Norton

Right folks - time to write up the review on the BC coilovers I had fitted by WIM last week. You probably remember I've been asking many questions on here and other forums about the various options - lowering springs vs coilovers, makes (Meister / BC / GAZ etc) / spring rates / variances between them etc and conducted plenty of research and also spoke to various knowledgeable people - manufacturers and neutrals alike - in order to make an informed decision about what I wanted to fit. So the background to my requirements: Car is a 7 year old Mk3 Z Sport with 30k on the clock - purchased by me @ 5 weeks ago - completely standard when I bought it with the sport spec Bilstiens and OEM springs fitted. Car is intended as primarily a weekend fun drive for me and the Mrs (kids are far to teenage now to want to spend any time with their parents - hence no need to cart round in the family bus at the weekends anymore). I also may track the car at some point in the future so an element of future proofing was also a consideration. I did not want some rock hard track monster drive that would be unbearable to live with in the real world even for for weekends - considering that Mrs Norton and I are no longer spring chickens (note the comments on teenagers above) I wanted to improve the looks of the car as well as the handling as the standard Billies / Springs gave the car a certain nervousness and skittishness which as a first time MX5 owner and having read all the hype about legendary handling etc - I was slightly disappointed with as I couldn't see what all the fuss was about on the standard set up. So after due consideration I decided on the BC's and a spring rate of 6/4. Why I hear you ask? Well, i decided to skip lowering springs altogether as I wanted the future proofing element and from there it really came down to the fact that between the Meisters and BC's (which are virtually identical apart from some valving / dampner variation as far as I could ascertain) Meisters only do 7/5 spring rates while BC's offer 7/5 and 6/4 and after I had wrestled with the dilemma of would 6/4 be too soft or would 7/5 bee too hard - i felt the lower spring rate gave me a more suitable baseline and platform for my intended use with the option to firm up as and when via the dampening adjustment. Was this the right decision ? - time to find out. So having booked in with Joe at WIM some days earlier I arrived at the duly allotted time and was warmly welcomed by the a fore said Joe who immediately got the car up onto the ramp ready for the off - First thing was to inspect the BCs; first impressions - quality piece of kit. Superbly manufactured, solid build, quality finish, well packed and judging by the build quality, great value for money. On checking each of the coilovers, each was labeled with the Dyno results showing that the fronts and rears were matched in terms of performance - yet more indication that these are quality manufactured. So on to the fitting - Joe had the car up and proceeded to dismantle the back end / front end - remove the Bilstiens / springs (looked particularly inferior in quality / materials used to the BC's). Hats off to Joe who tolerated - no - actually made me welcome - to watch beside him as he worked and gladly answered all the questions I was asking him. So an hour or so later, all the BC's were in place and adjusted to a ride height of 340 all round as an initial starting point. Then car down off the ramp and on to the Hunter alignment ramp - Joe then explained all the various 'alignment' options to me and we agreed that the fast road set up with the BC's set at 16 clicks front and 14 rear - would be a good base line starting point for me to get a couple of hundred miles under the belt and then back into Joe for a final check and a tweak here and there depending on my preferences and feedback. (all part of the WIM service by the way) So Alignment done and after Joe had given the car a quick road test and green light - it was time to see if this was money well spent or not. If you've been to WIM you know there are some nice B roads between them and the M25 - unfortunately as this was Friday afternoon, there was little opportunity to fully experience the new coilovers and the M25 / M3 was it's usual car park round to Camberley but the difference in the feel of the car from driving to WIM and now leaving was startling - chalk and cheese - much firmer than the bilstiens and springs but still comfortable over bumps and very comfortable cruising on the M/way - so far so good. So now one week later and 150 miles later I've had the chance to put them through their paces - Mrs Norton thinks I'm on something coz I can't wipe the grin off my face - I though all was good when going sedately down the road but now having had the chance to really throw the car down some lovely B roads etc - I can really appreciate where my money has gone. The car is transformed - much more planted to the road, steering far more direct and positive - increase the speed and the coilovers really get to work in dealing with the bumps and lumps keeping everything nicely firm and predictable - body roll is negligible even with extreme directional changes and the car just simply goes where you point it - no fuss, no nervousness or skittishness and no need for constant steering adjustments that were there before. The weight and balance of the car remains predictable and pretty much in one place increasing my confidence in the cars ability - a good indication of this is I've now had to find and use the DSC OFF button as before the BC's I rarely, if ever had the DSC kick in when cornering, I found as my confidence in the transformed handling grew so did the frequency of the little yellow light on the dash flashing up saying 'Oh No You Dont'!! So to surmise, for what I wanted to achieve in terms of the cars handling and looks (oh so much better by the way) and considering my personal preferences etc I can highly recommend not only the BC's but also WIM for their excellent and knowledgeable service. If like me you were concerned that the 6/4's would perhaps be too soft - don't be. The difference between these and even the standard sport suspension I had is vast and as I have them set up at the moment - effectively half way on the adjustment settings - there seems to be plenty of range to firm things up a lot more if wanted / needed. Apologies for the monster post and If you are in the same dilema I was some weeks ago on deciding which way to go on suspension, I hope this review helps - Thumbs up from me on the BC's and an even bigger thumbs up for WIM (Cheers Joe) I now have the MX5 that I read about with the legendary handling and the smile inducing qualities every time you drive it and I'm loving every minute of it

Yep the MX5parts ones are the IL/BBK ones and get pretty good reviews - pleanty of recommendations on all the forums but no real stand out leader in terms of one brand vs another as far as I can see.

No not for a custom build - however Cybox, while not custom, look to be pretty good quality and reasonable price (british made) hence my question about them.

Cheers Joe how do you rank the more mid range cost alternatives that are available - racing beats, IL / BBK / Cobra Sport etc? Also have you seen / heard first hand a Cybox exhaust on a 2.0 Mk3 and if so what was it like ? Cheers - Norton

The stock Exhaust on the Mk3 doesn't do the car any favors in the sound department. You guy's at WIM must have seen / heard hundreds of various aftermarket exhaust on Mk3's by now - so the question is what do you think looks / sounds the best....perhaps you can give us an indication of your top 3 choices and characteristics of each ? Cheers - Norton (PS : write up / review coming shortly on the BC's Joe fitted on Friday - loving the set up so far - now want the car to sound like it drives )

Hi davey, what spring rate did you have fitted the 7/5 or the 6/4 ?

Old topic I know but could you advise which spring rate of BC you had installed - the 7/5 or the 6/4 set? Cheers - Norton

Hi Tony, thanks for that I have have no doubt about the BC's in terms of quality and proven capability - i guess it's all down to the spring rate i should go for - I'm confused as to why when speaking to BC they say that 7/5 is too harsh for mainly fast road & occasional track use and recommend the 6/4 yet Meister only offer 7/5 for the same usage and I haven't found any real negative reports / reviews anywhere that they are too hard for mainly fast road use. So is there any fundimental difference between them (manufacture / construction / materials) that would make a 7/5 on a BC 'harder/firmer' than the equivalent 7/5 spring rate on a Meister (assuming dampner settings on each were relativly equal) thus making a 7/5 Meister more similar to a 6/5 BC? Cheers - Norton

Hi Tony - correct I am unsure - never having had coilovers on a car before and never having owned an MX5 before either so im looking for some knowledgable advise and opinion on what would be best for my intended usage. I know this is a 'make your choice and live with it' situation - hence I appreciate and respect your input to help me make a considered 'choice' So I guess a direct question would be what would you recommend between the Meisters / BC's and spring rates considering the intended use I have for the car and drawing from the experience you've had of fitting various set up's for similar handling / usage requirements and feedback you will no doubt have had from cutomers over the years. Dont worry, I won't hold any advise you offer up against you - I'm big enough and ugly enough to make up my own mind - i'm just canvassing your vastly more experienced opinion on the subject to help me make that choice - in the same way I have from speaking to BC Racing and also Meister over the last few days - however of course each of their views is a little biased...... Cheers - Norton

Hi tony thanks for your response and having spoken to Joe it seems you only offer the BC's on a supply and fit package basis ? Are you saying you would actually recommend I look at Meisters rather than the BC ones and if so as far as I can see Meister only offer a rate of 7/5 while BC offer 6/4 and 7/5. Appreciate it if you could clarify please on what you would recommend and also what you are able to offer on a supply and fit basis including full GEO Many thanks - norton

Hi Tony Can you explain the difference in the spring rates for the BC-BR-RS coilovers for the MX5 NC and which application each set would be most suitable for. There appear to be 2 options available- 6/4 and 7/5 and I'm considering getting coilovers for my 2.0ltr 6 speed sport with LSD and OEM strut brace. I notice that Meisters only offer 7/5 for the NC and reading various forums seems that there are plenty of people out there running all sorts of spring rates on BC's. (some i've read at combinations of 12, 10 and 8 ??) The car is mainly weekend use for fast B road's with limited track use and some occasional long distance touring so I'm looking for a set that will fit the bill for the above - nothing too soft as I wont be driving it so often that I'm not going to be able to live with it and I want it to be able to cope adequately when needed with the occasional track day and be pin sharp for the majority of fast B road driving it's intended for. So would greatly appreciate your input on the differences in the BC rates and what you would recommend would be most suitable - Either BC, Misters or other suggestions suitable for the above - also what recommended ride height for front and rear would be optimum for your GEO set up for the above driving / handling after fitting said coilovers. Cheers - Norton