BC Racing Coilover Review

[Dion_1969]

OK, so I have had my BC Racing BR coilovers on for a couple weeks now and I am very pleased overall. First let me give a big thanks to Christopher at Auto Agenda. I had a few questions along the way and he was always very prompt with his responses. The most important of these would be about a sheet that comes with the instructions that shows assembly of the front struts for GTO/G8 and Camaro. It states to replace the OEM bearings with the BC bearings. Apparently the bearings are not included for the Camaro. Christopher contacted BC racing and got back to me the next day with this information. Auto Agenda was very easy to work with. Here is what came in the package.

[Dion_1969]

Sorry I dont know how to include the pic and then type after it. So on to the review! First they are lighter than stock. Pics will be included below. Next let me just say that if you are the average Joe with an average set of tools dont believe any of the instructions that say these can be put on in 30-45 minutes per wheel! I started with the fronts and got down to 1 bolt that would not break loose even with a 2 foot breaking bar. I ended up putting the front one back together, reviewed the directions, grabbed a beer and decided I could do the rears. I was doing this in my driveway on jackstands. It was around 6:00 pm when I started the rear. The first one took about 2.5 hours. I managed to make every possible mistake I think and had to take it apart 3 times to get it adjusted appropriately. Once I moved to the other side things went much faster about 1.5 hours. I was going slow to make sure everything was right so it could have been done in an hour.

I took her in to the dealership to do the front which cost about $345 with the alignment. The folks in the service department at Ferman were great. The technician that did the worked asked me how low I wanted to go, about what type of driving I was planning for and set the alignment up within the GM specs but pushed the camber and toe both front and back for better handling in autocross. I have not done any autocross yet but I have some wonderful roads to drive on my way out of my neighborhood that test handling.

So after the install I got to test these babies out. The first few days were rainy so I couldn't get into the curves too much but I already noticed that the understeer was gone! Instead I noticed that the rear would start to move out on me just a bit. It was really pretty balanced. The dampeners were set a bit stiffer than stock in the rear at 6 clicks (8 from the hardest is supposed be stock) while the front had been set very soft by Ferman. After the first couple of days I set them to the same dampening as the rears. This made the car pretty stiff and you could really feel it on bad roads. On the other hand I could drive about 6 MPH faster around some of the curves than I could before! The down side of stiffening the fronts is that some understeer seems to be back. I guess sway bars will have to be the next suspension mod!
After a couple weeks I am very pleased. I will need to drill the trunk so I can adjust the rear dampeners. I would like a little softer ride for the day to day commute. I'll let you know how that goes.

Here are the rest of the pics;

[FastBob_69]

Looks Great and 14+ pounds Lighter - Nice Job!

[Dion_1969]

Thanks! I don't know if that all is considered unsprung weight. Seems like most of it should be. She is nice and low now and there was room to go. I went 1 1/2 lower in the front and 1 3/4 in the rear.
One thing I should have mentioned was the instructions from BC. They s#ck! They read like someone using a really crappy Chinese to English dictionary translated them. You would think they would have someone who speaks English review the translation. Here is a sample "This instruction is belong to whom uses the product latest" It didn't get any better from there!

[adub]

Their instructions do leave a bit to be desired and the G8/GTO/Camaro diagram was supposed to have been updated by now. I had the same issue with mine and BC has a revised diagram for the 2010. We put together a pretty good article that helps bridge the gaps left by their instructions.

http://www.planetlsx.com/tech/How_To..._Camaro_SS/143

[Dion_1969]

Man I wish I had that link before I started! I still say 3 hours is too short but there is the caveat that it does not include adjusting time. That was where a lot of my time was spent. You need to add a 300lb gorilla to break the bolts loose though That emoticon was the closest to how my face looked trying to break the lower bolt on the bottom of the front strut.

[adub]

Originally Posted by Dion_1969

Man I wish I had that link before I started! I still say 3 hours is too short but there is the caveat that it does not include adjusting time. That was where a lot of my time was spent. You need to add a 300lb gorilla to break the bolts loose though That emoticon was the closest to how my face looked trying to break the lower bolt on the bottom of the front strut.

gorilla or air impact

[Coop]

BC Racing has bearings? I have this very same kit and mine did not come with bearings.

[Saving41]

Originally Posted by Coop

BC Racing has bearings? I have this very same kit and mine did not come with bearings.

Nope, mine was just like yours...no bearings.

[Dion_1969]

Originally Posted by Saving41

Nope, mine was just like yours...no bearings.

No they don't. The instructions were generic for 3 cars but the Camaro doesn't need them. The kit is complete without them.

[Dion_1969]

Originally Posted by adub

gorilla or air impact

Yep. Guess I need to upgrade my garage so I can do all the fun mods I want to do.

[Coop]

talk to Mike at BC Racing. He said yes bearings are necessary and is sending me a set.

[adub]

Originally Posted by Coop

talk to Mike at BC Racing. He said yes bearings are necessary and is sending me a set.

Curious if this turns out to be true. If you do actually receive a set, will you post some pictures up?

I'll add that BC sent me Camaro specific installation diagrams. I can scan them and upload them if OP doesn't mind. Don't want to change the direction of his thread.

[Penaw001]

What is the ride quality like?