BC racing RA & RM

[rev3turbo]

Does anyone have experiences of both the BC racing RA & RM series coilovers?

I understand the RM are inverted, do they come with remote resevouirs?

Looking to purchase new in the next week or so, they'll be used on the road, about 2k miles per year

[shinny]

I understand the RM are inverted, do they come with remote resevouirs?

http://www.bc-racing.co.uk/coilovers

BR Series : Street and Circuit Coilover
RM Series : Inverted Damper For Pro Track
ER Series : External Reservoir

Simple answer, no RMs do not have an external reservoir. Of course, getting someone else to read that basic information off BC's own website is much easier than doing it yourself

[rev3turbo]

I understand the RM are inverted, do they come with remote resevouirs?

http://www.bc-racing.co.uk/coilovers

BR Series : Street and Circuit Coilover
RM Series : Inverted Damper For Pro Track
ER Series : External Reservoir

Simple answer, no RMs do not have an external reservoir. Of course, getting someone else to read that basic information off BC's own website is much easier than doing it yourself

Balls, I missed all that, cheers

so im guessing, stick to BR for road use.. my mr2 is purely used for fast road use, not commuting or daily use

[shinny]

I have BRs and they're plenty enough for road use IMHO. I like how the damping adjustment is at the top of the struts on them, meaning changing the ride can be a 30sec dash around the car at traffic lights if need be. I'm not sure, but does inverting the dampersl leave the adjustment at the bottom, meaning you'll need to crawl around on the floor to change the settings? (which HSD owners already have to do). Not so convenient!

[ashley]

Yes- on the RM's the adjuster is under the car, but still very accesible

[Gullzter]

Yes- on the RM's the adjuster is under the car, but still very accesible

Very easy to reach, i have these
Build quality is very impressive aswell of my BC collies, they are several years old i believe but a quick wipe shows no sign of wear

[shinny]

Yes- on the RM's the adjuster is under the car, but still very accesible

Really? When I'm on my 15" track wheels and I want to adjust my damping quickly, how do I do it on the RMs? Because on the BRs I pop the hood and the frunk, walk round the car and adjust each one without even needing to crouch, let alone search for the adjuster by feel.

I cannot see how anything at the bottom of the strut and hidden behind the brake disk can be described as "very easy to reach", especially when compared to the top of strut adjusters

[rev3turbo]

Yes- on the RM's the adjuster is under the car, but still very accesible

Very easy to reach, i have these
Build quality is very impressive aswell of my BC collies, they are several years old i believe but a quick wipe shows no sign of wear

Have you been in an MR2 with BR's? just wondering if you could compare to the RM's

I dont like the idea of it being under the car, although I think you can get extenders to put in a remote location

[shinny]

I dont like the idea of it being under the car, although I think you can get extenders to put in a remote location

You can get extenders - none of them on the BC website are listed as being for for the RMs though. I'd bet some would still fit, but they're still only 25cm long at most, placing the adjustment behind a wheel somewhere. I know inverted shocks are supposed to be better, but from a practical POV on what is mostly a road car, I'd rather have adjustment easily available.

[ashley]

My car's pretty low, but admitedly no body kit...for the front I turn the sterring to full lock, and lie on the ground- I can see the adjustor, and easily reach it.

For the rear it's a bit tighter to see properly I admit, but it is possible- although it's been a while, I may have used a jack/ axle stand last time.

Not as easy as top mounted adjustors I admit

[shinny]

Not as easy as top mounted adjustors I admit

Indeed - last time I ran Santa Pod, I got a couple of miles down the road and realised I hadn't firmed up my rear coilovers having set them to their softest setting to help the rear squat down on launch. When I got stopped at some red lights I had time to open the engine bay, jump out of the car and set the dampers back to their normal setting. Try doing that with the "easy to reach" RMs

[ashley]

I'm prepared to sacrifice not being able to adjust my dampers at the traffic lights for superior track performance

[Gullzter]

I'm prepared to sacrifice not being able to adjust my dampers at the traffic lights for superior track performance

I think ill live with this too

[shinny]

I'm prepared to sacrifice not being able to adjust my dampers at the traffic lights for superior track performance

See, I'm the reverse... I'll give up a little damping performance in exchange for making it easy to tune the suspension hope I want it. My car is still a road car first and foremost

I think I'd rather have a slightly suboptimal damper tuned to the right setting than a slightly better damper which is a PITA to dial in to your preferred stiffness. That said, I want to be changing damping settings between road and track (I'm not driving track stiffness on public roads, nor road softness on the track), and have even changed settings between laps at the 'ring to adjust the car's handling, so convenience is good.

[ashley]

Let's not exagerate how difficult it is to adjust the inverted dampers, at a track with a jack it would take you maybe 5 minutes total to adjust all 4 corners...hardly long enough to stop you dialing in to your preffered settings

[shinny]

Let's not exagerate how difficult it is to adjust the inverted dampers, at a track with a jack it would take you maybe 5 minutes total to adjust all 4 corners...hardly long enough to stop you dialing in to your preffered settings

That's fair enough, provided you have a jack

Anyway, I'm sure you're happy with yours, and I'm happy with mine - we have slightly different use cases and thus have the coilovers to suit. I'm not saying you made the wrogn choice, Ashley, just that the choice you made wouldn't suit me and might not suit the OP either.

I actually have a plan (whether I'll implement it any time soon is another question) to create a DIY EDFC for the BCs. I'm sure will be easier in the slightly cleaner, drier environments at the top of the struts rather than the bottom.

[ashley]

Apologies- not arguing with you mate, all good

[Gullzter]

I have a trolley jack in the frunk, can adjust mines how i like in less than 3mins and have optimum performance

[mrturbotom]

I like my monopros, no need to open a frunk or engine lid to adjust

Mr2 owners with bc's that have been in mine prefer how mine rides and absorbs bumps over their bc's!

[Gullzter]

I like my monopros, no need to open a frunk or engine lid to adjust

Mr2 owners with bc's that have been in mine prefer how mine rides and absorbs bumps over their bc's!

Ill have you know my BCs absorb bumps better than i expected, couldnt be happier
They are far better than my black billies, oh and i have uprated arbs and everything is polybushed too