BC Coilovers with Swift Springs

C

CQuality

Member
Does anyone have the BC Coilover w/ swift springs setup on the +09 FX? If so, just wanted to know if it's worth the upgrade? I can't seem to find too much on 2nd gens.
 
A lot less 2nd gen owners have lowered their rides, because there was never a camber fix.

Now Andy figured out that the camber bolts from the 1st gen also work on the rear of the 2nd gens. But there is still no adjustment up front.
 
Meme is right a lot of 2nd gen owners have not lowered their rides due to the neg camber issue. I have though recently but did not do the swift upgrade and don't think no one has on 2nd gen so far. The front is a huge issue because it cambers badly.
 
Last edited:
RIP any reason you decided not to go with the SWIFT springs? How many miles have you driven with your coils - did you notice an improvements and/or problems?
 
The only advantage of the Swift springs is that they use less coils so you're not as likely to experience coil bind. They use a thinner material so they can get the same spring rate with fewer coils. This theoretically should mean a more compliant ride at the same spring rate. Coil bind is when your springs compress enough that they touch. At that point, the spring rate between those 2 coils is infinite since they don't compress anymore. But with a linear spring setup which is what Swift is and what most coilovers use, it's pointless. Even if 2 coils bind, the spring rate of the rest is unchanged. 8k/mm is 8k/mm no matter how many coils you use. Swift springs also tend to be a little longer and with fewer/thinner coils, there is more room to compress so there should be more travel. But with BC's, the damper length is very short so even if the spring could compress more, the damper probably won't allow it and you'd bottom out anyways.

Long story short, on an FX you won't see much benefits to running Swift. Maybe on a car where they upgraded the damper or revalved it to accommodate the Swift springs. But BC's are limited by the damper, not the springs.
 
I have about 500 miles so far. It's a def a huge improvement, the car feels more planted to the ground. Love how it sits too. Ride quality diminished though but that's expected with coils. The only thing I don't like is I'm getting a rattle from this knob that is loose which is just a manufacturing issue.
 
Last edited:
Thanks, RIP! Yeah - I went to Zebra and have already placed my order. I was on the fence about the SWIFT springs since I've heard good things about them on other car applications, but nothing on FXs.

I'm not looking for an aggressive drop, just something to close the wheel gap, and couldn't find much about coilover setups for 2nd gens. I'll post up some info once I put these on. Thank again for your input!
 
Bump.
Would it be beneficial to get new coil set up with linear spring & bucket adapter right from the start, so no conversion is necessary in the case one would want to change out springs such as Swift? I believe at point of order there is no additional cost to get them set that way instead of just ordering standard V-Barrel setup, . . & maybe no loss either even if still running default BC spring on a linear setup. Correct me if I'm wrong.
After reading thread, it seems that a spring change wouldnt help anything though. I want to be able to dial this in.
Show of hands if anyone has found a perfect track or weekend warrior setup, but ride is still quite livable on default spring.
 
Last edited:
The linear spring won't do much for your handling. The adapter just lets you run more spring options - so using the adapter and linear springs is only an advantage if you can't get a V-barrel spring in the rate/length you want or you want to run a much shorter spring and slam it. But if you can get a BC spring in the rate you want, no need to go for Swift + adapter. The adapter does eat up some travel since it has a fixed thickness. I don't think a Swift would make any noticeable difference unless you were really pushing through the travel all the time at which point the thinner material might help with less coil bind. But if you're just driving on the street, springs from BC and Swift with the same spring rate would ride identically. Both springs are linear rate, so 10kg/mm is 10kg/mm or whatever the rate is.

I personally feel that the damper is the limiter in the BC, not the spring. But there's not much you can do about the damper. Having said that, for the price, BC's damper is perfectly fine. You're not going to get anything better at that price point.
 
Thank you. Sweet explanation. I'm Newb at this.
Is there a choice for spring on BC, or is it a default something? Which spring rate should I be searching for?
I want a good drop without being slammed or too bouncy, & to get this thing to handle really well . . without killing the ride completely if possible. I'm aware I can adjust, so I believe that option is there. Planning to run street & occasional track days.
I will be sitting on 295/40 20's. 10.5's . Unless you think I should run a different size tire. TQ!

---------- Post added at 01:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:31 PM ----------

& then there's the possible out of camber issue, but I guess we can deal with that at later time

---------- Post added at 01:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:34 PM ----------

Or maybe you already said that 10 KG is the way to go

---------- Post added at 01:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:46 PM ----------

I think I read somewhere that it will adjust by 4
 
Last edited:
I believe the standard BC rates are 8kg/mm front and 12 kg/mm in the rear. This is already stiffer than H&R lowering springs (what I had before) and is honestly a decent ride. I did feel this was a little soft in the front, but rears were not bad. I switched springs because I got the bug to keep going lower. So eventually I was on maximum drop in rear (even pulled out the lock collars) and near that in front. The standard spring rates resulted in a ton of rubbing since they were blowing through the travel. I cranked up the damping to compensate but the ride sucked.

So went with 12kg/mm front and 14 kg/mm in rear. I think that's the max rate in the V-barrel. Then I lowered the damping to a more reasonable level. Honestly the ride isn't too bad, small bumps aren't great, but on most roads it's fine. If I hit a big dip, the FX will porpoise a little bit, but that's more due to the weight. And I feel the FX is a big more balanced since the front and rear spring rates are closer. Before, I always thought the front was softer than the rear but now they feel about the same. It seems to make the handling a little more neutral. Turn in feel is improved whereas before, it always felt like the front outside tire was always doing all the work since all the weight transferred there in turns while braking.

Maybe go with a 10kg/mm front and 12kg/mm rear. My ride isn't for most people and the biggest issue I had with the BC spring rate was the front. A 10kg would balance better but won't be as harsh. I'm running 275/40/20 on 10.5" wheels.
 
Great explanation Shadow.

Dave, I'm running 10K front and 12K rear, very happy with my setup. SWIFT springs will run you $325 for all 4 and I think $85 for the adapters.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top