After only 18 months with Racelands I made the decision to go with BC Racing BR series coilovers. To be honest, in hindsight I should have just got the BCs to begin with. Lesson learned. I ended up getting them from Vivid Racing which offered Free Shipping and 5% discount. In reality they are likely drop shipped from the manufacturer.
In the end, the not so smooth roads of San Diego took it’s toll early on the Racelands. It wasn’t until I removed the fronts that I discovered that the passenger side strut had blown through the (brand new at the time) KYB strut cap.
In a previous blog I mentioned that I wasn’t a huge fan of the spring perch ride height adjustable coilovers, that is certainly NOT the case with BCs. They are shock tube ride height adjustable. This allows the preload, spring tension to remain at the manufacturers recommended value while the rest of the shock does the job it was designed to do. The adjustable dampening make for a far more comfortable ride than the Raceland Classics ever offered. You get what you pay for.
The rear struts include the top hats, and I didn’t need to re-use the stock top hats like with the Raceland setup. I ended up selling the Racelands as is, on Offer Up for $100. Money down the drain.
The BCs went in without any major issues. In my case, there was no need to adjust the camber as I generally stance flush and 1-finger gap on my TC. Adjusting them was as simple as unlocking the bottom collar then spinning the entire assembly up or down as needed. I did have to trim some small plastic off the bottom side of the wiper cowl to make clearance for the adjuster knob. Shown here:
Final thoughts – Buy once cry once.
I don’t really have any thing else to say other than I should have gotten these to begin with. If you’re on a budget the only other things I would consider are Rev9 (bare minimum), TEIN, or Megan. Stay away from the eBay coilovers.
Update 1/1/2025
I’ve rec’d Swift springs for the BC Racing BR coilovers! Here’s a link to my installation
Links to my other suspension upgrades and maintenance
Here are links to other suspension components I upgraded over time. As you would guess, it started off as “general maintenance” and snowballed into a full blown performance street suspension setup!
New thicker Front sway bar Endlinks by Moog (Jan 2023)
New thicker Rear sway bar Endlinks by Detroit Axle (Jan 2023)
New inner and outer tie rod ends (Jan 2023)
Hotchkis Front and Rear thicker rear sway bars
Hardcore Racing USA, rear lateral arm links
ESR CR5 18″ x 8.5″ ET30 rims with 225/40/18 tires
Energy Suspension rear trailing arm Poly Urethane bushings
PowerGrid front and rear adjustable sway bar end links (Dec 2024)
Switching from Raceland Classics to BC Racing BR coilovers
Install / Swap Swift springs to the BC Racing BR series coilovers
TB Performance front and rear lower stabilizers
Greddy rear strut tower bar (rare, hard to find)
SPC longer camber arms in rear to correct camber
DC Sports front strut tower brace
PSB Problem solving bushings front lower control arm bushing replacement (Jan 2025)
Front lower ball joint replacement Beck Arnley ball joints (Made in Japan)
