ST re-buildable / tunable coilovers and rear shocks?

[prerunner_ST]

I am in the process of upgrading my 2015 ST suspension and I just wanted peoples experience/opinions with off the shelf coil overs/ rear shocks.

Car is a daily driver but I often drive on dirt roads or uneven pavement. While the body roll seems fine in turns, I think the front end is a little too soft when it comes to pot holes, bumps and drive ways (high speed control). Also the rear end seems way too stiff at low speed. The plan is to maintain the stock ride height for the most part but I would still like the options of stiffer springs. With coil overs this is no problem because I can just get the desired spring rate or just adjust the coil overs preload. My question is what options are out there for coil overs and rear shocks which provide dampening adjustability? I have built a few off road prerunners & buggies so I am accustomed to shocks which are re-buildable and can be revalved(internally) or adjusted externally. I don't see too many ST coilovers + rear shocks which can be rebuilt and or tuned. It seems you are stuck with what ever dampening settings come from the factory when ordering most aftermarket stuff. The only option I have found so far is this:
http://levelsperformance.com/products/bc-racing-br-spec-fully-adjustable-coilover-suspension-ford-fiesta-st
Also I don't think you can adjust the rear shocks dampening with that kit (maybe I'm wrong?)

Any advice or experience would be appreciated. Otherwise I'm going to slap some bypass shock in the rear and some 2.5" coil overs up front

Thanks

 

[Chuckable]

KW either off the shelf or custom should work for what you desire.

 

[prerunner_ST]

humm KW's actually look quite nice.

 

[StayPuft]

You could always build your own rear kit with off the shelf springs and adjustable dampers like KYBs

 

[meFiSTo]

The BC products allow you to adjust the bump and rebound simultaneously, but not separately. Probably the least expensive option that allows separate adjustment of compression and rebound is the KW V3. V2s are pretty much like the BCs. Do you feel you need separate adjustments? Front and rear dampers are both adjustable in the same way, with a knob on the top of the damper/strut. One nice thing about the BCs is that they are easily tuned on the car. I had the KWV3s on two cars and they were tougher to adjust.

Plus: WAY cheaper vs. V3s.

 

[RAAMaudio]

I have had many sets of coilovers on many different cars, street, race, street/race, all the way up to 3-way custom Ohlins and I love the BC's on my car. Even with the "race" spec spring rates, not even on the optional Swift springs the car rides far better than stock, more so now on 15" wheels and easy to adjust for the track, go back to street setting when done...I do not drive on gravel at more than a crawl but that is to keep the car from getting so dirty more than anything, I have hauled arse a pretty rough paved mountain road a few times and they worked great, faster I go the better they feel. Of course they do not have a huge amount of travel so when going over some pretty deep stuff, bridges at speed on the freeway, the ride can be a bit rough but that is the price to pay for a lowered car setup for real handling.

This is my third car to have them, my last car was a totally nuts E36M3 build with the $$$$ Ohlins, quite happy with the low cost BC setup on the FiST.

All that said, if you are hauling arse on gravel, potholes, rocks, etc.....you may need something else in a 2-way.

 

[GAbOS]

To really answer your question.

Any shock can be tweaked to your spring rates as needed. You can always have shocks revalved to a set setting for 75-150 a shock. Some cars have them as packages (bmw e30).

This is my highway only commuter car and it oscillates front/back badly. I am seriously considering a revalve and spring upgrade if I can get the drop under an inch. I like how the car sits stock.

 

[RAAMaudio]

Gabos,
We should meet up as we just moved to Carson City in July, you can see how the BC's work on my car

 

[GAbOS]

Gabos,
We should meet up as we just moved to Carson City in July, you can see how the BC's work on my car

Pretty sure I just passed you on 50.

 

[KKaWing]

If this site is to be believed (http://www.allshocks.com//CAR/FORD/2015/Fiesta ST), there are 2 way and 3 way MCS coilovers that can be built for the car... If you have 6-8K laying around. I remember reading on the EvoX forums, an article on BC's. Basically it said are the few seconds in lap times worth the extra few thousand dollars, and left it for the readers to decide.

 

[RAAMaudio]

Gabos, we were on the 50 about that time, heading to look at some properties along the river after a late breakfast at Adelle's, dang good food there!

I had Moton's on the C5 Z06 race car, looked into MCS for the nuts E36 build a few years later but the quote was higher for the 3-way with everything I wanted than the Ohlin's I had custom built which were still $8500........now I am happy with a $1k set of BC's on the FiST...

If you put the time and some funds into the whole suspension setup like bushings, better rear alignment, etc and remove as much weight, relocate some, add a bit of aero and the power to balance it all out you can be faster than the guy with the big bucks coilovers that does not take the time to really dial a car in, I have done so many many times over the decades.

I bought what was available at the time, BC's, for the FiST but planned to upgrade to a higher end setup once the right ones came along but I am so happy with the BC's so far I am staying with them until it ever becomes clear I need to go to a more costly setup.