BC Racing Coil Overs

The off-the-cuff review:
These are totally worth it, I've had a few different suspension configurations on the car and by far these are better.

  • Spouse meter: undetectable
  • Slam-ability: low enough, stance kids: get the max low kit
  • Race car feel: yes.
  • Wallet health: a little lighter
  • Quality or Junk?: Quality
  • First mod recommendation?: yes. pairs well with new wheels/tires
Volvo C30 BC coil overs
Volvo C30 BC coil overs
Volvo C30 BC coil overs
Volvo C30 BC coil overs

So, what are they?
This is the BC Racing BR-type Coil Over kit for the Volvo C30 T5. It comes equppied standard with adjustable camber plates, utilizing rubber bushings for reduced NVH and allowing for up to -3 degrees camber setting. Koyo strut bearings allow for smooth rotation of the spring assembly. The front and rear dampers are 30 way adjustable, and the springs are ride-height adustable. This is the standard off the shelf kit. BC offers quite a few options for customization, including upgraded Swift springs for increased ride quality, and a "max low" kit, which supports going an extra 2"+ lower than their standard kit.

Coil over suspensions are one of the biggest upgrades that can be made to ride-feel. Lowering the ride height gives aesthetic benefits by reducing wheel gap. Increased spring rate and upgraded dampers dramatically change handling in curves and corners.

What made you get them?
Ultimately I wanted more control over the dampening and ride height. In my opinion the P1 chassis is lacking the riding-on-rails feeling from a sport suspension, so coil overs are a good choice for those looking to get a sporty feel.

Suspension I've had on the car so far:

  • Stock dampers / stock springs
  • Stock dampers / Volvo Lowering springs
  • Koni FSD dampers / Volvo Lowering springs
  • Koni FSD dampers / Eibach Pro-Kit springs
  • Koni FSD dampers(front) AGX Gas dampers(rear) / Eibach Pro-Kit springs

They all rode pretty similar to stock, with the FSD + Eibach combo being slightly more jarring. I was very happy with the FSD and eibach combo, until I rode in and drove a few of my friends' cars with coil overs. I enjoyed the stiff and controlled feeling of the car- and it wasn't too harsh because the dampers were meant for the shorter springs.

What else is cool?
In addition to height adjustment, one cool thing about these BC's is that you can adjust the dampening 30 clicks from soft to hard. This really makes a difference, from full soft gives a floating feeling which is comparable to stock, to all the way hard which you can feel every pebble and crack in the road. I purchased the extenders for the rear dampers so I didn't have to reach my hand behind the inner plastic trim every time I want to change the dampening level.

Final thoughts?
If you want a sport-tuned suspension feel from your P1, the BC Racing coil overs are the way to go. They fit the budget well, and have an awesome lifetime warranty if purchased through FCP Euro. If you are going for an agressive stance look, the BC coil overs can certainly achieve that,but keep in mind that a truly flush look comes with alot of work- including proper selection of tires and wheels (see my tire and wheel section), in addition to fender liner cutting, and fender metal bending.

Without the max low kit from BC, you can still get pretty low by threading the coils all the way down the perch. In some cases people remove the locking collars or rubber spring seat in the rear, however this is not recommended due to its necessary proper function of the rear spring perch.