BC coilover and lowered cars question

moggy240

Insurance Valuations Officer
Staff member
Club Member
For those people using BC coilovers is anyone using bump steer spacers ??

At the moment I have rear fully wound down so I can get my finger between the tyre and wheel arch which was a 45mm gap on the BC coilovers and a 55mm gap on the front which all looks good at the moment
 

johnymd

Club Member
I have never used bump steer spacers on any of my cars and I've certainly not notice any adverse effects of changing steering angles when cornering.....or maybe I just make the adjustments myself without thinking about it.
 

Woody928

Events Officer
Staff member
Club Member
I'm also not using any personally....

I looked into this quite a bit as they came reccomended by quite a few people when I looked into it with my TTT control arms aswell. When I went to Wheels in Motion I chatted in length with Charlie who setup the business and travels the country teaching people how to undertake wheel alignments (he really knows his stuff when it comes to alignment). Based on the angle of my control arms he saw no benefit and suggested that it would be overkill for me, what sort of angle are your control arms?

I'd say that my car is fairly low while still being practical, it also depends on what size wheels you're using as I do know quite a few people with clearance issues using 15 inch wheels and below....

With 16's I'm fine however they just don't seem necessary, my arch gap allows me to get my hand in between the tyre and arch. My car is certainly a pleasure to drive and very responsive, if not a little agressive and playful at times. But that's why I love it EXTRA:D

I may also have a photo of the rear if you want me to dig it out.
IMG_8180 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

Gives, you an idea of the rideheight...
DSC_0222 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

Thanks for the donor struts btw, they were spot on for the job :thumbs:
 

atomman

Club Member
I'd say if you don't suffer from bump steer why fit them ?

I've fitted the 250mm offset bump spacer to both of my 240z and that makes a difference but because of the extra camber
 

atomman

Club Member

haha yeah that's a bit to much camber - 25mm but that means it doesn't sit close to the rim either like the normal ones to,

I did drive my new Z without them first to see what it was like and then fitted them , I do prefer the feel in the corners/ turn in with the extra camber
 

moggy240

Insurance Valuations Officer
Staff member
Club Member
Some interesting points, basically if it's not broken don't try and fix it. I will try it and see how it feels, not like I am going to be chucking it round a track. Will post up some pictures if I get it out the garage over the weekend
 
It does depend on how you like it to feel I guess. With the toy cars I use to build, around Lincolnshire where the roads always cambered away more it was worth altering, however it did make the car feel very 'alive', which is fun.
 

Rob Gaskin

Treasurer
Staff member
Site Administrator
I did use spacers on my trackday car. It was low and I was told by the person who sold me my suspension that the bottom arms can be horizontal or point downwards to the outside but never upwards. It helps with alignment of the track-rod and lower arm, ideally they should be parallel to avoid steer when the suspension moves.

Before this my car did have quite bad bump-steer. There is a road near me where on a long curve there are bumps - my steering wheel would to move in my hands - classic bump-steer!
 

Pondo

Club Member
Some interesting points, basically if it's not broken don't try and fix it. I will try it and see how it feels, not like I am going to be chucking it round a track. Will post up some pictures if I get it out the garage over the weekend
What did you decide in the end moggy, did you ever fit bump spacers or has it been fine without?
 

moggy240

Insurance Valuations Officer
Staff member
Club Member
I never fitted any bump steer spacers in the end as the steering seemed fine without them.
 
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