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MCA Coilovers

Pete

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#21
My knee jerk reaction assumes a damper acting directly on the spring is better. But... There was a theory thrown out when MRs first hit our forum that wondered if a spring over damper setup for the rear would present too much force to the upper mounting area. Possibly causing failure of the lil econobox stampings as time passed.

I already don't like how offset that mount is. I imagine that could present an uneven load to the top but I'm no expert. I'm very interested in seeing how this setup holds up.
Ford racing/eibach run their rear coilover on the shock. I've had their setup on my car for two years now. It also has an offset on the rear top hat as well.
 


KKaWing

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Somewhere
#22
Ford Racing did their B-Spec coils with 500 lb rear spring in a true coilover format. They just flipped it upside down so the spring is on the bottom and the damper body is on top. Looks like it should be alright.
 


LilPartyBox

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#23
awesome. Sounds like it won't be an issue at all. Well then...Assuming they don't cost an arm and a leg I can only echo Hijinx's frustration lol
Damnit. I just bought Meister Rs.


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OP
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Thread Starter #24
So today was d-day and the new coilovers are fitted and finished. The rain started bucketing down just before I drove out of the workshop. <br />
The ride is stiff but it's very quiet with no creaks or bangs to speak of. <br />
One small issue that's occurred because of the offset rear top is that the adjustment is challenging to get to. It will require a small increase in the size of the hole to provide access for an extension to be added. We can make a small hole in the trim to tun the extenders through. I'll spend some time feeling it out and check tyre pressure etc before I think about making adjustments. <br />
The front feels perfect. The back feels a little firm but I haven't had a chance to push it. More on this to follow folks. :)<br />
<br />
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Messages
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Location
Santa Fe
#25
Pics, review, and price if available. Thanks for getting this going on an FiST. More options are always better.
 


LilPartyBox

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#26
Does the rear adjuster look like this? I ask because this is exactly how the adjuster is on the MR rears (why I suspect BC rebrand :p) and i was hoping to use whatever solution you come up with. Although one of their distributors lists extenders for the Fiesta kit, I called up BC directly and that distributor listing is wrong :(

 


OP
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Thread Starter #27
Does the rear adjuster look like this? I ask because this is exactly how the adjuster is on the MR rears (why I suspect BC rebrand :p) and i was hoping to use whatever solution you come up with. Although one of their distributors lists extenders for the Fiesta kit, I called up BC directly and that distributor listing is wrong :(

The ride height adjustment is similar however the damping adjustment is accessible from under the bonnet in the front and under the boot trim in the rear.

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LilPartyBox

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#28
So MCAs have a knob INSIDE the hatch. Nice. That's how the BCs on my wife's car are. just pop a piece of trim and the adjuster is within reach. I have to jack the FiST up a few inches to reach in behind/above the rear wheel to adjust. asshat design.
 


OP
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Thread Starter #29
Ok so after a week and a bit in ready to review more thoroughly. Bottom line is I'm very happy. Where in OEM's I would have to set the car up for corners by braking ahead of time to load up the outside front wheel, weight now transfers really quickly and the body control is sublime. Steering is lighter. I suspect that this is 1. Because there's a nice bearing seat to allow the springs to rotate with steering inputs and 2. Because of the increased camber (2 degrees). It feels like it's bedded in as well and you can feel the quality of the damping circuit. Can't wait to get it to the track

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caliboy15

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#30
Ok so after a week and a bit in ready to review more thoroughly. Bottom line is I'm very happy. Where in OEM's I would have to set the car up for corners by braking ahead of time to load up the outside front wheel, weight now transfers really quickly and the body control is sublime. Steering is lighter. I suspect that this is 1. Because there's a nice bearing seat to allow the springs to rotate with steering inputs and 2. Because of the increased camber (2 degrees). It feels like it's bedded in as well and you can feel the quality of the damping circuit. Can't wait to get it to the track

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Pics on the setup installed?
 


OP
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Thread Starter #32
Ok a more in depth review which includes a morning at the track and a 300 k drive across some of the roughest windiest roads in my area. Plus some photos of the final fitments.
I did the track morning on my road tyres to get an apples to apples comparison with previous track days I've done on them (RE003's for your reference sake). The difference is night and day. Where on stock suspension the tyres would fold and the car would understeer, with the MCA's in the traction stands up for significantly longer. Not only that, when traction is exceeded the car still remains composed and continues to feed back information to the driver about what's happening. Powering on in this situation brings the car back on line. The balance is really easy to read and play with. Qld Raceway is a pretty rough track particularly into turn 1 and on the exit of turn 2. The Fiesta now remains composed and soaks up the bumps without any fuss.
Where the car blew my mind however was this morning's mountain run up Mt Nebo/Glorious, round the back of Somerset Dam to Kilcoy finally looping through the d'Agular National Park and back over Mt Mee. For anyone whose driven this circuit they'll know that it's a wide variety of surfaces and has basically everything you could reasonably throw at a suspension system. The new kit performed well beyond expectations. I used to drive some sections of this road gritting my teeth waiting for the car to hit the bump stops and send a loud shock through the whole vehicle. I can now relax as I'm seriously driving what feels like a tarmac rally car. At speed it's compliant, composed and controlled, rewarding with speeds that were previously unreachable. There were some wet sections where I was concerned about the increased camber and perceptions of a lack of traction. Concerns allayed! Even more grip and feedback than previously in the wet. My experience at the Noosa Hill climb a few weeks ago suggests that I go well in the wet (inside the top 25 while it was still wet with a high point of 3rd overall)and I honestly believe I could have placed first with this set up.
I gave my mate Daniel a drive to compare with his Bilstein coilovers in his Fiesta and he agreed that the MCA's were significantly better in all respects than the Bilsteins which felt cheap by comparison.
Start putting in your orders people if you want the best set-up soon to be available for around 2k AUD.
Redblue@mcasuspension.com.au
Pics to follow

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OP
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Thread Starter #35
That looks neat! Is there enough clearance on the rear between the wheels and coilovers?
Yes, MCA are highly professional, they wouldn't do it if it didn't provide enough clearance. They thought that they may have needed to shave the felt trim but didn't have to in the end.

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M-Sport fan

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#36
Are those spherical bearings on the bottom mount eyelet on the rear dampers, and if so, which brand do you use?? (The brand DOES make a difference in NVH, and lack of knocking over bumps, road imperfections, etc. [wink])
 


OP
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Thread Starter #37
Are those spherical bearings on the bottom mount eyelet on the rear dampers, and if so, which brand do you use?? (The brand DOES make a difference in NVH, and lack of knocking over bumps, road imperfections, etc. [wink])
No they are not. They are rubber mounts like factory. The front top mount is spherical and is a NMB unit.

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aaronraad

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Logan
#38
The MCA's ride again! I've fitted the rears and will install the fronts when I do my engine/trans swap this month hopefully. Looking forward to using them for some local TimeAttack and Hillclimb days, aside from using them as a daily drive.

MCA inspected them again before I fitted them and there were no issues.

The rear has a bit of a squeak, but it's metal-on-metal contact now. I might try a thin piece of insertion rubber or soft plastic to see if that solves the squeak.

I'll post some pics when the install is complete.
 


OP
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Thread Starter #39
The MCA's ride again! I've fitted the rears and will install the fronts when I do my engine/trans swap this month hopefully. Looking forward to using them for some local TimeAttack and Hillclimb days, aside from using them as a daily drive.

MCA inspected them again before I fitted them and there were no issues.

The rear has a bit of a squeak, but it's metal-on-metal contact now. I might try a thin piece of insertion rubber or soft plastic to see if that solves the squeak.

I'll post some pics when the install is complete.

Did you buy them off Matt?
 


aaronraad

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#40
Did you buy them off Matt?
Yes, he never ended up fitting them; and there is something he wants to change with the wheel set-up that will make them redundant.

Staff at MCA Suspension passed on as much background as possible, but if you've got anything to add that would be appreciated. Josh Coote is a wealth of race car suspension knowledge!
I've fitted the rears "as supplied" so they are probably exactly where you left them in terms of damping and right height.

Talking with David Homer last month, he mentioned that you may have no longer own a FiST and had a change of tact?

Looking forward to seeing how Matt goes with TimeAttack at Lakeside this season. I think he's going to the 1st round this Sunday?
 


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