Review of Fat Cat Motorsports coilovers (Mazdaspeed6 road racing setup)

[Code Monkey]

They are finally here! I plan this thread to be an on-going review of my FCM setup. Expect some pictures, some hard data, impressions from the track and street, and long-term evaluation.

First off, big thanks to Shaikh at FCM for even considering taking on this unicorn project and big thanks to @dot584; who provided his car and time to make it happen!

To recap the development process (painful details here):

05may2012 -- initial contact with FCM
06jun2012 -- dot584 brings his Mazdaspeed6 to FCM, many visits follow
20aug2013 -- dot584 gets his setup finished
23jun2014 -- Code Monkey gets his setup finished

So was it worth the wait? To quote someone from the miata.net forum "Original build schedule was 3-4 weeks. Took about 11... Once you ride on these, all will be forgiven." Hoping this will be my experience as well.

I went with the FCM Elite 3140 single-adjustables with racecar-like ride frequencies of 2.2 Hz / 2.45 Hz, which translated to 1000 lbs springs in the front and 600 lbs springs in the rear. The rears have external reservoirs for compression adjustment.

The time and money invested in the setup call for a professional install and I am going with C&C’s Northside Motors in Houston. They are one of the performance shops recommended by the local track junkies and one guy there is an instructor with The Drivers Edge so I can always ask him to drive my car at the track to evaluate the handling and tweak the suspension if needed.

I am dropping my car off tomorrow and if everything goes well I will be picking it up Friday.

But enough talk, now onto some suspension pr0n!

The coilovers arrived in two boxes:



Contents of box 1 with a hand written setup diagram:



Just looking at these springs gives me a chubby:



Another angle:



Contents of box 2:



Another angle:



And another angle:



Closer look at the external reservoirs:



Another angle:



@dot584; @phate;
@06Speed6; @6ixof1; @:: Gusto ::; @aggierandy; @blackmicamps6; @cnyms6; @CorkSport; @dale_gribble; @Easter Bunny @EyeKon; @Ingle; @ItsNox; @Jh8909; @Lakespeed6; @Nliiitend1; @S-hendrix; @sidekick; @Speed_j23; @Spencer@CorkSport; @SpICeZ; @Tomas; @TiGraySpeed6;

[S-hendrix]

At last!! They look awesome. I cannot wait to hear your impressions once you get it on the track!

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

[blackmicamps6]

couldn't possibly be more jealous right now! Merry christmas to you sir!

[phate]

Sweet. What's the top hat assembly consist of for the front?

[Easter Bunny]

Is the hose clamp really all that is holding on the external reservoir?

[Code Monkey]

Originally Posted by phate Sweet. What's the top hat assembly consist of for the front?

Here's a closeup of the hand written note:



From my previous email exchanges with Shaikh I have a note that the "thread pitch is M12 x 1.25 vs the stock M10, so the upper mount will need to be drilled out."

Originally Posted by Easter Bunny Is the hose clamp really all that is holding on the external reservoir?

Looks like it. They were supposed to be welded but it is possible that the shop will decide to route them somewhere else for easy access.

[phate]

Interesting design. Moves the shock rod upward, but doesn't gain any shock travel. [Or maybe I'm looking at something wrong.]

[cnyms6]

looking forward to your impressions on the track
thanks for keeping after this and waiting such along time
I hope that isn't experience for everyone that uses FCM

[aviator79]

Wow, these let you catch air off speed bumps (or I guess ideally prevent that from happening). Look nice. Im just happy to be switching to konis...

[phate]

Originally Posted by aviator79 Wow, these let you catch air off speed bumps (or I guess ideally prevent that from happening). Look nice. Im just happy to be switching to konis...

Just the opposite, hopefully. The shock valving is designed to suck up high velocity bumps and not upset the chassis.

I'm anxious to hear your thoughts Code Monkey. I've forgotten since we talked about it - did you get KBO on one or both axles?

[Code Monkey]

Originally Posted by phate I've forgotten since we talked about it - did you get KBO on one or both axles?

From my emails:

"Rear will already have a reservoir which essentially has a similar compression behavior to what we can get with KBO (sans reservoir)."

"To clarify, we are not going to be using KBO on your front single adjustables (it won't fit the current hardware)."

[dale_gribble]

Damn, look at those springs! They must be imported from Ireland, because one look at those and I was Dublin.

[Lakespeed6]

Cannot wait to see how these perform!

[TiGraySpeed6]

Damn...
my credit card just ran out of the office screaming in fear....

Some gorgeous custom bilstein porn there!

[spd6demon]

Can't wait to see these things in action! I just did an autox event this past weekend and found out quickly how bad I need a new suspension setup. May be needing to whip out my credit card again

[Tyhackman15]

I have a strong feeling you're going to be very happy. I run FCM coilovers on my miata and they are fantastic. The faster you go, the smoother it is.

[Mazdazilla6]

Dear lord. 2 years, I'm sure it's definitely worth it though. Can't wait to see how these sweet things work out for you!

[Tomas]

Why do you think you need a professional install?
There is nothing extraordinary about installing this kit. Pretty sure you can do it yourself. In fact, I would recommend you do it yourself. You might need to service certain components later on and you don't want to have to take the car to a shop every time there is something wrong. Better off just learning from the start how everything goes together.
And if you want to get corner weighed, you can do that later on.
If you come down to FL you can do that for free at my place. Well almost. Will cost you a hand job. Just a short one.

Edit: You also want the guy at that shop to tweak your suspension? what the fuck dude. Learn how to do that yourself. Don't be that guy who gets behind the wheel without knowing what the fuck is going on with your set up. The personal reward will be much higher. It might take some time but what's the hurry?

[Easter Bunny]

Which aspect of the hand job is short? The dick or the stamina.

[Tomas]

Originally Posted by Easter Bunny Which aspect of the hand job is short? The dick or the stamina.

Both.

[06Speed6]

Damn those look nice, these took longer to finish than a cpe IM.

[phate]

Just spoke to Shaikh. My shocks *should* (hopefully) be finished next week. It would be nice to have them for 4th of July weekend; I could probably find time to put everything together.

Code Monkey - do you have yours on yet? I'm anxious!

[Code Monkey]

I may be able to pick the car up tomorrow evening -- that assumes everything goes ok with the install, all the parts fit, no parts are missing, etc. I am anxious too.

[blackmicamps6]

ANTICI


























































PATION

[Code Monkey]

The shop called me today around lunch -- they have everything installed but are having a bit of trouble with the external reservoirs on the rear shocks, I emailed Shaikh and this is his response:

"The reservoirs have to be on flexible lines to ensure you can position them out of the way of the suspension arms / drive shaft. It's important the shop know to check the position of the reservoir and watch for potential inferference when articulating the arms up-and-down (no rear spring installed) to be sure everything clears. I really recommend being around for that part of the job unless you TOTALLY trust this shop. It's may not be a full drop-in situation. I wasn't positive on exact clamp position so they will have to check that. The urethane blocks are used on off-road trucks, etc. Check the clamps are secure before your race. We supply constant tension clamps which are higher quality than what you'd get at an auto/hardware store."

The shop was positive I would have the car back by Friday so let's see what happens tomorrow.

[phate]

Can you just mount the shock upside down and move the reservoir to where ever it's easiest to access?

[Code Monkey]

Originally Posted by phate Can you just mount the shock upside down and move the reservoir to where ever it's easiest to access?

No idea, I will give them a call tomorrow morning and see what they say.

[Code Monkey]

So I just got a call from the shop, everything is in but there is a problem -- the tapered QA1 spring in the rear is too long according to them, it is 8", should be 7". They already bottomed out the rear shock adjuster and the rear dropped only 1" -- if they are to proceed with the corner balancing, they may have to raise the rear and who the fuck knows what ride height the car will end up with, it could end up higher than the current height.

I told them not to proceed with corner balancing for now -- will need to talk to Shaikh and see what he thinks.

@phate;

Edit: @phate; according to your calculations, they should be able to go 2.5" lower in the rear?

[phate]

Originally Posted by Code Monkey So I just got a call from the shop, everything is in but there is a problem -- the tapered QA1 spring in the rear is too long according to them, it is 8", should be 7". They already bottomed out the rear shock adjuster and the rear dropped only 1" -- if they are to proceed with the corner balancing, they may have to raise the rear and who the fuck knows what ride height the car will end up with, it could end up higher than the current height. I told them not to proceed with corner balancing for now -- will need to talk to Shaikh and see what he thinks. Edit: phate according to your calculations, they should be able to go 2.5" lower in the rear?

Here's my install test for the rear springs.

It might be due to how tall the adjuster is at minimum height, because the QA1 springs only come in one height.. No doubt there's a tiny bit of difference due to the spring rate, but I think it's a seat issue. There were quite a few adapters in your above pics - was one of them intended to go on the rear LCA? The QA1's can sit directly in the LCA. The bottom of this post links to a bunch of pics of the rear setup off of the car.

[Code Monkey]

Originally Posted by phate The QA1's can sit directly in the LCA.

But then I would have no adjusters on the rear spring and no ride height adjustability, which means no corner balancing.

Edit: The shop is saying 6" rear springs would work best.

[phate]

Taking a second look at the adjustable rear perches from your pics, they look like they would be really tall at minimum height. If you find that's the case, lets compare them to the BC's. I think you'll have more adjustment room with them. If I didn't post their dimensions, I'll dig them out. I know I measured and sketched them.

[phate]

No, the adjuster goes up top.

[Code Monkey]

Got an update from the shop:

"Talked to Shaikh and we are both on the same page. Everything is done as should be, so right now he is going to contact you and talk about your project."

So I need to order another set of springs -- 7" Tein ST100-01175, the rate is 10k or 560 lbs, they are tapered 70mm-90mm. Shaikh said with the 1000 lbs springs in front, that would give me ride frequencies of 2.2 / 2.35 Hz. He also said he would make me a pair of lower spring perch adapters to fit the new springs as the ones I have now are 65mm. The springs are a special order from Japan, expect up to 90 days for delivery, FLM.

The plan for now is to stick with what I have and make the best of it -- the shop will drop the car in the rear a bit, match the front, and do an alignment. Once I get the Teins, we will swap the springs and corner balance the car. I will be picking up the car Monday.

I also called QA1 as they do custom jobs, they could do the Mustang II springs in 6" but the minimum order is 200 springs, lol.

[phate]

Seems a bit ridiculous. All of the QA1 Mustang II springs are 8", mine included. With my setup and 600lb springs, this was the "low" setting with both rings and the rubber seat on the adjuster:



With 700lb springs, it would raise the car another ~.20". We have very similar rear corner weights...

That difference would be offset if you pulled the locking ring and rubber isolator.

[Code Monkey]

I need to carefully read through your thread and see what may be going on. I am not ordering springs today, I do not want to rush into things. I will get the car Monday, drive for a few days and see if anythings settles.

[EyeKon]

Read all the above and as you would say FML

[Code Monkey]

Originally Posted by EyeKon Read all the above and as you would say FML

I would not be so pessimistic. Let's wait when I get the car back, I will post pictures of how the rear spring sits and we will go from there. It is possible switching to BC perches will solve my problem.

[jbbuie]

I to have been running BC perch with QA-1 mustang springs (softer 375lbs) for about 6 months and have the same adjustability as @phate. Noticed another MS6 at an autocross event last weekend with KW coilovers had height adjustability problems in the rear also.

[Code Monkey]

Originally Posted by jbbuie I to have been running BC perch with QA-1 mustang springs (softer 375lbs) for about 6 months and have the same adjustability as @phate. Noticed another MS6 at an autocross event last weekend with KW coilovers had height adjustability problems in the rear also.

Do you or @phate; have the part # for the BC perch?

[jbbuie]

Originally Posted by Code Monkey Do you or @phate; have the part # for the BC perch?

Once I get home tomorrow I'll look and see.