So its time to search for a performance suspension kit to fulfill my requirements.
After sometime of hunting around and exchanging knowledge with fellow petrolheads, I decided on BC V1 Series coilover kit.
For those lazy bum who is too lazy to even click or tap on the links, the specifications of the BC-V1 Series is as below.
- 30 way adjustable damping
- Adjustable spring platform
- Height adjustment via bottom mount to retain full damper travel
- Dust boot to protect damper seals
The kit I ordered come with the following spring rate installed.
- Front spring rate of 8k
- Rear spring rate of 5k
As per the norm, I have the kit ordered and installed at EA Autoworks. The kit cost me about RM 3.6k inclusive of installation.
So up on the hoist my car goes to have the stock suspension removed and replaced with the new BC Racing V1 series coilover kit.
Front suspension view.
Rear suspension view
Upon completion of the new suspension installation, the car is lowered from the hoist and lo and behold, the ride hide is really slammed low.
The original ride height of the Jetta is 60cm.
The preset ride height of the new coilover kit I believe should be in the region of 54 cm there about. My mistake as I did not take the ride height measurements. That is like 6 cm (60mm) of height reduction.
As the ride is slammed too low for my comfort (days of slamming it too low is behind me), its time to bring out the calculator (not literally lah, doh) to recalculate the optimal ride height and to get the proper preloading adjustment done.
Installing a suspension don't always meant removing the old and plunk in the new. A good tuner will always know and make an effort to get the entire kit preloaded spot on and mind you, preloading is not just as simple as twist, turn, voila kind of job. This is where I trust the folks at EA Autoworks to get it right.
For your info in a nutshell, lowering your car too much don't meant it will always handle better. At times it can and will cause the handling to be worst then stock as lowering a car too much can cause the suspension geometry to be thrown out the window.
So be smart when lowering a car (no doubt a lowered car looks nice, but can it handle as well as it should?).
Case in point the car below. Looks nice but the handling will be crap (if it is not already crap to begin with).
Anyway back to topic, after much discussion on the ride height by taking into consideration the original suspension geometry setup, it is decided that we will test out a 2cm (20mm) height reduction.
So from a ride height of 60cm (600mm), the car is lowered to 58cm (580mm).
(No, I do not use fingers as a height measurement tool)
This is how the car looks like when the height adjustment is completed.
Closer look at the front height.
As for the damping, after some period of fine tuning which of course involve some run up and down the usual mountain route, I have come to find that by running between 16-18 "clicks" for the front and 12-14 "clicks" for rear, you can achieve a balance between handling and yet it will not be as trashy as it will be over uneven or rough surfaces while being driven around daily.
Please bear in-mind that I use the word trashy instead of comfort as there will be no way a coilover kit even at its softest settings it will never be as comfortable as a stock suspension.
If you want comfort, please stay stock.
There is less diving and squatting now under hard braking or sudden hard acceleration compared to before. This basically allows me to put more power down much earlier and also provide some improvement in braking stability.
With the damping for daily and weekend runs pretty much nailed, its time to turn the focus to the track. Of course it goes without saying that the suspension will be set to the hardest setting in track lah. Double doh.
A remarkable improvement. I am able to put my power down much earlier compared to before as the weight transfer is much more manageable now. With the new suspension kit and of course some help from the Big Brake Kit and RS3 rubbers, I managed to shave 6 seconds off my previous timing.
View it here.
#throwback picture
Mountain road test - checked.
Track test - checked.
2 test down and its time for the ultimate test of ferrying family members (my grandma and her 2 younger sister and my mom) around town visiting relatives in Jalan Ipoh, Cheras and Kemuning.
As I did not change the suspension settings from the previous track day, I take this opportunity to see if there will be complains from my family members that I am ferrying around.
Running around the said area with the hardest settings while driving at the legal speed limit, there is no complains what so ever from them. In fact they don't even realize that I am running on coilovers.
I am quite surprised at this.
So suffice to say, at the hardest setting and driving around at the legal speed limit, the ride is not as trashy it is supposed to be (over the bad Cheras road condition and the infamous uneven Kesas Highway). There is still some degree of refinement or "comfort" to be found.
Of course you don't charge over speed bump like you would on a stock suspension lah, the rebound will surely jolt the passengers. Just be more careful when going over speed bump and all will be fine.
With the family member test successfully aced, I don't think I will be reverting back to my original street settings anytime soon.
Apart from family members, I have given a couple of Jetta owners a ride and their collective view is that even at the hardest settings, it is still decently refined.
Even a buddy of mine who has a GTi MK7 and driven my car around town, commented that the car handles quite well.
Now come the question (as usual), will it void warranty?
My answer will be "What do you think? This is a modification."
Ok seriously, the question will always be, why BC? Why not KW or Bilstein or some brand more "continental"?
My honest answer and opinion will be as below.
No doubt KW or Bilstein coilover kit might be better compared to BC V1 Series but how much better will it be against BC V1 to justify the price tag difference between a KW or Bilstein kit?
A KW V3 coilover kit will most likely cost you around RM 8k region. Since it is twice as costly as my BC V1 coilover kit, will the KW V3 perform twice as good? My personal opinion will be maybe just 15%-20% better at most.
At the end of the day, its your money and your choice. If you can afford it, by all means go for the branded kits. I am here just to share what is my experience with this BC V1 Series coilover kit and that I am happy with it.
Pictures with EA watermarks credit to Drex Chan of EA Autoworks.
