BMW 1 Series Coupe Forum / 1 Series Convertible Forum (1M / tii / 135i / 128i / Coupe / Cabrio / Hatchback) (BMW E82 E88 128i 130i 135i)
 





 

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      03-25-2019, 04:48 PM   #23
vtl
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Quote:
Originally Posted by flinchy View Post


I believe that was a rumour, or maybe spoke to the wrong person or something? Or maybe they briefly stopped to consolidate and started again idk, either way I spoke to Josh a couple weeks ago about it and he 100% confirmed they'll do them now.

One of the guys I know in VIC kept asking them to make a set for his car but they never had interest. This was over a year ago, maybe they've changed their mind now.

Would be a great local option as I am not impressed with most of the coilover kits for these cars (way too soft, even the KW V3)
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      03-25-2019, 08:39 PM   #24
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What issues did you have? I've heard various stories, but always resolved in the end
1. Front helper springs that were no help (were fully compressed and became spacers) and just caused unacceptably tight tyre/lower spring seat clearance and no further (lowering) adjustability. So, they had to be removed which meant the whole front suspension had to be removed, disassembled, re-assembled and re-fitted. I wasn't expecting helpers and Josh advised that they had started fitting them as standard when built O/S. No good with the 200mm springs they specified for my car.

2. Rear springs have the height adjust screw at the bottom, unlike most aftermarket where it's at the top. Josh said this was done because it was too difficult to adjust otherwise. However, the flat base of the adjuster was sitting on the lower suspension arm hole flange that the spring normally seats around. I wasn't happy with that, so the springs had to come out and a doughnut type spacer manufactured for a seat. I really think it would be better to have the adjuster at the top with a thrust sheet/bearing on the spring to allow slip when adjusting. The Teins on my MX-5 have thrust washers - work great.

3. Rear springs started making "sproing" noises after a few hundred km over low speed bumps and had to be R & R again to fit a urethane spacer/packing in the upper mounts because the MCA spring is a smaller diameter than the BMW original and could move around in there.

All the above fixed with no arguments under warranty but at some inconvenience to me as MCA are on Brisbane's north side and I'm on the south side. I got quite familiar with the train timetable.

I was rather surprised and disappointed that the issues were not picked up during fitting as they were pretty obvious.

However, I'm very happy with the performance of the set-up - now with a good wheel alignment. Just got back from a run up through Mt Nebo and it is almost as good through the twisties as the MX-5 - which is saying something because the Bimmer was an understeering/ploughing/diving/bump crashing pig beforehand.

Last edited by JBT2; 03-26-2019 at 03:59 PM..
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      03-26-2019, 07:32 AM   #25
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I was confused why they (and some other brands) have the rear adjuster on the bottom, I never had an issue adjusting the BC's on the top :/

Hoping they incorporated all those fixes into their retail kit, all sounds mildly annoying enough for me
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      03-26-2019, 03:55 PM   #26
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The rear spring adjuster position could easily be reversed and located at the top. However, it would need a thrust sheet or similar to allow the adjuster to turn and prevent binding - even though you'd probably only make one or two adjustments on installation and then leave it set there.

This photo shows how forum contributor fe1rx set his up. See the thrust sheet between the spring and adjuster.
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      03-28-2019, 05:13 AM   #27
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Swaybar disconnected?

I might give them a call. Perhaps living in QLD gives them more motivation to produce them for the locals as any issues with interstate owners would require a lot of to and fro, shipping and labour.

By the sounds of the previous couple of posts, the product may still have some teething issues and more may arise if the product proves to be produced/popular again. It also sounds like their customer support is good, which is reassuring.
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      03-28-2019, 04:54 PM   #28
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After my experience, there are certain key elements that would need to be set in stone.

Front See attached photos of my old struts and the MCAs as now fitted.

Note the length of the front shock/strut from the top of the hub collar to the bottom of the spring perch adjuster. Note that the OEM perch sits just above the tyre at 200mm and the strut sits very close to the inside of the tyre.

The length of my MCAs at standard ride height with 200mm/6 Kg springs is 175mm with 20mm spring preload. This gives about 7mm clearance at the tyre and I'm running 225/40 x 18 at the front. Note that this is with the "helper" spring removed, so the perch was about 15mm lower and uncomfortably close to the tyre when first fitted.

Rear

The only real issue here is where/how you want the spring height/length adjuster positioned. Just ensure that there will be no issues with upper or lower spring or adjuster mounting like I had.
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Last edited by JBT2; 03-29-2019 at 04:00 PM..
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      03-29-2019, 04:03 AM   #29
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Spoke to Josh today. He said he has learnt a lot from doing cars like Justin's and JBT2 and will be launching a product specifically to suit Euro cars like ours in the near future.

He talked about the difficulties he has had in the past and how they have resolved them and has been designing solutions.

I still could not wait.. I booked my 135I in next week for some Street Ultimates.

Josh insisted that they wanted to fit them to ensure no problems.

Mine is a wide body 1M style 135I with aggressive offsets so I think I will have a lot more room in board (depending on how much camber I have to run)

He specifically mentioned the spring being smaller in the rear as mentioned by JBT2 in this thread. He is confident they will have a better solution for it in the near future.

I will keep you guys posted on how it all goes for myself. But Josh was very helpful and seemed interested in achieving what I need.

I have had no prior association with MCA, I saw this thread last year and I am from North of Brisbane so I thought I'd take a leap of faith.

-Cheers

Last edited by Sincaliber; 03-29-2019 at 05:56 PM..
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      03-29-2019, 04:47 AM   #30
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It's tough for a small business to prototype products. I'm more than happy to guinea pig my car if they are willing to have a few of us give feedback.

That clearance is very tight. What rims do you have?
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      03-29-2019, 06:13 AM   #31
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Quote:
Originally Posted by juld0zer View Post
That clearance is very tight. What rims do you have?
Talkin' to me?

Standard wheels but running 225/40 tyres vs 215/40 so, that reduces clearance by about 5mm (ish).

The BMW design means the struts are very close to the wheel. Some people use spacers to get more clearance....

Last edited by JBT2; 03-29-2019 at 03:58 PM..
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      03-30-2019, 07:54 AM   #32
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Would you happen to have any photos of the rear setup with this doughnut spacer and the upper urethane packing? I’m getting some strange sounds out of the rear of mine so wondering if this could be the cause.

I have the XRs in mine for about 2 years now, mine didn’t get fitted by MCA though. Never had any issues with the fronts.
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      03-30-2019, 08:14 AM   #33
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No pics of the rear lower spacer or upper packing. I'd have to get a wheel off and it's a bit of an issue at my residence. I plan to get some photos next time I clean out the wheel wells in the next couple of months.
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      03-31-2019, 03:32 AM   #34
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No probs I might speak to MCA when I get a chance
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      03-31-2019, 04:39 AM   #35
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The thing you don't want is the spring adjuster (if placed at the bottom) mounted on the flange in the lower arm. There must be something (spacer) to support it in the arm in the area where the spring would normally seat.

See the pic and the OE rubber spring seat - that is the area where the spacer must go or all the load will be on the centre flange.
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      04-02-2019, 06:54 AM   #36
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Awesome, thanks mate
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      08-29-2019, 12:33 AM   #37
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Hey Sincaliber did you end up going ahead with these?

Can you please give us an update on whether MCA resolved all the (fairly minor) issues that OzJustin & JBT2 encountered?


OzJustin & JBT2 how are these holding up over time?

I'm looking at coilover options right now, so would really appreciate any other feedback. Thank you all for your contributions on this thread so far!

Cheers

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sincaliber View Post
I will keep you guys posted on how it all goes for myself. But Josh was very helpful and seemed interested in achieving what I need.

I have had no prior association with MCA, I saw this thread last year and I am from North of Brisbane so I thought I'd take a leap of faith.

-Cheers
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      08-30-2019, 01:21 AM   #38
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I've run up 14,000 km on the MCAs.

The car has been driven over all sorts of roads and the suspension performs well. The car tends to be bit more "pitchy" on rough/undulating surfaces - probably due to the different spring rates from OE. However, the handling is vastly improved over OE...IMHO.

No "crashing" over sharp bumps like the OE system produces unless it hits the bump stops - fairly rare and only on really rubbish back roads or badly pot holed sections.

Last edited by JBT2; 08-30-2019 at 01:30 AM..
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      08-30-2019, 01:44 AM   #39
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JBT2 View Post
I've run up 14,000 km on the MCAs.
Thank you for the feedback JBT2
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