Murray Coote (MCA) suspension

[DougM]

Has anyone got MCA coilovers on an F80 M3?

https://mcasuspension.com

I'm looking for coilovers for my F80 M3 Comp, will be daily road driven for a couple of years with maybe 6 track days a year and then I'll buy a new road car and start stripping and lightening and make it more focused. So I want a setup that is good enough for daily driving now but also much better than stock on track.

I've read all the discussion about KW, Ohlins, Dinan etc and it's impossible to decide what's best. I've been recommended KW club sports but quite a few guys complain they are too stiff.

MCA look good value and local. Sherrin M4 was setup by MCA and he's doing 1:40s at Phillip Island **cough*** stock ***cough***

By the way I have adaptive suspension which I really don't bother with so I'd be happy to just override it.

[domino_z]

i'd only ever consider the mca gold series built by Murray, the rest of the range is rebranded stuff out of asia now

my requirements for suspension on my f80 comp was around better dampening and more comfort, i went with the tractive suspension - you can buy this locally through tt suspension in sydney

these shocks pair with the oe edc so you retain the full adjustability - the f80 doesn't just have 3 presets, they are continually adjustable, and when you pair that with a quality shock you really do see the benefit, especially on a bumpy b road at speed

do a search for tractive, i've posted a lot of feedback

or jump on other forums, porsche guys rave about these on track

imo getting a spring and shock to work on track is the easy part, getting that same setup to also ride well on street with broken tarmac, speed humps, etc is the hard part. tractive does both

[05C4R]

definitely compare the TT suspension with the MCA, I got the TT suspension on my GT4 and its awesome. I wanted to put it in the M3 but I hesitated at the cost for a street car, however the big factor as mentioned is that you can use the cars 3 settings, so you can have a road car and a track car. this Litchfield M4 has the TT suspension in it however they don't name it

https://www.bmwblog.com/2016/07/28/l...-four-phwooor/

[domino_z]

Yep that litchfield car is def running the tractive suspension, the give away is when they talk about the dampening adjustment being 6 times faster

You don't really appreciate how good the tractive shocks are until you're on a bumpy B and c road at speed

Around town you're still at mercy of a 30 series profile tyre over broken tarmac or train tracks, but they do take the edge off

The biggest eye opener for me is the lack of crash, you can load the car up into a corner, hit a bump with the front outside wheel fully compressed and instead of just crashing and skitting across the road, the tractive shock actually absorbs it and the front end doesn't budge

[DougM]

Thanks guys, I'll look up TT and have a chat. A lot of the chatter about coilovers on here and elsewhere seems to be about "stance" and ride and less about actual improvement in road and track performance.

[robbo mcs]

MCA gold are actually proflex shocks out of the Netherlands, reworked by MCA. They are right up there with the best shocks available for a road car, same kind of quality as ohlins TTX, top of the range penske or supashock. They are used by a lot of competitors at the pointy end of dirt and tarmac rally. The Sherrins are from Queensland, and have been using MCA for years in all their cars. Part of the thing with MCA, is Murray and his team are experts at setting up the shocks, so they get good results out of the product

Red and blue MCA are a significant level lower, but still good product. Probably more in line with the KW, Bilstein, Ohlins DFV products.

FWIW I rate Bilstein for a good product, not too pricey. I am in sydney, so they make sense for me, as Heasemans / Sydney shocks are here, so can revalve, rebuild to your requirements etc. I don't have them on my F82, as that is not a car I race, but have them on my circuit and tarmac rally cars

[JL1]

Originally Posted by domino_z

i'd only ever consider the mca gold series built by Murray, the rest of the range is rebranded stuff out of asia now

my requirements for suspension on my f80 comp was around better dampening and more comfort, i went with the tractive suspension - you can buy this locally through tt suspension in sydney

these shocks pair with the oe edc so you retain the full adjustability - the f80 doesn't just have 3 presets, they are continually adjustable, and when you pair that with a quality shock you really do see the benefit, especially on a bumpy b road at speed

do a search for tractive, i've posted a lot of feedback

or jump on other forums, porsche guys rave about these on track

imo getting a spring and shock to work on track is the easy part, getting that same setup to also ride well on street with broken tarmac, speed humps, etc is the hard part. tractive does both

Hey mate,

I am curious to know what was the quality of the TT shocks like when you pulled them out of the box? I purchased them back in 2016 for my LCI M3 and i ended up sending them back, they looked used or second hand. I could not accept them for the money i paid!

I have now just bought a brand new 2018 Comp pack M3 and would consider them but i was just eager to know how yours were out of the box quality and finish wise ?

Cheers

[domino_z]

Yep we spoke about your set you and I

The set you got was used and most likely the development set, the rubber on the rear shock was split as per your pics, this should have been picked up by the dealer imo

I brought this up with tt suspension and insisted they fly me out a brand new set, and they def were brand new, they were drop shipped to tt and they checked them before posting to me

The shocks are just all matte black, they aren't pretty like my evo x ohlins, but they are well built, the electric connections were all terminated solidly

I've done a fair bit of b and c road driving and they're holding up fine, no leaks, no noises, even when going up extreme driveway angles

[JL1]

Originally Posted by domino_z

Yep we spoke about your set you and I

The set you got was used and most likely the development set, the rubber on the rear shock was split as per your pics, this should have been picked up by the dealer imo

I brought this up with tt suspension and insisted they fly me out a brand new set, and they def were brand new, they were drop shipped to tt and they checked them before posting to me

The shocks are just all matte black, they aren't pretty like my evo x ohlins, but they are well built, the electric connections were all terminated solidly

I've done a fair bit of b and c road driving and they're holding up fine, no leaks, no noises, even when going up extreme driveway angles

Yeah fair enough, so all in all you are pretty happy with the reliability? What is the comfort like in comfort mode in percentage terms? like 20-30% more comfortable? or less than that?

how long did it take for them to ship out a new set for you ?

[domino_z]

Around 3 weeks iirc

Do a search for tractive, I posted a lot of feedback on them across a few threads

This was the main discussion thread, my posts on last page

Tractive Plug&Play suspension installed (with EDC) https://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1277243

[JL1]

Originally Posted by domino_z

Around 3 weeks iirc

Do a search for tractive, I posted a lot of feedback on them across a few threads

This was the main discussion thread, my posts on last page

Tractive Plug&Play suspension installed (with EDC) https://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1277243

I read the thread, They seem pretty impressive!

Who did you deal with at tractive? did you deal with Dejan? I've just emailed them on lead times and availability etc.

[JL1]

What else did you have to purchase to complete the shocks so they were direct bolt in without using parts from the standard shocks? And were did you buy it from?

[domino_z]

Originally Posted by JL1

What else did you have to purchase to complete the shocks so they were direct bolt in without using parts from the standard shocks? And were did you buy it from?

Yep Dejan at TT

These are all the items I purchased from ecs to build full pnp front and rear assemblies

[JL1]

Originally Posted by domino_z

Yep Dejan at TT

These are all the items I purchased from ecs to build full pnp front and rear assemblies

where did you purchase it all from and do you know what it all cost roughly landed ?

Sorry i now see it is ECS tuning! So there are 10 parts required and 2 of each of those parts yeah?

[domino_z]

Originally Posted by JL1

where did you purchase it all from and do you know what it all cost roughly landed ?

Sorry i now see it is ECS tuning! So there are 10 parts required and 2 of each of those parts yeah?

710 USD shipped all up

[Race82]

Originally Posted by robbo mcs

FWIW I rate Bilstein for a good product

This ^^^

[mfurse]

Originally Posted by awbmw

This ^^^

I've enquired about the Damptronic B6's and the full coilover B16s with Damptronic but seems that neither option is available in Australia yet. Was hoping the B6's would be a low cost upgrade and keep EDC intact.

They do available overseas, however?

[JL1]

Originally Posted by domino_z

710 USD shipped all up

Your not in Melbourne are you? If so who did you have put the shocks together and install it all?

[domino_z]

Trutrack in north melb

[domino_z]

Originally Posted by mfurse

I've enquired about the Damptronic B6's and the full coilover B16s with Damptronic but seems that neither option is available in Australia yet. Was hoping the B6's would be a low cost upgrade and keep EDC intact.

They do available overseas, however?

Bilstein have been delaying the rear b6 edc shocks for almost 3 years now

At some point you just have to give up and look elsewhere

[JL1]

Originally Posted by domino_z

Trutrack in north melb

Do you mind if I ask what it all cost with trutrack? They did the wheel alignment also?

[domino_z]

Originally Posted by JL1

Do you mind if I ask what it all cost with trutrack? They did the wheel alignment also?

Yeh alignment required for sure

I did some other work at same time, also installed my oem ceramic brake kit, so best give them a call