#/900#. Felt a front frequency of 2.4 vs a rear of 1.8 would not be fun to drive in the streets. I'll do a review once I get them in and get some set time.

Update?

[weehe126]

I actually just finished installing them and did an initial alignment, waiting a bit for everything to settle. Initial impressions are WOW. Smoother ride than the koni yellows, zero body roll and takes turns as if on rails. I'll do a full write up once I get more driving time.

[E90lova]

Good, better, best. In that order from Koni to MCS.

[E90lova]

Originally Posted by weehe126

Ordered the 2WNR yesterday, complete setup from bimmerworld. They recommend 600#/900# springs but I settled on 500#/900#. Felt a front frequency of 2.4 vs a rear of 1.8 would not be fun to drive in the streets. I'll do a review once I get them in and get some set time.

I probably would've ran 425F, 900R. Having a stiffer front to rear ratio takes away from the car being neutral. I just raised my rear spring from 900 to 1000 with 450F. Car rotates way better and I know this would make it more suitable for autocross.

[mike082802]

Originally Posted by E90lova

I probably would've ran 425F, 900R. Having a stiffer front to rear ratio takes away from the car being neutral. I just raised my rear spring from 900 to 1000 with 450F. Car rotates way better and I know this would make it more suitable for autocross.

I run 450F/916R on the OHLINS, its fine to daily. I started with 375F 800R and it was too soft on track. Cant tell a difference on the street.

[weehe126]

Originally Posted by E90lova

I probably would've ran 425F, 900R. Having a stiffer front to rear ratio takes away from the car being neutral. I just raised my rear spring from 900 to 1000 with 450F. Car rotates way better and I know this would make it more suitable for autocross.

450 vs 500# isn't that significantly different. I was just going on their recommendations. So far no issues with DD/comfort. Haven't started dialing in a race setting but at the recommended starting points it handles completely neutral. If I want to rotate more I just give it some more gas.

[E90lova]

Originally Posted by weehe126

450 vs 500# isn't that significantly different. I was just going on their recommendations. So far no issues with DD/comfort. Haven't started dialing in a race setting but at the recommended starting points it handles completely neutral. If I want to rotate more I just give it some more gas.

Actually at the limit the difference between 450lb and 500lb can be huge and I am talking from experience. Nice to know the car is still neutral. I just got Yellow Speed Racing track coilovers and their spring rates are 16k F , 18K rear. I have no idea why they have such a stiff front rate.

[weehe126]

I had been putting off this update hoping to resolve the issues I had since installing. First, the 6" front spring recommended by Bimmerworld are too short. With it at max height with all spacers, the front ride height is just above slammed. This means I can't corner balance because the front is at max height and the rear is at max low. Cosmetically it looks good, but racing it could be improved.

I could accept the ride height/corner balance issues, but I can not accept how horrible the GC camber plates are. These camber plates clunk if you look at them wrong. It basically feels like the top strut nut is loose at all times I must have taken them apart 30+ times trying to figure out the cause of the clunk. I even removed individual parts one by one to rule them out. In the end the only possible cause was from the monoball. It got progressively worse as I drove it, so it does sound plausible. At the end it was so bad that driving on a smooth road still felt like the whole front end was going to collapse. I switched back to my koni yellows and M3 springs for the winter and have been trying to figure out what to do with them since.

I knew I needed to get a 7" front springs, and by the comments/recommendations in this post I went with the 450 lb option, down from the 500 lb I currently have. I'm also in the process of getting millway camber plates to replace the horrible GC plates. Hopefully I will have this all ready to go come April for my first events.

Some review of the MCS performance. If you ignore the clunking, they are amazing race coilovers. The difference between the konis and MCS is night and day on the track/autocross. The difference on the street is negligible because I'm not driving 10/10. So if you have no interest in racing, I recommend sticking with konis. On the track the adjustability of the MCS is extensive. Increasing rebound And compression is noticeable at each click. I ended up on front: 12comp, 10reb, rear: 4comp, 8reb. It was neutral feel with enough rear rotation. They also still absorbed bumps nicely.

Hopefully I'll have them installed again by the end of March, with 7" springs and millway camber plates and have a better review.

[E90lova]

Originally Posted by weehe126

I had been putting off this update hoping to resolve the issues I had since installing. First, the 6" front spring recommended by Bimmerworld are too short. With it at max height with all spacers, the front ride height is just above slammed. This means I can't corner balance because the front is at max height and the rear is at max low. Cosmetically it looks good, but racing it could be improved.

I could accept the ride height/corner balance issues, but I can not accept how horrible the GC camber plates are. These camber plates clunk if you look at them wrong. It basically feels like the top strut nut is loose at all times I must have taken them apart 30+ times trying to figure out the cause of the clunk. I even removed individual parts one by one to rule them out. In the end the only possible cause was from the monoball. It got progressively worse as I drove it, so it does sound plausible. At the end it was so bad that driving on a smooth road still felt like the whole front end was going to collapse. I switched back to my koni yellows and M3 springs for the winter and have been trying to figure out what to do with them since.

I knew I needed to get a 7" front springs, and by the comments/recommendations in this post I went with the 450 lb option, down from the 500 lb I currently have. I'm also in the process of getting millway camber plates to replace the horrible GC plates. Hopefully I will have this all ready to go come April for my first events.

Some review of the MCS performance. If you ignore the clunking, they are amazing race coilovers. The difference between the konis and MCS is night and day on the track/autocross. The difference on the street is negligible because I'm not driving 10/10. So if you have no interest in racing, I recommend sticking with konis. On the track the adjustability of the MCS is extensive. Increasing rebound And compression is noticeable at each click. I ended up on front: 12comp, 10reb, rear: 4comp, 8reb. It was neutral feel with enough rear rotation. They also still absorbed bumps nicely.

Hopefully I'll have them installed again by the end of March, with 7" springs and millway camber plates and have a better review.

Did you upgrade your swaybars?

[weehe126]

Originally Posted by E90lova

Did you upgrade your swaybars?

No, just added adjustable F/R end links

[AmuroRay]

Originally Posted by weehe126

I had been putting off this update hoping to resolve the issues I had since installing. First, the 6" front spring recommended by Bimmerworld are too short. With it at max height with all spacers, the front ride height is just above slammed. This means I can't corner balance because the front is at max height and the rear is at max low. Cosmetically it looks good, but racing it could be improved.

I could accept the ride height/corner balance issues, but I can not accept how horrible the GC camber plates are. These camber plates clunk if you look at them wrong. It basically feels like the top strut nut is loose at all times I must have taken them apart 30+ times trying to figure out the cause of the clunk. I even removed individual parts one by one to rule them out. In the end the only possible cause was from the monoball. It got progressively worse as I drove it, so it does sound plausible. At the end it was so bad that driving on a smooth road still felt like the whole front end was going to collapse. I switched back to my koni yellows and M3 springs for the winter and have been trying to figure out what to do with them since.

I knew I needed to get a 7" front springs, and by the comments/recommendations in this post I went with the 450 lb option, down from the 500 lb I currently have. I'm also in the process of getting millway camber plates to replace the horrible GC plates. Hopefully I will have this all ready to go come April for my first events.

Some review of the MCS performance. If you ignore the clunking, they are amazing race coilovers. The difference between the konis and MCS is night and day on the track/autocross. The difference on the street is negligible because I'm not driving 10/10. So if you have no interest in racing, I recommend sticking with konis. On the track the adjustability of the MCS is extensive. Increasing rebound And compression is noticeable at each click. I ended up on front: 12comp, 10reb, rear: 4comp, 8reb. It was neutral feel with enough rear rotation. They also still absorbed bumps nicely.

Hopefully I'll have them installed again by the end of March, with 7" springs and millway camber plates and have a better review.

Have you reached out to GC? That doesn't sound right for the plates to make that much noise. But your review has inspired me to go Vorschlag for the camber plates.

[weehe126]

Originally Posted by AmuroRay

Have you reached out to GC? That doesn't sound right for the plates to make that much noise. But your review has inspired me to go Vorschlag for the camber plates.

I haven't reached out to GC. Reading reviews it doesn't sound like it's uncommon. I'm also not a fan of the overall design. I just placed an order for Millway plates to replace the GC. I highly recommend looking into them, I have them on my koni setup for about 20k miles now with no issues.