MCS 1WNR Fixed Perch OE Style Struts vs Ohlins

[a5m]

I know I know, I'm getting annoying with the suspension stuff but this is a good one. Having exhasted all options I figured I'd check with the high end offerings given all the positive things I've heard so reached out to MCS. They put me in touch with BimmerWorld, who informed me of this wonderful option of MCS 1 Ways configured to work with OEM Top Hats.

So this essentially replicates a OE style strut like the Bilstein B6 or B8, which are the only two replacement options AFAIK, with a pressed on spring perch. So no height adjustability, but I'm honestly fine with that and actually even prefer it for simplicity sake. Not to mention the price is pretty attractive at just over $3k.

I'm just curious to know, has anyone run this setup? If so, what did you switch from, or have tried in the past? I think Richbot mentioned some variation of this, I think his was the 2WNR (2 way) though.

Apparently MCS valves these differently than the standard 1WNR obviously for OE springs. Spoke with Trevor at MCS and he said they'd work with any OE style aftermarket spring as well. So for ultimate comfort I'm thinking of pairing with Eibach's.

I think this might be what I've been looking for all along. The superior tech vs Bilstein will probably give me the better ride comfort in 99% of street driving conditions.

[M3SQRD]

Richbot had MCS 2WR (2-way remote reservoir) dampers on his e90 M3. Here’s his original thread:
https://www.m3post.com/forums/showth...&highlight=MCS

Do not compare his comments on ride quality, range of damping, performance, etc. because a 2WR is far superior to a 1WNR and even a 2WNR. Nothing he describes/discusses applies for the most part to a 1WNR damper. The 1WNR is an excellent high-end entry-level (or stock spec class race damper) street-track damper. The 2WR moves the compression valving to the remote reservoir, has a superior high-speed blow-off valve, much wider range of damping adjustment, has increased suspension travel, almost doubles the amount of fluid volume and allows you to control the N2 gas pressure from 100-275 psi. I’ve set my wife’s m240ix DD with MCS 2WR F/R 500/800 lbf/in (divorced rear) and reservoir pressure of 100 psi (all corners). It is a phenomenal street setup with awesome ride quality yet still improved handling as well.

The MCS 1WNR is a single-adjustable (rebound only) N2 gas pressurized monotube damper. I do not know what the N2 gas pressure is on the 1WNR. This gas pressure force is equivalent to a preloaded compressive spring in parallel with the main spring and this force has to be exceeded before the piston rod starts to compress (move into the damper body). The gas pressure force is required to prevent cavitation (air bubbles in front of the piston valve stack that collapse and form a vacuum) from occurring. So there are bumps of a certain size (i.e., too small to produce a force that exceeds the gas force) that the dampers will skip over rather than absorb (compress). This is true of any monotube damper. The higher the gas force, the larger the bumps the damper will skip over. It’s effectively a undamped compressive force.

The 1WNR will perform well on the street especially with stock spring rates. I am a huge MCS fan and they’re the best dampers I’ve ever used; however, for a pure street setup I honestly believe the Ohlins R&T street kit will have better ride quality than the 1WNR. Also, the Ohlins R&T single adjuster alters both rebound and compression damping. Running stock spring rates may require you to run bump stops to limit suspension travel so your actual rates will be higher than the stock rates. This is true of the oem suspension - BMW uses bump stops to limit suspension travel. I’m running JRZ RS1, which is similar to the 1WNR, on my e92 M3 with F/R 400/700 lbf/in (divorced rear) spring rates which are wheel rates of F/R 369/227 lbf/in. I’m running R&T on my r56 Mini Cooper S with F/R 300/300 lbf/in which are wheel rates of 276/276 lbf/in. The wheel rates are directly comparable. The ride quality of the Mini, even with its much shorter wheelbase and similar wheel rates (lower in the front, higher in the rear), is far superior to the e92 M3 on the RS1. Being able to reduce both rebound and compression damping on the R&T allows me to setup the Mini for better ride quality and performance in the summer w/ summer performance tires and winter w/ winter performance tires. R&T 7 damping clicks of more open valving takes me from my summer setup to my winter setup.

I think the MCS 1WNR kit and Ohlins R&T street kit are both excellent choices. I’d recommend the 1WNR if it was going to be used on track and street, and I’d recommend the Ohlins R&T street kit (you can select even lower rates if requested) for a car that’s only being driven on street.

[a5m]

So all Roads lead back to Ohlins lol. I saw you mention this before about custom rates on the R&T. Who offers this? Ohlins themselves? Or a dealer like 3DM? I checked with PSI and they said rear only, but with a 3rd party spring i.e. Swift etc. And that's for both front and rear springs? A revalve might become part of the discussion because I know 3DM offers that.

Thanks for the thorough explanation (again). I'll discuss with John at BimmerWorld some more about why he recommended the MCS. From what I remembered, he mentioned the shim stack design being superior to what Ohlins offers. Also the blow off valve which Ohlins doesn't have, or DFV is their version of that. Will see how much of a difference if stepping up to the 2WNR. Going further and further down the rabbit hole...

You're right that the 1WNR are only rebound adjustable too. Plus I don't know what the ride height will look like. It'll be hard to correct stance if say they lift the front end more than the rear. Like the Bilstein B6 for example.

[M3SQRD]

Originally Posted by a5m

So all Roads lead back to Ohlins lol. I saw you mention this before about custom rates on the R&T. Who offers this? Ohlins themselves? Or a dealer like 3DM? I checked with PSI and they said rear only, but with a 3rd party spring i.e. Swift etc. And that's for both front and rear springs? A revalve might become part of the discussion because I know 3DM offers that.

I’d recommend 3DM for R&Ts. Explain to Barry what you’re looking for in a suspension setup and then let him work his magic. You could probably get away with a 300-350 lbf/in F spring (~1.6-1.9x front oem rate) and 570-620 lbf/in in the R (~1.0-1.06x oem rear rate). Revalving the R&T dampers for the above spring rates may/may not be required. Advantage to revalving will allow you to have a wider range of adjustability (all 20 clicks vs. 5-10 clicks with R&T standard valving). The original Moton SS 2-way kit used F/R 350/620 lbf/in rates and it had good ride quality but was plagued with loud noises. One other advantage of going with 3DM is they give you one future rebuild for free. Not sure why PSI said R only.

Thanks for the thorough explanation (again). I'll discuss with John at BimmerWorld some more about why he recommended the MCS. From what I remembered, he mentioned the shim stack design being superior to what Ohlins offers. Also the blow off valve which Ohlins doesn't have, or DFV is their version of that. Will see how much of a difference if stepping up to the 2WNR. Going further and further down the rabbit hole...

You’re definitely in good hands with BimmerWorld and a true custom 1WNR setup. The HS piston velocity blow-off valve is superior in the 1WNR compared to the R&T DFV valve control over HS piston events. This difference is more important for track use (pounding on curbs) but the DFV does an excellent job of absorbing HS impacts. Overall, the 1WNR is a superior damper but, for pure street driving, you won’t really lose anything by going with the R&T plus you gain coupled rebound-compression damping adjustability. I’ve used the 2WNR on my f82 before switching to a 2WR and the differences in performance/capability are quite surprising. I knew the 2WR is a superior damper to the 2WNR but I wanted to try a non-reservoir damper setup and save a bit of money. However, having learned this the hard way 20 years ago and I hadn’t forgotten it, it’s always best to buy the highest performing item you can the first time because it’s always cheaper than having to buy the same item a second time! If you’re thinking about stepping up to a 2WNR then I’d recommend taking an even bigger step to the 2WR!

You're right that the 1WNR are only rebound adjustable too. Plus I don't know what the ride height will look like. It'll be hard to correct stance if say they lift the front end more than the rear. Like the Bilstein B6 for example.

I think you should be able to get a proper lowered stance but it will require a HAS kit to get the exact F and R ride heights you’re looking for - what amount of drop are you looking for? What do you mean by the lift of the front is different from the rear? In the long run, I bet you’d be happy with either setup. Pricing, the R&T should be a bit cheaper.

[a5m]

I mean the placement of the fixed perch on the front strut, is it same as the OE damper, so that the Eibach advertised lowering specs would be accurate? I'd assume so but this seems like more of a custom one-off setup so may have to check with BW or MCS.

Yea, I came this far. Why stop now! I already asked about the 2WNR. $1k more on top. Not sure if they'd do the 2WR, don't see why not. Let's see how much deeper that takes me into insanity

I'll reach out to Barry too. I got the sense custom spring rates weren't available for R&T since it seemed like an off the shelf product. That's why what PSI said made sense to me. I'm interested to see though what 3DM can offer.

See the super blow off valve in the MCS is translating as "better street comfort in an even wider range of road conditions" in my head. One thing that BW mentioned was corrosion resistance of the MCS dampers, and how it's not that great? With the beehive front spring it'll be difficult to put a cover on. Apparently the seals and the coating isn't as robust as OE. A bit of a surprise to me. Perhaps OE dust boots can do a decent job with coverage. Not sure. This process isn't getting easier which is the best part...