BC + MeisterR Coilover Questions

[HBEcoBeaST]

Thanks for bearing with all my suspension posts. Pretty much narrowed my choices down to
-BC BR Series
-MeisterR CRD
-Bilstein B14 for regular Fiesta

Those of you running BCs, how much maintenance do they need? Do you have issues? Are they loud? Can you adjust damping without removing anything?

Those of you running MeisterR CRD, how much maintenance do they need? Do you have issues? Are they loud? Can you adjust damping without removing anything? Do the remote damping control extensions work for our model?

I'm leaning towards BC because I can get them for ~995 installed but don't want damping adjustments to be a pain. I like the MeisterR and wouldn't mind the remote damping extensions if they work for our model. The Bilstein B14 are awesome but I'd have to order overseas and it's up in the air if the regular Fiesta model has linear front springs.

I only want minimal (if any) drop over stock, OEM turn in, better handling and improved ride quality would be nice.

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[Dpro]

$995 installed is a deal but its not like its hard to put in a full on set of coilovers its pretty much a remove and replace situation.

 

[kivnul]

I have the meisterrs. There is no need for the dampening extenders. The fronts can be adjusted with just the hood up, the backs can be reached with kid sized arms or jack up the back of the car an inch or two to fit your arm in there. My front system is groaning after about a year, have not found the cause yet. I emailed the company about maintenence and all they said was to wd40 the top of them (have not tried yet). They have a pretty wide range of height adjustment. I have mine set to stock height. Also, the locking rings on them are a freaking stupid design, you cannot use a standard spanner on them.

 

[HBEcoBeaST]

I have the meisterrs. There is no need for the dampening extenders. The fronts can be adjusted with just the hood up, the backs can be reached with kid sized arms or jack up the back of the car an inch or two to fit your arm in there. My front system is groaning after about a year, have not found the cause yet. I emailed the company about maintenence and all they said was to wd40 the top of them (have not tried yet). They have a pretty wide range of height adjustment. I have mine set to stock height. Also, the locking rings on them are a freaking stupid design, you cannot use a standard spanner on them.

Thanks for the feedback. I saw your posts on the MeisterR s and it made me a little weary. I figured I'd generously lube everything. Glad to hear they can be adjusted easily as I heard the rear BCs are impossible without removal.

 

[maestromaestro]

As I mentioned in my earlier reply to you, I have BR series front and back. They were custom valved by 2Jr, and I haven't touched them since the install 4 years ago (well, that's not entirely true what with the car being on fire at some point), but - no adjustments. There may be *some* moan at 5 mph, but this very well can come from any other body part moving about.

I don't really have a recollection of how the stock suspension behaved, because I made a bunch of mods very soon after buying the car - so, can't give you a comparo. But, other thru ignorance on my part or the quality of construction, they haven't given me any trouble after about 70k miles on them.

 

[Erick_V]

I have had my BC's for exactly 2 years tomorrow. They ride better than stock and don't make any weird noises. I have the standard BC springs at 5k/3k. As far as adjustments go it sounds like its the same procedure as the MeisterR's, hood up for the front and jack up the rear for damping. You DO NOT need to remove the rear coil to adjust. Just lift the rear so its at full droop and you have plenty of room for the knob. When I adjusted the height a couple months ago they weren't seized together and when I sprayed them with some cleaner they still looked brand new. I live in Southern Texas so no bad weather here.

 

[LilPartyBox]

I'm gonna re-post the update on the MRs i posted a couple of days ago in the main suspension thread:

Installed 5/29/2016 with 5,279 miles. The coils are still going strong today almost 36,000 miles & 3+ yrs later. They're not as buttery as they were brand new but still dampen very well. Despite my efforts to clean them at the end of each season, the winters in the northeast can be brutal. The black coating on the springs has seen better days and there's rust beginning to form. But the rest of the coil body is perfect. Even the adjustment collars are perfect. There's also no weird noises other than the usual winter bang the rears do but OEMs and the Konis i had on made the same exact sound. Chalk it up to that econobox life yo.

About a year ago the driver side damper did loosen up from the top hat for some odd reason but tightened back down and all was well. During that same incident the camber plate loosened a tiny bit and i was riding around stanced on one side but that was also an easy fix. Nothing has ever gotten loose again. I plan to reach out to them and price out replacement dampers and top hats to do a refresh of the setup. Another 36k of trouble free miles sounds good to me.

Also, MRs remote adjusters don't work for our model. BC has remote adjusters on their site but I'd call to make sure they work with ours. I run BCs on my Mazda and while they list the remote adjusters for my car, they don't actually work for it so buyer beware on that front.

But a word about BC - I hate them. I've had them for 5 yrs(?) and i've rebuilt them once. Their top mounts are repeatedly getting loose up front. For a while the adjustment collars wouldn't stay tight. MRs collars haven't moved in 3 yrs. The 30 levels of adjustment is more like 15 since you have to turn the dial 2 clicks to actually feel a difference. On the MRs you feel every click. I like that BC offers swift springs as an option. Also, BC replacement parts are VERY cheap and easy to source from their website.

MR part sourcing is yet to be determined. I tried calling the number on their site and ended up with a voicemail from a guy who's accent was so bad i couldn't understand a word. So i PM'd them on here and while he got back to me in one day, he didn't give me the pricing i was asking for. He instead tried to sell me on buying a new version of the coilover they are working on. I told him i'd rather just refresh the dampers/mounts and call it a day. Unless he is handing out customer loyalty discounts for the upgrade. I'm hoping he gets back to me today. I'll update when he does. If it were BC the parts would be shipping already...But i still fell MR is the superior of the two in real world use and reliability.

 

[maestromaestro]

I'm gonna re-post the update on the MRs i posted a couple of days ago in the main suspension thread:


Also, MRs remote adjusters don't work for our model. BC has remote adjusters on their site but I'd call to make sure they work with ours. I run BCs on my Mazda and while they list the remote adjusters for my car, they don't actually work for it so buyer beware on that front.

But a word about BC - I hate them. I've had them for 5 yrs(?) and i've rebuilt them once. Their top mounts are repeatedly getting loose up front. For a while the adjustment collars wouldn't stay tight. MRs collars haven't moved in 3 yrs. The 30 levels of adjustment is more like 15 since you have to turn the dial 2 clicks to actually feel a difference. On the MRs you feel every click. I like that BC offers swift springs as an option. Also, BC replacement parts are VERY cheap and easy to source from their website.

MR part sourcing is yet to be determined. I tried calling the number on their site and ended up with a voicemail from a guy who's accent was so bad i couldn't understand a word. So i PM'd them on here and while he got back to me in one day, he didn't give me the pricing i was asking for. He instead tried to sell me on buying a new version of the coilover they are working on. I told him i'd rather just refresh the dampers/mounts and call it a day. Unless he is handing out customer loyalty discounts for the upgrade. I'm hoping he gets back to me today. I'll update when he does. If it were BC the parts would be shipping already...But i still fell MR is the superior of the two in real world use and reliability.

What would be the overt signs of the BC coilovers problems? Maybe mine ARE failing and I am just not cognizant?

As far as adjustments go, 40 clicks are just like teeth on a cog - you may indeed have to dial in a few before you notice a difference, but an option for finer adjustments are better than only having 4 settings.

 

[HBEcoBeaST]

Well I appreciate the help but I think I'm going with ISC basic street sports. Better warranty and the 6k/4k spring rates people seem to like. I can't get a discount on BCs if I change from the default 5k/3k

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