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      01-09-2017, 06:10 PM   #1
swebster
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MCS Two Way Remote Dampers Installed on M2

I recently had MCS Two Way dampers installed on my 2017 Mineral Gray BMW M2.

My goal was always to have the car be a dual purpose track car and daily driver. I also had a lofty goal of making the car somewhat of a Cayman GT4 killer on the track.

Wheel fitment
I wanted to set the car up with a square tire setup for rotation at the track and somewhat even wear. Fitment for track wheels is still somewhat experimental as people play with this new chassis. 18x9.5" with an ET35 offset seemed to clear the brakes and suspension with a spacer in the front. Note that anyone using spacers needs to also get the longer bolts. This is due to the fact that with a spacer there isn't enough thread to safely torque the wheels down. Tires were chosen to be Bridgestone Potenza RE-71R 265/40/18R. This should give the car more front end grip as the car out of the factory tends to understeer.

Camber Plates and Rear Arms
I decided to use Ground Control camber plates. I have them on two of the race cars and they work great. There is some noise over stock but worth it for the alignment setup. In order to properly align the car in the rear you should get adjustable rear arms. This allows you to get the proper camber out of the rear as well and get the car set up.

Suspension
We used MCS 2 way remote dampers. These are pretty close to their top of the line and are often used in Pirelli World Challenge and other pro race series. The suspension may be overkill for some but the handling is night and day. We put the remote reservoirs for the front on the radiator mount and in the trunk on the rear. On the street it soaks up bumps much better and is much more compliant than stock. The car now feels like it truly is riding on a magic carpet. On the track the car is an animal. With advanced suspension like this once you get it dialed the suspension does a lot more work than the tire. This enables higher cornering speeds.

If you are thinking about getting KW's I would think about taking the plunge to MCS. It's worth every penny if you plan on driving the car close to the limit.
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      01-12-2017, 07:00 AM   #2
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much more compliant than stock? really?
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      01-12-2017, 01:24 PM   #3
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Yes much more compliant. MCS dampers with remote reservoirs or any damper JRZ, AST, Moton etc has nitrogen charge. The larger amount of fluid allows for a much greater ability for the damper to be able to soak up big hits. Plus adjustability for compression and rebound helps you tune the suspension for a specific vehicle.
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      01-13-2017, 01:17 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by swebster View Post
Yes much more compliant. MCS dampers with remote reservoirs or any damper JRZ, AST, Moton etc has nitrogen charge. The larger amount of fluid allows for a much greater ability for the damper to be able to soak up big hits. Plus adjustability for compression and rebound helps you tune the suspension for a specific vehicle.
Looks awesome! Who did the install? TC?
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      01-13-2017, 09:26 PM   #5
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I've got the MCS singles on my E36 M3 race car. Would recommend them on any track oriented car.

On a street car its definitely overkill but I will confirm the added compliance. The shocks do a much better job of absorbing road imperfections and offer a wide range of adjustability.
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      01-14-2017, 07:26 AM   #6
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interesting. thanks.
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      08-21-2018, 05:51 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by swebster View Post
Yes much more compliant. MCS dampers with remote reservoirs or any damper JRZ, AST, Moton etc has nitrogen charge. The larger amount of fluid allows for a much greater ability for the damper to be able to soak up big hits. Plus adjustability for compression and rebound helps you tune the suspension for a specific vehicle.
What spring rates did you go with?
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      09-03-2018, 06:08 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MRM55 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by swebster View Post
Yes much more compliant. MCS dampers with remote reservoirs or any damper JRZ, AST, Moton etc has nitrogen charge. The larger amount of fluid allows for a much greater ability for the damper to be able to soak up big hits. Plus adjustability for compression and rebound helps you tune the suspension for a specific vehicle.
What spring rates did you go with?
Anyone running the singles on the M2 that's used as a daily driver?
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      09-12-2018, 06:23 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JoosyJoos View Post
I've got the MCS singles on my E36 M3 race car. Would recommend them on any track oriented car.

On a street car its definitely overkill but I will confirm the added compliance. The shocks do a much better job of absorbing road imperfections and offer a wide range of adjustability.
Really; single MCS 1-ways are overkill on the street? I will respectfully argue that is a matter of personal opinion and very subjective and I strongly disagree.

After installing my coilovers I will never again daily on anything less than triple adjustable dampers on the street. It's just purely personal preference on what you feel is your lowest tolerance level from what you are used to.
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      09-24-2018, 05:20 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by swifty View Post
Anyone running the singles on the M2 that's used as a daily driver?
Yep. Love 'em.
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      09-24-2018, 05:24 PM   #11
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Have 1 ways on my car and love them
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      09-28-2018, 09:16 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by E36toF87 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by swifty View Post
Anyone running the singles on the M2 that's used as a daily driver?
Yep. Love 'em.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2009nj335i View Post
Have 1 ways on my car and love them

Can you guys post pics and reviews. What type of camber plates are you running and is it necessary?

Most of the posts here are for the Ohlins, KW & M performance but I'm sure there are others like me who would like to hear about the higher quality dampers and how they are holding up for daily use and track. One person posted about the Litchfield ASTs which was great to read.
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      09-28-2018, 03:31 PM   #13
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H&R springs. Vorschlag camber plates. I don't know if they're strictly needed for the MCS, but I also run additional camber for track use.

More compliant than stock, and the rear tracks straight and tight over rough road. That wasn't my experience stock, by a long shot.
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      09-06-2019, 01:07 PM   #14
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So! I have an M2 that I purchased back in 2018 and I just had my first HPDE at Road Atlanta. Since I grew up around motorsports and go carts, I knew something about the basics of driving fast. All in all, I was blown away by the stock M2 performance at the track. I did go with Castrol SRT brake fluid, as well as Ferodo's DS1.11 for pads. The end result was 0 fade no matter what I did, including arriving at turn 10a over 140 mph.

For my next event, I will have all the rest of the safety gear, as well as recording gear to start acquiring some metrics to work with.

All that being said, I do have some questions! First, do you use a 4 point harness? I just called Schroth and they said that nobody has a certified 4 point harness for the F87 just yet... They should have one in the next 6 months.

Additionally, I would really like to know: how has the F87 held up in the last couple of years!? How many track days are you logging per year? Any major issues? Have you upgraded the brakes at all? My preferred set up for suspension at this time is exactly what you installed. Did you do the install? How much was the final bill? I would really appreciate any and all feedback!!

I will probably start a thread myself as I work on this dual purpose project car.
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      09-06-2019, 01:15 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by E36toF87 View Post
H&R springs. Vorschlag camber plates. I don't know if they're strictly needed for the MCS, but I also run additional camber for track use.

More compliant than stock, and the rear tracks straight and tight over rough road. That wasn't my experience stock, by a long shot.
You happen to be right around the corner from me, did you do the install yourself!? If not, which shop did you use!? Thanks!
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      09-06-2019, 11:01 PM   #16
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I have MSC 1 Way adjustable 700lb spring front and 1000lb rear and yes, they are more compliant and less harsh than stock. Agree 100% these things are on on another level versus KW. The same guy who did JRZ and Moton founded MCS. These are among the best suspensions on earth. Best mod I have made to the M2. Daily driver and CG camber plates -2.5 front camber 0.08 total front toe and -2.0 rear camber .30 total rear toe. Handling is nutty. It’s a go kart. I am on stock tire sizes. Can’t even imagine what it will be like when I go 265F/285R Cup2
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      09-06-2019, 11:06 PM   #17
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I will also add MCS customer service should be adopted by the rest of the industry. It is on point.
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      09-07-2019, 04:09 PM   #18
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Wow, that is quite the setup. Those are the coil-over rear ?
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      09-08-2019, 01:20 PM   #19
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Wow, that is quite the setup. Those are the coil-over rear ?
I do not have coilover rear just front. Rear dampers are inverted.
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      09-09-2019, 12:46 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jevi Javi View Post
much more compliant than stock? really?
The #1 surprise after first driving a really high end damper on a rough road is “how the HELL is this so compliant??”

I made the ‘mistake’ of driving on Ohlins TTX in an F80 M3 and I’ve always been jealous of how that felt. There’s no way I could spend that kind of money on suspension for my car at this point in my life but holy shit, it was surreal having so much comfort and compliance and such insane levels of cornering grip at the same time. These MCS are certainly in that ultra-high performance category.
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      09-09-2019, 02:45 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by swebster View Post
I recently had MCS Two Way dampers installed on my 2017 Mineral Gray BMW M2.

My goal was always to have the car be a dual purpose track car and daily driver. I also had a lofty goal of making the car somewhat of a Cayman GT4 killer on the track.

Wheel fitment
I wanted to set the car up with a square tire setup for rotation at the track and somewhat even wear. Fitment for track wheels is still somewhat experimental as people play with this new chassis. 18x9.5" with an ET35 offset seemed to clear the brakes and suspension with a spacer in the front. Note that anyone using spacers needs to also get the longer bolts. This is due to the fact that with a spacer there isn't enough thread to safely torque the wheels down. Tires were chosen to be Bridgestone Potenza RE-71R 265/40/18R. This should give the car more front end grip as the car out of the factory tends to understeer.

Camber Plates and Rear Arms
I decided to use Ground Control camber plates. I have them on two of the race cars and they work great. There is some noise over stock but worth it for the alignment setup. In order to properly align the car in the rear you should get adjustable rear arms. This allows you to get the proper camber out of the rear as well and get the car set up.

Suspension
We used MCS 2 way remote dampers. These are pretty close to their top of the line and are often used in Pirelli World Challenge and other pro race series. The suspension may be overkill for some but the handling is night and day. We put the remote reservoirs for the front on the radiator mount and in the trunk on the rear. On the street it soaks up bumps much better and is much more compliant than stock. The car now feels like it truly is riding on a magic carpet. On the track the car is an animal. With advanced suspension like this once you get it dialed the suspension does a lot more work than the tire. This enables higher cornering speeds.

If you are thinking about getting KW's I would think about taking the plunge to MCS. It's worth every penny if you plan on driving the car close to the limit.
How's the noise level with the MCS? I had JRZ RS Pros on my M4, and they were quite noisy. Now I am DD my M2 I would like less noise. I hear very good things about MCS.
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      09-09-2019, 02:57 PM   #22
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You happen to be right around the corner from me, did you do the install yourself!? If not, which shop did you use!? Thanks!
Originally done by Harrison Motorsports, recent upgrades by Tom Sawyer Motorsports.
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