Swift springs or br bc coilovers?
 

I want to improve the suspension on my stock 370z. I use it for aggressive daily driving. I value performance more than ride quality. I also want to lower my car a good amount.

I'm on a tight budget so I'm hoping the mods costs around 1500 or less. My current options are BR BC coilovers and Swift springs.

Swift springs:
Advantages - Good performance, good ride quality, and cheap.
Disadvantages - Will not lower my car as much as I want to.

BR BC coilovers:
Advantages - Lower.
Disadvantages - More expensive.

My questions:
1. How do the two compare in terms of performance?
2. What other options do I have?
3. What other parts will I need for each? e.g. camber kit, shocks?

If you're interested in performance then I wouldn't waste my money on BC BRs.

You answered your own question right there. I went with H&R springs before going with BC coils, and I wish I had gone with coils from the get-go. If you don't have money for it, save up. Hope this helps :tiphat:

Or you could have the best of both worlds and go with some Fortune Auto coilovers with swift springs. It will be right around your $1500 price mark and offer some decent performance with better lowering capabilities than just springs.

You could also get some used higher end coils for under $1500... I have the BCs which I def would take over Swifts just because I don't think they offer enough drop. The rear is stiff though when hitting a bump... I think it is due to my spring rates though... bought them used and the seller said they were 8kg I believe but I could be wrong.

If I could do it again I wouldn't do Swifts but I might consider used KWs.

I never track my car, but I will go on occasional mountain runs. The BC's are stiff, but I don't mind it one bit. I actually love it. Now if I were to track my Z, I would have saved up a little bit more and opted for some other higher end coilovers. I think the BC coilovers are a great bang-for-buck, and are more than adequate to suit your driving needs. What all do you plan on doing with your Z?

I never track my car, but I will go on occasional mountain runs. The BC's are stiff, but I don't mind it one bit. I actually love it. Now if I were to track my Z, I would have saved up a little bit more and opted for some other higher end coilovers. I think the BC coilovers are a great bang-for-buck, and are more than adequate to suit your driving needs. What all do you plan on doing with your Z, OP?

Sorry for repost :P

Good springs over crap coils any day. Unless you are just going for low.

+1 if going coils look into the KW's as someone mentioned above.

Yeah the KW V3's are very badass..

I will sell you my KW v3 coilovers for 1350 shipped.

Define "crap" coils?

It's all about the quality of coils you buy... There's tiers of coils and BC's are the top of the tier they are in. I constantly get compliments on how my car rides from people with coils in the same tier as BC BR's. And I drive on crappy roads full stiff and really low. The best part is that you can get the spring rates for the BC's that you want. If you don't think swifts will put you as low as you want, DON'T GET THEM!

Have been known to fall apart during track use.

I have BC's on my Z, had them on over a dozen other cars over the last 5 years without any issues. I have run TEIN's and had the coating flake off and the threads rust over in less time.

I had a conversation with a good friend of mine that runs a shop over in London, and he is one of their main European distributors. He mentioned that they run them on their time attack cars and with the help from BC have really dialed in a great setup for their cars.

He also mentioned that the guys from BC told him that their manufacturing facility was moving into a new place which had been run by Apex'i. Granted that the factory is still in Taiwan, but they are using all of Apex'i's tooling and machines.

In any case, getting coilovers for the sake of handling is one thing, but doing it just to be low is a different story. The ride quality of my car is great, and since I didn't buy them for competition use it was well worth what I paid.

I'm sure many others will agree with me.

Kaien, have you ever been in a 370Z with BC Racing coil overs, or Swift springs? Personally, are you running Swift springs on your car for track days?

The people calling them "crap coils" have never physically held them in their hand. The valving is on point in the BC's and the only downfall is the springs in which they offer a better alternative if you think you need it. I have installed BC's, KW's, and various other coils. For the money BC is a nice choice. I will admit they dont "feel" as nice on the street or on the track as the KW's but they get the job done. They are a pretty popular choice among the drifting crowd.

Do you have a link regarding this? I have never heard of them just falling apart unless they were installed and set up incorrectly.

Swifts yes, 1000+ miles to the dragon on the dragon and a 1000+ miles back in a 370z nismo TT. Not BC's as you told me in person they rode like crap when i asked for a ride in your Z.

From BCracing-na.info:
Our BR model is perfect for street driving and occasional road course duty.

It was an easy choice for me. Swift Spec R. Cheaper price, and to the point. Lowers the car enough and provides a great ride. (this is a sports car, not an Accord with 7" wheel gap) I don't get the need to lower more than 1.2" on this car. It's just plain dumb IMHO. I scrape all the time on my Swifts, cannot imagine going lower. They handle AWESOME.

"Ride like crap" is a subjective term I think.

If you want to know what it feels like to run over bumps and cracks in the road then sure, it isn't comfortable as a stock car would be. But then again my car is much lower than a stock car with the shocks set on full stiff.

Raise the car up, turn the dampers to a softer setting and it's actually not as bad as you would think.

I have driven my car 1300 miles to GA as it sits and the ride quality didn't bother me, or my passenger.

Lets be honest... BC's ride like crap on our cars because we have them WAY too low and we are on full stiff. They still aren't the roughest that I've been in.

Low is a lifestyle ;) Everyone and anyone can hate, but at the end of the day, it's what makes you happiest. Oh, and what you can afford to do and not do.

I've to disagree about BC riding like crap. I'm super slammed on BC and ride like OEM. I run BC on all my cars. The reason people's rides feel like crap is because of improper installation. I've seen sooooooo many G and Z coilovers installed wrong. Thus the jarring super stiff.

You've gotta identify what you need. How low u want to go. How stiff u wanted to be in order to get the proper setup.

There's more to coilovers than just simple installation. Preload. Valving. Etc, all are different.

My wheel FELL OFF - BC coilover failure

This doesn't really prove anything as i'm sure there is a thread regarding any and every product failed at some point.

That was exactly the point I was going to make.

You can GOOGLE anything and you are bound to find something that breaks. NO parts are invincible regardless of how MUCH you spend on it.

So posting a link to a Mazda forum, that shows a guy having issues with his coilovers and stating that he was aware that he was driving around on a shock that was blown, is moot... right?

I just don't see how you can justify calling BC coils "crap" when you have no direct experiences with them, nor have been in or driven a car that has them.

Sounds like we have a good ole case of,

http://img.izismile.com/img/img5/201...mes_640_37.jpg

:tup:

.

.

Looks like it was from improper setup. But that is scary. I havent seen that at all. Now I am going to have to check my girls car with these every week!

Point of this thread, OP if you want low don't go with the swifts they only drop you 1" front and 1.2" rear.

Sorry you got that impression. Sure they ride harsher than stock, or even the TEIN springs I had, but I wouldn't ever go as far as to say that the parts I put on MY car are crap. If they were crap, I wouldn't have them... you know ME well enough to know that is true.

If you wanna get rid of those swifts, lmk I can get you a set of BC coils. :icon17:

I just wanted to break it down and get to the real reason why you would call something crap. (Not you specifically) but anyone that says that something is "crap" gives the company a bad rep for no reason...

If you have had a set of their parts on YOUR OWN car, used them and had an issue that wasn't resolved, I could see your reason for calling them crap. Knowing otherwise makes it seem as if you state that stuff based off what you SEE which, in my opinion, isn't right.

Nothing personal as I'd be having the same conversation with anyone else if they made such a statement. That is all.

No big deal, congrats on liking what you have. repped...

:tiphat:

When we going to meet up again? Seems like forever since we all got together.

I should have my wheels and tires mounted next week. Anytime after that i'm down. I'm just gonna roll all monster truck style for a little while. :icon17:

:happydance:

As soon as get my wheels on i just need to get the springs and camber kit done up.

They are crap, though, from a performance standpoint.

If your goal is to just lower your car, then sure I guess they're okay. But for performance? They aren't good. They're likely even worse than stock.

No one who actually knows suspensions would ever recommend them. Yes, BC ERs are okay for track use, but that's an entirely different animal. BC BRs are just not performance coilovers. They're just the go-to "forum brand" that a lot of people who hard park their cars use.

Autocross to Win (DGs Autocross Secrets) - Buying Shocks

Also, while I've never used them personally, my buddy was running them on his Forester. One shock failed after less than 2k miles.

Thank you all for the feedback. I might just go with the swift springs because of how nicely they sound like they handle and just settle with that ride height. I'll put on 19 or 20 inch rims for less wheel gap. Also considering the BC BRs still. They appear to have a decent reputation. Anyone know how the two compare in handling? Any other suggestions for coilovers? I know there's megan (which people bash on), eibach, tein, and some others. I would get the KW V3's but they're a little out of my price range. What do you guys think about getting them used? I use my car as a daily driver with occasional mountain runs. Nearly no tracking however I do like driving aggressively and pushing the limits of my car.

Swifts with Koni shocks will blow BC BRs away -- and they'll be about the same price (if not a bit cheaper). Some vendors offer package deals on them. I think KamiSpeed does?

Used isn't bad if you can find them.

Unfortunately, if you want a decent coilover, you're going to have to pay. KW V3s are the "entry level" performance/street coilover. They aren't the best for the track, but they're more than enough for someone who wants to carve up the mountains (and maybe visit the track a few times a year).