Is it time to replace your race suit? Let’s get you track-ready. Which BC Racing Coilover Series Do You Need?
Thirty makes. Seven series. Up to six configurations on the same product listing. This is the part of the BC Racing range that trips people up, and it is the question we get asked more than any other about the brand.
The series letters are the damper specification, and on popular platforms like the GR86, the Subaru WRX and the Honda Civic Type-R, picking between them is a real decision with a price difference and a performance difference attached.
Eighty-eight per cent of our 1,415 BC Racing fitments are available in the BR series, which is BC Racing’s volume damper and the right starting point for most road cars and track-day use. The other 12 per cent is where the questions come in. Here is how we walk people through it at the counter, with a car from the range beside each series so you can see what the listing looks like.
The seven series at a glance
| Series | What the damper does | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| BR | 30-way rebound adjustment, pillowball front / rubber rear top mount | Road use, track days, club sport where setup stays fixed for the session |
| RM | Inverted monotube, reduced unsprung mass, better heat management | Sustained track use, heavier platforms, cars running competitive lap sessions |
| V1 | 10-way adjustment, no top mounts (VN), softer comfort-biased valving | MPVs, kei cars and everyday vehicles where ride quality is the priority |
| ER | External reservoirs, consistent damping under sustained load | Track cars being used hard repeatedly, buyers who want more than 30-way |
| ZR | Three-way adjustment (low-speed rebound, low-speed and high-speed compression) | Competition builds being set up with data and corner weights |
| HM | Higher-travel damper for variable surfaces | Cars used where the road surface is inconsistent or unmade |
| ZX | Raised ride height configuration | Soft-road and overland use where extra ground clearance is needed |
BR: the volume series
This is where most people end up, and where Garreth points almost everyone who asks. The BR runs 30-way rebound adjustment with a pillowball top mount at the front and rubber at the rear. Height adjusts on a separate lower bracket, so ride quality holds up as the car goes lower.
It covers 88 per cent of our fitments, and most makes in the range list it for nearly everything: Toyota, Honda, Volkswagen, BMW, Ford, Mercedes and beyond. Garreth’s view is simple. If the car is road driven with track days mixed in and you have not decided otherwise, buy the BR and spend the difference on tyres. The GR86 beside this is the classic example: in the range six ways, and the BR is the one nine buyers out of ten should tick.
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RM: inverted strut
The RM turns the strut upside down. The damper body sits at the top instead of the bottom, which takes weight out of the unsprung end and copes with heat better when the car is doing lap after lap. It appears on the platforms that justify it: the BMW 3 Series F30, the Ford Focus MK4, the Subaru WRX and the more serious naturally aspirated Hondas.
For a purely road car we struggle to make the case for it over the BR. If the car runs consistent lap sessions and heat is the enemy, the RM is worth the step up, and it sits alongside the BR on most of the performance makes.
V1: everyday comfort
V1 is the comfort end of the range. 10-way adjustment instead of 30, no top mounts, and valving biased towards ride quality. The Honda N-Box, Honda Step Wagon, Suzuki Jimny and Toyota Sienta are the typical candidates, and that list tells you exactly who it is for.
If you drive a performance model, check whether your car even appears in V1 before assuming it is an option. It is a JDM-heavy series, and most performance fitments carry the BR as the base.
ER: external reservoir
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The ER adds external reservoirs to the 30-way damper. The reservoir separates the gas charge from the oil, which keeps the damper temperature consistent when the car is worked hard over and over.
Available on the BMW 3 Series, Honda Civic Type-R, Toyota GR86 and a number of other performance platforms. The rule of thumb we use across the counter: if the car is trailered to circuits and run competitively, the ER earns its money. If it is driven to work on a Friday, the BR was the answer all along.
ZR: three-way adjustable
The ZR splits the adjustment three ways: low-speed rebound, low-speed compression and high-speed compression. That level of control makes sense when someone is working through a setup with data between sessions, and honestly not before. It is available on the GR86, the Subaru WRX VB and VAB, the Nissan Silvia and the 10th generation Civic.
If you are not planning to corner-weight the car with an engineer or a setup sheet, the ZR is more adjustment than the driving will ever use. It sits at the top of the range and is priced to match. Cameron’s test when someone asks for it: if you can say what your current low-speed compression setting is, you are a ZR customer. If the question surprises you, the BR will make you just as quick.
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HM: higher travel for rougher surfaces
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The HM buys you suspension travel. It shares its platform list with the ZR on the cars where it appears, GR86, WRX, Civic FK and Silvia, but it does a different job. The ZR is the track precision tool. The HM suits cars used where the road or course surface is inconsistent and the wheel needs somewhere to go.
If the car spends its life on smooth circuits, the extra travel is wasted. If it sees crests, drops and broken tarmac at speed, this is the series built for exactly that.
ZX: raised ride height
This one surprises people who spot it listed on sports cars. The ZX is the raised ride height configuration, built for soft-road and overland use, and it appears alongside the ER across a number of platforms. It is there for clearance, and the Jimny beside this paragraph is exactly the sort of car it is meant for.
For circuit or track-day use it is the wrong pick. If you saw ZX on your car’s listing and were thinking performance, the BR or the ER is where to look.
Browse the full range
The full BC Racing range on GSM Performance covers 1,415 fitments across 50 makes, all available to order. Individual make guides are on the way, with fitment tables, series breakdowns and setup notes for every significant make in the range.
In the meantime, the whole lot is in the BC Racing range, and every product page lists which series are available for that car and what each one does.
Final thoughts
The series choice is the question we get most about BC Racing. For nine drivers out of ten the BR is the answer, and it is the one Garreth would put on his own car. For the tenth, it is usually the inverted strut (RM), sustained track work (ER) or full competition setup (ZR) that changes the call, with the HM and ZX there for specific surface and height jobs.
If you are weighing two series against how the car is actually used, send us a message with the car and the job and we will give you a straight answer before you order. Cameron will usually price the options for you in one go while he is at it.
