Megan Racing coilover review

[gogeeta13]

Just ordered a set from underground. I will post up my review when i get em.

[nightwalker]

WOW, I went back and realized that the Megan Racing Coilovers were compared to the Apex N1 pros. That's a lofty claim. Definitely waiting to see tech and comparison.

[AzNCmB]

do you have any more pictures?? can you post some more pics of before and after the install...

thanks

[s13dan]

sounds like it comes down to if someone asks you what coilover set up you have, do you want to say, "yea i got d2's" or "i got.... megan." but thats all prefrence

[mbmbmb23]

Originally Posted by Jeff240sx

I don't know if I'm allowed to say what company manufactures these, but their coilovers are $1800 a set.

-Jeff

Ok....maybe you're not allowed to say...but I think we (faljukin from FA to be exact) had it pegged in the FA thread.

http://www.bcec.com.tw/

If you dont believe it, read the above Fresh Alloy thread. If people have any bit of deductive reasoning ability they should be able to figure this out for themselves.


Anyhow.....for the haters in this thread.....it's not as if Megan Racing decided......hmmm...lets engineer and build our own coilover and get them on ebay ASAP. They did what most Japanese companies do.......find an established manufacturer to build them a product.....then rebadge them and sell them.....and fortunately for the coilover purchaser on a budget (most people who own a 240sx) it seems Megan Racing found an established company (from Korea, Taiwan, etc.) to supply them with a decent product. I wouldnt be suprised if BC also made a number of other "JDM" coilover brands.

These do seem pretty quality and I'll be watching the final writeup very intently while I put together the last bit of coilover money I'm saving up.

Good job Jeff240sx, keep up the good work with your testing.




-m

[Jeff240sx]

Originally Posted by mbmbmb23

Ok....maybe you're not allowed to say...but I think we (faljukin from FA to be exact) had it pegged in the FA thread.

http://www.bcec.com.tw/

If you dont believe it, read the above Fresh Alloy thread. If people have any bit of deductive reasoning ability they should be able to figure this out for themselves.

Shibby. The documentation that comes in the box lists them as VH' Design. That is BCE's top of the line coilover.
I'm glad someone understands how this works.
-Jeff

[gogeeta13]

Wow, can't wait till mine come. i used to have D2s...but my car isnt together yet so i never even put em in yet, lol. so i cant really do the comparison.,

[umsports]

I was really hoping you guys weren't going to find out about my source..

But yes, you are right...

They produce coilovers for multiple JDM brands...for all you "Gotta be JDM" guys, go put a Japanese flag sticker on them and tell everybody they are "JDM"...Since this seems to be a big worry for many of you...

Do many of you not understand that the Japanese don't produce the bulk of their own stuff they badge? They are out to maximize profit as well as we are here in the states...

These are extremely nice coilovers and I wouldn't put my reputation on the line for crap I didn't believe in...

I think all that have purchased will be very, very happy...

[Masa]

umsports, any idea how much shipping to Hilo, Hawaii 96720 would be for these coils(s13)?.

[Jeff240sx]

Originally Posted by Masa

umsports, any idea how much shipping to Hilo, Hawaii 96720 would be for these coils(s13)?.

Please contact them off the forums. i.e. call or visit their website.
This thread is my review of the coilovers.
-Jeff

[mbmbmb23]

Originally Posted by umsports

I was really hoping you guys weren't going to find out about my source..

But yes, you are right...

Chris,

I wouldnt worry at all about that, you'll definately sell more units because of it. I just think that many 240sx owners (the ones who'd be in the market for coilovers) are wary of higher dollar products from newly established/unproven companies (MR), but BC seems to be established and have a nice reputation in NZ/AUST and specializes in one type of product.....thus....these should sell well here.

I'm definately ordering these within the next month or so, but honestly if I hadnt discovered the BC connection, I wouldnt even be considering them right now. I'd probably just assume they were made by the same company that makes D2/Ksport.

PS. You might wanna list what the Paypal total is (in your GB threads) after the Paypal fees are factored in.



-m

[nightwalker]

44mm piston.... hurry and get them tested! Better yet, contact Asad on FA and contribute to his project!

[cali240sxdrifter]

thanks mbmbmb23 for posting that link up. am giving myself a good chirstmas present this year. can't wait to get them

[Jeff240sx]

Originally Posted by mbmbmb23

PS. You might wanna list what the Paypal total is (in your GB threads) after the Paypal fees are factored in.
-m

Seeing as I have no affiliation with anything but myself and Zilvia.net, I have to again state that this thread is not for anyone to sell coilover.
Chris, you are not a registered advertiser on Zilvia.net, nor group buy vendor. Posting prices and doing business in this review thread is no allowed.
Also, businesses other than UMS sell these coilovers, like Enjuku racing.
Just letting everybody know, there will be no more how much who do I pay where can I get questions. If you have a question about the coilovers, post away, and I'll do my best to answer. If UMSports knows more about them and answers a tech question, that's within the limits.

-Jeff

[hellion240sx]

so just to make sure there is no modification on the s13 applications right? also somewhere mentioned on here that something kept moving out of place. , can you clear that up?
thanks.

[Jeff240sx]

Originally Posted by hellion240sx

so just to make sure there is no modification on the s13 applications right? also somewhere mentioned on here that something kept moving out of place. , can you clear that up?
thanks.

According to MR, s13 fit perfectly. And the "something moving out of place" was the upper camber slot on the KSport coilovers. The MR don't have this issue.
-Jeff

[Jeff240sx]

Megan Racing Coilovers:
Impressions, Thoughts and Opinions

When I heard about the Megan Racing Coilovers, and having friends that have test-fit prototypes for their products, I knew they’d be good. So without hesitation, I snapped up the chance to buy a set of coilovers from them for about the same price as the KSports I bought a month before.
Before I go into a review on these, one needs to realize who I am. I’m just a guy in college. I don’t drift. I don’t autocross. I take corners very fast, and drag race. My previous car was a Corvette, so suspension stiffness is relative to me, and my girlfriend isn’t one of those bitchy ones.

First Thoughts
I paid for my coilovers on a Tuesday night. On Friday afternoon, the UPS guy came up the stairs with the coilovers. This was lightning fast shipping courtesy of Megan Racing. At first, I was surprised by the weight of the package. My KSports were just over ½ the weight. I knew something was different, and when I tore into the box like a kid on Christmas, there it was; welded steel construction. With budget coilovers, I was expecting cheap feeling aluminum mounts as with KSport/D2. Also, there were pillow ball mounts on the rear shocks. This wasn’t even an option on the KSport/D2, and even front PBMs were an additional $80. I was really impressed. Plus, they were pre-assembled. No building on them required. The 32-way dampener’s key is attached, which is one less piece to lose! (Does it work? I don’t know. I don’t have a shock dyno)
First Thoughts: 10/10.

Installation
That weekend, I removed and installed the Megan Racing coilovers. People seem to buy suspension based on color, aesthetics, and pictures of the installed product. For the first two groups of people, you’re idiots. For the last group, even though a shock inherently must mount at points A & B so I personally don’t see why pictures are required, my camera died. I was hoping to get my car in the air one more time this weekend, but a more important issue came up. So I don’t have pictures of the mounted coilovers. Maybe I will in another week.
After removing the gaudy orange KSports, I bolted up the front shock. But my S14 set’s McPherson mounting plate’s bolt holes were not far enough apart. When compared to the KSport’s McPherson mount, the holes were 1/8” too close. I solved this with a Dremel tool, a spare car, and a trip to the store for 3 grinding bits. After 40 minutes of grinding (yes, if I would have had a bench press, I would have used it), the mounting brackets fit.
The rear studs on the upper mounting plates are longer than stock/KSport studs, and the rubber dust cap will not snap down over them. This isn’t a serious issue, but it made me wonder why there were so many installation issues that could or should have been corrected before shipping for sales.
Installation: 3/10.
*I’m told that this has been corrected for S14s.*

Initial Reaction
These coilovers were less stiff, and less bouncy than my KSports could hope to be. Even with the 8/6 spring rates, the ride was really comfortable. The ride is perfect for my tastes. Stiff and nice for my girlfriend’s taste, and “Really stiff” to my buddy Braxton, who owns a Civic Hatch. As I said in the intro, stiffness is relative.
Initial Reaction: 8/10. It lost a few points for the bounciness.

Long Term
It’s been 2 weeks since I’ve installed these. The coilovers have settled ¼-½ an inch. This has made the ride much softer than initially. I will be re-raising my car when time permits, and if I have a camera available, I’ll snap some pictures. The bounciness has all but subsided. The ride is still too harsh for Braxton, and Brandi and I think the ride is nice for every day. My one issue that has popped up is that occasionally, when making a left turn, my passenger-side rear shock clunks. Tomorrow I plan on double-checking all mounting points, and recounting the threads. I left the coilovers at the preload that they were shipped with. I’m thinking a it needs a bit more in the rear.
Long Term: 8/10 due to the newfound occasional clunk. Tomorrow, if something simple fixes the clunk, it’ll be a 10.

Comparison
When comparing one coilover to another, I think that price ranges should be used. And $200 seems like a perfectly reasonable price range. So in the $700 to $900 price range, the coilovers that I have experience with are: Tein basics ($799), Tanabe Sustec Pro S-OC (6/4) ($799), KSport/D2 ($750), and Megan Racing. ($850)
Tein Basics: A step up from a spring/shock combo. 6/6 spring rate. Only height adjustable.
Here you are paying for a great ride and name. These come with helper springs, making these the ultimate coilover setup for daily driving in my opinion.
Megan Racing: 8/6 spring rates. Single valve shock setup. Awesome construction. In my opinion, my favorite ride all around. For daily driving only, I’d buy Tein Basics. But for a good mix of comfort and performance, I’ll take these.
Tanabe: Good ride. I’d rate these slightly behind the Megan Racing coilovers. 6/4 spring rate. Also only height adjustable. Dual valve shock setup. These have a good ride due to helper springs again, but sharp bumps (like a pothole) are pretty bone jarring once you’ve passed the helper springs. If you don’t hit potholes, for daily driving, these are #2. For performance, once you pass the helper spring, it’s like you’ve bottomed out the suspension. It’s not a nice transition, and I’ll take the Megan Racing coilovers over them.
KSport/D2: Utter crap. I had an issue with the camber adjustment bolt sliding from where I set it to full negative camber, which caused rubbing. When I HAD to drive, I installed wheel spacers so I wouldn’t rub, and drove carefully. These were stiff, bouncy, and clunked badly. The clunking is from the front, and is either the pillow ball mount needing a better lubrication, or the springs being too preloaded have been known to cause it. The sliding camber bolt I will fix by making a blockoff plate, and eliminating all of the slot, leaving a bolt hole. The stiffness is because KSports were offered in many spring rates, and I really don’t think they were re-valved for each rate. When I ordered 9/7 and an extra set of 5kg/mm, I didn’t receive the extra springs, and couldn’t revert to what the coilovers were supposedly valved for (7/5). I also put a mere 20 miles on my car with the KSports due to the camber issue, so some of the bounce and harshness *might* go away. The 1-year warranty associated with them is a joke, because KSport USA’s website lists the address the same as TrixRacing, who has up and left dozens of people on NICO without cash or coils.

What would I like?
First off I’d like a new set of McPherson mounting plates from Megan Racing. I think that myself, and anyone else who has had to elongate the bolt holes deserves a new set, in the name of safety and customer service.
Next up, I think if helper springs were an option, I’d really look into them. After taking some rather long joyrides in my friend’s cars with the coilovers with helper springs, my car feels much, much more stiff. That feeling goes away after a bit, but getting out of the Tein Basic s13 and into my Megan Racing s14 is an eye opener. Please don’t construe this as the Megan Racing is too stiff. It’s not. I like it a lot. But a good set of helper springs with a decent transition, and these coilovers would be HOT.

If anything pops up, or I snap some pictures, I’ll stuff them into this thread. Aside from picture questions (Look at online pictures from retailers. They had a professional take those pictures. And when they’re installed, they go from the one mounting point to the other. It’s not hard to mentally picture), if there is something I haven’t covered, ask away.

[cali240sxdrifter]

*clap* thanks for the awesome review, this is what I was waiting for before I shell out the other 400bucks on my credit card for these suckers. More pics would be awesome thou jeff, thou Tampa is not that far from Melbourne and looking at them in person would be awesome. thanks for the write up again.

[Powashiftin]

The MR coilovers look great. Congrats on a good purchase.

I don't know if it was mentioned but are the Ksports and D2 the same? Can anyone confirm this? I didn't think they were. Also, perhaps in a separate thread, I would like to hear AceInHole's opinion on his D2's. He has had them for quite some time now and some feedback on how they have performed would be nice.

You are trashing on Ksports but you only had them on for 20 miles? Maybe there was an installation error. Don't get me wrong, I am not accusing you of anything. I'm just wondering.

Also you mentioned that your box of MR coilovers where twice as heavy as the box of the ksports? I know my D2 box was really heavy- I forget the exact weight, but I was surpised as to how heavy they were. Maybe you exagerrated a little bit.

Anyways, congrats again on the purchase. They look awesome.

[Jeff240sx]

Originally Posted by Powashiftin

The MR coilovers look great. Congrats on a good purchase.

I don't know if it was mentioned but are the Ksports and D2 the same? Can anyone confirm this? I didn't think they were. Also, perhaps in a separate thread, I would like to hear AceInHole's opinion on his D2's. He has had them for quite some time now and some feedback on how they have performed would be nice.

You are trashing on Ksports but you only had them on for 20 miles? Maybe there was an installation error. Don't get me wrong, I am not accusing you of anything. I'm just wondering.

Also you mentioned that your box of MR coilovers where twice as heavy as the box of the ksports? I know my D2 box was really heavy- I forget the exact weight, but I was surpised as to how heavy they were. Maybe you exagerrated a little bit.

Anyways, congrats again on the purchase. They look awesome.

I am trashing the KSports. I would have kept them, bouncy and stiff and all had the camber bolt not kept sliding and giving me -4+* camber in one tire. I've thought about it, and either textured spindle nuts, or the blockoff plate will fix the KSports, and I'll give them to a friend. It's just that one side, and it's not an issue of me bieng weak and leaving the bolt loose. I'm calling it a defect. And the KSports weighed ~40 pounds, the Megan racing were closer to 70 pounds. I said just over 1/2.
-Jeff

[umsports]

Wow, this is more than I expected...I really appreciate your effort on the review... I know it will benefit all those who are in the market for suspension parts...

Please email me at [email protected] if you guys have any tech questions or feel free to post back on here...

I am happy to answer any install, tech questions you might have..

[axiomatik]

Originally Posted by Jeff240sx

At first, I was surprised by the weight of the package. My KSports were just over ½ the weight. I knew something was different, and when I tore into the box like a kid on Christmas, there it was; welded steel construction. With budget coilovers, I was expecting cheap feeling aluminum mounts as with KSport/D2.

Great review, though I find it odd that you equate aluminum constuction with 'cheap'. KSports may be shoddy, but aluminum is nice for reducing unsprung weight when properly designed and constucted.

[SilviaDriver]

shock dyno shock dyno!!

[S14DB]

Originally Posted by nbrindley

Great review, though I find it odd that you equate aluminum constuction with 'cheap'. KSports may be shoddy, but aluminum is nice for reducing unsprung weight when properly designed and constucted.

I think "when properly designed and constucted" is the key point here. I personally don't want aluminum supporting the weight of my car.

[Jeff240sx]

Originally Posted by nbrindley

Great review, though I find it odd that you equate aluminum constuction with 'cheap'. KSports may be shoddy, but aluminum is nice for reducing unsprung weight when properly designed and constucted.

I understand this. I also understand that our stock TC rods are aluminum, and deal with massive forces every day. However, the distinction between cheap cast aluminum and welded steel is not a fine one. It's a tangible quality. The KSport aluminum is too weak to hold the camber bolt in place, and allowed the nut and bolt to slide down the path of least resistance. And when the pretty paint is gone, you can see it's nothing more than low quality aluminum.
-Jeff

[fade2black]

im bought hahahah MR sus here i come!

[axiomatik]

Originally Posted by S14DB

I think "when properly designed and constucted" is the key point here. I personally don't want aluminum supporting the weight of my car.

There is nothing wrong with having aluminum supporting your car. FD's front wishbones are made from forged aluminum thinner than your finger. It's just that his wording sounded like 'aluminum=cheap' when really the problem was 'design=cheap'

[hellion240sx]

yup this was a great review! your the man jeff! i will be looking into these for a christmas present for myself heh. i got my sell some coilovers for xmas. im so sweet, lol. thanks for answering my q as well. yea i was looking into getting the k sport, not anymore. you had the k sport on your s13 or 14? i have an s13 so these would go on with no problem!!!

peace

edgardo

[YellwMonky]

Originally Posted by Jeff240sx

KSport/D2: Utter crap. I had an issue with the camber adjustment bolt sliding from where I set it to full negative camber, which caused rubbing. When I HAD to drive, I installed wheel spacers so I wouldn’t rub, and drove carefully. These were stiff, bouncy, and clunked badly. The clunking is from the front, and is either the pillow ball mount needing a better lubrication, or the springs being too preloaded have been known to cause it. The sliding camber bolt I will fix by making a blockoff plate, and eliminating all of the slot, leaving a bolt hole. The stiffness is because KSports were offered in many spring rates, and I really don’t think they were re-valved for each rate. When I ordered 9/7 and an extra set of 5kg/mm, I didn’t receive the extra springs, and couldn’t revert to what the coilovers were supposedly valved for (7/5). I also put a mere 20 miles on my car with the KSports due to the camber issue, so some of the bounce and harshness *might* go away. The 1-year warranty associated with them is a joke, because KSport USA’s website lists the address the same as TrixRacing, who has up and left dozens of people on NICO without cash or coils.

Wow...utter crap? Don't you think that's a bit harsh for only driving on them for 20 miles? When I first installed the Ksports, they were REALLY bumpy! After they settled, i think the ride is much better. Also, it's unfortunate that you've had in installation problem with your coilovers. HOwever, I haven't had a problem whatsover. I can't argue with you about Trixracing however. They are by far the worst company i've dealt with. In the end I'm very happy with my purchase of Ksports and I'm sick of reading people bashing the product. Especially after 20 miles ?? No matter how much hate there is for the D2/Ksports (Especially those people who have never drove with them), it's a good product. Especially for the price. Even if your set was defective (which i doubt ) how can you call the whole line utter crap?

[Jeff240sx]

Originally Posted by YellwMonky

I'm sick of reading people bashing the product. Especially after 20 miles ?? No matter how much hate there is for the D2/Ksports (Especially those people who have never drove with them), it's a good product. Especially for the price. Even if your set was defective (which i doubt ) how can you call the whole line utter crap?

First, my experience with my one set means that the whole line, in my opinion, is utter crap. Sure, maybe I got a defective set. In my experience, 100% of the KSport products I've had sucked.
But guess what else?
Trixracing's address is: 1459 N. Arizona Ave - Chandler, AZ
KSport USA's address is: 1459 N. Arizona Ave - Chandler, AZ
So.. guess where your warranty went? Out of town with Trix.

So, for $750 or whatever, you can have bullshit KSport coilovers, which may or may not be defective and suck, with no warranty or service in America anymore. Or, pay another $50 for Tanabe or Tiens. Another $50 on that for Megan Racing. All three don't suck, have awesome customer service, and will be around for another year to honor your warranty and service the stuff.
KSport - 0
Jeff - 1
-Jeff