Front & Rear Damper Adjustable Coilovers

[Driv3r]

Does anyone have any experience or feedback about CATuned coilovers? Seems to be a cheaper alternative to GC but with more options.

 

https://catuned.com/catuned-2002-coilover-system

 

Also what does it mean by "reinforcement required"? I've already got TEP's battery relocation brace installed. 

 

 

Thanks

 

[jrhone]

If you do the rear the way catunedbis doing it (I don't recommend it for a streetcar) you are removing the springs from their stock location and that is where all the weight of the rear end goes and you are putting ALL that weight on the shock mount alone. So unless you want the smrear shock to breat the mount and push through your trunk you need to reinforce the rear shock mount by welding in braces and additional metal around the shock mount. On a street car there is no advantage to this. You can get plentyblow and if you want adjustable GC makes an adjustable rear perch for the rear that fits in the sock location and keeps the weight where BMW intended on the 02. 

[AceAndrew]

=BC/XYZ/Gecko/private-labled-tawainese-kits, regardless of marketing frosting.   I used to watch the overseas guys come into SEMA and setup their booths in the side halls.  Dealt with some on other projects.  Those coilovers always had extremely tempting profit margins if you could overlook the nasty bits (which many resellers have).

 

There is quite a bit of information out there on them.  I've attached a few links....

https://www.bmw2002faq.com/forums/topic/155340-catuned-coilover-kit/

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=376842&page=24

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?p=4222606#post4222606

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?2117292-Short-strokes-on-a-budget&p=27794527#post27794527

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=327170&page=3

 

In regards to rear reinforcement.... a battery relocation brace isn't enough.  If doing rear coilovers, you will want to tie them into a half-cage at a minimum.

https://www.bmw2002faq.com/forums/topic/178973-strengthening-for-coilovers/

https://www.bmw2002faq.com/forums/topic/68229-reinforcing-shock-tower-for-coilover-pics/?hl=rear%2Bcoilover%2Btower#entry115879

https://www.bmw2002faq.com/forums/topic/70523-rear-coilover-clearance-question/

 

 

Edited July 26, 2017 by AceAndrew

[TobyB]

err, Andrew and I usually agree, and I DO agree, in part- a battery bracket is good for keeping the battery in place.  full stop.

 

But if one were to reinforce the top flat portion of the stock shock mount, it'd be OK for a street car.  I added coilovers to the

race car, and while I rebuilt the mounting position, I didn't tie them to the cage. 

 

I also agree that there is absolutely no reason to do this to a car driven on the street.

 

And that a $59 shock can be had from Monroe, too. 

 

t

 

[Driv3r]

Thanks everyone. I wasn't sure if the CAtuned kit was the same as every other Taiwanese coilover brand so good thing I checked. I understand the term "street car" is commonly used here to differentiate between a car that's driven on track for racing and a car that's driven on streets as daily or occasional drive. I believe that term is now obsolete because some recent sports cars now sold by dealers can now match or even outperform purposely made track cars. 

 

When driving on streets, I like to be able to sharp corner at 50mph with ease rather than appearing like your going to roll over. Based on your recommendations, I will not be installing rear coilovers at this stage but I still need advice on how to make my car more stable when cornering. I'm looking to install front coilovers with ability to adjust damper level. I'm also happy to include all other suspension improvements if recommended (My project car came with IE's front & rear sway bar and urethane kit already installed).

 

[Simeon]

Isn't the whole point of coil overs to allow frequent adjustment of ride height to match interchangeable springs? I understand the carporn aspect of them but if you are going to pick a height / spring and stick to it, there are no benefits whatsoever. 

[Driv3r]

Isn't the whole point of coil overs to allow frequent adjustment of ride height to match interchangeable springs? I understand the carporn aspect of them but if you are going to pick a height / spring and stick to it, there are no benefits whatsoever. 

Financially, they're more practical than a permanent fixed kit for my purposes. I might lower the car for a specific event, go back to 13" wheels, do a fun track day through bmw club, then just set it up for comfort. It gives my options more flexibility and I guess thats why they were invented. Otherwise no problems with a fixed setting.

[tzei]

You will end up having two cars ? I know i did lol.

[Driv3r]

I looked up 

Moton
JRZ
AST
Ground Control
TC Kline
TEIN
KW

 

And only GC makes a suspension kit for 02. Other mentioned brands are between $4-$5k for the front pair. CG will cost me $3k AUD installed.

 

https://groundcontrolstore.com/collections/e9-e10/products/bmw-68-76-bmw-2002-complete-suspension-system

 

What say you?

[jrhone]

Like I said if you want rear height adjustability the ground control kit allows this without the need for rear reinforcement and it's pretty affordable at $350. 

[Ian]

Also check with Ireland Engineering.

[M3M3]

7 hours ago, Driv3r said:

 

Financially, they're more practical than a permanent fixed kit for my purposes. I might lower the car for a specific event, go back to 13" wheels, do a fun track day through bmw club, then just set it up for comfort. It gives my options more flexibility and I guess thats why they were invented. Otherwise no problems with a fixed setting.

 

 

that is the theory.  in actual practice, after the first time, i have never really seen anyone execute this plan.  it gets too hard.  raising and lowering does not change comfort...gotta change damper settings and change the springs too.   and if you change ride height, you need to fix the alignment each time.  changing springs on a stock style rear suspension is easier than on a coil over shock design.  

 

that was even my original thought.  even having a lift in my shop and tons of tools and springs.....it didn't happen.  i just change suspension height down for the few months of track season, then up an inch for cars and coffee season to keep the oil pan from getting destroyed.  there is no comfort factor..the ride is brutal all the time... 

 

just get billy HD's, ST or IE sways and some H&R springs and be 90% happy all the time with no changes.     :-)

 

but even if you don't change settings between events, for a more track oriented setup, you can't go wrong with the GC basic setup and IE sway bars.  i ran that for a while before redesigning the GC system for my current setup.

[FB73tii]

9 hours ago, Simeon said:

Isn't the whole point of coil overs to allow frequent adjustment of ride height to match interchangeable springs?

 

For me the move to coilovers in front was based on the desire to get more negative camber than allowed by stock 5" OD springs. You could always get more camber with stock springs by relocating the top strut mounts, but that is a bit of irreversible cutting and welding.

 

Once the car is set up and corner-balanced, I never mess with the height. I'm not racing (just HPDE), so don't get into using different spring rates for different tracks. I might mess with the anti-roll bars a bit. With coilovers, adjustable camber plates, and offset bump steer spacers, I could run as much as -4° in front if I wanted to. I typically run about -3° in front with radial R-compound tires and a bit less in the rear.

 

I don't have rear coilovers, just adjustable camber and toe so that I can reduce the amount of negative camber lowering causes, and set the rear toe to zero. --Fred

 

[danco_]

I've driven a few cars with the CATuned coilovers installed and I must say, I did enjoy them. However, I would not modify the rear shock mounts to accept a set of his rear coilovers. Simply not worth it.

 

 

 

[TobyB]

Quote

ome recent sports cars now sold by dealers

For simplicity, we've narrowed it down to 2002s here.

The stock 2002 is pretty soft on the street, and has nowhere near

enough front camber for any particular sporty purpose.

 

If you drive your car on the street, it's a street car,

and if you do a track day or 2, it can still be a street car.

Even if you add nice H&R and some Bilschtiens.

Even a bit of front camber might be OK.

 

If it gets tracked regularly and balanced and sprung for the track it's a track car,

and if you still drive it on the street, you're a masochist.  In a track car.

Did that for years.  If you have nice roads, you're a happy masochist

who has gobs of rear grip.

 

On race cars, I frequently adjust the ride height sleeves- different springs for

different tracks have different static heights, some tracks like more or less rake,

sometimes I run bigger (or smaller) tires and need more or less clearance blah de blah.

 

On the track car, I don't think I adjusted ride height more than 2 or 3 times,

but the clearance for camber and wider tires was essential.

 

GC stuff has been good to me, and good value for money.  IE parts are also fine-

they cost less, and get the job done.  I'm a sucker for the GC top mounts- they are pretty,

and in my survey of exactly one, are quieter (slightly) than IE. And more expensive.

 

I know i've said most of this before, but it's pertinent.

t