What's the skinny on Raceland Coilovers?

[DJDD]

Again you guys are missing the point. The money isn't the thing, I don't need to 'save up' for anything. I want to see what my car looks like lowered, keep using it as a DD for the next 6 months. At the end of that time, blown or not, I'm putting a full coil over set on that is tried and true. I'm not fitting anything into my budget, I'm cheaping out because I don't know if I want the car lowered or not. $300 is nothing for me to worry about. Now say I bought a set of PSS9's and didn't like them, I'm now out anywhere from $1100 to $3000 depending on what I get. Sure I could sell them, but I'm not gonna make my money back.

All I wanted to do was make sure that these were even worth buying as a cheap option as a crutch. I don't do AutoX/DE right now, I rarely take the car over 90 anymore. So those of you arguing over whether or not they're worth tracking, drop it. If something drastic happens and I wreck my car because of a shitty shock, well that's what lawyers and insurance are for.



Now for those that aren't completely bashing the racelands because they don't cost $1500, what do you think of them? How is the ride, better than stock? How do they look lowered? In the time you've had them, have you noticed any softening or indication that they're starting to go?

[Brent 930]

Can't you look at pictures of peoples cars just like yours who have lowered them to know what your car will look like for $0 instead?

[DJDD]

Originally Posted by Brent 930

Can't you look at pictures of peoples cars just like yours who have lowered them to know what your car will look like for $0 instead?

I'm a hands on type guy, I'd rather see what they look like in the first place. Plus, I still need a suspension for the next few months. I'd rather spend $300 to get by until I do my refresh than spend $800 for OEM or more and end up getting rid of it. Like I said, this is a crutch for the next few months.

[Brent 930]

Then you answered your own question. Go buy Raceland CO's.

[dragonfly2k3]

Ok, here is what I dont understand, If he asked for an opinion on racelands, and you gave your opinion, what else is there to say? Why bash him, bash the coilovers, not the buyer. I was thinking of buying a set, and will probably go through with it. My options are the racelands, or the d2/ksports. I know for a fact the D2/ksport is a rebuildable unit, as ive had them on previous cars, however, they require you to ship them away for rebuilding, as with the racelands you can just order a new koni insert(as has been proven to work inthe raceland thread) At that point, you can order any spring rate, and you're using a koni(great, great brand) shock, you're only depending on raceland for the housing.

[JBgotM]

If you are willing to go with:
-suspect quality parts
-likely poor ride quality
-no support for when things break (only found them on ebay, good luck tracking down the seller for support)
-dealing with the downtime of a car that's undriveable when things go wrong
-"...wreck my car because of a shitty shock, well that's what lawyers and insurance are for."

Then go for it because its the cheapest piece of crap on the market that will slam your car. If you are looking for affirmation, that's as close as I can get.

[xXs14XxxXe36Xx]

Originally Posted by JBgotM

If you are willing to go with:
-suspect quality parts
-likely poor ride quality
-no support for when things break (only found them on ebay, good luck tracking down the seller for support)
-dealing with the downtime of a car that's undriveable when things go wrong
-"...wreck my car because of a shitty shock, well that's what lawyers and insurance are for."

Then go for it because its the cheapest piece of crap on the market that will slam your car. If you are looking for affirmation, that's as close as I can get.

I like how your speaking out of your asshole. You have absolutely have no knowledge about this coilover besides its cheap and you start bashing on it based on that.

I how ever have these on for 500 miles and despite what you have said in the previous post your WRONG.

-These thing ride great, awesome for daily. NOT bouncy at all!
-Somthing goes wrong contact: http://www.racelandus.com/p-59-racel...r-bmw-e36.aspx
-they have 2 year warranty on them.
-And i saved 800$

And these are all FACT, not just speculation like half the BS in this thead. You can't argue facts, and the fact of the matter is theres 32 pages full of people happy with there product. ABSOLUTELY 0 People have complaints.

Raceland Product review: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...272690&page=32

[Jholden]

I say go for it and get them. Half these people are using there Ethug skill to the full and just being a hater. Like you said you only need them for 6 months then your putting something else on and doing a full over haul. Save some money use these and enjoy for the next 6 months.

[DJDD]

Originally Posted by JBgotM

If you are willing to go with:
-suspect quality parts Suspect by who's standards, an uninformed and outspoken board member?
-likely poor ride quality Please give me one example of a person who has complained of a poor ride.
-no support for when things break (only found them on ebay, good luck tracking down the seller for support) www.racelandus.com, the website I dound them on.
-dealing with the downtime of a car that's undriveable when things go wrong I'm going to be using it as a DD. I do have other vehicles I can use for the downtime of a car.
-"...wreck my car because of a shitty shock, well that's what lawyers and insurance are for." I love how you cut what you wanted out of that sentence. What it originally said was "If something drastic happens and I wreck my car because of a shitty shock, well that's what lawyers and insurance are for. "


Then go for it because its the cheapest piece of crap on the market that will slam your car. If you are looking for affirmation, that's as close as I can get.

I love how you people twist words and talk out of your ass.

[CLPreston]

I know I will be buying these CO's when I get the money and I will be happy with them because I just got just as good of a part for hundreds of dollars cheaper.

[JBgotM]

I love it guys

They sound fantastic and the best choice for you! Go for it!








btw, I have no clue what I am talking about, have never had experience in the topics I discuss... and am some underaged, under-educated e-thug who trolls about the forums...good luck with your purchase.

[tcklineracing]

I feel like I need to throw up.

[aaron86]

Originally Posted by tcklineracing

I feel like I need to throw up.

After reading about the Raceland and DDM and then having almost hour long conversations with each of TCK, GC, and then AST(Vorshlag) I can't believe how uninformed everyone really is when they accept the DDM or Raceland as acceptably safe or "better than stock/comfortable" ride.

[Rakshas]

Originally Posted by CLPreston

I know I will be buying these CO's when I get the money and I will be happy with them because I just got just as good of a part for hundreds of dollars cheaper.

Wow really now? Just as good? I sure got hoodwinked.

[tcklineracing]

I am still sick concerning this subject. I really need to get over it soon. Today is the day.I am not going to comment about this again. It is best that I just keep my big mouth shut.

I need to start by saying that I have never driven on these type of kits. I am sure that they feel ok, look good..etc. It is easy to impress someone with a worn out or even a new factory suspension by offering a very basic shock absorber with valving that varies from the stock feel. You can get the car more "FLAT" in the corners by bumping up the spring rates up a little.

What I do know is that the economics do not add up. It is not possible to provide the quality of materials, reliability, performance...etc that the typical BMW enthusiast demands. Let alone something that we would brand as our own budget-type preferred design.

We have considered offering an alternative and more economical "street sport" type coilover setup to our customers backed by the TC Kline name. We have the industry contacts to get it done for a reasonable cost to the end user. However, it simply cannot be done ( what we call correctly) at the prices I am seeing on these budget systems. Think about it guys, alot of things have to give in order offer this type of pricing on a suspension system. Somewhere around $999.00 is the bottom line for getting it done right. I am hoping that we will go forward with this project so that guys that do not have the budget can experience some of the performance and reliability that we will be able to offer.

BMW makes a fine automobile that by far seperates itself from almost all other brands. You drive a BMW for a reason. You spent a little extra for the car and throwing cheap parts at the car just does not make sense to me ...Pete

Originally Posted by aaron86

After reading about the Raceland and DDM and then having almost hour long conversations with each of TCK, GC, and then AST(Vorshlag) I can't believe how uninformed everyone really is when they accept the DDM or Raceland as acceptably safe or "better than stock/comfortable" ride.

[Brent 930]

Pete, we have spoke before about other things and we are on the same page regarding this issue.

Bottom line is price. Combined with the teenagers who are broke that are buying the kits. Well, maybe a few early 20's. That is why many people shop at Walmart for everything. They don't care about quality, just the lowest price. That has lead to the US problem regarding our import/export trade but that is another story.

They don't care if the valving is inferior and won't last, or the metals used are low grade and will likely break down with any hard driving. That the spring rates are all over the place. For the price and to slam their ride is all they want or care about. They don't care about performance either. Rides and style is it.

I have to assume @$300 the profit margin cannot be much. Either way regarding people this is why company's make such products.

[BMXWill]

I have run these coilovers for a little over 5K miles. I bought them for the same reason the OP did. I had never run coilovers before, I wanted to see if i liked the adjustability, a stiffer ride etc etc. Heres a break down of my experience with them.

The Good
Racelands are really smooth on the street compared to something like PSS's. The ride feels similar to stock but is noticeably stiffer when cornering. This is obviously nice for street use. Also you can go undriveably low in the front if thats your thing but the back will not go as low. Also at $300 it's easy to pull the trigger on the purchase.

The Bad (for me)
One thing that scares me about these is the top nut will not thread all the way onto the insert shaft on the front strut where as on PSS's the shaft protrudes through the top of the nut. If I don't loctite these well they will come loose which is not fun. I also find that I can't tighten them enough and there is always some play if I grab the strut and pull back and forth in the wheel well. I checked my upper strut mounts and they were fine, I also switched to M3 style ones after having the coilovers for a month and still had this problem.

Overall
I can't guarantee you will have the same problems that I have run into. But I can guarantee you will enjoy having a coilover suspension. So much so that I would say to go all out and get something like TCK's or PSS9 where you can adjust the dampening so you and especially your wife/girlfriend wont want to end your lives while driving in the city. If you have any intention of taking your car to the track in the future that would reinforce this decision. It would also be a good choice to get the M3 style body with the tabs for M3 style sway bar end links if you intend to upgrade sway bars. The racelands do not have this feature and with a beefier sway bar there seems to be a lot of stress put on the 328 style end links.

I like my racelands for the fact that they were $300, my car looks good, handles better, is not a bumpy ride and if they break, it only cost me $300 and I learned a lot from the experience. Maybe I just haven't been as lucky as others with these, but I'm constantly listening and worrying about them coming loose if I corner too hard. That being said, it's entirely up to you but if I could do it all over again knowing what I know now I would put that $300 towards TCK's.

I hope that helps.

[xXs14XxxXe36Xx]

Originally Posted by Brent 930

Pete, we have spoke before about other things and we are on the same page regarding this issue.

Bottom line is price. Combined with the teenagers who are broke that are buying the kits. Well, maybe a few early 20's. That is why many people shop at Walmart for everything. They don't care about quality, just the lowest price. That has lead to the US problem regarding our import/export trade but that is another story.

They don't care if the valving is inferior and won't last, or the metals used are low grade and will likely break down with any hard driving. That the spring rates are all over the place. For the price and to slam their ride is all they want or care about. They don't care about performance either. Rides and style is it.

I have to assume @$300 the profit margin cannot be much. Either way regarding people this is why company's make such products.

Proof is in the pudding. Wheres your proof that they use inferior materials or break down after hard driving.

You have none.

You like many others base this on their cheap pricing. Pure speculation.

[Brent 930]

^Raceland thanks you for your purchase.

[bimmer speeder]

Originally Posted by tcklineracing

I am still sick concerning this subject. I really need to get over it soon. Today is the day.I am not going to comment about this again. It is best that I just keep my big mouth shut.

I need to start by saying that I have never driven on these type of kits. I am sure that they feel ok, look good..etc. It is easy to impress someone with a worn out or even a new factory suspension by offering a very basic shock absorber with valving that varies from the stock feel. You can get the car more "FLAT" in the corners by bumping up the spring rates up a little.

What I do know is that the economics do not add up. It is not possible to provide the quality of materials, reliability, performance...etc that the typical BMW enthusiast demands. Let alone something that we would brand as our own budget-type preferred design.

We have considered offering an alternative and more economical "street sport" type coilover setup to our customers backed by the TC Kline name. We have the industry contacts to get it done for a reasonable cost to the end user. However, it simply cannot be done ( what we call correctly) at the prices I am seeing on these budget systems. Think about it guys, alot of things have to give in order offer this type of pricing on a suspension system. Somewhere around $999.00 is the bottom line for getting it done right. I am hoping that we will go forward with this project so that guys that do not have the budget can experience some of the performance and reliability that we will be able to offer.

BMW makes a fine automobile that by far seperates itself from almost all other brands. You drive a BMW for a reason. You spent a little extra for the car and throwing cheap parts at the car just does not make sense to me ...Pete

I understand this, but lets look at OP AGAIN. First, he wants something temporary and something he can test waters with. If he likes it, guess what, he can upgrade to some upitty up brand and call it a day. If not, and he ended up getting, say a TCK or PSS setup at first, then you guys should be happy for making him dump some serious cash into something he isnt very satisfied with.

He DD's it, at this point we can use the same logic as buying a car at first. You just want a car that can get you from point A to point B? Well get a Geo Metro... Same theory can be held with these coilovers, get something that does the job and see if its suitable for you to upgrade with your future plans .

I honestly don't see what's wrong with the OP's intention. These c/o's are safer than driving on a blown set-up, so its completely acceptable to order a cheap setup like this so it can hold him off for a couple months and at the same time experiment his likings with coilovers/ride height.

I think you guys are overlooking the situation here.

OP, I say go for them . Ill be getting these soon as well because Im riding on blown rear shocks, and know the fronts will be following soon.

For those of you against the racelands... best of love to ya

[JBgotM]

Originally Posted by tcklineracing

I am still sick concerning this subject. I really need to get over it soon. Today is the day.I am not going to comment about this again. It is best that I just keep my big mouth shut.

I need to start by saying that I have never driven on these type of kits. I am sure that they feel ok, look good..etc. It is easy to impress someone with a worn out or even a new factory suspension by offering a very basic shock absorber with valving that varies from the stock feel. You can get the car more "FLAT" in the corners by bumping up the spring rates up a little.

What I do know is that the economics do not add up. It is not possible to provide the quality of materials, reliability, performance...etc that the typical BMW enthusiast demands. Let alone something that we would brand as our own budget-type preferred design.

We have considered offering an alternative and more economical "street sport" type coilover setup to our customers backed by the TC Kline name. We have the industry contacts to get it done for a reasonable cost to the end user. However, it simply cannot be done ( what we call correctly) at the prices I am seeing on these budget systems. Think about it guys, alot of things have to give in order offer this type of pricing on a suspension system. Somewhere around $999.00 is the bottom line for getting it done right. I am hoping that we will go forward with this project so that guys that do not have the budget can experience some of the performance and reliability that we will be able to offer.

BMW makes a fine automobile that by far seperates itself from almost all other brands. You drive a BMW for a reason. You spent a little extra for the car and throwing cheap parts at the car just does not make sense to me ...Pete

Pete,

I am all for cost reductions and competition, but please make sure you guys only bring out a quality product you (and your customers) can be proud of. THE reason I called you guys for a suspension 5 years ago was because you had done your homework and had a custom valved quality shock for your coilovers at a fair price. I am happy to say I have been on that set of d/a coilovers for 5 years through track days, tons of auto-x, nasty potholes etc and never had an issue with the product. Even with the track recommended spring rates, I often have people comment on how nice of a ride the car has, and they don't even know its on a stiff suspension.

I have worked closely with a couple shops (one in particular) that spec out and make suspensions. They decided that they would not be bringing a "budget" coilover out just for the sake of having one. They have good spring/shock package options out the door for $1k, but their coilovers are substantially more cost because they would not cut corners. By the way, their coilover setup (not for BMW) is fantastic and their racing results with their off the shelf street coilover has stunned alot of people in the last 12 months including some big budget teams.

They have been approached by a chinese company that is making a coilover (with various mounting tab options) for $45 per corner. This means you can hit the ridiculously low sales price like some have. These shocks are produced for every application with a single valving configuration to get huge quantities (honda, vw, bmw, etc). With sub-par materials, cheap labor, and one-size-fits-all configuration, people can capture the uninformed bargain basement segment of the market.

PLEASE NOTE: I did not use the word Raceland anywhere in my discussion above...disclaimer for those who are so easily offended.

[JDMrecovery]

If you don't have to pay engineers, R&D teams, and design teams, you can make a product for relatively cheap pricing. Just like the little $5 radio at RadioShack, we know, for a fact, that the materials and shipping that Chinese made radio needed for production is not covered in that price point.

If the OP grabs these, and likes coilovers, that means, when he does his overhaul, he will be buying a highend set. So, his spending 300 bucks could lead to tckline racing getting some business, unless they sh*t all over his plans now...

I say grab up the Racelands, find your stance, and then, when you do the overhaul, make your "real" decision.

BMW owners are smarter, older, mature, whatever, than the average enthusiast, right? I am sure he knows how economics and product design work. If it doesn't work, he's out 300 bucks, if it works, he gives someone business.

[B33R]

Originally Posted by DJDD

I know the suspension is getting to be shot and I can feel the ride getting a little sloppy. All I'm looking for is a decent ride with the car being lowered 1" all the way around. I will be putting on Apex Arc-8's (Diameter: 17" | Width: 9" | Offset: 42mm | Lug Pattern: 5x120mm | Centerbore: 72.6mm | Weight: 17lbs~) around Christmas time.

for wide rims!, with that offset you should be good with 5mm spacers, h&r set with some longer bolts, im sure a vendor on here can hook you up, its what im running on mine, get the longer bolts, you dont "need" to, but you dont want to hit a pot hole and shear off your lug bolts.

back to the suspension, ive read the whole 15 pages or whatever on bf.c and the one on e46 and ive tried backing up the racelands due to my readings, but everyone over on e46 has no humor and think they are all the smartest and most experienced drivers, even when they are just defending/flaunting the fact that they have 1000 dollar bilsteins or whatever. if you want to get a nice drop for your buck, instead of running h&r springs on a stock strut so you can blow those out. just my .02